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If you are going to attempt the CAT exam preparation tips for the first time, you can start with a full-time online course.
In this, the examining faculty will keep you updated about every aspect or changes in the CAT exam.
They will also help you to better and efficiently understand the techniques, tips, and tricks of solving the question paper.
The online course providers will also offer you study material and mock tests to assist you in your preparation.
After completing your syllabus, you can take revision classes and doubt classes to clear all the concepts of the exam.
Career counseling in India
IMTS INSTITUTE ( NOIDA )
For reappearing aspirants:
If an aspirant fails to clear the CAT exam in the first attempt, he/she shouldn’t feel disheartened. Instead, give yourself another chance and start your preparation again after making a few changes.
Firstly, analyze your weak and strong points in the syllabus.
You can also take sectional tests available online.
Try giving more and more mock tests to improve your practice score. Also, make sure you solve the previous year question papers of CAT.
Make sure you give a minimum of 3-4 hours per day for the exam.
Be consistent in your preparation. An aspirant needs at least 7-8 months of training to score well in the CAT exam.
You can always change the exam preparation plan according to your strengths, weaknesses, and capabilities. There are no fixed preparation criteria to clear the exam.
Application Fee
The application fee for general or OBC category students is INR 1900, while for the reserved category students (SC, ST, PWD), the fee is INR 950.
Admit Card
The admit card for the CAT exam will be available on the official website. The tentative date set for the availability of the admit card in October.
Aspirants who have submitted their applications successfully can download the admit card by logging in to their account.
After downloading the admit card, make sure all your details and information mentioned on it is correct.
If there’s any mistake, contact the concerned authority to get it changed.
If your admit card is fine with all the details, get a printout of it and make sure you carry it while going for the CAT exam.
Exam Date
The tentative date set for the conduct of the CAT exam is the month of November.
Exam Results
The results of the CAT exam expected a declaration in January. They will be out on the official website only.
Exam Centre
CAT will get conducted in a total of 156 cities across India. It will hold in two different slots- morning and evening.
The entry for the CPL course in IGRUA involves the selection process, which begins with the Online Written Exam (Computer-based), followed by the Interview Round and lastly the Pilot Aptitude/PT. To take an entry, aspirants are mandated to qualify every stage of the Entry process. Aspirants qualifying the Online Written Exam will call in for the Interview Round. Following the Interview Round, the selected aspirants will further get notified for the PAT.
The entry for CPL will get done based on the marks scored by aspirants in the PAT.
Online Written Exam-The question paper comprises Mathematics, General English, Physics, Reasoning, and Current Affairs.
There is no negative marking.
The question paper consists of 10+2 level objective-type questions.
The cut-off for reserved category aspirants is 5% less than the score obtained by the last General category aspirant.
Interview Round- The aspirants shortlisted for the Interview Round are required to bring in the following documents for verification:
Birth Certificate (10th Class certificate)
10th Mark sheet
10+2 Mark sheet
Caste certificate for reserved category aspirants
Admit Card downloaded for Online Written Exam
PAT / PT- The aspirants qualifying the Interview Round will move on to the PAT. The reserved category students will not be allowed any relaxation for the Pilot Aptitude / PT. Qualifying the PT will make the aspirant eligible for entry in CPL.
Official website
Aspirants recommended visiting the official website of the IGRAU institute for any information regarding the Entrance Test at http://www.igrau.gov.in. The applying aspirants can also download their Admit Card for the Online Written Exam through the official portal referred to above.
In which cities is the Online Written Exam conducted?
The IGRUAconducts the Online Written Exam in all the major cities across the nation. The relevant address about the centre, prescribed in the Admit Card.
What is the minimum age for joining the CPL course?
The aspirants must not be below the age of 17 years for joining the CPL course. Aspirants below 17 years of age can apply for the selection process positively.
What is the limit for intake of entry for the CPL course?
The IGRUA selects a maximum of 100 aspirants annually for the course.
Mosquito Rasbora (Boraras Merah / Phoenix Rasbora) can live peacefully together with neon tetras!
The neon tetras mostly ignore the smaller mosquito rasboras, except maybe during feeding time where they try to snatch the food. There has been zero aggression between the mosquito rasboras and the neon tetras.
Mosquito Rasbora are surprisingly clever and have distinct personalities. One of my mosquito rasbora prefer to hangout near the top of the water together with the neon tetras, while another prefers to swim low near the roots of plants.
Mosquito Rasbora together with Neon TetraPhoenix Rasbora with Neon Tetra in the background (behind leaf)Boraras Merah (Phoenix Rasbora) is a micropredator and a surprisingly intelligent small fish.
Many aquarium hobbyists propose fasting their fish once a week (i.e. not feeding the fish one day every week). The benefits of doing so include:
lower chance of constipation / bloating which may lead to swim bladder disease
clear the digestive system
better water quality (this is not the main point, but a side benefit)
I think in part people fast fish because in nature, if the fish was living it’s natural life, it would never be able to count on finding food every day, so fasting now and then is seen to be more in keeping with a natural life. Living in a glass box is so far from nature I’m not sure how valid that reasoning is, but it does no harm.
Man made foods are also filled with things the fish would never, ever eat in the wild, so fasting may be a break from some of that. Might be better to alternate man made with frozen or live though, the fish will be healthier for it.
If a fish has been constipated, fasting may well give the bowel a needed rest. Man made foods have many things like flour and other binding or bulking agents, and they are, I think, one of the prime reasons some fish become constipated. It’s not what they evolved to eat.
Just for an example, feeding living daphnia in quantity to fish is almost like giving them a laxative, they shoot through so fast, but fish eating living daphnia have amazing colour and vitality too. Great for conditioning to breed. In the wild daphnia are rather ephemeral, having huge numbers in spring and far fewer later. So fish and other critters that eat them, eat them much like we do some of the more perishable fruits.. when they’re available ! They eat all they can ’til they’re gone.
There is also a scientific research article on fasting tilapia fish. Basically the study found that “Overall, results suggest that fasting one day a week does not affect growth efficiency and that tilapia adjust well to relative changes in feeding frequency.”
This is just to highlight that the Anaconda Python Distribution does not work with the latest MacOS Catalina. I only realized upon trying to open Anaconda Navigator, after installing Catalina.
The only (good) solution seems to be reinstalling Anaconda.
MacOS Catalina was released on October 7, 2019, and has been causing quite a stir for Anaconda users. Apple has decided that Anaconda’s default install location in the root folder is not allowed. It moves that folder into a folder on your desktop called “Relocated Items,” in the Security folder. If you’ve used the .pkg installer for Anaconda, this probably broke your Anaconda installation. Many users discuss the breakage at https://github.com/ContinuumIO/anaconda-issues/issues/10998.
One of my neon tetras is bloated/constipated. It has trouble sinking, it is swimming heads down and tails up. Hopefully it does not progress to the dreaded swim bladder disease or dropsy. Possible reasons is that it could have eaten the lion’s share of the TetraMin flake food the day before. I tried dosing Melafix (do not have any other suitable medication). I find that flake food tends to make neon tetras bloated (they may swallow air at the surface), but usually it subsides within a few hours. This tetra has been bloated for one full day, which is quite abnormal according to my experience.
Neon Tetra Bloated Recovery
Good news! The neon tetra recovered from bloat! Its stomach is noticeably more normal sized (previously there was a small lump). I am not sure if it was due to the Melafix or not. It is swimming normally now.
Update: I found out that one way to prevent neon tetra from getting bloated, without pre-soaking pellets and flakes, is to scatter the floating pellets in a wide area around the tank. This allows more time for the pellets to absorb water while the neon tetras are searching around. I found that this is much better than feeding through the “feeding slot” area at the top of my tank lid.
Another advantage is that slower fish can also get a better chance at eating the pellets while the fast neons are swimming around searching for their food. If I drop the pellets in a small area, it is likely that a few neon tetras will gobble up all the food, leaving none for the rest (and those neon tetras will end up bloated).
Previously, we have written a blog post on Lichess to FIDE Elo Rating Conversion. The formulae there still hold to some extent, but it is slightly outdated. We have updated the formula (using linear regression), using recent data in Feb 2020.
Traditionally, Alternanthera reineckii ‘Mini’ (AR Mini) is grown in high tech, high light tanks where it will grow into a deep red purplish color. In low tech, lower light tanks, I am trying to see if it can still grow, albeit less red. Maybe a lighter red or olive / bronze color like its cousin Alternanthera Roseafolia (below), would be a good enough result.
Good phrases for Chinese Composition Writing (Secondary school / Top Primary Students)
Using a good phrase (correctly) can instantly add marks for your Chinese Compo (Composition), as it shows that the student is well-versed and adept in using Chinese Idioms/Proverbs.
The more exotic the phrase, the better the effect (when used correctly). Common phrases like “风和日丽” have been used thousands of times and hence do not have a beneficial impact on impressing the teacher (or grader).
Hence, for the hardworking student who wishes to gain marks in Chinese compo, the best strategy is to memorize some good phrases that have a wide range for applications. Then, apply the phrases appropriately in the Chinese composition. A problem for Singaporean students is that they have limited Chinese vocabulary, which in turn limits the marks the teacher can give for the “Vocabulary” section of the Composition. (Basically, the teacher can only give average marks if you use average vocabulary…)
The above source is an excellent handbook on Chinese composition, which contains many good Chinese phrases. We post selected excerpts here in case the original website is down.
Michelle Chong’s portrayal of a student from an elite school in Singapore (not hard to guess once you watch the video) is fantastic!
LOL at the amazingly funny line “are you from my rival school, the one with the sleeveless uniform”? (Hinting at another elite school in SG, again not hard to guess.)
This weirdly titled Google Drive (“Electric Boogaloo”) contains a mega-database of JC Prelim papers for most if not all subjects, even esoteric subjects like “Theatre Studies and Drama”. Exam papers ranges from H1 to H3, and from the years 2008 to 2019.
Do download in advance if you need the material, from experience such Google Drives tend to “disappear” from time to time.
This post is all about whether the Wuhan coronavirus can spread in swimming pools. It is a top search in Google, however there is currently zero information about it.
We will list down various sources on other types of similar flu viruses and whether it can spread through swimming pools.
Source 1: Poolman.com (Yes!)
The short answer is yes. As Every Day Health summarized, germs that cause the flu and other illnesses spread so fast because people transmit it by simple motions, like a sneeze or a cough. Everyone from children to coworkers to spouses can be culprits. If any of them uses the pool, it can easily get to you.
Source 2: Illinois Department of Public Health (Maybe, not conclusive)
No research has been completed on the susceptibility of H1N1 influenza virus to chlorine and other disinfectants used in swimming pools, spas, water parks, interactive fountains and other treated recreational venues. However, recent studies have demonstrated that free chlorine levels recommended by CDC (1–3 parts per million [ppm or mg/L] for pools and 2–5 ppm for spas) are adequate to disinfect avian influenza A (H5N1) virus. It is likely that other influenza viruses such as H1N1 virus would also be similarly disinfected by chlorine.
Q: Can the virus be spread through water such as via swimming pools? Or through one’s eyes?
Prof Gray: We don’t know, but other respiratory viruses can, such as adenovirus which is a hardier type of virus.
Prof Wang: Transmission through the swimming pool is unlikely unless the person is swimming very close to an infected person. Yes, it is possible to be infected through the eyes.
Asst Prof Anderson: It is unlikely that the coronavirus can be spread through water, especially chlorinated swimming pools. Coronaviruses are also not known to be spread though the eyes.
There is an anecdotal case of infection through the eye and, if this infection did occur, it is an extremely rare event.
It is basic chemical knowledge that chlorine in pools is a powerful disinfectant. At high concentrations, chlorine is capable of destroying any living thing, not just Wuhan virus. However, swimming is not 100% underwater, there is a period of walking into the swimming pool, as well as breathing above water. During those periods above water, it is possible for the Wuhan virus to be transmitted. Also, if the chlorine concentration is not strong enough, it may not be enough to disinfect the virus.
Hence, it is better to be safe and avoid swimming pools during this period!
You may first check out the nearest Guardian, Watsons or Unity near your place. Most likely, Guardian and Watsons are out of stock already, while Unity has a long queue. (I personally checked them out on 28 Jan near my place.)
Do check out the terms and conditions before joining the long queue at Unity. (They will put a poster in front of their store.) Apparently the queue at Unity is only for those who have pre-ordered masks beforehand!
The next best option is to buy online, specifically from Qoo10 since they have stock from Korea. I ordered these two listed below which are decently priced (some sellers are taking advantage of the situation to raise up the price). Korean masks are said to be higher quality and more comfortable to wear.
[S$35.00](▼37%)[IN STOCK!!]👍Good For Corona Virus👍Made in korea/psi/ n95/pm2.5/30pcs /health mask/delivery4~5
WWW.QOO10.SG
[S$19.99](▼64%)[surgical mask]Good for china pneumonia Kid / Aduilt Face Mask 1Set = 60Pcs / Surgical MASK / psi / n95 / pm2.5 /
WWW.QOO10.SG
Basically, the best type of mask is N95 but they are expensive. Surgical mask is cheaper and is said by experts to be good enough for preventing the Wuhan virus.
Where to buy surgical mask online
Due to overwhelming demand, even online sellers on Qoo10 are running out of stock. The next option is to buy US surgical masks from Amazon. The below are good options:
Barcley is the #1 Best Seller in the Medical Face Masks Category
Starryshine Lifeguard Masks are Medical Grade masks perfect for Surgical, Allergy, Dental, Cold, Flu & Germ. Alcohol Pads Included.
N95 masks are actually more powerful than surgical masks. The only downsides are that they are more expensive and also more uncomfortable to wear (over long periods of time). N95 masks are so named because they can block 95% of particles of size 0.3 micrometers. This is according to the US NIOSH air filtration rating.
Since surgical masks are the top candidates for purchase, it is often the case that surgical masks are sold out first, while N95 masks may still be in stock. A top manufacturer of N95 masks is 3M, which is based in the US. Hence, purchasing N95 masks from Amazon is cost-effective in the sense that it is right from the source of the manufacturer (3M).
Traditionally, Alternanthera reineckii ‘Mini’ (AR Mini) is grown in high tech, high light tanks where it will grow into a deep red purplish color. In low tech, lower light tanks, I am trying to see if it can still grow, albeit less red. Maybe a lighter red or olive / bronze color like its cousin Alternanthera Roseafolia (below), would be a good enough result.
Light: It is just a basic starter kit LED light with 7 bulbs. Apparently rated just 2.9W.
Substrate: Aqua Gro Aquarium Soil by Ocean Free (it is a local brand by Qian Hu). It should be something similar to ADA Aqua Soil Amazonia II Normal Type (9L), maybe with less nutrients.
Lighting schedule: I am using an electronic timer with 12 hour photoperiod: 10am-4pm, 5pm-11pm. In between 4-5pm is a siesta (rest/blackout) period (to build up some CO2 if possible).
Videos
Day 1 (23 Jan 2020): This is the first day of planting. Still quite purplish undertones. To plant the Tropica tissue culture, I plucked off some of the leaves on the lower stem, and then inserted it into the substrate. No trimming of roots were done (the roots were not long anyway).
Day 3: The next video below is the 3rd day. The pinkish red colors on the underside are mostly gone (quite worrying), but the plants is clearly alive and it has oriented its leaves to face upwards! It is now a olive color with hints of red/pink.
Day 4: Video below. Not much different from Day 3. I realized that there is a Dwarf Sag small plantlet with runner amongst the AR Mini. The Dwarf Sag is one plant that is thriving in the tank. It started with 2 mother plants and now there are at least 8 plants propagated naturally via runners. If necessary, I may remove the dwarf sag (just the one amongst the AR Mini).
Day 5: Melting and shedding of leaves. This is day 5 of planting the AR Mini in the low tech tank. A total of 3 leaves were shed today. I think it is either (a) transitioning from emersed to submersed growth or (b) dying. Hopefully it is the former!
Day 6: Just one leaf melt today. One entire stem got uprooted, maybe it was the snail or the shrimp that disturbed it. There is a little frenzy among the neon tetras and Amano shrimp trying to grab the shrimp pellet. I removed a dwarf sag plantlet among the AR Mini, and replanted the uprooted stem there.
Day 7: No shedding of leaves today, which is good news. I spotted something that looks like hair algae, it could well be a disintegrated Marimo moss ball from “Secret Shrimp Society”. Water change was done, as well as dosing of Tropica Premium Nutrition liquid fertilizer. I ended up trimming the Cryptocoryne Wendtii as its leaves were almost reaching the water surface. I also removed the disintegrated Marimo moss balls from “Secret Shrimp Society” as it was starting to look like hair algae.
Day 10: This is day 10 of growing Alternanthera Reineckii Mini in a low tech tank. The leaves seem to have “perked up” and are slightly pinkish. Overall it looks better than on day 7, I think. The contrast between day 3 is also quite clear. No CO2 in this tank.
Day 13: The AR Mini has changed to a nice orangey-red. There has been shedding of around one leaf per day. The plant still looks alive overall, and in fact has grown taller than the Dwarf Sag beside it. There has been some trimming of the taller plants in the tank (crypts and Anubias).
Day 16: It has passed the 2 week mark. The AR Mini is still alive in the low tech tank. I do observe some new leaves growing.
Day 20: The AR Mini plants are getting more bronze color and less red. The undersides are still a little pinkish red though. Overall quite surprised at the result in my low tech tank. (I was half expecting the plants to die.)
Day 50 (12 March 2020): The aquarium light was upgraded around 10 days ago on 2 March 2020. It has helped the AR Mini in my opinion, making it slightly redder. The AR Mini is very much alive in the low tech tank! I think this dispels the myth that Alternanthera Reineckii Mini requires CO2 to live.
Day 50: AR Mini is still doing well in low tech tank.
Just bought this red plant at a local fish store at just $2. I am thinking it is Ludwigia repens (or possibly other type of Ludwigia).
Red plant (Ludwigia repens?) in low tech 5 gallon tank. No CO2. I bought this red stem plant for my fish to celebrate Chinese New Year. Hope it can survive in my tank!
Update: Unfortunately, upon further research, the above red plant may actually be Alternanthera sessilis which is not aquatic! The stems and leaves of the above said plant are quite hard and stiff, which is characteristic of a terrestrial plant.
I have tried to ask experts on the Planted Tank Forum, they have confirmed that it is not Ludwigia arcuata (which I originally thought it was).
There are many solutions online, for example this Stack Exchange post. The one that worked for me is as follows:
\documentclass{article}
%write the following immediately after documentclass{} if possible.
\makeatletter
\def\blfootnote{\gdef\@thefnmark{}\@footnotetext}
\makeatother
Subsequently, you can then use the \blfootnote command to write a footnote without any symbol (no asterisk, no star, etc.)
PowerPac is a quite well-known and reliable local brand. It is very affordable, and buying online from their Qoo10 official store is even cheaper. It is only S$14.80 for this Steamboat Cooker. It is good enough for a small family gathering for Chinese New Year. There is also a Free BBQ plate for you to cook food like steak.
If you need a bigger pot, you can always purchase their bigger model (Model : 3.5L Steamboat and Multi Cooker (PPMC282)(+S$7.00)) which costs $21.80. There is another even bigger model (Model : 5L Multipurpose Steamboat pot and Cooker(PPMC718)(+S$19.00)) which costs S$33.80.
[S$18.90](▼35%)🎁[A-One Claypot House]Prosperity Abalone Yu Sheng Serving up to 8 pax.(U.P $28.90).
WWW.QOO10.SG
This is quite a good deal (top seller on Qoo10). A-One is a well-known Chinese restaurant famous for their claypot dishes. The list of ingredients is quite extensive as well (includes abalone).
Just came across this Facebook post (originally by Pamela Lim):
For convenience, the post is reproduced below. Although the school is not explicitly named, it is quite easy to guess from the description which school it is! (It is probably a school that “offers a highly accelerated mathematics and science curriculum integrated with language, arts, humanities, sports, in a modular system.”)
Case study:
Anthony’s PSLE result was sterling and he got into an elite of elite secondary school, one that promises more than academic rigor, their high school credits can be used as credit transfers into a top university in Singapore.
Needless to say, it is a sought after secondary school, and the kids are studying 3-4 years ahead of their age peers in the areas they specialize in.
The celebration was short-lived. Within six months, the parents reached out to me. The high IQ child has school refusal problems. So I got our counselors involved to see how we can help.
Our advice was to remove him from a toxic environment where kids are often driven to a place where they feel deflated, over challenged and unaccomplished. We feel he should go to where his gifts are appreciated, where he can score well and his self-esteem is high. On the side, we promised to offer enrichment that will challenge and stimulate his intellectual needs. We felt he needed both social and intellectual support, and since he cannot get them both in the same place, we suggest splitting them.
Not unexpectedly, the parents and child felt that it was a ‘waste’ to give up a prestigious school, so they stayed. Yesterday, we received another call. In the six months since we last spoke, the child moved to an international school, and now refuse to go to the new school as well. In fact, he is refusing to get out of the house, so can we send in some psychologist.
To be honest, I don’t think we can ‘rescue’ a child like that, no matter how much they offer to pay us. He is only 14, and just 2 years ago, he was acing his cohort, happy about his situation, full of confidence of his future.
Just a disclaimer that “Toxic Environment” is a subjective term, one man’s meat can be another man’s poison. However, the fact of the matter is that many schools (especially elite schools like IP schools) do have high academic stress. The level of the internal tests in top IP schools is much higher than ‘O’ level standard. It is quite common for top students in PSLE to “fail” those tests in the elite IP schools, especially if they can’t adapt quickly to the style of tests.
Most notably, in top IP schools, what is tested in exams is quite often not taught in class! Students are expected to extrapolate the basic material taught in class, to tackle the tough questions in exams. Basically students need to 举一反三！(The teacher teach you one thing e.g. 1+1=2, the student needs to extrapolate and deduce for yourself 3 other things e.g. 1+2+3+…+99+100=5050.)
Needless to say, only minority of students (even in top schools) are capable of the above. Hence, that is why self-learning in the form of challenging assessment books or tuition has become quite popular as it is one way of overcoming the “teach simple, test difficult” style in top secondary schools or JCs.
Just to reblog this post on how to contact a human Singtel customer service operator. Do share it with your friends/relatives as it can be **extremely** difficult to contact Singtel during times of need.
If you try calling the Singtel hotline 1688, you will spend most of your time to navigate the maze of options trying to speak to a human Singtel Customer Officer. I have not managed to successfully find the option to speak to a human Singtel Chat Agent through the hotline, if you know the method please comment below!
Also, do not bother speaking to “Shirley” on the Contact Us page (https://www.singtel.com/contact-us). It is quite clear Shirley is not a human, but just a bot.
The Trick to Chat with a Human Singtel Customer Officer
Quite surprising to see news on Kiasuparents that the distinction rate for ‘O’ Levels HCL is so low.
Case study 1)
In the below case study, zero students scored A1 for Higher Chinese in the recent O Levels. This is very surprising since even in neighborhood schools, we would expect there to be at least a few students strong in Chinese. For example for Mathematics, even in neighborhood schools there is guaranteed to be at least a few students scoring A1.
In my DD’s (dear daughter) school, no one scored A1 for Higher Chinese for the recent GCE O Levels.
This is very surprising becos there are students who are very academically inclined and some have shown consistent strength in the subject over the 4 years in secondary school.
I wonder how other secondary schools perform in this subject. Or did MOE raised the standard or the school is just unlucky where their students exam papers were marked by an unusually strict examiner/marker?
The below case study is also very surprising since SAP schools are known to have a heavy emphasis on Chinese language and culture, usually leading to excellence in the Chinese subject. Examples of top SAP schools include Dunman High, Catholic High, Chung Cheng High School (Main), etc.
The distinction (rate) for HCL in my DS school is 29.6%. Considering that he is from a SAP school with strong Chinese culture.. this is quite low.. but to be fair.. with 8-9 subjects to manage and knowing that C6 will get you the 2 bonus points.. how many kids will aim for A1? My DS got C6 and he is happy that he got his 2 bonus points..
JAKARTA (BLOOMBERG) – Indonesia’s Lion Air considered putting its pilots through simulator training before flying the Boeing 737 Max but abandoned the idea after the planemaker convinced them in 2017 it was unnecessary, according to people familiar with the matter and internal company communications.
The next year, 189 people died when a Lion Air 737 Max plunged into the Java Sea, a disaster blamed in part on inadequate training and the crew’s unfamiliarity with a new flight-control feature on the Max that malfunctioned.
Quite unbelievable that such lack of regard for safety was demonstrated by Boeing. Note that the above news is taken from a major newspaper in Singapore, the Straits Times.
The real reason Boeing 737 Max crashed twice is a software problem!
According to the video below, the real reason why the Boeing 737 Max crashed twice is none other than a software problem! (The software called MCAS keeps pushing the nose of the airplane downwards.)
Paul Robin Krugman is an American economist who is the Distinguished Professor of Economics at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, and a columnist for The New York Times. His notable awards include the Nobel Prize for Economics!
Students studying economics in high school or university are highly recommended to watch his Masterclass lessons (link to Masterclass website). It is always good to listen to insights from masters who have experienced economics at the highest level.
Prof. Krugman is also the author of a university level textbook titled Economics (co-written with Robin Wells):
He also writes several popular economic books for laymen, such as The Return of Depression Economics and the Crisis of 2008, where he predicts that the world’s economy is sliding into a deep recession (recall he is a Nobel Prize winner in Economics, not just any “bogus” author!). He also gives tips on how to avoid catastrophe in this case.
A detailed video review of Paul Krugman’s Masterclass is available below:
Is there “bell curve” for O Levels / A Levels or not?
The answer is “it depends on how you define bell curve”! Technically, no, bell curve is not used but something very similar called “grade boundaries” is being used to determine who gets A1 or A.
It is well known that the “bell curve” is applied to the O Levels result. The most notorious example is E Maths, where 90+ or high 80s is required for the top grade of A1. The traditional mark of 75 is only enough for B3/B4 in the actual O levels.
Update: According to official sources, “grade boundaries” instead of bell curve is being applied to O Levels / A Levels. Technically, there is a subtle difference between the two since the bell curve refers to the normal distribution in statistics. Hence, technically, “bell curve” is not applied to O levels. However, for laymen, “grade boundaries” and “bell curve” are essentially the same thing, meaning that the percentage of A1s or As is being externally controlled by the examiners in the form of “grade boundaries”. It is definitely not the case that 75 marks is sufficient for A1…
We have revamped our popular page on Free Exam Papers / Free Test Papers, fixing broken links and ensuring that the links to the PDF exam papers are updated.
Basically, the page above will help you to save money in obtaining free exam papers at virtually no cost. The only cost is paper and ink to print out the exam paper.
The Free Exam Papers listed covers majority of levels (Primary, Secondary, JC) and topics (Languages, Sciences, Maths, Humanities).
It is highly recommended to download the free exam papers as soon as possible, in advance, since from experience such sites can go down at any moment.
My previous post on Biggest Sheng Siong Outlet became quite popular. Hence, I decide to write a related post on the largest Fairprice supermarket (also known as NTUC supermarket) in Singapore.
No. 1 Largest Fairprice in Singapore: VivoCity
It is quite universally agreed that the largest Fairprice store in Singapore currently is the one at VivoCity, replacing the Giant store that was previously there. It is reported in the news that the Fairprice Xtra hypermarket is the largest in Singapore currently as of late 2019. Source of news is at: Largest FairPrice Xtra hypermarket opens at VivoCity.
I have been to the Fairprice in VivoCity, and it is indeed big. However, the layout of the store is quite “open” and “sparse” in the sense that there are many open spaces and the food item shelves are spaced wide apart. Hence, in terms of dense stocking and amount of items, it may not be as “big” as the next followup, the second largest Fairprice in Singapore.
No. 2 Largest Fairprice in Singapore: Ang Mo Kio Hub
With a bit of logical deduction, we can deduce that the second largest Fairprice in Singapore is the one at Ang Mo Kio Hub, also known as AMK Hub.
A few blog posts online still list AMK Hub Fairprice as the largest Fairprice (before the opening of the Vivocity Fairprice). For instance:
Fairprice Xtra has its biggest outlet located in Ang Mo Kio Hub. The total area of the hypermarket is 7150 square metres. In comparison, a full sized standard Olympic swimming pool is 1250 square metres. That is almost 6 full sized swimming pools.
Hence, if AMK Hub Fairprice Xtra used to be the largest Fairprice, it makes perfect sense that it is now the second largest Fairprice after the one at VivoCity.
Largest Fairprice in the West
Jurong Point has a very big Fairprice that is open 24 hours. Its address is Address: 63 Jurong West Central 3, #03 – 01, Singapore 648331.
It may be unbelievable, but Jurong Point has another Fairprice in the same building, located at 1 Jurong West Central 2, #B1 – 09, Singapore 648886. Hence, it is quite guaranteed that whatever you need can be found in Jurong Point. If you combine the two Fairprice together, it is quite certain that the largest Fairprice in the West is at Jurong Point (both Fairprice outlets lumped together as one).
Another large Fairprice is found in JEM (Jurong East). Its address is at Jem: 50 Jurong Gateway Road #B1-21/22 & #B3-01, 608549. The location is better than the Jurong Point Fairprice for most Singaporeans, unless you are living in the extreme West (e.g. Boon Lay region). The large Fairprice in JEM has live seafood, including Boston lobsters, certain fish like tilapia, etc.
If you know other large Fairprice supermarkets, do comment below! In particular, it may be of great interest which is the largest Fairprice Finest, or normal Fairprice supermarket.
The above book by Christopher M. Bishop is widely regarded as one of the most comprehensive books on Machine Learning. At over 700 pages, it has coverage of most machine learning and pattern recognition topics.
It is considered very rigorous for a machine learning (data science) book, but yet has a lighter touch than a pure mathematics or theoretical computer science book. Hence, it is perfect as a reference book or even textbook for students self learning the subject from the ground up (i.e. students who want to understand instead of just blindly apply algorithms).
A brief overview of the contents covered (taken from the contents page of the book):
[S$18.90](▼35%)🎁[A-One Claypot House]Prosperity Abalone Yu Sheng Serving up to 8 pax.(U.P $28.90).
WWW.QOO10.SG
This is quite a good deal (top seller on Qoo10). A-One is a well-known Chinese restaurant famous for their claypot dishes. The list of ingredients is quite extensive as well (includes abalone).
In Python (pandas), saving a .csv file to a particular folder is not that hard, but then it may be confusing to beginners.
The packages we need to import are:
import pandas as pd
import os.path
Say, your folder name is called “myfolder”, and the dataframe you have is called “df”. To save it insider “myfolder” as “yourfilename.csv”, the following code does the job:
The reason this may be difficult for beginners is that beginners may not know of the existence of the os.path.join method, which is the recommended method for joining one or more path components.
Students and parents new to IP (Integrated Programme) may be confused on what is the Mathematics syllabus of IP Math. Indeed, it is very confusing as every school has its own syllabus. In general, the syllabus as a whole is not that different from ‘O’ level Mathematics, but the order in which the school teaches is unique to each school.
In general, the topics can be divided as follows, following the famous assessment book “Mathematics (Integrated Programme)” by Wong-Ng Siew Hiong who is a teacher at RI. This is one of the very few IP Math books available in local bookstores.
Secondary 3 IP Math Syllabus
Geometrical Properties of Circles
Solutions to Quadratic Equations
Matrices & Simultaneous Equations
Quadratic Functions, Inequalities & Roots of Equations
Though Singapore is a relatively rich country, many people still find Dyson Vacuum Cleaners unaffordable since it is well over a thousand dollars.
Fortunately, there is a cheap and good alternative to Dyson Vacuum Cleaners (with many positive reviews): Xiaomi DREAME V9 Pro. (Some people actually claim that it is more powerful than Dyson vacuums! See the video at the end of this post.)
For example, an actual review by a Singaporean states:
My friend got it for her 3-room flat and she said this vacuum cleaner not bad. She gave me the courage to purchase it as I have been considering for a long time. After I received it, a test-out session became vacuum the whole house (it still has 1 bar battery when it arrived). The maneuvering is smooth, which let me vacuum the whole 4-rm flat effortlessly. I am a lady, so it should be fine for most people. Thumbs up!
[S$219.00](▼46%)Xiaomi DREAME V9 Pro Cordless Vacuum Cleaner | 20 000 Pa Suction Power | Long Battery Life
WWW.QOO10.SG
It is almost compulsory for every household in Singapore to have a vacuum cleaner, since our hot and humid climate makes dust mites grow and reproduce very fast if we don’t vacuum away the dust. In addition, many young children tend to have some form of childhood asthma in Singapore.
Use the below Ohm Promo code if you decide to switch to Ohm: *Ohm Promo Code: OHMREF25CC5A
Here are some advantages of choosing Ohm:
Switching to Ohm will not cause any disruption to your electricity supply. Your electricity comes from the national power grid which will continue to be operated and delivered by SP Group.
You will receive your electricity at your premises from Ohm during the Supply Term of your Agreement with us.
Your security deposit is collected and retained by SP Group on our behalf. If you were purchasing from a retailer other than SP Group or a retailer that is using SP Group for billing services before switching to Ohm, the initial security deposit will be equivalent to 65% of the security deposit as determined and published by SP Group for its residential premises utilities account. If you were purchasing electricity from SP Group at the regulated tariff or from a retailer that is using SP Group for billing services before switching to Ohm, SP Group will allocate 65% of the security deposit that you have set aside with them as our Ohm security deposit. You don’t need to do anything.
SP Group acts as our billing agent. This means that your Ohm electricity charges will still appear on the same bundled utilities bill that you get from SP Group. SP Group will also be collecting your monthly payments and operating our Customer Care.
Just wanted to give a positive review for the Tetra Vacation “Slow Release Feeder” Holiday fish food, which feeds up to 14 days.
I went for a vacation for around 12 days, and came back to zero fish/snail/shrimp deaths, and perfectly healthy fish!
The fish I had were:
5 neon tetras
2 lambchop rasboras
2 Rili Shrimp
1 Amano Shrimp
2 Horned Nerite Snails
All were surviving well after the vacation. It was quite clear that the shrimp and snails were able to eat the food as well (I saw them eating the food, as well as their poop on the feeding dish).
Tips for using the Tetra Vacation fish food
I think the key is not to put too much. If you only have a few tetras, estimated of 1/8 of the entire block will be more than enough. The entire block is overkill and may increase the chances of polluting the water.
Useful Apps Homeschooling Parents Can Use to Help Their Children Learn
There are many educational apps that are available to help students with various activities, but very few of them were specific to homeschooling parents. As I was researching apps that can make the lives of homeschooling parents easier, I came across this list of apps that I thought were very useful.
Each of them serves a different purpose and let’s broadly explore how they can be useful for homeschooled children.
Explore the free resources available to homeschool children
Given the rise in popularity in digital media and the Internet, many families are now resorting to free resources that are available online. Without the need to go to a formal school, parents now opt to take advantage of the online courses for kids that are freely available. There are several benefits to homeschooling children of different ages, especially in terms of cost.
As a parent, if you are not working full time and decide to do it on your own, you could homeschool for free using various resources available at your disposal.
Resources to help homeschooling parents working full time
Homeschooling as a working parent can be quite a challenge especially if you are employed full time. Chances are that you may not find enough time to homeschool your children. This would be more difficult if both parents are working full time. Fortunately, there are many homeschooling programs carried out by professionals that help working parents to homeschool their kids.
Depending on the field that your child chooses to pursue, you can hire a specialist in a particular area and hire their services for a fee. Additionally, you could consider subscribing to online courses that have a set of scheduled lessons that your kids can work their way through. For instance, Udemy and Coursera have a ton of free and paid courses from well-recognized universities that you could make use of. However, it is important that you maintain a strict schedule to ensure they are on track.
Use apps that specifically help students achieve great results
If you have a smart device such as a phone or a tablet, you can make good use of it if you have the relevant apps installed. There are homeschooling apps that are dedicated to helping your children learn more interactively at home.
For example, Khan Academy provides plenty of material on various subjects which can be extremely helpful for children should you decide to make them learn on their own. However, as a parent, you will need to make sure that you organize the schedule and checklists constantly which can be quite daunting tasks. Apps such as Wunderlist can be very useful as it helps you manage a to-do list very easily.
Additionally, you will also need to ensure you have controls on balancing your children’s time on and off the school. Apps such as FamilyTime allow you to set limits on screen time, including bedtime restrictions, and it even lets you lock your kids’ phones when they are supposed to be doing homework.
If you also need a working calendar that helps you organize various events and activities that your children need to take as part of the homeschooling program, you can use Cozi that syncs the calendars of all the members in the family so everyone is updated on each other’s schedule. This way, it can be easier for each member to share the responsibilities easily. It’s indeed a helpful homeschooling tool that can help you and your family be more organized.
Conclusion
With many online resources and tools available, homeschooling your kids doesn’t have to be a difficult task as it used to be. If you have them in place with the necessary arrangements, you can easily breeze helping your child homeschool.
For those who are still hesitating on whether to switch to Ohm, I have collated all our previous blog posts on why you should choose Ohm, also known as Ohm Energy:
The sooner you switch to Ohm, the more money you will save. Do help your older relatives (who may not be computer literate) switch to Ohm as soon as possible. There is literally zero benefit in staying with SP services as it is definitely more expensive.
A typical family would see about 20%-30% monthly savings in electricity bill (see this news article).
Firstly, just a disclosure that I am a happy customer of Ohm since 1 Nov 2018 (see my Ohm review blog post). Everything, from payment to electricity supply, is virtually perfect and hassle-free. It is very easy and quick to sign up online.
The purpose of this blogpost is to compare Ohm vs the other major electricity providers. All conclusions will be supported by factual numbers from the respective official websites, as far as possible. The final decision will be entirely up to you, the reader. If you decide to choose Ohm, do use the below discount coupon code to enjoy $20 savings:
*Ohm Promo Code: OHMREF25CC5A
Note that there are many price plans (fixed, discount off tariff, etc.) hence we will only be comparing discount plans for convenience (very popular and cost-effective plan for most users). Discount plans essentially guarantee that you will be paying less than if you stayed with SP Services. For Fixed Plans there is a small but nonzero risk that the SP Services Tariff may drop so much that your Fixed Plan is more expensive than the SP Service Tariff.
One important thing to note is that:
Ohm absorbs the transmission loss. (Basically electrical energy is lost as heat while traveling through the cable, Ohm absorbs this and charges consumer based on metered usage. This is worth approximately 3.4% savings.)
For many reasons, Geneco is the number one comparison made to Ohm, due to several similarities (they both have a strong online presence and referral program).
Ohm has an upper hand in the discount-off tariff rate, since the Ohm Discount is 25% off SP (Singapore Power) tariff, while Geneco’s discount is 22% off tariff.
(By the way, we have a detailed analysis of why Ohm Discount is currently better than Fixed Ohm: Fixed Ohm vs Ohm Discount.)
To top it off, there is additional 1.5% discount when you renew your Ohm discount plan:
12-month Ohm Discount – Additional 1.5% discount on prevailing 12-month Ohm Discount rate (at point of renewal) throughout Supply Term
Conclusion: Ohm (King of “Discount-off Tariff” Plans) wins!
Ohm vs Tuas Power
Tuas Power, similar to Geneco, has a 22% off tariff plan. To their credit, Tuas does have a 1% cashback plan with POSB Everyday Card.
Simple math will tell you that Discount Ohm (25% + 1.5% upon renewal) is still better in this case.
22% Discount off Tariff for Tuas Power.
Conclusion: Ohm (King of “Discount-off Tariff” Plans) wins!
Ohm vs Keppel
Keppel electric also has 22% off tariff plan.
Keppel Electric 22% off tariff plan.
Conclusion: Ohm (King of “Discount-off Tariff” Plans) wins!
As you can see from the screenshots above (taken from the actual official websites), the Discount Ohm plan is virtually unbeatable in the Singapore market in the “Discount-off Tariff” category.
To be fair, we need to state that the Fixed Ohm plan may not be the very best in Singapore, but is still very competitive nonetheless (just a few cents off the cheapest in Singapore).
Do share this with your relatives/friends who are about to switch electricity providers! It just takes 10 minutes of your time, but can save potentially thousands of dollars.
Basically, you will need to check up one by one, to see their updated plans and how they compare to Ohm. Remember to check for the fine print and see if they absorb transmission loss or not (that alone is worth 3.4% savings, which Ohm provides). Ohm is very transparent in their plans, which is another plus for Ohm — they do not hide important details in “fine print”.
Some plans are very fanciful (e.g. free tablet computer, iPad, etc) but do not provide best value for money. It is much better to stick with a plain plan that provides maximum savings (e.g. Discount Ohm), and use the savings to buy the free gift/iPad yourself if you really want it.
Basically, anyone who really sits down and do the number-crunching can tell that Ohm (in particular Discount Ohm) is a very good choice and one of the best in Singapore. How Ohm achieves this is they spend low on advertising (you will never see a Ohm promoter on the streets asking you to sign up). With those savings in advertising costs, they pass it on to the consumer (you) in terms of lower prices.
Ulgrim is one of the lesser used legends in Brawlhalla, but I think he is probably one of the easiest legends for beginners (and also viable at high levels).
Reason being his two weapons lance and axe are very easy to land hits. Lance is great at horizontal approaches, many people at rank gold and below do not know how to properly counter lance. Axe is shorter range than lance (but still has decent range) and has very wide hit boxes. Both lance and axe are not combo-heavy (essentially both weapons only have a couple of combos) so there is no need for much “practicing combos”.
There is some criticism about his lance sigs (only the neutral sig is good). However, his axe sigs are very good (neutral sig and down sig are excellent, side sig is ok).
Both in 1v1 and 2v2, Ulgrim is very playable for beginners. He is above average (6 points) in all stats except dexterity.
Basically, in the “neutral game” you can use lance to rack up damage, and then switch to the axe for the kill. For weapons that lance is very disadvantaged against (e.g. blasters or axe), use axe instead all the way. See this Lance Matchup Tier List for more info. For low levels (gold and below), as mentioned above, virtually no one knows how to counter lance, so you can still use lance very effectively against any weapon.
Beginner Ulgrim Guide
This method can work up to gold.
Lance: Just try to keep doing side air/down air. It is very easy to for you to hit, and very hard for your opponent to counter.
Axe: Try doing Nlight or Slight->Dlight. If your opponent is very jumpy, try to catch them with Dlight.
For a detailed Ulgrim guide, do check out the video below:
One of the top YouTubers, Cosolix, has also recently switched to Ulgrim as his main.
SimplyGo is a wonderful app that allows you to use your Mastercard/ Visa credit cards as an “Ez-link” for public transport.
Currently, certain credit cards do have “cashback” for SimplyGo, in particular:
Contactless spending cashback cards: DBS Live Fresh, DBS Visa Debit Card, StanChart Spree Card. These are cards that give you bonus cashback on contactless payment, i.e. Visa PayWave, Apple Pay etc. Currently, SimplyGo transactions are counted as contactless payments too.
Currently, possibly the only drawback of SimplyGo is that the fees reporting (both in your credit card statement and also in the app) is quite messy. Basically, it is not totaled up in a nice manner.
MoneySmart also has a similar comment:
Yep, it’s a complete mess. The transactions seem to go through at random intervals instead of something sensible, like 1-week intervals, so it’s hard for me to tell if there are any potentially fraudulent charges or any other errors.
For those who need to total up your monthly transport expenditure (for your own tracking), you will need to do so rather manually by calculator or excel spreadsheet, typing in every single entry you see on the App. It would be great if the App can do it automatically (total up the monthly expenditure) for the commuters’ convenience. From the programmer’s perspective, it shouldn’t be that hard to total up (essentially just doing addition)?
The air pump I am using currently is the Ocean Free Zero Noise Z-1000. It is actually already quite quiet (around 4o-45 decibels measured on a free iPhone app “dBMeter”).
I decided to create a DIY box to further absorb the sounds. Materials used are:
Phone box (iPhone box cover used here, but probably any similar sized box works)
Scissors (to cut holes for the air tubing and power cord to pass through)
Corrugated plastic board (black). Initially I wanted to make a cover, but the pump was too tall to cover it. Hence, I added some corrugated plastic boards to raise the height of the box.
Some black foam (I think it was part of the aquarium packaging) to line the inside of the box, for sound absorption.
Corrogated plastic board and black foam was also used to make a “base” for the phone box. (I am not entirely sure if this helps or not, just thinking in the line of reducing physical vibrations.)
Cloth from old shirt (blue) to line the inside of the corrugated plastic board, again to absorb sound.
In the end, I decided not to have a cover, to prevent overheating. Currently, there should be ample air flow as the box is essentially open top.
Results are quite ok, noticeably softer sound. Approximately around 5 decibels reduction in sound from the “dBMeter” app, to around 35-40 decibels. Probably it is quite hard to go lower than that since even a relatively quiet room is around 20-30 decibels.
is cost-effective in the sense that it is right from the source of the manufacturer (3M).
is one of the more comfortable models of N95 masks. It has a lightweight design for comfort, and is comfortable for long periods of wear.
, maybe with less nutrients.
, one pump per week after water change.
.
(co-written with Robin Wells):
, where he predicts that the world’s economy is sliding into a deep recession (recall he is a Nobel Prize winner in Economics, not just any “bogus” author!). He also gives tips on how to avoid catastrophe in this case.
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to hold the food and prevent contact with substrate. I found that this reduces the chance of the Tetra holiday food turning mouldy. This is a cheap but still viable alternative to the proper method which is to use a Shrimp feeding dish such as 
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Mathtuition88 