dbctan's Xanga

FINAL EXIT

Thu, 15 Mar 2007 08:32:34 GMT

It should be obvious by now that I've stopped posting here.
My blog on homeschooling and alternative education
may be found here:
www.homeschoolhomefrontier.com
Thanks for visiting.
Be seeing ya at my new blog!

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Tue, 15 Aug 2006 04:27:31 GMT

I lifted this from Apple Seeds which I thought was well-said:

Ten Rules Kids Won't Learn In School

1. Life is not fair. Get used to it. The average teenager uses the phrase "It's not fair" 86 times a day.

2. The real world won't care as much about your self-esteem as your school does. This may come as a shock.

3. Sorry, but you won't make $40,000 a year right out of high school. And you won't be a vice president or have a car phone, either. You may even have to wear a uniform that doesn't have a designer label.

4. If you think your teacher is tough, wait until you get a boss.

5. Flipping burgers is not beneath dignity. Your grandparents had a different word for burger flipping. They called it opportunity.

6. It's not your parents’ fault if you mess up. You're responsible! This is the flip side of "It's my life" and "You're not my boss."

7. Before you were born your parents were not boring. They got that way paying your bills and listening to you.

8. Life is not divided into semesters. And you don't get summers off. Not even spring break. You are expected to show up every day for eight hours; and you don't get a new life every 10 weeks.

9. Smoking does not make you look cool. Watch an 11-year-old with a butt in his mouth. That's what you look like to anyone over 20.

10. Your school may be "outcome-based," but life is not. In some schools, you're given as many times as you want to get the answer right. Standards are set low enough so everyone can meet them. This, of course, bears not the slightest resemblance to anything in real life—as you will find out.

Thursday, August 10, 2006

Thu, 10 Aug 2006 05:52:30 GMT

Ever received one of these? Well I have, and more than once too. How do I know this is a scam? Well, I am not and never been a Paypal account holder. Phishing schemes never let up and you should not fall prey to these vultures who are invading your mailboxes.

Dear valued PayPal member:

Identity protection matters. And PayPal works day and night to help keep your identity safe. That's why it has come to our attention that your PayPal account information needs to be updated as part of our continuing commitment to protect your account and to reduce the instance of fraud on our website. If you could take 5-10 minutes out of your online experience and update your personal records you will not run into any future problems with the online service.

However, failure to update your records will result in account suspension.

Once you have updated your account records, your PayPal session will not be interrupted and will continue as normal.

To login to your PayPal account and update your records click on the following link:
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_login-run
Thank You for using PayPal!
The PayPal Team

Accounts Management will periodically send you information about site changes and enhancements, as outlined in our User Agreement.

Please do not reply to this email. This mailbox is not monitored and you will not receive a response. For assistance, log in to your PayPal account and click the Help link located in the top right corner of any PayPal page.

PayPal Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority in the United States as an electronic money institution.

PayPal Email ID PP359

Accounts Management will periodically send you information about site changes and enhancements, as outlined in our User Agreement.

This and similar cons like the Nigerian 419 fraud and eBay ones are a real pain. More recently, we've had fake emails disguised as Maybank advice to " verify your account." Well, that's the power of the internet for you.

Here's information excerpted from Paypal's site:

PayPal will never ask you to enter your password or financial information in an email or send such information in an email. You should only share information about your account once you have logged in to https://www.paypal.com/ directly from your browser.

Remember: A legitimate vendor will never ask you to enter your password or financial information in an email.

Thursday, August 03, 2006

Thu, 03 Aug 2006 10:11:23 GMT

While other kids were mugging away in arid classrooms homeschoolers had themselves an adventure of sorts at the Lentang Recreational Forest off Karak Highway. It was a nice and breezy day and we had the river all to ourselves. That would have been impossible if it were the weekend where day trippers and gawkers would have put paid our little experiment. A ranger did stop by to ask what we were doing seeing the amount of bamboo trunks we hauled up to the riverbank.

The object of the excursion was a raft-building expedition that was part of the group’s project. Nothing fancy you know, just get the bamboo raft to float, and that’s it, they told me. Taking care of the project logistics was part of their project as well, and I thought they pretty much acquitted themselves. Lots of bamboo, lots of tools, lots of bread and dogs - marshmallow even!- way too much food too, lots of spunk. The kids were supposed to do all the work but some of us couldn’t help but lend a hand, or more than just a hand. - You know moms and dads. Me, I put on my best imitation of the invisible man. Nevertheless we all had a really good time. Now, the kids will have to figure out if they did
good…

Friday, July 28, 2006

Fri, 28 Jul 2006 07:50:10 GMT

At first I didn’t know what to make of it – a Hasidic Jew rapping in a reggae-flavoured album? Well, it appears Matisyahu (aka Matthew Miller) is not your regular one-trick novelty, he’s for real. I mean he is a real Hasid and he actually appears on stage in traditional garb and yarmulke. It's not so odd when you know the rastafarians sing about Zion (Ethiopia!) and Jah (Yahweh!) all de time except that's all twisted to orthodox Jews . His lyrics do come across as a little juvenile; he doesn’t stay on pitch now and then, and he tries too hard to put on a Bob Marley accent. But he’s all right and there is an infectious beat all through, so you have to wish him well. I also thought the lyrics to the title song Youth was neat. Pretty thoughtful too.

Some of them come now
Some of the running
Some of them looking for fun
Some of them looking for away out of confusion
Some of them don't know where to be
Some of them don't know where to go
Some of them trust their instincts
That somethings missing from the show
Some don't fit society
Their insides are crying low
Some of them teachers squashed the flame
'fore it had a chance to grow
Some of them embers still glow
Them charcoal hushed and low
Some of them come with hunger supressed
Not fed them feel the death blow, yo

[CHORUS:]
Young man control in your hand
Slam your fist on the table
And make your demand
Take a stand
Fan a fire for the flame of the youth
Got the freedom to choose
You better make the right move
Young man, the power's in your hand
Slam your fist on the table and make your demand
You better make the right move
"youth is the engine of the world"

Storm the halls of vanity
Focus your energy
Into a laser beam
Streaming shattered light
Unites to pierce between the seams
And it seems
The world open peering
The children see
Rapid fire for your mind
Half a truth is just a lie
They rub me the wrong way
They say their way or fall behind
Seventeen disconnect left out
The concept as to why
There's a spiritual emptiness
So the youth them get vexed
Skip class and get wrecked
Feel with beer and cigarettes
To fill the hole in their chest!

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Wed, 19 Jul 2006 12:21:59 GMT

Oh no, not again! This time it's Pangandaran off Java's southern coast.What happened to the early-warning system that was hyped up after the last tragedy?

But despite a push after that disaster to establish a tsunami early warning system, there was not one working in Indonesia when Monday's quake struck, according to an official at the geophysics agency in Jakarta.

"We still don't have a tsunami early warning system in place," said the official.

Both the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawaii and the Japan Meteorological Agency issued tsunami alerts for parts of Indonesia and Australia after the quake hit.

Channelnewsasia.com

It seems so ridiculous to read that Japan and Hawaii read the signs and sent out an alert, yet Indonesia found no way to do the same for her own people?!Something can't be right here.

Latest report 530 dead.
Initial stories reported a handful dead and I thought at first it was one of those things.

54,000 displaced! Indonesian media voice frustration and Vice President Jusuf Kalla said the government would build an early warning system in Java and other areas in Indonesia in three years. In the meantime...?

God have mercy.

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Tue, 18 Jul 2006 02:57:59 GMT

We're helping out a friend by giving him temporary lodging. What's interesting is we've got a dissenting view in our home now. Here's a guy who says (a) why can't Iran and North Korea have their own nuclear warheads? and (b) the Jews deserve to be wiped out.
Howzat for friendly stimulating conversation?
Not that we only seek out people who agree entirely with us (the very thought is ridiculous and myopic) - but it challenges anyone to account for their position or point of view. You know what they say about religion and politics....

PS: caught South Park's take on the Muhammed cartoon hoohah, and another episode on Scientology. Funny!

Saturday, July 15, 2006

Sat, 15 Jul 2006 02:38:59 GMT

North Korean dictator offered to abandon his nuclear weapons program in exchange for the role of the villain in the new James Bond film.

In a press conference in Pyongyang, Mr. Kim said he was prepared to dismantle his entire nuclear program for the chance to play a Bond villain, calling the part “the role of a lifetime.”

“I have been preparing for this role every day of my life,” Mr. Kim said.

In Washington, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice reacted to the news that Mr. Kim’s bizarre tenure as president of North Korea has been nothing but a Method actor’s preparation for a coveted role.

“The strange pronouncements, the weird haircut, the crazy glasses – it all starts to make sense,” she said.

In times like this, a bit of humour helps.

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

Wed, 05 Jul 2006 08:51:11 GMT

This isn't exactly news - it's something most of us know for years - but now we get to see some figures. Plus, now you know what kind of courses to keep away from...........

70% of grads from public institutions jobless

B.Suresh Ram
The Sun

Some 70% of public universities and institutes of higher learning graduates in the country are unemployed.

This is in contrast with 26% for private institutions of higher learning and 34% for foreign graduates.

Deputy Human Resources Minister Datuk Abdul Rahman Bakar revealed the figures today (July 3, 2006) in reply to a question from Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Ipoh Timor).

He said the ministry had taken several steps, including the establishment of the graduates' retraining training scheme as well as providing feedback to the Higher Education and the Education Ministries, to ensure courses are in line with those required by the job market.

To the original question by Tan Sri Dr Ting Chew Peh (BN-Gopeng), Abdul Rahman said 20,217 graduates registered with the ministry's Job Clearing System were still unemployed as at June 12.

The breakdown showed UiTM as having the highest number of unemployed graduates with 3,278 (16.2%) followed by UUM 1,532 (7.6%), private institutions of higher learning 1,217 (6%), UTM 1,147(5.7%), UKM 971 (4.8%), UPM 919 (4.5%), other public institutions of higher learning 840 (4.2%), UM 531 (2.6%), USM 505 (2.5%), UMS 371 (1.8%), UIA 358 (1.8%), foreign graduates 342 (1.7%), Unimas 174 (0.9%), UPSI 39 (0.2%) and others 7,993 (39.5%).

Abdul Rahman said the breakdown according to job sector showed ICT with the highest number of unemployed graduates with 3,942 (19.5%) yet to find jobs.

This is followed by Business Administration with 2,714 (13.4%), Accountancy 1,923 (9.5%), Electric/Electronic and Telecommunication engineers 1,229 (6.1%), Human Resources Management 1,022 (5.1%), Civil Engineers 983 (4.9%), Mechanical/Mechatronic Engineers 884 (4.4%), Literature Social Science 843 (4.2%), Pure Science 770 (3.8%), Financial/banking/insurance/investment/property 613 (3%), Office technology Management/Information management/Library Management 552 (2.7%), Architecture/Building/Quantity Surveying/ land surveying 540 (2.7%), Applied Science 533 (2.6%), Economy 440 (2.2%), Agriculture/Forestry, Fisheries/Environment 401 (2%) and others 2,828 (13.9%).

Abdul Rahman said apart from the job clearing system, other measures had also been taken by the government to reduce the number of unemployed graduates in the country.

Monday, July 03, 2006

Mon, 03 Jul 2006 08:27:26 GMT

Two vicious cases of school bullying have got everyone talking. Both cases -one involving boys (Kota Tinggi), and the other girls (Miri) – were recorded on phone videos and widely circulated on the internet (on YouTube too, until it was removed!)The Malaysian Psychological Association wants to propose the implementation of a bullying intervention programme developed by Dr D. Olweus. “The programme attempts to restructure the existing school environment to reduce opportunities for bullying. We have submitted our proposal to the ministry (of education),” said Malaysian Psychological Association council member Datin Dr Noran Fauziah Yaakub

The programme has met with success in schools where it is used in Scandinavian countries as well as the US. Basically it’s all about increased supervision, more parent-teacher interaction, a curriculum of courtesy and respect, and sanctions for aggressive behaviour (which I imagine are all a given in the first place). Schools are also expected to do the following:

Place primary responsibility for solving the problem with the adults at school rather than with parents or students.
Project a clear moral stand against bullying.
Include both systems-oriented and individual-oriented components.
Set long-term and short-term goals.
Target the entire school population, not just a few problem students.
Make the program a permanent component of the school environment, not a temporary remedial program.
Implement strategies that have a positive effect on students and on the school climate that go beyond the problem of bullying.

Anyway, I say go ahead and give it a shot. What piqued my interest however was the first point - we’re to expect adult teachers at school to deal with bullying. The programme assumes that if bullying occurs, very likely the parents of victim and aggressor are not informed, or do not recognize the signs. That’s when schools step in to talk to all parties involved. There’s some merit in having an outside party to take charge, but it won’t amount to anything if the student and his/her family do not also take as firm a stand as schools.

I think it all boils down to character, which in the final analysis, is best inculcated at home. Why then are parents failing in their job to instruct their kids in basic decency and respect? Why do we keep hearing about the importance of ‘socialising’ when the only social skill kids are picking up at home and school is to ‘look out for number 1’? When a cynical media in an indifferent society displaces the basis for values and virtues, we should not be surprised when our kids turn violent. We make the world what it is today.

I can almost hear you ask: what if the parents are unable or will not do their job?