Who says that only youngsters nowadays are inconsiderate?

Recently I came across a blog post on Jonah's blog about youngsters nowadays being inconsiderate. Also, many courtesy campaigns stress the point that teenagers should give up their seat to the elderly. However, many teenagers do not take this virtue of self-sacrifice seriously and thus has sparked off a lot of critisism mostly directed at youngsters. One would sometimes hear a phrase or two saying "youngsters nowadays ar..." while the speaker shakes his or her head. Sounds familiar?

Youngsters out there in cyberspace, this picture is prove that we are not the only culprits. I'm really sorry for the blur image but you should be able to see a old man with grey hair not allowing people to sit down Beside him. Note the word Beside and not On. He does not even have to sacrifice his own seat to allow someone else to seat down! Instead, he places his old Newspapers on the seat next to him. Even when a Nanyang girl went up to ask for the seat, he promptly refused her.

Is this behavior because he cannot place some newspapers on his own lap, or is too fat to sit on only one seat? No!

Later on, a large and well-built man tried to squeeze into te seat but the old man showed sheer signs of disapproval. It was only when he was stared at that he reluctantly allowed the man to sit down.

Implications

From this source it is evident that age does not significantly affect one's consideration for others. (A teenager and an old man both do not give up their seat.) Rather, I feel, it is one's character and willingness to self-sacrifice (love) that really matters. The foundation of human character should be built upon Love.

My point today is that love is really important. You see, if you love someone (even a stranger), you would not steal from him, or kill him. instead, you would help him up when he/she falls down and care about them. Through this love then will

sacrifice, respect, faith, and many other important charater traits be developed.

The Bible instructs Christians to love thier enemies. Surely you can love you family and friends?

So I appeal everyone to start loving! (not affection but consideration)

Emo People

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9onvD6CkCvc

watch the video, it's hilarious!

However, there is something we can learn from it. There are many unusual and let us say, mentally unsound people in today's society. Many people are depressed in this economic downturn and turn EMO.

In the video, emo people hurt themselves and enjoy it. This not only poses a treat to himself but also to others.

Emo people always over-react. In the show, they cry when they see a box of jelly beans because there are too many colours. But what if they broke up or lost their job in real life. over-reacting would probably mean suicide or even worse, murder.

The emo song is downright weird, I should say. First they were singing seriously about life being miserable. Then they smile and say they have fresh cookies! This shows that they have mood swings: form pessimistic to optimistic in a span of a second. Wow! That's hard to imagine!

Thus, we have to lend a helping hand to emo people. If not, they would soon develop bad habits and have physcological problems. Many emo people pick up smoking (serious cases), gambling and consuming drugs. There are some emo people in class but they are just mild cases. Evan so, we have to encourage them to kick the habit of being emo and socialise with them.

So I appeal for everyone out there, do not shun people who seem unusual or different, for they may need your care and comfort.

Power Corrupts but Absolute Power corrupts Absolutely?

Yes, power corrupts. But is this true for all leaders?

Many leaders throughout history have been ruthless tyrants. Napoleon of France helped overthrow the lavish French Emperor Loius but crowned himself Emperor of France a few years later. Stalin helped overthrow the Czars but treated the peasants of Russia badly. he oppressed the people and killed millions of them.

However, there have been good leaders who were not corrupted by power. Emperor Kangxi of the Qing dynasty is one example. He devoted his life to his country and brought about peace and prosperity to the land. His empire stretched from Guilin in the south to Mongolia in the north. He is considered one of the best emperors in Chinese history. He is just one of the many examples of good leaders who CARE about the people.

So, does power corrupts? Emperors who have ABSOLUTE POWER can be good or bad. think again, does absolute power corrupt absolutely? Discuss.

Deserved Respect or Annoying Privelage?

Guai Kia: Teachers in Hwa Chong should be given the respect they deserve. Teachers are busy people, they should be allowed to cut the queue to get their food first.

Ah Beng : They not even busy one lor, if you ask me, we are more busy okay? You know arh, last time I queue up for food at the noodle store, then suddenly got a lot of techers come and cut queue. Actually I only to wait for 3 more minutes one, but then those teachers made me wait to 15 minute more. in the end I was late for assembly, got 1 demerit point nia!

Guai Kia : Really? Even so, they should be allowed to cut the queue. After all, they are our elders!

This is a typical conversation showing two sides of the story. This is in fact a real argument in HCI today. Recently I heard some people complaining about this controversial rule. True, teachers should be given the respect they deserve, but should'nt students be given respect too?

Teachers may not always be in a rush. Perhaps they only want to get their food quickly so that they can go to the staff room to rest/mark work. Or perhaps they are rushing to their next class. But let us think logically, if a student's recess/period is 40 minutes, naturally a teacher's break should also be 40 minutes. Thus it is not fair for the student to wait longer for food than teachers who are equally busy.

I personally have the same experience as Ah Beng in the conversation. Thus, I feel that teachers should not cut the queue and cause students who possibly waited to 10 minutes to wait an extra 10 minutes. Thus, I feel that teachers should use this privelage unless they are in a hurry.

Thank You

Abraham Lincoln's Speech

This isone of Abraham lincoln's most famous speeches, The Gettysburg Address:

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent,
a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all
men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing
whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long
endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate
a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their
lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we
should do this.

But in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate - we cannot
consecrate - we cannot hallow - this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who
struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract.
The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here, but it can
never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be
dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far
so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task
remaining before us - that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to
that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion - that we here
highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain - that this nation,
under God, shall have a new birth of freedom - and that government of the
people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Abraham Lincoln - November 19, 1863

Robotics Competition; Sweet Success!

After staying back many hours in the last two weeks to perfect our robot, my team has finally tasted the sweetness of success. on Saturday, we went to the Science Centre to take part in "RoboChampion" something equivilent to a west-zone competition.

We had to control our robots using a remote and drop ping pong balls in a certain pit at the other end of the playing field we were starting from. that part was easy, but the terrain was difficult to navigate. The playing field was not smooth but was instead the underside of a smooth playing field, which was very rugged.. It made the competition a whole lot harder.

Firstly, our robot "disintegrated" in the first round and we only had 1 robot to complete the mission. this was a major setback. Later on, the other robot also fell apart due to unknown reasons. However, our team was not discouraged and tried our best to repair the robot. I have to admit that we were quite lucky. The opponents made many silly mistakes. Really silly mistakes like falling into a hole when they were just about to score and trying to tilt our robot but causing their own robot to fall in the end.

Our team managed to clinch third while another HCI team got the championship award. Seniors were elated because they said that the school will increase the EP3's budget. I hope they would!



Reflections



This time, we won aa medal, yes we did. But it would not have been possible without teamwork. A team must stick together during trying times to be able to rise up from the crowd. True team spirit shows when a team is in trouble. A good team tries to solve the problem, a bad team tries to blame the person. That is what I learnt.

P.S. I had negative points but I still got 3rd!

Napoleon Bonaparte was a great military and political leader of France whose actions changed Europe’s history.

He was born in Corsica (an island in the Mediterranean) and trained as an artillery officer in France, Napoleon became well known under the First French Republic and led successful campaigns against the First and Second Coalitions that fought against France. In 1799, he staged a coup and installed himself as First Consul; and five years later he crowned himself Emperor of France. In the nineteenth century, he declared war on every major European power and dominated continental Europe through a series of military victories. He expanded France's area of influence by the formation of extensive alliances and the appointment of friends and family members to rule other European countries as French states.

The French invasion of Russia in 1812 marked the turning point in Napoleon's fortunes. His army was badly defeated in the campaign and never fully recovered from it. In 1813, the Sixth Coalition (Prussia, Austria, Sweden, Russia, Great Britain, Spain, and Portugal) defeated his forces at Leipzig, Germany—then Prussia; the following year the Coalition invaded France, forced Napoleon to step down as emperor and exiled him to the island of Elba.

Less than a year later, he escaped Elba and returned to power, but was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo in June 1815. Napoleon spent the last six years of his life under British supervision on the island of Saint Helena. An autopsy concluded he died of stomach cancer, though some scientists have since claimed that he was poisoned with arsenic.

The conflict with the rest of Europe led to a period of total war across the continent; his campaigns are studied at military academies the world over. He is considered a tyrant by his opponents. But why do I consider him a great leader?

Firstly, he created the Napoleonic code. It is a French civil code, established under Napoleon in 1804. It entered into force on March 21, 1804. It is considered the first successful codification (the process of collecting and restating the law of a jurisdiction in certain areas, usually by subject, forming a legal code) and influenced the law of many other countries greatly. The Napoleonic Code, whichs stresses on clearly written and accessible law, was a major step in establishing the rule of law. Historians have called it "one of the few documents which have influenced the whole world."

Secondly, during the early years of his career in Paris,he was known for wandering amongst the common soldiers on watch late at night. He knew most of them by name and they were like old friends. He gave them his support and shared the watch with them. By doing this he inspired his men and gained their respect and loyalty. This shows that he respected all his men, including the lowliest soldier on guard duty. He even did guard duty with them, showing sevant leadership, which is an important virtue that one must possess to be able to lead others.

This kind of behavior from him gained his soldier’s loyalty. This was the loyalty that dragged soldiers across Europe and into Africa. It gave him many of his victories. It made him a great leader.

However, in his later years, his newfound powers lead him to start to disregard his troop’s welfare. His troops thus lost morale and confidence and caused his downfall.

He was also very greedy. He declared war on the entire Europe to get more land for the French and expand his power.

This two characteristics made him a leader who is most remembered for being a tyrant.

France in Napoleon's time
Red=occupied
Blue= Allied
yellow=hostile
Green=France

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napolean

Analysis of "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson

"The Lottery" is in many ways relevant to today's society. Here are some of them.

Scapegoating

The story is relevant to today's society. In the story, the townspeople select their victim by a lottery. They then kill the victim to get a good harvest. In today's society, we choose a scapegoat to bully and push all the blame on so that they can benefit/not be reprimanded.

For example, a group of my friends and I got lost during sec 1 camp. They all started blaming me although we all got lost together. (Yee hark started it)



Hypocrisy of Men

Humans also tend to "go with the flow" until the attacks are directed at him. In other words, we are willing to do injustice to others but we only protest saying that it is unfair when the injustice is towards us.

In the story, Tessie goes through the whole procedings happily. But when Bill opened his piece of paper and saw the big, black dot, only then did Tessie shout, "it's not fair!"

Likewise in today's society, this happens too. Here's a scenario (sorry for the singlish)

Dua Tao :Peter like Mei Ling
Ah Beng : hahaha, you like Mei Ling!
Peter : no..no...no lor! I don't like her lar. She so-
Ah Beng : Iknow you like her. Don't need to hide! Hahaha!!!
Peter : (blushing profusely) Don't like that lar. Very embarrasing leh.

The next day...

Ah Seng : I saw you flirting with Ai Choo yesterday!
Ah Beng : don't lie lar. Where got?
Ah Seng : I saw with my own eyes. You like her is it?(winks)
Ah Beng : No lor, she so ugly one. She so-
Ah Seng and rest of the class : Ah Beng like Ai Choo! Ah Beng like Ai Choo! ...
Ah Beng : Stop it lar!
Peter and some others who were bullied: Ah Beng like Ai Choo!
Peter >> Ah Beng : who ask you to keep making other people. hmpf!

This is a perfect example in our context today. Ah Beng makes fun of others but when others make fun of him, he starts to feel upset. We think that as long as others are doing it, it is alright to do it. It is only when we are the victim will we push for change or ask others to stop or realise it is wrong.

"Uncaringness" of Human Nature

Humans are uncaring by nature. In the story, Bill forces the slip of paper out of Tessie's hand so that Tessie would die. Also, Tessie's closest friends spared no thought for her. They were very enthusiastic in trying to kill her. No one stood up to try to stop the stoning.

In today's society, this problem is also within many of us. Here's a scenario( sorry for singlish again)

Mum: Why do you look so gloomy?
Neighbour : I lost my job. boohoohoo...
Mum : oh, that's too bad. byebye.

Look how uncaring mum is. Although this is what I hope most of you would not say, this is something very similar.

Ah Beng: Brother! Why so sad one?
Ah Seng : My parents don't care about me. Boohoohoo...
Ah Beng: Never mind lah brother! We go disco party party! Happy Happy! Don't care about what parents lar.

He may seem caring, but he only wants to cheer himself up, and not helping his friend or comforting him.

If you liked all these scenarios, please post a comment.

Thank you