Tiger Brokers has launched the Lunar New Year campaign (Tiger Ang Pow). Click on the “Open” button via the campaign page below to initiate an Ang Pow opening mission and share the 88 SGD stock voucher with friends together!
Click on “Open” button link below:
Besides, the referral promotion is also available. When your friend registers with your invitation code and opens an account successfully, both you and your friend will get 5 commission-free trades for stocks denominated in USD or HKD. When your friend makes the initial deposit, both you and your friend will get a stock voucher of up to 100 SGD.
Disclaimer: The opinions on Tiger Brokers expressed in this blog post is for general informational purposes only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual or on any specific security or investment product. It is only intended to provide information on Tiger Brokers Ang Pow. In particular, this blog post is not a substitute for obtaining advice from a qualified investment advisor.
GameStop Short Squeeze is recently a very hot topic in the USA, and refers to the short squeeze of the stock of the American video-game retailer GameStop and other securities that took place on various stock exchanges, causing major financial consequences for certain hedge funds. It has been reported in many news outlets, including CNBC, BBC, and Reuters.
There are a few free sites to check out the GameStop current short interest, or the GameStop short interest today. Short interest is the number of shares that have been sold short but have not yet been covered or closed out. A related concept, short interest ratio, represents the number of days it takes short sellers on average to cover their positions, that is repurchase all of the borrowed shares.
GameStop Short Interest Data
One of the sites to check out the current GameStop Short interest is: https://isthesqueezesquoze.com/. It uses data from Ortex or S3Shortsight.
Another site is the Twitter Page of S3 Partners, which is a FinTech company. They often publish the statistics for GameStop (GME) short interest on a daily basis.
A third source is Ihor Dusaniwsky’s Twitter Page. Ihor is the Managing Director of Predictive Analytics at S3 Partners. He posts GameStop Short Interest information on a regular basis, including some explanations to beginners.
Note that there are two ways to calculate short interest (SI):
SI = shares shorted / (float). This value can exceed 100%.
SI = shares shorted / (float + shares shorted). This includes the “synthetic longs” created by short selling, and will be a value between 0% to 100%.
GameStop Short Squeeze
Do also check out the Twitter Page of Michael Burry, where he posts information about GameStop Short Squeeze, GameStop Gamma Squeeze and more. Michael Burry is a famous investor and inspired the main character in the movie “The Big Short”.
There seem to be very few Sec 1 Chinese / Higher Chinese Exam Papers available online, be it free or for sale. Similarly, Secondary 2 Chinese Exam Papers are equally rare.
It contains Secondary 1 HCL MYE (Mid Year Exam) Revision Materials 2017, which is still relatively recent. There are also lists of Chinese vocabulary for different chapters, as well as tips for Chinese Oral Exam. Do download the PDF and Zip files while it is still online!
On the opposite spectrum, Secondary 4 ‘O’ Level Chinese or Higher Chinese Exam Papers are very common, almost every site has it, it is very easy to find.
If you find any Secondary 1 or 2 Chinese Notes/ Exam/ Test paper materials, do comment down in the comment section below! It will help many readers who are searching for free Chinese Exam Papers (Secondary 1 or Secondary 2).
Ethereum has started to see many actual use cases in real life. For instance, major companies like Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Visa are all starting to adopt Ethereum as part of their real life usage.
Course description (Ethereum and Smart Contracts course in Duke University):
“Learn how to develop smart contracts and decentralized applications on the Ethereum Blockchain as well as history and trends of Ethereum itself. Ethereum is the most promising decentralized smart contract platform, and blockchain developers are in high demand. Learning these skills will give you a leg up in the blockchain world, especially in the Ethereum ecosystem. We will cover Ethereum (the platform), Solidity (the programming language), Truffle (the developer framework), and web3.js (the front-end library). Preference: some blockchain/cryptocurrency understanding. Prerequisite: basic programming skills.”
Trinity College of Arts and Sciences at Duke University
Ethereum Book
Learning blockchain technology should be a very marketable skill in the near future. Currently, there are two main ways to learn it, through online courses or through books.
Recently, the blockchain Ethereum is starting to gain widespread acceptance, many major companies such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon are already using it.
In terms of publicity, Ethereum is still behind its more famous cousin “Bitcoin”, but that should change in the near future. In fact, many people have postulated that a “flippening” may happen where Ethereum takes over Bitcoin as the cryptocurrency with the largest market cap.
In this blogpost, we list the real life applications and uses of Ethereum, using official sources as far as possible. That is, if Google is using Ethereum, we will try to point to the official Google website instead of a third party news site. Otherwise, we will only use very reliable third party sources such as Forbes, etc.
Amazon Ethereum Blockchain
This is very recent news, on Dec 21 2020. Amazon Managed Blockchain now supports Ethereum. With Amazon Managed Blockchain, AWS (Amazon Web Service) customers get secure networking, fast and reliable syncs to the Ethereum blockchain, durable elastic storage for ledger data, encryption at rest and transport, and secure access to the network via standard open-source Ethereum APIs.
Ethereum can inter-operate with Google Cloud’s enterprise cloud data warehouse (BigQuery) via oracle middleware (Chainlink). At a high level, Ethereum Dapps (i.e. smart contract applications) request data from Chainlink, which in turn retrieves data from a web service built with Google App Engine and BigQuery.
Ethereum Blockchain as a Service on Microsoft Azure
Microsoft and ConsenSys (a blockchain software technology company) are partnering to offer Ethereum Blockchain as a Service (EBaaS) on Microsoft Azure so Enterprise clients and developers can have a single click cloud based blockchain developer environment. The initial offering contains two tools that allow for rapid development of SmartContract based applications: Ether.Camp – An integrated developer environment, and BlockApps – a private, semi-private Ethereum blockchain environment, that can deploy into the public Ethereum environment.
Visa announced it is connecting its global payments network of 60 million merchants to the U.S. Dollar Coin (USDC) developed by Circle Internet Financial on the Ethereum blockchain.
Visa didn’t quite announce it on its official Visa website, but we can see that Visa is actively recruiting engineers with Ethereum and Solidity (the programming language on Ethereum) experience.
Visa is actively recruiting engineers with Ethereum experience:
We’re seeking a strong developer experienced with Ethereum and blockchain architecture to be a part of
team tasked with building distributed application. Our ideal candidate has built and released distributed
applications, has worked with the Ripple, R3, Ethereum and/or Bitcoin blockchain, and has experience with Solidity
Multiple Positions are available in Austin, TX and Foster City, CA locations
The Blockchain Center of Excellence at J.P. Morgan leads efforts for Distributed Ledger Technology applications, actively researching blockchain use cases to develop in-house technology and pilot solutions across lines of business within J.P. Morgan.
The program also manages strategic relationships and investments with key vendors and consortia, including Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA). The Enterprise Ethereum Alliance is a member-led industry organization whose objective is to drive the use of Ethereum blockchain technology as an open-standard to empower all enterprises.
A full list of companies using (or interested in using) Ethereum can actually be seen on the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance website, under the members section. We can see that many big name companies are part of the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance, including:
Accenture
Baidu
Dell (Boomi)
Ernst & Young
Intel
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Standard Chartered Bank
VMware, Inc.
It is interesting to note that 2 of the “Big Four” accounting firms, Ernst & Young and PricewaterhouseCoopers are interested in Ethereum and smart contracts, which could potentially change the accounting industry.
In the 2021 Monthly Calendar Singapore (printable) attached above, we see that Chinese New Year falls on 12 February, which is a Friday. Hence there is a long weekend stretching from 12 February (Friday) to 14 February (Sunday).
Another long weekend we can see in the Singapore calendar 2021 with public holidays, is the Good Friday long weekend starting on 2 April 2021 (Friday) to 4 April 2021 (Sunday).
The next long weekend is potentially the Labor Day long weekend, as can be seen in the above Singapore calendar 2021 with public holidays. Labor day (1 May 2021) falls on a Saturday, hence it is up to one’s employer to offer a day off-in-lieu.
The second last official long weekend should be the National Day public holiday, ranging from 7 August (Saturday) to 9 August (Monday).
Lastly, the last long weekend in 2021 according to the printable calendar is Christmas, ranging from 25 Dec 2021 (Saturday) to 26 Dec 2021 (Sunday), and potentially 27 Dec 2021 (Monday) if there is a off-in-lieu.
The above printable calendar is generated by Calendar Labs.
Summary:There are only 3 countries in the world that can make more than 10 million all-aluminum Electric Vehicles per year. NIO happens to be in one of them that can make 100 million per year, and Li Bin has taken full advantage of this fact. No other country can copy NIO at a large scale since there is simply not enough aluminum (unless heavy imports are done which will further drive up the price of aluminum).
Two of the above 3 countries have to use up their entire aluminum production to achieve 10 million all-aluminum cars, which is not practical since there are other important uses for aluminum besides cars.
The clear benefit of aluminum over steel is that it is lighter. The NIO ES8 uses an all-aluminum frame, which is about 40% lighter than traditional steel bodies (density of steel 7.8 g/cm3> aluminum 2.7 g/cm3).
With a lighter body, an all-aluminum car would be able to travel further than a steel car per unit of battery power. It is very clear that an all-aluminum car is superior to a steel car.
The genius of Li Bin’s strategy is that no country can copy this all-aluminum strategy on a large scale, as shown in the calculations below. To further add to this, Li Bin must have thought and planned for this very early, well before the factory of ES8 was built.
How many All-Aluminum Cars can each Country make per year
China produces 36,000,000,000 kg of aluminum in a year. Since one NIO ES8 contains 335 kg of aluminum, that means that:
China can make 36,000,000,000/335 = 107 million aluminum cars per year
Similar calculation for India, India produces 3,700,000,000 kg of aluminum in a year. Since one NIO ES8 contains 335 kg of aluminum, that means that:
India can make 3,700,000,000/335 = 11 million aluminum cars per year
We do the other calculations in the table below. Note that India and Russia have to use up 100% of their aluminum in order to exceed the 10 million aluminum cars target per year. Other countries cannot make more than 10 million all-aluminum cars even if they use up all their aluminum production.
Rank
Country/Region
Aluminium Production (thousands of metric tons)
No. of Aluminum Cars per Year (millions)
1
China
36,000
107
2
India
3,700
11
3
Russia
3,600
11
4
Canada
2,900
9
5
United Arab Emirates
2,700
8
6
Australia
1,600
5
7
Bahrain
1,400
4
8
Norway
1,300
4
9
United States
1,100
3
10
Saudi Arabia
932
3
Number of all-aluminum cars each country can make at the maximum (per year).
Ren Shaoqing NIO – Top Researcher in Autonomous Driving
Not many people know this, but NIO car manufacturer’s head of AI, Ren Shaoqing (任少卿) is an absolute genius in the field of autonomous driving. In this blog post, we will detail facts about Dr Ren Shaoqing and his research in self driving and autonomous driving technology. We will also introduce other top researchers in the field of autonomous driving. All our sources are from Google Scholar and other trusted sources.
Ren Shaoqing NIO – the secret weapon of NIO Autonomous Driving
Everyone knows that the main trumps of electric vehicles are clean energy, and autonomous driving. NIO has managed to hire the top researcher in the field of autonomous driving. They are quite low profile about it, not many people know about this at the moment.
Just click on the Google Scholar (Autonomous Driving) link, it will show you the full ranking of the top researchers in the field of autonomous driving, ranked by the official Google Scholar algorithm according to citation count.
The top 5 researchers in the field of Autonomous Driving, ranked by the official Google Scholar page.
Just look at the top researcher in the list, it is Dr Ren Shaoqing of NIO, with a whopping 111,396 citation count (as of Dec 2020). Citation counts are a way of measuring the impact of a researcher’s work. Basically, the more citation counts means the more people are noticing and citing the researcher’s papers. Ren Shaoqing’s citation count of 111k is typically 10 times more than a Full Professor at most universities.
In terms of quantity of citations, it is clear that Ren Shaoqing (NIO’s head of AI), is at the top of the game. How about quality of research?
Dr Ren Shaoqing’s research quality is top notch as well!
Ren Shaoqing NIO – Achievements in the field of Autonomous Driving
First author paper at NIPS (Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems), which is one of the best conferences in computer science. The paper’s topic is “Faster R-CNN: Towards real-time object detection with region proposal networks”. Real-time object detection is very related to autonomous driving, it helps the car detect objects and obstacles in real time.
CVPR Best Paper Award, 2016. CVPR is the premier annual computer vision event comprising the main conference and several co-located workshops and short courses. His co-authored award winning paper is titled “Deep Residual Learning for Image Recognition”.
In case, if anyone is thinking that Dr Ren Shaoqing is just an academic nerd with no business experience, that would be totally wrong! He has business and startup experience as well, he co-founded an autonomous driving software startup Momenta.ai, which grew into unicorn (private company with a valuation over $1 billion) in three years, aiming to help people live a better life with improved safety and efficiency of driving through artificial intelligence.
More of Ren Shaoqing’s achivements in autonomous driving and self driving can be found on his personal website.
Some of the comments on Ren Shaoqing’s personality can be found on Chinese website Zhihu (Chinese version of Quora):
Ren Shaoqing is a young guy, he is very humble with no airs. He is a very refined person, and his team is very close to him. Shaoqing’s style of doing things does not seem to be hurried, his style is slow and steady, but when it comes to “fighting”, he is also super persistent. I remember that there was a period of time when he spent the whole day in various meetings and interviews, which lasted until after 12am midnight. At this time, he did not leave office in a hurry, but continued to do some work that could only be done by calming down in the quiet of the night. In the early days, he was mainly responsible for the research and development of visual perception. Later, he was responsible for the projects related to autonomous driving on highways for a period of time. When I left, he was still responsible for the research and development of visual perception.
Other than Ren Shaoqing of NIO, there are also other genius top researchers in the field of Autonomous Driving. Interestingly, the third highly ranked researcher in Autonomous Driving (Dr Zhou Xing) is also affiliated to NIO!
We compile some of the top researchers in autonomous driving in the table and barchart below.
Top Researchers in Autonomous Driving and Computer Vision
We list 15 top researchers (with more than 1000 citations) in the field of autonomous driving and computer vision. Notice that #1 and #3 on the list are from NIO!
Rank
Name
Citations
1
Shaoqing Ren (NIO)
111396
2
Andrew Blake (Samsung)
57258
3
Zhou Xing (NIO, Stanford)
36267
4
Raquel Urtasun (Uber, University of Toronto)
34264
5
Andrej Karpathy (Tesla)
32692
6
Jonathan P. How (MIT)
31601
7
Gang Wang (Alibaba)
16240
8
Uwe Franke (Daimler Mercedes-Benz)
13485
9
Fisher Yu (ETH Zurich)
13150
10
Dmitri Dolgov (Google)
8381
11
Markus Enzweiler (Daimler Mercedes-Benz)
7917
12
John M. Dolan (Carnegie Mellon University)
7206
13
Forrest Iandola (Tesla)
6277
14
Xinzhou Wu (XPENG)
5787
15
Tianjun Xiao (Tesla)
2588
Chart of top researchers in Autonomous Driving, ranked by Google Scholar Citations.
We can see from the barchart above that all 15 researchers (ranging from NIO, Tesla, XPENG) are very excellent in their field, producing research with more than 1000 citations in the field of autonomous driving or closely related fields like computer vision.
It is clear that Ren Shaoqing is one of the brightest stars in this exciting new field of Autonomous Driving!
Ren Shaoqing – the 21st Century Zhuge Liang of Autonomous Driving
Based on Ren Shaoqing’s personality (devoted and extremely hardworking 鞠躬尽瘁, but yet calm and unhurried) and achievements in autonomous driving, he bears close resemblance to a legendary character in Chinese history: Zhuge Liang.
In Chinese history or legend, Zhuge Liang was a famous military strategist and inventor. He is said to invent the first self-driving (or self-walking) cow, called the Wooden Cow Flowing Horse (木牛流马). It was said to be able to walk by itself and was used to transport grain during the Northern Expedition.
The self-driving car (or rather cow), invented by Zhuge Liang, according to legend.
Hence, Zhuge Liang can be said to be the father of autonomous driving or self-driving, according to legend. Will Ren Shaoqing (NIO’s head of AI) become the Zhuge Liang of the 21st Century and invent the perfect autonomous self-driving car?
NIO Book
Currently, there is no NIO book available as history is still being written! We will definitely add them here if books on NIO become available. For a deeper insight into Electric Vehicles and Autonomous Vehicles, there are several great books on Amazon.
Interesting real life video of NIO car battery swap. Interestingly, the NIO car BaaS battery swap center in Shanghai is right next to its competitor Tesla’s Supercharger! The battery swap section is right at 8:55.
The above YouTube channel is a reliable and unbiased one, not set up specifically to promote NIO. It has been around for years, showing how the channel’s owners who are just in their 40s “retire” in Malaysia. They are currently back in Shanghai, not sure if it is permanent or just temporary to avoid the COVID situation in Malaysia.
By the way, in the video, the people are discussing how a house in Shanghai costing 6 million RMB (or almost 1 million USD) is “cheap”! This shows how rich the people in Tier 1 cities in China are, buying an electric car is no big deal for them, as long as the quality is good.
The video above is another authentic video from a real life NIO owner, performing battery swap in another Tier 1 city in China, Shenzhen. The entire battery swap process takes around 4.5 minutes, provided there is no long queue. This is just as fast or even faster than refilling petrol.
Battery swap can be considered as a moat of the company NIO. It is not easy for other car companies to suddenly switch to battery swapping since that would involve significantly redesigning their car or factory.
NIO cars can also charge the battery the conventional way, in addition to battery swapping. Another advantage of battery swapping is that older NIO car models can easily “upgrade” to a newer battery, for example from 70 kWh to 100 kWh.
Check out NIO’s CEO Li Bin launching the new 100 kWh battery in the video below, just recently in November 2020. The 100 kWh battery is on par with Tesla’s Model S.
Tesla is a famous company founded by billionaire genius Elon Musk. Elon Musk is the CEO and founder of multiple high-tech companies such as Tesla, SpaceX and Open AI.
It is highly recommended for gifted kids and parents to read about Elon Musk and his unique childhood and personal traits. Currently, there is a promotion where you can listen to the bestselling audiobook free if you Try Audible Plus.
Firstly, we introduce the founder of NIO, Li Bin, as a comparison to Tesla’s Elon Musk. Li Bin was born in a poor cow farmer’s household in Anhui, China. His home did not have electricity until he was around 10 years old. His brilliance was noticed early in life, where he emerged the top scholar in the Anhui province in the Gaokao exams and entered the best university in China, Peking University. In Peking University, he majored in sociology, and minored in law and computer science.
Before NIO, Li Bin has founded or cofounded multiple successful companies, including:
Bitauto (易车), a leading provider of internet content & marketing services, and transaction services for China’s automotive industry.
MoBike, a bike sharing platform in China.
Under Li Bin, NIO is the only other EV company to follow Elon Musk’s tried and tested Master Plan:
Tesla’s “master plan”, as iterated by Musk in 2006 was: Build sports car. Use that money to build an affordable car. Use that money to build an even more affordable car. While doing above, also provide zero-emission electric power generation options.
The first step of Tesla’s “master plan” is to build a sports car. NIO has already built the EP9 car which is one of the world’s fastest supercar. It has broken multiple records, and can reach a top speed of 350 km/h.
NIO EC6
True to the “Master Plan”, NIO has next built more affordable cars, such as the latest NIO EC6. The EC6 is a fully-electric mid-size luxury crossover SUV, just announced in late 2019 by NIO.
NIO vs Tesla China
NIO is initially aiming for a share in China’s enormous EV (Electric Vehicle) market, which is the world’s biggest market for EVs. Subsequently, it has plans to expand into Europe and the rest of the world.
NIO does not have its own factory currently (it has a joint factory with the state-owned JAC Motors in Hefei). This may change in the future. The JAC-NIO factory is impressive, and has up to 97.5% automation rate. Note that Apple also doesn’t have its own factory, hence not having a factory can’t be said to be a fatal flaw of NIO.
NIO Future Plan and Potential
NIO’s future plan is to produce more models of cars, including two sedans (ET5 and ET7), as well as a minivan (EF9) and another SUV (ES7).
NIO focuses a lot on good service, and provides several unique services, most notably BaaS (Battery as a Service). BaaS allows NIO cars to swap their batteries, which is currently much faster than charging. In addition, most Asian countries, including top tier cities in China, simply do not have enough space for a charging station for each household. Hence, BaaS will be a great differentiating factor which gives NIO an edge over its competitors.
As for NIO’s potential, just watch this video on top 30 most industrialized countries in the world. NIO is the premier high end electric vehicle manufacturer in China, and all signs are pointing to it having a great potential in the future (if things go smoothly).
NIO Moat
A moat is a key competitive advantage that sets a company apart from its competitors. NIO’s first moat is its unique BaaS. Since a car’s model cannot easily change (due to the factories’ fixed specification), should BaaS battery swapping become the trend, NIO will be the sole company that provides it and will have at least a few years’ lead ahead of its competitors.
NIO’s second moat is its infrastructure and domestic home ground advantage. NIO’s autonomous driving system is naturally trained in China’s traffic conditions. Even in the event of slightly inferior autonomous driving technology (which is still highly debatable), the end result would still be better than a top driving system trained in another country’s very different traffic conditions, including different driver behavior and different road signs.
NIO backed by government
Many signs have shown directly or indirectly that NIO is backed by the government. Firstly, JAC Motors with whom NIO has a joint factory with, is a Chinese state-owned automobile and commercial vehicle manufacturer.
DBS Multiplier has officially announced some changes, effective 1 January 2021. Do check out the official PDF document here.
We also attach the screenshot below for the reader’s convenience.
DBS Multiplier Review
Well, it is clear that the DBS Multiplier changes are not good! Most of the interest rates are heavily affected, especially for the average Singaporean saver. This is not unique to DBS though, most banks in Singapore have slashed their interest rates, including Citibank, CIMB, and others.
For savers who have less than 3 categories transactions (Credit Card Spend, Home Loan Instalments, Insurance or Investments), most likely his/her interest rate will drop to below 1% p.a. This is a halving of the previous interest rate.
DBS Multiplier Minimum Balance
Note that DBS Multiplier has a relatively high minimum balance of S$3,000, and there is a service charge of S$5 if average daily balance falls below S$3,000.
DBS Multiplier Alternative
If you are looking for an alternative to DBS Multiplier, do check out our previous blog post Gigantiq Promo Code: MATH88. Basically, Gigantiq is a capital guaranteed savings plan that offers interest rate of 1.8% p.a. (previously 2% p.a.). This is much higher than all banks currently, including fixed deposits. Gigantiq is backed by Etiqa, which is the insurance branch of Maybank, the largest bank in Malaysia.
Recently, the Spyder IDE faced serious typing delay or lag. Basically, after entering something using the keyboard, it takes almost half a second for it to appear on the screen. The issue can also be described as a typing lag in Spyder.
This seems to have been triggered by the installation of Big Sur OS.
Spyder slow on Mac
After intensive googling, we stumbled upon this Github page detailing several possible solutions.
The one that worked for us was installing pyqt and pyqtwebengine. Basically, type the following commands in the terminal:
pip install PyQt5
pip install PyQtWebEngine
The above solution should be very safe since it is just installing Python packages.
Spyder lagging
The above solution helped to solve the troubling issue of Spyder lagging. Since Spyder uses Qt for its GUI, it is critical to keep the various Qt related packages updated / at the correct version. This may be the reason why installing PyQt5 and PyQtWebEngine helps to remove the lag in Spyder.
Spyder very slow
There seems to be many reasons, other than the above, that can result in Spyder being very slow. One tip that is useful, is never update to the latest version of Spyder, Mac OS, or Anaconda immediately once it is released, unless it is absolutely necessary. Most of the bugs appear in the newest releases, and can cause multiple problems including making Spyder very slow. By updating at a later date, most of the bugs would have been solved by then and it is a much safer approach.
Previously, updating to the latest Spyder 4.1.5 also caused several problems, including lag, slowness or even Spyder simply just crashing.
Great interesting post on Wronskian, which is widely used in the study of differential equations. Wronski is an eccentric genius, who was once forced to leave his post at the Marseille Observatory after his theories were dismissed as “grandiose rubbish”, according to Wikipedia.
Today’s is another topic suggested by Mr Wu, author of the Singapore Maths Tuition blog. The Wronskian is named for Jzef Maria Hone-Wroński, a Polish mathematician, born in 1778. He served in General Tadeusz Kosciuszko’s army in the 1794 Kosciuszko Uprising. After being captured and forced to serve in the Russian army, he moved to France. He kicked around Western Europe and its mathematical and scientific circles. I’d like to say this was all creative and insightful, but, well. Wikipedia describes him trying to build a perpetual motion machine. Trying to square the circle (also impossible). Building a machine to predict the future. The St Andrews mathematical biography notes his writing a summary of “the general solution of the fifth degree [polynomial] equation”. This doesn’t exist.
Both sources, though, admit that for all that he got wrong, there were flashes of insight and brilliance in his work. The St Andrews…
The PSLE (Primary School Leaving Examination) is a momentous event in the Singapore education system, where all Primary 6 (12 year old students) sit for the national exam that will determine their future secondary school (or even beyond, in the case of Integrated Programme).
PSLE is not everything
Despite the overall importance of PSLE, it has to be noted that PSLE is not everything. There are countless stories of late developers who later pursued successful careers, despite a bad PSLE Score.
Read about the miracle story of a student who scored 181 for PSLE (technically still a pass grade, but considered not so good), but later entered NUS Medicine, the most prestigious course in Singapore.
This seems to be a frequently asked question. There are still many options, one of them is NorthLight School, which was featured in the Straits Times. NorthLight School is a specialized school that takes in students who fail their PSLE. Each year, the intake of NorthLight School is around 200 students.
In 2009, Assumption Pathway School was also set up to take in students who fail PSLE, ensuring that students have a place to go to further their education.
After graduating from NorthLight School or Assumption Pathway School, around 45% of students go on to enter Institutes of Technical Education (ITE). After that, they can move on to Polytechnics.
According to experienced parents at Kiasuparents, the only problem of failing one subject in PSLE is that it will drag down the overall PSLE T-score. It has been estimated that failing one subject in PSLE would most likely cause the overall score to be below 200 (which can still enter many neighborhood secondary schools).
PSLE takes into account all 4 subjects. So even if you failed English or Chinese or any subject, it doesn’t matter. what matters is your combined score that determine whether you go express or normal academic.
Hence, if the student does well for other subjects, it is not a big problem for failing one subject in PSLE, be it failing PSLE English, failing PSLE Chinese, or failing PSLE Math.
When one gets a bad PSLE result, or fail PSLE (one or all subjects), the important thing for the student is not to get overly disheartened. It could well be the case that the student is a late developer, or that certain negative events out of the student’s control have impacted the student’s family, which resulted in the bad PSLE results.
The 2020 Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) results will be announced on 25 November 2020 (Wed). Given the ongoing COVID-19 situation, students will receive their results from their respective primary schools – in their individual classrooms instead of gathered as a cohort in the school hall – from 11.00am on 25 November 2020.
The exact cut off point is not out yet, but based on previous years’ cut off points, we give some estimates of the PSLE 2020 Cut off point (for entry to secondary school in 2021).
IP schools cut-off point
The most popular schools are definitely the IP (Integrated Programme) schools, since they are the most prestigious, and also students get to skip the O Levels which is a major source of stress for the students and their parents.
IB schools are also very popular, since it is well known that the IB syllabus is easier to score than the ‘A’ levels.
These are the top elite schools in Singapore. MGS (Methodist Girls’ School) COP has risen to this level in recent years, while HCI, RGS, RI, NYGH are the traditional top 4 secondary schools. In order to have a secure chance of entering these schools, the estimated COP or cut-off point is around 260, not considering affiliation. In certain years, a high 250s score such as 258 or 259 may also suffice, but it is quite risky.
‘A’ Tier Secondary School PSLE Cut-off point 2020
The ‘A’ Tier top secondary schools are:
Dunman High School (IP)
National Junior College (IP)
CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls’ School (IP)
Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) (IB)
Catholic High School (IP)
Cedar Girls’ Secondary School (IP)
These schools are very close to the ‘S’ Tier elite schools mentioned above. For these schools, traditionally, a score of around 255 and above is the usual COP or cut off point.
Note that some of the above good schools also have an ‘O’ level track whose COP (Cut-off point) is typically around 5 points lower, or around 250.
PSLE Express Cut off point 2020
Historically, the PSLE cut off point for express stream is around 188. For example, the following schools (express stream) have their PSLE cut-off point set at 188, for the 2020 secondary school intake:
Assumption English School
Bartley Secondary School
Bedok Green Secondary School
Bendemeer Secondary School
Boon Lay Secondary School
… and many more, all the way to Yuhua Secondary School and Yuying Secondary School.
This is easy. The velocity is the first derivative of the position. First derivative with respect to time, if you must know. That hardly needed an extra week to write.
Yes, there’s more. There is always more. Velocity is important by itself. It’s also important for guiding us into new ideas. There are many. One idea is that it’s often the first good example of vectors. Many things can be vectors, as mathematicians see them. But the ones we think of most…
Many people find math to be a difficult subject to excel in as compared to any other subject. However, it is not the case at all. Math only needs one to have a positive attitude, an excellent tutor, and lots of practice. It is quite an interesting subject to learn and proves to be handy on many different occasions.
Looking for a tutor online to help you figure out your math problems can be quite a daunting task. It is relatively easy to get the wrong service provider when you need to find help for your child. You need to check the best online math tutoring websites, which will help you find the best services online for your child or student. It is quite common to find a service provider who will not give you the value you desire online. It would help if you took into account reviews, which will guide you to make the best decision.
The Princeton Review is recognized as one of the best platforms in the tutoring arena. The platform does not only provide tutoring services but also helps with the completion of the assignment. The service providers offer students different options during the signing up process. There is a one-time option available that grants students tutoring over a period of time and a monthly subscription.
For students who require regular tutoring, the monthly subscription costs $40 per hour, $80 per two hours, and $115 per three hours. If you would like a more flexible schedule, you can opt to pay $350 for 10 hours or $950 for 30 hours.
2. Chegg
This is an excellent site for math tutoring services as the services are available 24 hours. The student is automatically matched with the suitable instructor after keying in the problems they have. The user can opt for a live class, text, or audio.
For an off-chat lesson, the class costs $11 and $20 for unlimited chat lessons for a month. For those who would like a video call subscription, they will pay $30 for a month. You should also check out Math videos on YouTube to help you learn more and faster.
3. Learn To Be
This is an NGO based site that aims to provide equal opportunities to all students. Students fill in an application and detail the issues they need assistance with. Within seven days, the site will reach out to the student with a suitable tutor to arrange an online meeting.
This is a great service provider as it does not cost the student anything. A portion of the money donated to the site is responsible for helping students access algebra tutoring services or paying the tutors.
4. Revolution Prep
It is quite famous for having tutors available for most of the day. The site uses highly interactive sessions to teach students math. They aim to make the subject fun to develop a positive attitude towards the subject. The sessions incorporate flashcards, posters, and other tools.
The tutoring services cost about $1398 for every 12 hours, and their group sessions cost $499 for 12 hours. Each group has four to eight people.
5. Prodigy
This is an exceptional site if you prefer a one-on-one session with your tutor. The site offers different levels of maths by tutors who are suitable for your needs. The company’s goal is to enable each student to achieve their highest potential.
The site charges £30 per half an hour, and it’s discounted to $24 if you pay for three classes or more. You can also opt to pay for five classes at $120. During each first session, the tutor, parent/teacher, and the student discuss the service’s goals.
Conclusion
Math is quite a phenomenal subject to study that can lead to a very prospectus life. There are plenty of options available to choose from when it comes to studying the issue. There are online group classes, individual tutoring, and even in-person course. The available platforms, schedule, optimal studying style, and budget will influence which platform you will use. The list above will guide you in selecting the best service providers so you can be the math guru you were meant to be.
Neon Tetra Disease is a mysterious disease that strikes mainly neon tetras, but other fishes are also susceptible to it. The online opinion is that there is no cure, some even suggest euthanizing the poor tetra to avoid it spreading.
Neon Tetra Disease Signs
The signs of neon tetra disease include some of the following classic symptoms:
Loss of color in a patch of skin
Fin rot
Curved spine in advanced cases
Our neon tetra exhibited two of the classic signs (white patch and loss of color near the head), and fin rot near the tail. For more pictures and graphics of the symptoms, see the video below.
Neon Tetra Disease Cure (Melafix?)
We seem to have stumbled upon a cure for neon tetra disease using Melafix. Melafix is a herbal fish medicine based on tea tree oil, and is targeted at bacterial infections of fish.
After one dose of Melafix, and over 9 days, our neon tetra has shown a dramatic improvement (as seen in video below). The white patch of loss of color is gone, and the fin rot near the tail is gone as well. In addition, the fin tissue near the tail has grown back to normal levels.
There is also a closely related disease called “False Neon Tetra Disease”, which is caused by bacteria. The symptoms are so close that it is impossible to tell apart the two diseases without a microscope in a laboratory.
According to famous fish keeper Cory from Aquarium Co-op, Neon Tetra Disease is caused by Mycobacterium, which also causes fish tuberculosis.
Neon Tetra Disease Cure
Based on our experience, Melafix certainly seemed to cure the Neon Tetra Disease. Then again, theoretically Melafix works against bacterial diseases but not parasitical diseases. Hence, it may work for the cases of Neon Tetra Disease which are caused by bacteria, but not for those that are caused by parasites.
Uncle Roger (real name Nigel Ng) is a very popular YouTube comedian, who shot to fame with his “egg fried rice” critique videos. Not many people know that Uncle Roger was actually a bona fide Data Scientist, who graduated from Northwestern University.
His classic viral video is the video critiquing BBC’s egg fried rice recipe. It has struck a chord with many Asians internationally, since the way BBC prepares egg fried rice is totally “wrong”, according to the traditional way fried rice is made in Asia.
Uncle Roger Rice Video
The below video is the classic original “egg fried rice” video that propelled Uncle Roger to stardom on YouTube. As of November 2020, this video has hit 18 million views, which is considered a lot on YouTube. Based on an estimate of USD$1-$5 CPM, this video alone has netted Uncle Roger USD$18,000 to $90,000.
As a continuation, Uncle Roger has also made various videos related to egg fried rice, for example the video featuring Gordon Ramsay.
Another popular video is the one featuring Jamie Oliver.
Nigel Ng (Uncle Roger) Data Scientist
What is not known by many is that Uncle Roger (aka Nigel Ng) used to be a data scientist, dubbed the “sexiest job of the 21st Century”. Nigel Ng first studied at Chong Hwa Independent High School, Kuala Lumpur, and then moved to the US to pursue his studies at Northwestern University. He then relocated to London to work as a data scientist at various companies, before transitioning to comedy full time in 2019.
Uncle Roger (Nigel Ng) even has a GitHub page featuring the code he wrote: https://github.com/nigeljyng. From his GitHub code, we can see that he works with Deep Learning using Keras.
Uncle Roger is actually quite young, his age is only 29 years old, and he is born on 15 March 1991.
Uncle Roger’s GitHub page, where he shares his data scientist code.
Uncle Roger Wife
Uncle Roger’s ex-wife is a fictional character named “Aunty Helen”. Not much is known about “Aunty Helen”, though there is a fan-made horror Halloween short movie featuring Aunty Helen.
Uncle Roger Fuiyoh and Haiya
Uncle Roger’s favorite slang is “Fuiyoh” and “Haiya”. “Fuiyoh” appears to be a Manglish (Malaysian English) slang word, spelled as “Fuyoh” on Wikipedia. It means exclamation of amazement / wonder / marvel, basically same meaning as “Wow!” or “Awesome!”.
“Haiya” also appears to be a Manglish (Malaysian English) word, spelled as “Aiya” on Wikipedia. It is a word to express surprise or dismay (more of dismay).
Uncle Roger Net Worth and Social Blade
According to Social Blade, Uncle Roger earns a whopping USD $77.5K – $1.2M based on his YouTube ad revenue alone. The range is huge due to fluctuations in YouTube CPM (cost per thousand views) based on region and other factors. But even the lower range USD $77.5k is a very high amount for a new channel like Uncle Roger (mrnigelng).
This shows that humor, or comedy, has timeless appeal. Even in the ancient times, or the futuristic era, laughter is always the best medicine.
Jinx is the “mascot” of Wild Rift, which is the recent mobile version of League of Legends. Jinx is a worthy hero to play because of the following reasons:
Excellent ADC (Attack Damage Carry). Very high AOE and single damage output.
High Skill Cap. It actually requires a bit of skill to use Jinx, especially in terms of positioning and not dying. The art of switching between the two guns also requires skill.
League of Legends Jinx Wild Rift Build
The default build “AOE Marksman” for Jinx is actually quite good. The items you should get are:
Infinity Edge. The damage, and more importantly Crit, is especially important for Jinx. The increased 230% Crit damage scales even more under the attack bonus of Fishbones, the Rocket Launcher.
Runaan’s Hurricane. This item further increases Crit chance and Attack Speed, and strike 2 additional nearby enemies. This helps you to farm better in the initial stages, and deal massive AOE damage in the later stages.
Quicksilver Sash. This is important as Jinx is very fragile when under crowd-control effects. There is also some lifesteal worked into this item, which is helpful as in this build Jinx has no early game lifesteal.
Rapid Firecannon. Increases attack speed, crit chance further, as well as add even more range to Jinx.
Bloodthirster. Great for lifesteal and damage.
Last Whisper. Good for more armor penetration if there are many tanks in the game. Otherwise, you may wish to get Guardian Angel instead, for more survivability.
10 Kills, 0 Deaths, 3 Assists and MVP with Jinx in Wild Rift.
Jinx Wild Rift Role
Officially, Jinx is supposed to play as a Marksman (together with a support hero) in the Dragon lane (Duo lane).
If you are the only ranged hero, Jinx can also go in the Mid lane.
In a team fight, your role is to stand at the back, stay alive while dealing as much damage as possible with your guns.
Jinx Wild Rift Runes
The two preset rune builds for Jinx are quite good.
The default (Set 1) of runes are: Conqueror, Triumph, Loyalty and Sweet Tooth.
This set is good for maximizing damage (Conqueror can stack up to 30 Attack Damage, which is as good as half an Infinity Edge). Triumph also helps you to deal more damage to low health enemies to secure those kills.
The second default set of runes for Jinx are: Fleet Footwork, Gathering Storm, Spirit Walker, and Sweet Tooth.
Fleet footwork helps with mobility, and also the healing effect is good in the early game, especially in builds where Jinx does not have early lifesteal.
Gathering Storm builds up AD more and more, in preparation for the late game. The slow resistance for Spirit Walker is also great for a fragile hero like Jinx.
Jinx Wild Rift Skills
The way to learn Jinx’s skills is very easy to remember.
Just prioritize: Switcheroo>Zap>Flame Chompers, and learn your ultimate Super Mega Death Rocket whenever possible.
The most useful skill is surely Switcheroo. Zap is hard to hit, since it is blocked by any minions in front of the champion. Flame Chompers is only for your last resort escaping, or for punishing enemies who push too near to the turret (by throwing it behind them and prevent them from retreating).
Jinx Wild Rift Summoner spell
The meta seems to be to pick Heal and Flash. Basically, these two skills are the best to help Jinx escape and avoid dying.
I assume that last week I disappointed Mr Wu, of the Singapore Maths Tuition blog, last week when I passed on a topic he suggested to unintentionally rewrite a good enough essay. I hope to make it up this week with a piece of linear algebra.
A Unitary Matrix — note the article; there is not a singular the Unitary Matrix — starts with a matrix. This is an ordered collection of scalars. The scalars we call elements. I can’t think of a time I ever saw a matrix represented except as a rectangular grid of elements, or as a capital letter for the name…
Score less than 65 marks for Chinese (Mother Tongue), and it is Impossible to Enter Good IP Schools under the new system
This is a totally new era, where all previous PSLE strategies are outdated. Do share this article with your relatives/friends, where we show (using official evidence), that students scoring below 65 for Chinese (Mother Tongue) have virtually zero chance of entering good IP schools.
Since language (especially Mother Tongue) is the hardest subject to improve within a short period of time, students starting from as early as Primary 1 have to take note and adjust to the new PSLE scoring system. The Achilles heel for many students is actually Chinese language (or Mother Tongue), since it is very common for the entire family to be speaking English at home, at work, and with friends.
Our source of official evidence is the Straits Times, where it is indicated that the Official MOE Indicative AL COP range for 2019 PSLE for Express [Integrated Programme (IP)] is 6-9 points. For independent schools (which form the bulk of the best IP schools), the cut off point is 6-8. The same information can be found on Today Online, and Channel News Asia.
Indicative AL COP range for 2019 PSLE
Course
Government and Government-aided schools
Autonomous schools
Independent schools
Express Integrated Programme (IP)
7–9
7–9
6–8
Achievement level (AL)
Marks
1
90 and above
2
85-89
3
80-84
4
75-79
5
65-74
6
45-64
7
20-44
8
Below 20
Score under New PSLE System (for child weak in Mother Tongue)
Let us suppose the child scores:
>90 for English (AL 1)
>90 for Mathematics (AL 1)
>90 for Science (AL 1)
<65 for Chinese/ Mother Tongue (AL 6)
His/her total PSLE Score will be 1+1+1+6=9, which is not good enough to enter Independent IP Schools (requirement of 6-8 points). Independent IP Schools include schools like Raffles Institution, Nanyang Girls’ High School, RGS, HCI, and more. From common sense, the top IP schools’ COP is in fact likely to be on the lower end closer to 6 (or even lower?) rather than 8.
Score under Old PSLE System (for child weak in Mother Tongue)
Under the old PSLE system, the child’s score is likely good enough to enter even the best of IP schools:
>90 for English (e.g. 91)
>90 for Mathematics (e.g. 98)
>90 for Science (e.g. 95)
<65 for Chinese/ Mother Tongue (e.g. 64)
Estimated PSLE Score = (91+98+95+64)/4 x 3 = 261
The actual old PSLE T-score formula is slightly different (depends on bell curve and relative performance), but nevertheless, the estimated PSLE score of 261 is good enough to enter the best of IP schools like Raffles Girls’ School (RGS), RI, HCI. In fact, it is common knowledge that in the past, many students relatively weak in Chinese managed to enter RI and RGS due to their excellent scores in other subjects. Students in NYGH and HCI tend to have better grasp and mastery of the Chinese language.
A similar effect for students weak only in Math
The above effect is not unique to Chinese/ Mother Tongue. There are many students who excel in languages (English, Chinese), and Science, but are weak in Math for some reason or another.
The exact analysis also applies in this scenario, unfortunately. Basically, in order to enter top IP schools, no subject can be below 65 marks no matter how excellent the other subjects are.
Update: To ensure that our list of best majors in Singapore is always updated, we have a poll below to reflect the updated views of readers. Do vote and check out the latest results!
Poll on the Best Major in Singapore:
Why is there a need to consider the Best Majors in Singapore?
There is an old Chinese proverb, saying that “The greatest fear of a man is to choose the wrong occupation.”. (男怕入错行，女怕嫁错郎.) Despite being thousands of years old, this proverb still holds true in the 21st century, even in advanced regions like the USA, Europe, and Singapore.
Basically, the choice of major directly or indirectly determines the future occupation or career path of a student.
Ancient Chinese Proverb:
“The greatest fear of man is getting into the wrong occupation. The greatest fear of woman is marrying the wrong man.”
(The first part still holds true, the second part may be outdated?)
男怕入错行，女怕嫁错郎
Best Majors in Singapore
There are many sources on the best majors in university or college, but focused on other countries such as the USA. Do take a look to see the general trend, but there are several majors that are “uniquely” good or bad in Singapore.
Best Majors in Singapore (Tier List)
Firstly, the best major in a sense is based on one’s interest and passion. For example, if one has totally zero interest in being a medical doctor or healing patients, it does not make sense going into the Medicine major in university. One may even burn out while attempting to do so.
That being said, if you have passion for multiple subjects, but have problem narrowing it down to a single major, it may be good to look at which one has the best prospects.
S Tier Majors in Singapore
Medicine
Dentistry
Based on the ageless theory of demand and supply, medicine and dentistry are bound to be the best for years to come. Demand-wise, humans are bound to get sick, and even more so with an aging population in Singapore. Supply-wise, the supply of doctors and dentists are strictly controlled by limiting the yearly cohort of medical students. In general, there will always be a shortage (or just enough), and never a surplus of doctors/dentists in Singapore.
Dentistry, though not as prestigious as medicine, actually have good earning potential as most visits to dentists are surgeries which cost more. From an official Youth.SG government website, the salary range is $5,000 to $7,000 per month for fresh dentistry graduates.
In general, both medicine and dentistry are always among the highest paying degrees in Singapore. According to anecdotes online, there are people who are even willing to sell their house in order to send their child to medical school overseas (e.g. Australia); such is the attractiveness of the Medicine major in Singapore.
A Tier Majors in Singapore
Law
Computer Science (or other computer related majors)
For Computer Science, there is no need to explain, it is needed in all companies nowadays in the shift to high tech. Big data, data science, machine learning, is the hottest thing now. The only reason why computing science is only ‘A’ tier instead of ‘S’ tier is because there is no control on the supply of computer engineers/scientists in Singapore. Theoretically, it could happen that there can be more and more computer engineers/ data scientists trained (including from overseas) until the entire field is over-saturated. Also, from history, the technological sector tend to experience things like “AI winter” or “Dot-com bubble”.
Computer Science (and data science) is also recently one of the highest paying degrees in Singapore, with good job prospects. It is also quite compatible with the current “work from home” climate across the globe, it is unlikely to be disrupted by disease epidemics such as COVID-19 or future viruses.
For architecture, the pay is good and attracts top students. And also, even though Singapore is a small country with limited land, there always seems to be construction projects going on here and there all the time. For pharmacy, due to the laws, there is a constant demand for pharmacists required to dispense medication (for example every Guardian/Watson pharmacy needs one) and other duties. Hence, unless the laws regarding medicine change, there is always a constant demand for pharmacists.
B Tier Majors in Singapore
Note that “B Tier” still means good, while “A Tier” means very good!
Engineering (except computing)
Science (Physical science or hard science majors such as: Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry.)
In Singapore, engineering majors are “B” tier since they are still good in the sense that you could still most likely find a job related to what you study. Why they are not “A” tier is again due to the theory of demand and supply. The demand is not as high as say Computer Science, since Singapore is already slowly transitioning out of the manufacturing industry (e.g. do you see any big factories in Singapore?) For supply, again the number of engineers are not controlled, when there is a huge number of engineers (either trained or imported), wages will get suppressed.
For Science degrees (especially physical sciences like Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics), it is a solid “B” tier because the student actually learns useful and real quantitative skills that can be transferred to other domains. For example, it is very possible for physics or mathematics majors to transition to the finance industry after they graduate. Also, teaching in schools (public or private) is a valid option for Science majors.
Useless Degrees in Singapore
Many people actually search for “useless degrees in Singapore”, presumably to avoid them?
There is actually no such thing as a “useless degree”, since every degree from a recognized institution in Singapore does impart knowledge to the student. In the worst case scenario, they are still regarded as a general degree which will be recognized in the civil service or most major companies.
There is a notable mention to “Life Science” (Biology) degrees in Singapore though. Basically, the “Life Science” undergraduate degree in Singapore is widely regarded as not sufficient in itself to get a Life Science related job in Singapore, further degrees such as masters or PhD may most likely be required.
seriously it (Life Science Prospects in Singapore) is not good.
my batch people who went into life sciences are not doing well.
most have changed industries.
jobs are still few and not well paying.
i receive quite a lot of resumes from them, trying to do a mid career switch to engineering.
I was a life science grad specializing in biomed. Graduated in 2015
I would say out of my circle of friends, only one person went on to do research for a year for his masters. Everyone else went to do other things that were not life science related.
hi!! to be vv honest, life sci is q a bad place to be in rn (unless u are intending to do the duke-nus grad med track; which again, entry is vv competitive). i have friends who’re in life sci and they’re all desperate for phd bc degree really means nothing; they constantly joke about degree-holders being test-tube washers lmao. in nus faculty of sci, the dean’s list is often filled w ppl from life sci whose CAP are v high. that’s bc life sci mods are generally easier than other sci courses, and the cohort is bigger (so more bellcurve tankers). and when a degree is relatively easy, u can imagine it’s prospects
An excellent world-class post on why the Life Science / biology hype died down worldwide, not just in Singapore:
It died down worldwide imo. There was a lot of hype about genetics and biotech in the 90’s, but after the Human Genome Project was completed in the early 00’s everyone realised that there are several more levels between genes and phenotype, e.g. epigenetics, mRNA regulation, proteomics, nutrition, lifestyle choices, pathogens, behaviour… And we can’t even be certain that there aren’t more levels which we are currently unable to perceive.
Despite the predictions of futurists in the 90’s, we still can’t fully explain the pathways that lead to cancer or Alzheimer’s or heart disease, let alone fully formulate rational treatments for them. And forget about designing artificial life from scratch.
There was a mountain that science hoped El Dorado lay hidden behind, but after climbing it science found only a bit of gold, and 5 higher mountains in front. It’s just the way the universe is really; nobody could have known that the 5 mountains existed before climbing the first.
There are quite a lot of good deals on the Guardian website, that may not be found in Guardian physical stores. The reason is due to the limitations in size of Guardian physical stores, they can’t carry all possible products whereas the Guardian website can.
For example, some of the promotions that are ongoing now are:
Up to 40% off vitamins and supplements
Buy 1 get 1 free for Facial Masks and Cleansers
20% off selected Skincare products
2 For Deals, up to 400 products
Free Portable Juice Blender, with $100 spent on health products
Guardian Promo Code
I don’t think Guardian has a Promo Code, and even if there is, I don’t think the Promo Code can stack with the online discounts from the Guardian website.
Guardian Passion Card
The member card for Guardian is the PAssion card, similar for Giant supermarkets. Other cards that are beneficial at Guardian include the “UOB One Credit Card“, and “Golden Senior Card“, which is for adults aged 50 and above.
When You Speak They March: Alumni Network Rules of Engagement
Like schools, universities and other institutions, alumni play a pivotal role in the success of non-profits and foundations.
Organizations quickly realize the potential of keeping past participants connected and aware of institutional activities. In that context, these bodies need rules of engagement, modes of engagement, and ways of measuring impact.
Provide practical value in alumni engagement
Alumni are defined within the premises of shared identity or experience. But these factors may not be enough to keep your members engaged forever after the event or outreach is done. Consider creating practical value for members in exchange for continued association with the alumni.
Modern-day alumni expect a unique, balanced value proposition when they share their time, donations, skills, and attention. You can meet them halfway with support platforms for networking, referrals, or skills development.
The derived value from the engagement will strengthen the shared identity and fuel the desire for continued fellowship in the long run.
Implement real-time engagement
The desire to be part of and participate in your nonprofit’s activities can quickly wane in the face of limited interaction. Value creation is not a solve-it-all solution. For communities to realize the benefits of alumni network, modes of engagement must be set and optimized.
Traditional alumni interactions rely on face to face meetings. These have the advantage of the personal touch but many limitations in time and space.
With the growth of digital technologies, virtual alumni interactions have proven effective in driving more connections and opportunities for members.
In the age of social distancing, adopting a virtual alumni engagement platform is the wisest thing to do to keep the connection going.
The right alumni engagement digital platform should save your time and boost your impact. In the traditional sense, managing and communicating with all members can be hectic and time-consuming.
A dedicated digital platform makes it possible to harmonize data, personalize messages, and keep the conversation going so that you don’t find yourself without donors in your next campaign.
Provide tangible results and impact assessment
Motivated and goal-oriented alumni networks will have a shared desire to assess their achievements. Without the data or accurate data, you risk snuffing out their passion for making positive change.
The best non-profits find ways to quantify results by establishing metrics for measuring outcomes throughout an outreach.
Historically, quantifying results has been difficult for many nonprofits. Many therefore resort to reporting inputs as outputs like the number of new volunteers or awards won. For sustained donor engagement and participation, you will need data on real, measurable outcomes.
Embrace data and relevance
The right digital platform can help you analyze impact against your set metrics. That way, you can confidently show your constituents what their time and money are achieving regarding your cause. Attaining that accurate reporting requires optimal data harvesting and analysis.
The right data can further help to keep engagement relevant. As your network grows, generalized messaging might cease to be effective.
You will probably need a segmentation algorithm in your communication to keep the engagement personal, relevant, and meaningful to the individual.
The best alumni engagement platform helps you reach and retain constituents through strong and personalized messaging.
You can seamlessly and expediently gather ideas from each member to make them feel involved. You can break down data and find out which supporters need a higher level of engagement.
It is impossible to sustain alumni networks without technology by your side. The best virtual alumni platform makes your connections easy and impactful.
Sign up for PolicyPal with referral code MATH88 to get PolicyPal credits
Don’t have an account with PolicyPal yet? You’ll need one to start earning credits! Register with referral code MATH88 to receive $10 credits.
PolicyPal is a new insurance portal that has various insurance policies. One of the famous ones is “Gigantiq”, which gives an impressive 2% interest per annum.
Once you sign up with PolicyPal, using the referral code MATH88, you will receive P$10 PolicyPal credits. Then, just take part in a few simple activities (such as doing really simple quizzes, and do some of their “challenges” which is just clicking a single button). It took me just 5 minutes to earn another P$5 PolicyPal credits.
With P$15 PolicyPal credits, you can then redeem your free $10 FairPrice E-Voucher, as shown below. Throughout the entire process, there is no need to fork out a single cent of your own.
Moonlight Sonata 3rd Movement (Presto Agitato) is the most exciting movement in the famous Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven.
The fast tempo (Presto Agitato) has to be sustained across the entire 3rd movement (around 7 minutes), making it quite a difficult piece for amateur pianists.
Many people search for the education background of Amos Yee, but the information is scattered around the internet (and some sources are now defunct). This blog post summarizes all the information on Amos Yee Education, as well as honors and awards. All the education information are/were publicly available on the internet, but scattered across various sources.
Amos Yee achieved good academic achievements, but later got into a great deal of trouble, including jail time in both Singapore and America.
Amos Yee Education (Primary School)
2005 – 2010: Pei Chun Public School.
Scored 244 for PSLE, with A* for Mathematics and Science, and A for English and Chinese.
Amos Yee Education (Secondary School)
2011 – 2014: Zhonghua Secondary School.
Scored 11 points for O Levels (L1R5)
Raw Aggregate Score: 7, due to -2 for CCA (English Drama and Debating Society), -2 for MSP (Malay Special Programme)
Floating plants are a great addition to the home aquarium. The first few times we tried to keep floating plants, it all failed. Water lettuce, frogbit, and red root floater all melted away and died within days.
After multiple tries, we think that we have figured out the tricks to keep floating plants in the aquarium! The YouTube video below summarizes 8 essential tips for keeping floating plants alive and thriving in the home aquarium.
For beginners we recommend Salvinia, or water spangles, as the first starting floating plant. It is also easy to remove, as a great contrast to duckweed.
Matplotlib is a popular plotting package used in Python. There are some things to note for plotting multiple figures, in separate windows.
A wrong approach may lead to matplotlib showing a black screen, or plotting two figures superimposed on each other, which may not be the desired outcome.
Sample Matplotlib Code for Plotting Multiple Figures in Separate Windows
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
plt.figure()
# plotting function here, e.g. plt.hist()
plt.savefig('filename1')
plt.figure()
# plotting function here, e.g. plt.hist()
plt.savefig('filename2')
plt.show()
One way to do this is to use the plt.figure() command for each figure that you want to plot separately. Optionally, you can use plt.savefig() if you wish to save the figure plotted to the working directory folder.
At the end, use the plt.show() command. The plt.show() command should only be used once per script.
With the iPhone 12 making its debut, no doubt thousands (or maybe even millions) of iPhone fans in Singapore will be queueing up to purchase the latest iPhone.
The new way of getting the $100 Singtel Recontract Voucher is to use Referral Links such as this one, whereby the Singtel Recontract Voucher is applied automatically on the Official Singtel Website. It is very easy and convenient, and basically a free $100 discount off your iPhone, or whatever phone that you select that is eligible.
Hi, heard you were looking for a new mobile phone? Here’s a Singtel mobile offer just for you. Sign up using my exclusive link below to enjoy an extra $100 OFF on all phones when you switch to a new Singtel Combo plan. When you’ve switched, I’ll be rewarded too! Singtel terms and conditions apply.
Exclusive link: Singtel Recontract Voucher Official Website
GIGANTIQ (sometimes spelled as “Gigantic” by users) is an insurance savings plan, similar to Singlife or Dash EasyEarn. As of the current date, Gigantiq (purchased through PolicyPal) is clearly superior to Singlife or Dash EasyEarn, with 2% p.a. interest and up to 8% PolicyPal bonus credits earnings.
Gigantiq (Gigantic) vs Singlife
Singlife has recently reduced their interest rate to 2% (down from 2.5%). Hence, GIGANTIQ has the benefit of the additional 8% PolicyPal bonus credits compared to Singlife. The PolicyPal bonus credits are quite useful, it can be converted to NTUC FairPrice vouchers, Grab vouchers, or even cash.
Gigantiq (Gigantic) vs Dash EasyEarn
Dash EasyEarn has reduced their interest rate to 1.8% (down from 2%). Hence, GIGANTIQ is the clear winner here.
GIGANTIQ Promo Referral Code (MATH88)
Please use our GIGANTIQ Referral Code MATH88 when purchasing the plan via PolicyPal. It is very important to purchase through PolicyPal for the following reason:
Earn up to 8% p.a. in PolicyPal bonus credits, which can be exchanged for grocery vouchers, Grab rides, or even cash. If you buy GIGANTIQ from other sources, there is no such bonus.
Tip: You should deposit as much as possible initially if you want to earn the PolicyPal bonus credits, as the 8% p.a. is only applied to the initial deposit, not counting any topups.
The Gigantiq policy is underwritten by Etiqa Insurance Pte. Ltd, which is the insurance branch of the Malaysian banking group Maybank. Maybank is the largest and most valuable bank in Malaysia.
Gigan tiq by Etiqa review (Pros and Cons)
Etiqa is the insurance branch of Maybank, which is the largest bank in Malaysia.
2% p.a. returns for first S$10,000 for the first year.
No lock-in period. Withdraw and top up anytime.
Capital guaranteed.
Up to 8% p.a. bonus credits from PolicyPal.
Protected under the Policy Owners’ Protection Scheme which is administered by the Singapore Deposit Insurance Corporation (SDIC).
Gigantic (Gigantiq) vs Elastiq
Currently, there is not much point comparing Gigantiq with Elastiq, since ELASTIQ is fully subscribed. That means, you cannot open an ELASTIQ account even if you want to, it is totally full. In any case, the interest rate of Elastiq is 1.80% p.a, which is lower than Gigantiq.
Hence, do check out GIGANTIQ, Etiqa’s all-in-one insurance savings tool before it’s gone too!
Gigantiq Forum
As a final note, you may want to read the reviews of Gigantiq on a popular forum, Hardwarezone. Most of the reviews there are positive, and most recommend putting in $10,000. Any amount above S$10,000 has a reduced interest rate of 1% p.a.
Thanks for reading up to here. If you have decided to grow your money via GIGANTIQ, use our official promo/ referral code for GIGANTIQ:
Disclaimer: The opinions on GIGANTIQ Account expressed in this blog post is for general informational purposes only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual or on any specific security or investment product. It is only intended to provide information on GIGANTIQ Referral and GIGANTIQ Review. In particular, this blog post is not a substitute for obtaining advice from a qualified investment advisor.
Update: Instead of Singlife, we now recommend GIGANTIQ. Do check out our blogpost on GIGANTIQ (2% p.a. interest and up to 8% PolicyPal bonus credits earnings).
Previously, we have written on Singlife Review before, just to update and give more details on the excellent Singlife 2.5% interest account and give an in-depth review.
Basically, Singlife’s 2.5% interest is the highest among all deposit accounts in Singapore as of September 2020. (If you know of any higher interest rate accounts, do comment below!)
Also, Singlife’s 2.5% interest does not require you to do any credit card spendings, nor do you need to credit your salary, nor purchase any insurance or investments (unlike DBS Multiplier or OCBC 360 account). Basically, you need to do nothing!
If you put in $10,000 into Singlife (which is the recommended amount to put in), it is a free $250 for you within one year. For amounts greater than $10,000, it is recommended that you put the rest into Dash EasyEarn.
In conclusion, due to reduction of interest rates in banks, currently there is no bank account (be it savings or even fixed deposit) that can beat or even come close to Singlife’s 2.5% interest. (Unless you can fulfill multiple conditions in DBS Multiplier.)
Hence, Singlife’s 2.5% interest rate is very attractive currently!
I’ve had a great experience with the Singlife Account, an insurance savings plan, and thought you would love it too! Save, spend, earn, & be insured! Install the app and sign up today to begin earning up to 2.5% p.a.* returns with your savings.
We recommend and review some laptops/notebooks suitable for data science and machine learning.
Firstly, we state the 4 core important specs (specifications) for laptops for data science and machine learning.
1) RAM: Should be 8GB or higher.
2) CPU: Should be Intel Core i5, or even better Intel Core i7.
3) Storage: Should be at least 256 GB SSD.
4) GPU: Optional, but good to have for deep learning. (Note that Mac GPUs are not usable for deep learning.)
RAM and CPU are necessary in order to conduct computations successfully and within a reasonable time. Storage is necessary to process big data which can potentially be several gigabytes. GPU is useful to speed up deep learning, but is optional since there are many cloud or server options available.
For concrete recommendations, we recommend the following 5 laptops. Certainly, there could be other laptops that are equally suitable for data science and machine learning, do comment below if you have a good suggestion!
Some photos of spherical water droplets on Salvinia floating plant.
I think Salvinia is one of the easiest floating plant to keep in an aquarium. It has 3 forms Primary form, Secondary form, and Tertiary form and will adopt the most suitable form for whatever conditions is in your aquarium. (The photos shown below are Primary form. Initially, when I bought it, it was in Tertiary form.)
Recently, one of our phoenix rasboras (cousin of chili rasbora) is getting a little round in the belly. Is it pregnant (or the more technical term is gravid)?
We are not very sure, will ask in a forum soon afterwards. Possible alternative reasons is that it is bloated, overfed or even dropsy!
From our experience, it is better that the phoenix rasbora is fat rather than thin. A thin rasbora signals a possible internal parasite problem, which proves to be fatal for this small rasbora species in our experience.
Pregnant Phoenix Rasbora?
For more footage of the pregnant rasbora, do check out the YouTube video below.
Spyder is a Python IDE that is bundled together with the Anaconda distribution.
There are some problems that are commonly faced when it comes to updating Spyder. One way to update Spyder is to open Anaconda Navigator and click the settings button which has an option to update Spyder. But the problem is that the process can take a very long time. The process shows that it is “loading packages of /User/…/opt/anaconda3”.
Updating Spyder is constricted by …
Another way to update Spyder is to type “conda update spyder” in the terminal. A problem that can crop up is the error message: “updating spyder is constricted by …”
Anaconda stuck updating Spyder [Solved]
For my case, it turns out that the version of Anaconda Navigator is outdated. Hence, I first updated Anaconda Navigator to the latest version.
Then, instead of clicking “Update application” which still didn’t quite work, we click on “Install specific version” and choose the latest version of Spyder (Spyder 4.1.5 in this case).
Then, the updating of Spyder in Anaconda Navigator worked perfectly!
How to update Spyder using Anaconda-Navigator: Click “Install specific version” instead of “Update application”.
Is your child gearing up for the upcoming academic year to set her first step in academics? You might be then in need of a prior guide about making maths fun for your child.
You’re never sure whether your child is going to love maths or stay far away from it. Although, maths is an important part of learning and helps in building a child’s analytical skills from the core. It helps them to develop their knowledge about dates, time, measurements, costs and numbers – calculating the life around them.
This makes the subject confusing and dreadful for a lot of children but the current P1 curriculum has been developed keeping in mind the psychological aspects of a child.
What will Your Child Learn in P1 Maths?
The key mathematics elements that constitute their P1 curriculum are:
Number Patterns: Helps them to develop their skills in identifying the even and odd numbers, the order of the numbers by filling out blanks that gradually enhances their knowledge towards addition and subtraction.
Identifying single and double digits: Students would get acquainted with –
Number Bonds: Children would be taught to create addition bonds such as 1+2=3 or 2+2+2=6 and so on.
Multiplication and Division Problems: Children would learn the numerical tables and learn how to perform basic multiplication or division problems.
Identify Basic Shapes: They’d learn about 2-D shapes such as squares, rectangles, triangles, circles and solve worksheets based on these shapes performing additions or subtractions.
Comparisons between Sizes, Weights and Lengths: P1 Maths also aims to cover measurements which would deal with comparing sizes, weights and lengths or given objects. It helps them to relate these concepts with their surroundings.
How to Make Maths Fun for Your Child at Home
These lessons may seem to be complicated but could be made fun for your child while practicing these at home in the following ways:
Take Your Kids to Grocery Shopping: Let your child count the number of items that you’re buying and check the price of each item. You can ask them to add the costs on the bill for you or add the similar kinds of items to give you a total of those.
Read Fun Math Books: Contrary to the beliefs of many, there are actually fun and creative Math Books available at various stores for your child. Some of these even consist of visuals that help you to catch the attention of your child. Read these books to your child so that they feel that you’re with them in their learning process.
Solve Number Patterns and Puzzles: Go through the internet and copy various maths puzzle and pattern problems. Solve these together with your child while making it look like a game.
Free Exam Papers: Get access to past year top school exam papers for your child to practise as more practice will make it perfect.
Comics and Songs are a Fun Way to Learn: There are various nursery songs that play with maths and children comics that are based on maths. These are really very helpful when you’re introducing maths to your child.
Use Props to teach Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication and Division: Your rooms are surrounded with different kinds of objects. Use these objects as props to help your kid learn about basic mathematical equations in a simple way.
Weighing Scales as a tool to learn: Use weighing scales that are readily available at home to teach your kid about mass and weight of objects.
Find a Professional Maths Tutor: Tuition Agency in Singapore provide reliable and quality tutors to your doorsteps to make learning Maths more fun
Learning maths at home can be fun when you’re using these methods to help your child become enthusiastic towards the subject and not shy away from it.
In order to use Dash EasyEarn, you first need to have Singtel Dash. The referral code is below!
Hi, we’re giving you up to $2 cashback for your first Singtel Dash transaction! Sign up with the referral code DASH-2I2KM or tap on this link https://appserver.dash.com.sg:443/mgm?DASH-2I2KM now. T&Cs apply.
Singtel Dash EasyEarn Review
We will give a short review of Singtel Dash EasyEarn. Technically, Dash Easy Savings Account is a insurance policy, but it works like a bank savings account. Basically the pros and cons of Singtel Dash EasyEarn are as follows.
Pros:
2% per annum interest (much better than bank savings account or even fixed deposit).
This 2% holds for deposits up to $20,000.
Capital-guaranteed.
Protected by SDIC.
No lock-in period.
Comes bundled with life insurance (Be automatically covered with a death benefit of 105% of your Account Value).
Singtel is a big company (one of the biggest in Singapore), with good reputation and long history.
Cons:
There is a $0.70 fee for withdrawing to bank account (quite a low fee though).
Minimum balance of $2000 in order to earn the max 2% interest (quite a low requirement).
The 2% interest rate is only guaranteed for the first policy year.
The insurance policy is actually administered by Etiqa, not Singtel. Etiqa is a big insurance company though, it is part of Maybank which is the biggest bank in Malaysia.
I tried the transfer of funds into Dash EasyEarn (it is by eNETS only). The speed is very fast, almost instantaneously I could see the funds in Dash EasyEarn after transferring. I have not tried withdrawal of funds yet, due to the $0.70 withdrawal fee.
Update September 2020: I tried withdrawing, the process was very smooth and instantaneous. Basically, the withdrawal is via PayNow to the bank account linked to your mobile number. Your bank account will receive the amount withdrawn within seconds, while the $0.7o withdrawal fee is deducted from your Dash EasyEarn balance.
Dash EasyEarn Lite
What is this Dash EasyEarn Lite? Apparently, it is the “small” version of Dash EasyEarn when you deposit $2,000 or less. The interest rate is also correspondingly lower, at 1%.
Update: The above information is incorrect. An official Singtel representative has contacted us to tell us the correct information.
The Dash EasyEarn Lite option is not automatically applied when the savings amount is less than $2,000 as it is only open to eligible Dash users such as work permit holders.
Is Dash EasyEarn Safe?
A popular question asked is definitely whether Dash EasyEarn is safe? The answer is it is safe.
Secondly, Dash EasyEarn is a capital-guaranteed savings insurance policy. That means, it is impossible to lose the principal amount you put in. For example, if one puts in a capital of $20k (the max amount allowed), one will get back at least $20k no matter what the circumstances.
Lastly, Etiqa (the insurance company behind Dash EasyEarn) is regulated by Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Their MAS license can be found on the MAS official website.
Basically, Singlife offers a higher interest rate of 2.5%, however this only applies to your first $10k deposit. Even though Dash EasyEarn offers a lower interest rate of 2%, it applies to a higher amount of $20k.
A logical conclusion is to max out Singlife first (by putting $10k in Singlife). Then, put in your excess in Dash EasyEarn.
(The Singlife referral code/ promo code is the above URL link. Just click it on your mobile device to apply the referral code.)
Dash EasyEarn Forum
If you still have any doubts about Dash EasyEarn, a good way to dispel your doubts is to read forums on Dash EasyEarn. The best forum on Dash EasyEarn is the one in HardwareZone Money Mind. The experts there will teach you more on how to maximize your earnings using Dash EasyEarn.
Disclaimer: The opinions on Dash EasyEarn Account expressed in this blog post is for general informational purposes only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual or on any specific security or investment product. It is only intended to provide information on Dash EasyEarn Referral and Dash EasyEarn Review. In particular, this blog post is not a substitute for obtaining advice from a qualified investment advisor.
Update: Instead of Singlife, we now recommend GIGANTIQ. Do check out our blogpost on GIGANTIQ (2% p.a. interest and up to 8% PolicyPal bonus credits earnings).
(The Singlife referral code/ promo code is the above URL link. Just click it on your mobile device to apply the referral code.)
If you install and apply for Singlife using the above Singlife Referral Code, you will get S$10 credited to your Singlife account, as soon as you set up your Singlife account and activate your free Singlife Visa debit card.
Singlife Review
Singlife is a insurance savings plan that works similarly to a bank account, providing you a 2.5% per annum interest. You may withdraw your savings at any time, there is no lock in period.
What is most attractive about Singlife is definitely the 2.5% interest, it currently much better than many banks’ savings account or even fixed deposit account.
I find the setting up process very easy, it should take less than 15 minutes and can be done entirely online. The app is quite intuitive to use, and has a clean user-friendly interface.
I have personally tested the Singlife withdrawal (withdraw from the Singlife bank to a DBS bank account). While it is not instantaneous, the withdrawal is very fast (around 5 minutes to appear in my bank account). On paper, it can take up to 3 hours for the Singlife withdrawal process, which is still quite acceptable.
Singlife Protected by SDIC and Capital Guaranteed
One question that is bound to be asked by Singaporeans is “Is Singlife safe?”. Or “Is it safe to put my money in Singlife?”.
In addition, the Singlife Account is capital guaranteed, which means that the principal amount you put in is shielded from any losses (unlike stocks where you can lose your capital).
Lastly, Singlife is regulated by Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Their MAS license can be found on the MAS official website.
So let us summarize the pros and cons of Singlife account.
Pros:
High interest of 2.5% p.a. (No other bank has such a high interest at the time of writing this post, even fixed deposits cannot compare with Singlife.)
Capital-guaranteed.
Protected by SDIC.
Comes bundled with life insurance and retrenchment insurance.
Comes with free Visa card (no fees).
Cons:
The 2.5% interest rate is not guaranteed (it can go up or down in the future). According to the Singlife Facebook, it will uphold the interest rate for at least a year.
The 2.5% interest rate is only for the first $10k in your Singlife Account. Subsequently amounts above your first S$10,000 up to S$100,000 will earn 1% p.a. returns (which is still quite good). Amounts above S$100,000 will not earn any returns.
No ATM machines, it is totally virtual.
Singlife is still relatively not well-known at the moment.
Singlife Hardwarezone and Singlife Reddit
You can check out the discussion about Singlife on the popular forum Hardwarezone or Reddit.
Basically, the comments about Singlife are quite positive (especially regarding the high 2.5% interest). The sentiment is that there is no harm trying out Singlife (while the high 2.5% interest is active, and then reconsider or transfer out when the interest rates drop).
If you decide to sign up with Singlife, do so with the referral code link below, and get $10 credited to your account!
The Singlife Account comes with a free Visa Debit Card. It has no annual fees and no FX (foreign exchange) fees. You can use the Singlife Debit Card overseas, there will be zero FX fees imposed on your overseas purchases.
Even if you just intend to use it rarely, there is no harm just activating your Singlife Debit Card. You can get instant notifications on your spending in the Singlife App. For greater security, you can lock and unlock your Singlife Card all through the Singlife App.
The most important thing to note regarding Singlife Debit Card is that you must activate it in order to get the S$10 Referral or Promotion bonus.
Disclaimer: The opinions on Singlife Account expressed in this blog post is for general informational purposes only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual or on any specific security or investment product. It is only intended to provide information on Singlife Referral and Singlife Review. In particular, this blog post is not a substitute for obtaining advice from a qualified investment advisor.
Just came across this free E-book on Corydoras Catfish in a FaceBook Group called “Corydoras Vault Singapore“.
It is very comprehensive, and shows rare Corydoras that many people do not know even exist. It is fascinating how many species of corydoras “armored catfish” there are.
Something I learnt from the book is that Corydoras is named from Greek “kory” which means helmet, and “doras” which means skin.
Do download this free E-book (while it is still free):
Charlie the toy poodle smiling, as he happily goes for a walk. The poodle’s facial expressions are quite expressive, we can tell the mood of Charlie quite accurately from his face alone.
Toy poodle smile.
Photos taken by iPhone 11. The iPhone 11’s camera is really a notch up compared to iPhone XR. The quality of the photographs is noticeably better.
Charlie the toy poodle smiling with mouth open.Full photo of toy poodle smile.Cute innocent toy poodle expression.Blue skies and a toy poodle.Toy poodle hanging out near a playground.
We showcase 3 fish that won’t eat shrimp, tried and tested in our very own 5 gallon nano planted tank.
1) Phoenix Rasbora
2) Neon Tetra
3) Lambchop Rasbora
These 3 fish are shrimp safe, in our experience.
There are many baby shrimp, juvenile shrimp, as well as adult blue shrimp (blue version of cherry shrimp) living happily alongside those fish. As well as 1 Amano shrimp.
From what we observe, the fish don’t disturb or bother the shrimp as well. Music is “Foo the Flowerhorn” style peaceful music, aka the Gymnopedie No. 3.
Usually, aggressive or predatory fish like the betta tend to eat or hunt shrimp.
It is relatively easy to breed shrimp, especially cherry shrimp and its color variants. There need to be enough calcium source in the tank, what we did is put some coral chips (crushed corals) which has calcium carbonate. The most common way for shrimp to die is due to unsuccessful molting.
In this week’s sermon “You’re Not God—Stop Acting Like It!“, Pastor Rick comes up with another gem. It seems God Himself is a proponent of work-life balance. The problem of overworking is especially prevalent in East Asia, where it even flows down to the student level.
It is quite common that the average student in Singapore has less than 8 hours of sleep. In fact, it can be argued that it is almost “impossible” to have 8 hours of sleep, one will have to sleep at 10pm and wake up at 6am, and virtually no teenager sleeps so early at 10pm.
The human body is designed to mix work with rest, overworking is not only unhealthy, it is counterproductive as well. It may be quite possible to obtain temporary success by overworking, but the health effects may catch up sooner or later.
“Only someone too stupid to find his way home would wear himself out with work.”
Ecclesiastes 10:15 (GNT)
You’re not God. You don’t have all the answers. You can’t do everything. If you’re struggling to find balance in your life, those admissions can transform everything.
The Bible says, “Only someone too stupid to find his way home would wear himself out with work” (Ecclesiastes 10:15 GNT).
It’s foolish to wear yourself out with work. Do you realize that when you overwork, you’re playing God? It’s a way of saying that it all depends on you, that everything will crash down if you don’t keep the world spinning.
That’s just not true! You’re not the general manager of the universe. The universe will not fall apart if you take time to rest, if you take time to balance your life. God has it under control.
Often we do this to ourselves because we’re trying to please everyone. Learn this lesson today: You can’t please everyone. Even God can’t please everyone! One person wants it to rain. Another one wants it to be sunny. It’s absurd to try doing what even God can’t do.
When you live for the expectations of others, you pile a ton of “shoulds” on your shoulders. You may think, “I should work more hours,” “I should be as active as all the other parents,” or “I should volunteer for this project.” But realize this: No one is forcing you to do those things. Overworking is your choice. You choose to take on the extra work or not to take it on. And you choose the consequences that come with your choice.
When you deny your humanity and try to do it all, you’re robbing God of his glory. The Bible declares this in 2 Corinthians 4:7: “We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us” (NIV).
Paul reminds us that we’re human beings. We’re feeble and fragile. Jars of clay break easily. If you drop them, they shatter. Clay pots have to be handled appropriately and with care. If not, they’ll be destroyed.
But the good news is that through our feebleness, the power and glory of God shine through. Your humanity isn’t something to hide. Instead, you can celebrate the power of God working through your limitations.
During this current lockdown period it is a good idea to pick up a data science skill. Most occupations can benefit from such a skill, including engineers, accountants, teachers, even students. Who knows, one day you may find deep learning useful!
In this page we introduce various Udemy courses (which come with certificates that you can put on your LinkedIn profile) that are the best in their class, be it for data science, machine learning (including deep learning), and AI (Artificial Intelligence).
Best Udemy Python Course
Currently, Python is the most popular language for data science and machine learning. R is the second most popular language, and is especially good for statistics.
Hence, this Machine Learning A-Z™: Hands-On Python & R In Data Science Course is perfect as it introduces two of the most popular programming languages in one course! You will learn Machine Learning (ML) in the process as well, which is a great bonus.
If you only want to focus on Python, then check out 2020 Complete Python Bootcamp: From Zero to Hero in Python. It is designed to bring you from zero knowledge to a respectable expert in Python if you complete the course and exercises.
Best Udemy courses for data science
In the Python for Data Science and Machine Learning Bootcamp course, students can learn how to use NumPy, Pandas, Seaborn, Matplotlib, Plotly, Scikit-Learn, Machine Learning, Tensorflow, and more! The aforementioned packages are all classic and popular in data science, data analysis and data visualization.
The Data Science Course 2020: Complete Data Science Bootcamp is another bootcamp style course that gives you complete Data Science training in: Mathematics, Statistics, Python, Advanced Statistics in Python, Machine & Deep Learning. It is especially suitable for beginners, as well as intermediate students who need to brush up on their skills.
Best Udemy course for Deep Learning
Deep learning (DL) is a subbranch of machine learning that is recently very hot and popular due to its superior accuracy in tasks such as image classification and NLP (natural language processing).
The Deep Learning A-Z™: Hands-On Artificial Neural Networks allows students to learn how to create Deep Learning Algorithms in Python from two Machine Learning & Data Science experts. Templates included, which is very important. Essentially, you can use and modify the templates to suit your individual task at hand.
Complete Guide to TensorFlow for Deep Learning with Python is a course for learn how to use Google’s Deep Learning Framework – TensorFlow with Python! Solve problems with cutting edge techniques! TensorFlow is one of the more popular deep learning framework, and is slightly ahead in popularity compared to its closest rival, PyTorch.
Udemy course benefits
The first benefit of Udemy courses, is that you get to learn content from the top trainers. Often, these courses are superior to free YouTube content, and may be even better than the courses in your school.
The second benefit is that Udemy provides a certificate upon completion that you can list in your CV, as well as put in your LinkedIn profile. This is especially important if you are trying to transition into a data scientist job from another field, like engineering or physical sciences.
What is your favorite Udemy course for AI/ML/DL? Feel free to comment below!
Being fast with homework might not be good, but being efficient is definitely good. This guide shows how to do homework more efficiently.
Does homework take up too much of your time? Are you wondering how to do homework in a shorter timeframe? Perhaps you want to enhance the quality of your work.
Regardless, you can work efficiently by working in an isolated space, taking breaks, implementing time management, and eating nutritious snacks.
These tips help you concentrate better, resulting in quality work. This article will show you to get homework done fast. Let’s explore.
Making a List
Many students start on the first assignment that comes to mind. Perhaps you normally start on the hardest assignment first. Here is a better approach: make a list of everything you must complete before starting.
After listing the tasks, determine how much time you need for each assignment. Make a guess if you’re uncertain.
Time management helps you plan ahead if you need more time to complete your work. Therefore, be realistic about the homework time.
A list eliminates contemplation on your next course of action. As a result, you’ll finish much faster. Best of all, scratching items off your list gives you a sense of accomplishment.
Working without Distractions
Before learning how to do homework faster, you must work in a quiet space. First, keep the television off when working. Watching television slows down your performance.
The time it takes to look at a screen is time you could have devoted to finishing your work. Also, you risk overlooking errors and making mistakes.
Besides television, other small things can distract you, such as:
Smartphones
Electronic devices (i.e. tablets)
Pets
Parents
Siblings
Roommates
Household obligations
These distractions can also lead to procrastination. Working in a quiet room will eliminate most distractions. Turn off your phone and all electronic devices.
Note: You can listen to music (i.e. classical music) to enhance your concentration. Studies show that classical music improves mental sharpness.
Smartphone notifications interfere with studies more than many students think. The notifications disrupt your focus as you read the messages.
Further, you must utilize more brainpower to refocus your attention. To make matters worse, you could produce low-quality work in the process.
Healthy Nourishment
Before finding a quiet space, eat a light snack to give your body more energy. Avoid starting your homework when you’re fresh out of school. You’ll overexert yourself when working without sustenance. Hunger is also a distraction, and it could force you to rush unnecessarily.
Many students drink coffee when studying. Coffee is a good choice, but you must be careful. It gives you an energy boost, but it causes your body to crash later in the day.
You should also never consume coffee on an empty stomach, as it can cause heartburn and indigestion. It can also degrade your stomach lining.
Drinking coffee when hungry can also reduce your concentration and heighten your anxiety. The best time to drink coffee is in the morning or in the early afternoon.
When it comes to food, choose something that has plenty of nutrients. Avoid sugary snacks and soda, as these items can cause your body to crash. Heavy meals can also make you tired.
Consider brain foods, which are foods that repair brain cells and improve your concentration. Take note of the following foods:
Fish: Fish contains omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 enhances blood flow to the brain and improves brain-cell neurons.
Berries: The antioxidants in berries (i.e. strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries) can improve memory and foster better communication between brain cells. They also have anti-inflammatory effects.
Whole Grains: Whole grains include oatmeal, brown rice, bread, and pasta. These foods provide your body with vitamin E, which protects your brain from oxidative stress.
Nuts: Nuts (i.e. almonds and sunflower seeds) contain omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants.
Brain food can also alleviate stress within the body. A mind that’s well-nourished will find creative ways to look for information. If you work online and must find information, you can learn how to search within a pdf to work smarter.
Rewarding Yourself
Eating sugary foods before working isn’t a good idea, but you can do so when finished. Reward yourself with something special after completing your assignments. The reward can be desserts, games, movies, shows, or outdoor activities.
Regardless, create a reward system for yourself as a motivator. A reward system makes you eager to start your work sooner. Best of all, finishing early gives you more personal time.
Taking Breaks
You should take frequent breaks even when you ‘re not hungry. Breaks will relax your mind and recharge your body. Many students work long hours to finish early.
Working long has the opposite effect, as it can slow you down. You’ll become tired sooner, placing more stress on your body.
Instead, consider working in small increments. Work hard for a brief period, and take a short break.
Example: Work for 25 minutes straight, and follow with a break of five minutes. During the break, consider doing some stretches or eating a snack. You can continue the same pattern until you finish the coursework.
You’ll also notice a vast improvement in your work performance.
How to Do Homework the Right Way
Knowing how to do homework efficiently requires time management. Time your homework sessions accordingly to finish within desired timeframes.
Also, work in a quiet place to concentrate on your assignments. Your undivided attention produces speedier homework sessions and quality work.
With that, you must balance hard work with frequent breaks and nutritious snacks. Regular breaks and good food will energize your body, allowing you to work efficiently.
Interested in learning more? Read more on our blog to get vital homework tips that will improve your study life.
Recently, we had to dose Praziquantel (EIHO Prazi Gold) in the 5 gallon aquarium due to suspected internal parasites.
Basically, we discovered that one or two of our Phoenix Rasboras were pale, skinny and looking sick.
Is Praziquantel Snail Safe?
We do have a variety of snails in the tank:
2 Horned Nerite Snails (Bumblebee snails)
Mini Ramshorn Snails (Pest snails)
Freshwater Limpets (not exactly snails, but similar)
We were most worried about the 2 nerite snails, since the other snails were considered pest snails that we wanted to remove anyway.
The online research results were mixed. We did web searches on API General Cure, and Hikari PraziPro, both of which contained praziquantel as the active ingredient. Most reviews said that they were safe for snails, but there were a few that mentioned that their nerite snails were affected by the treatment (either climbing out of the water, or even dying).
Since the negative reviews were in the minority, we decided to dose praziquantel in our 5 gallon tank, and monitor closely. If any signs of distress were observed, we have a separate tank to place the nerite snails.
Result after one day: No signs of distress, for nerite snails, ramshorn snails, and limpets. The horned nerite snails are still crawling about rather actively doing their thing. They did not attempt to climb out of the water.
Conclusion: Praziquantel seems to be safe for snails (including nerite snails).
The brand of praziquantel I used is called “EIHO Prazi Gold“. It is in liquid form, but there is quite a lot of suspended undissolved white powder in the liquid. The white powder will eventually dissolve when you put it into the aquarium. Praziquantel is notorious for being difficult to dissolve.
Overall, I think it is effective, as I can sometimes even see the dead worms that are expelled by the praziquantel. Also, the affected fish always seem to behave in a weird way, for example becoming more inactive and gasping a little (possibly the parasites are dying inside their body and causing a reaction). Other non-affected fish behave normally as usual.
Zee Bed (or Zee.Dog Bed) is said to be the best bed for dogs. Dogs spend up to 80% of their time sleeping, so a good bed is important for their well-being. Sleeping on the cold hard floor may cause problems like arthritis or sores.
According to Architecture Quote that 44.5% of architectural and engineering firms find it difficult to capture clients and forge a meaningful relationship with them. A survey by Archmark showed that 75% of the surveyed architecture companies had little to no clue how to build an online presence.
The truth is, the world has moved online. There are more brick-and-click companies today, than brick-and-mortar ones. If you want your architecture company to become visible to clients, you need to move your business online. More importantly, you need to start actively promoting online.
Here, we tell you the 8 best ways to promote your architecture business on the internet:
Use social media to engage with your prospects
Social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest have become the best places to show prospective clients what they can expect from your services. You can publish pictures of your new and old builds. You can upload a video of a property walk through.
You can also post messages about your design practices or about what makes you different from other architecture firms. Use the right hashtags to increase the visibility of your posts as well. In 2020, these are some of the trending hashtags in the architect and design space – #architectural, #archilove, #architecturephotography, #interiordesign, #instaarchitecture, #modernarchitecture and #homedecor.
Leverage the power of keywords on Google
Google keywords are very important in promoting your architecture firm online. They are the words that prospective clients use to find businesses like yours. If you want your website to come up in the first or second page of the search results, you need to use the right keywords.
The architecture-related keywords that have the high usage online include “cheap architect near me”, “recommended architects near me”, “remodel architects near me”, “licensed architect near me” and “architects[location]” (ex: architects NYC).
Apart from keywords, it helps if you are on-point with the rest of your site SEO as well:
Update all of your website content regularly – it will help you rank higher in the search.
Link your content to information-rich statistics, case studies and blog posts that the prospect can learn from. Internally link your website pages as well.
Write meta titles, meta descriptions and image alt tags for each page.
Create a brand identity that is emotionally-engaging to your target clients
Studies show that 65% of customers feel emotionally connected to brands they purchase from. 43% of customers spend more money on the brands that they are patrons of. These numbers are proof of why you need to create a brand identity that emotionally engages your prospective clients.
There are numerous architecture firms in the USA. But the only reason why a first-time client will choose you, over a competitor, is when he likes the communication you direct towards him/her.
From branding your architecture firm as a trusted family friend to showcasing yourself as the leader in corporate architectural design, you can choose a variety of imagery for your brand.
Send personalized communication to your site visitors
One of the best ways to promote your architecture business online, is to send personalized communication to each website visitor. By capturing leads through your contact page or gated content, you’ll have access to the visitor’s email IDs. You can send them insightful newsletters and emails with discount coupons & seasonal offers.
The more frequently you send such personalized communication, the more often will people visit your site and the higher the likelihood of their seeking your design services.
Speak at online architecture conferences & events
A great way to market your architecture firm to both commercial and residential clients, is to participate in online architecture conferences, panel discussions and webinars. You can showcase your immense knowledge here, display the designs you’ve previously made and answer people’s questions.
A few reputed architects even teach an online course in architecture design. They add plug-ins to their business and promote their company to students. This is a great way to attract top-quality talent to your firm.
Hold online open houses
One of the best ways to promote your business and showcase your talent, is to organize an online open house. You can schedule webinars and share the link with your social media audience. By taking your viewers through the new build that your firm has designed, you can show them how creative, sustainable and resourceful you are.
Invest in media
Press releases, public relations and newspaper/magazine articles are a great way to increase your company visibility online. These days, you have many media firms that provide end-to-end media representation to architecture companies and even provide coverage for any events you organize.
Publish blogs on topics your prospects want to learn about
Finally, a great way to promote your architecture firm is to write articles about topics that will interest your prospective clients. You can approach leading architecture publications (such as Architectural Digest, The Architectural Review, Dwell, Contract etc.) and contribute to them. You will gain thousands of readers, many of whom may contact you for your services.
Wrapping it up
Now that you know how to promote your firm online go ahead and implement these strategies.
Architecture firms face a lot of financial risks, and you may have clients or third-party contractors who may sue you for different kinds of reasons. Typically, such claims arise out of a mismatch in expectations. But this can ruin your credibility and cause massive financial losses.
The architect’s professional liability insurance could protect you and your firm from such claims and legal costs related to it. Check this website for more information about insurance for Architects.
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” when I was a teenager. It is one of my favorite Christian books, along with 
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