Singapore’s heat and humidity makes it quite unbearable to live without an air-conditioner. Especially for students who study, a hot and humid environment makes it harder to concentrate.
For long term purposes, most families will install a split aircon system like Mitsubishi Starmex.
[S$1,898.00](▼58%)[MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC]Mitsubishi Inverter Multi Split AirCon FN Series – SYS. 2 – 4 [5 Ticks]
WWW.QOO10.SG
However, for short term purposes (e.g. rental, or do not want the hassle of installing a permanent air-con), a portable aircon is the solution. A portable aircon will be enough to cool a small room (i.e. most HDB rooms and small Condo rooms).
Whatever you do, DO NOT buy those mist fans, they are close to useless since Singapore’s humidity is already close to 90%. Those mist fans work well in hot and dry desert-like environments, possible like Saudi Arabia or Australia. They work by making the mist evaporate, which does not work well in Singapore due to the high humidity. Not to mention, the constant mist may lead to some mold problems.
You might as well buy a powerful fan with vortex action:
[S$58.80](▼41%)[PULLMAN][XMAS SALE] PULLMAN AIR CIRCULATOR FAN TURBO FORCE With Remote Control
WWW.QOO10.SG
Cheap Portable Aircon Singapore
A good brand for cheap portable aircon is Europace. The last Europace portable aircon I bought lasted close to 10 years, and counting.
[S$399.00](▼64%)[Europace]EuropAce Portable Air Conditioner with HepaCarbon filter 10K/12K/14K BTU- (EPAC 10T6/12T6/14T6)
WWW.QOO10.SG
A cheaper brand would be Trentios. This price is probably the cheapest for a brand new portable aircon.
[S$288.00](▼68%)[TRENTIOS]Trentios/Avolta Portable Aircon 10000/12000/14000 BTU / (Include Air Freshener/Dehumidifying)
WWW.QOO10.SG
Bonus Cooling Tip
Another good way of staying cool at home is to wear Uniqlo DRY-EX T-Shirts. They are much more cooling than cotton shirts. Wearing one of these can be equivalent to a drop of 1-2 degrees Celcius. Sometimes the online Uniqlo stores do have 50% discount, do grab them during the discount if possible.
Atiyah is so-called the “2nd Newton” in being both a Mathematics & a Physics Grandmaster, his life achievement extends the ancient Greek Geometry to Topology and Algebra since Euclid till now, providing useful application to Quantum Physics.
In Sept 2018, Atiyah claimed in a seminar of his astonishingly simplest proof of the Riemann Hypothesis (one of the 6 outstanding millenian problems with US$1 million Clay Prize) – but sadly nobody believes him even after his death 3 months later !
Similar to Singapore, China has different tiers of universities. The top tier in China is Tier 1 (一本). Within Tier 1, there is a further differentiation of “Project 985” and “Project 211” universities, the former being more selective. That is, Project 985 universities is a subset of Project 211 universities. “Project 985” universities consists of 39 top universities, including Peking University and Tsinghua University.
The above documentary exposes some fraudulent private universities that are out to con money from simple, rural folk. It also shows the hardship experienced by the young people in China, where salaries are low but living expenses can be quite high.
In ancient times in China, education was the only way out of poverty; in recent times it has been the best way. China’s economic boom and talk of the merits of hard work have created an expectation that to study is to escape poverty. Many Chinese parents see getting a degree as a way of ensuring their children have better, less impoverished lives than their own. But in 1997, the Chinese government privatized universities and education became a commodity. It’s a money-making business where there’s a profit to be made – The University Entrance Exams Day – the day students receive their results – often determines the future of one’s whole life. If you get good results, you get into the state-subsidized universities. If you don’t, there are other universities you can get into but they are more costly, often substandard, and run as lucrative businesses. Some unscrupulous colleges employ marketing techniques to target poor, rural families who are often less streetwise to their tactics. More often than not, these families can’t afford the tuition fees and some end up selling livestock and even their homes to cover the cost of their child’s education. But many colleges can’t live up to their promises and each year, more than two million graduates in China do not find work. For students and families who incurred debt while studying, education is no longer a way out of poverty but a cause of it along with unemployment and despair.
Jetbrains toolbox is a software that manages programs from the Jetbrains company, including the popular PyCharm interpreter.
However, it did not work for me on Mac, and I was trying to remove it. The system did not let me remove it as it claimed that Jetbrains toolbox was open and running.
The way to remove it completely is to first force quit it from Activity Monitor on Mac. Then, you can simply delete Jetbrains toolbox from the Applications folder.
Congratulations to all who did well in the ‘O’ Levels!
Do check out our post on Latest JC Cut-off points COP, to see the trend of JC cut-off points to help you choose your desired school. (Remark: I am curious to see how Nanyang JC Cut-off point is like, it seems that NYJC is now one of the bona fide top JCs in Singapore.)
Being city-state of just 5.5 million people, Singapore is constantly ranked as one of the top countries that harbors great mathematic talents and has one of the most admired education systems in the world. Based on test scores from 76 countries published by the OECD, Singapore came first, followed by Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan. The ranking reiterated that Asian children are ahead of the curve indeed, all thanks to the kind of education systems that they have.
Source: Google.com
Though the education system produces many great young talents, it is undeniable that the system is highly demanding and it’s all about producing a generation of “21st century competencies”. Unfortunately, many students find this to be a chokehold and they feel deprived of a much-needed breathing space internalise and understand everything that happens around them.
It is a known fact that in order to survive and conquer math, what is being taught in schools is insufficient. There is a need for the extra help and hence many are turning towards the option of tuition. There are many types, but the most famous one of all is private tuition. By hiring a private math tutor, students will notice a huge change, a huge transformation in the way they learn and it will be reflected in their grades.
So, let’s take a look at the benefits of hiring a private math tutor!
#1: PERSONALISED APPROACH
Teaching a group of 10 children, as compared to tutoring one child is at either ends of the spectrum. Tutoring one child requires the tutor to study, analyse and comprehend the student’s learning pace, learning methods, memory retention process and the areas of the student’s strengths and weaknesses. All this analysation then translates into a more customised teaching which will help the student to excel at a faster rate.
This is crucial when teaching math, especially because it is a challenging subject which not everyone is innately good. Some students grasp concepts quickly while others lag behind and require extra coaching and visual representations for them to comprehend those same concepts.
It is also important to note that private tutors are not there to be their student’s confidante, to molly-coddle them and console them all the time. Instead, they will be a source of motivation, a pillar of strength and they will guide them (but never reveal the answers).
Schools have an almost ritualistic way of teaching this subject, that is, to flash answer keys of practice papers on the visualiser and hand out more practice papers for students to complete. This ineffective and boring teaching method is of stark contrast to how private tutors handle this rather complex subject.
The reason why such a lesson is interesting is because there is a form of given-and-take; an interaction, making the lesson engaging and spontaneous. It does not lull the students to sleep. Private tutors also have a way of simplifying abstract concepts and turning them into something less intimidating for students.
ALL IN ALL, children may not comprehend how useful math private tuition could possibly be for them. As parents, you need to make them understand the benefits of tuition. Do not wait for problems to snowball and take action quickly!
Michael Atiyah, a British mathematician who united mathematics and physics during the 1960s in a way not seen since the days of Isaac Newton, died on Friday. He was 89.
The Royal Society in London, of which he was president in the 1990s, confirmed the death but gave no details. Dr. Atiyah, who was retired, had been an honorary professor in the School of Mathematics at the University of Edinburgh.
Dr. Atiyah, who spent many years at Oxford and Cambridge universities, revealed an unforeseen connection between mathematics and physics through a theorem he proved in collaboration with Isadore Singer, one of the most important mathematicians of the last half of the 20th century.
His work with Dr. Singer, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, led to the flowering of string theory and gauge theory as ways to understand the structure and dynamics of the universe, and has provided powerful tools for both mathematicians and theoretical physicists.
My betta in a 5 Gallon tank, together with 2 Amano shrimp (I think that’s the breed though I am not 100% sure) and 1 Zebra Snail. Anyone knows the names of the aquatic plants? I know one of them is “guppy grass”, the other two I have no idea. Please comment below if you know!
Out of 13 must-read Popular Math books, our Singapore National Library NLB has 6 which I borrowed and read: eg. “Prime Obsession” , “What is Mathematics” , etc.
Popular math books are better than the boring textbooks (Axiom – Theorem – Proof – Exercise). They are motivational, more concrete instead of abstract, philosophical analogy with the Nature (afterall, the math ideas derived from the universe, eg. Pi, e, golden ratio, infinity, limit, …), plus the historical background in which these math ideas were first discovered, and the beauty of these inter-connected ideas such as the Euler’s Identity:
$latex boxed{e^{i. pi} + 1 = 0}&fg=aa0000&s=3 $
“Proof from the Book” – the name “Book” (God’s Theorem Proof Book) is coined by Paul Erdos the Hungarian ‘vagabond’ (homeless, single, no nationality) mathematician, who had proven 1000+ theorems (some co-operated with his students). He said…
Betta, also known as Siamese Fighting Fish, are ideal pets for Singaporeans since they require relatively less equipment. Firstly, they are labyrinth fish and can gulp oxygen from the air. Hence, theoretically they can survive without a filter. Filter is still good to purify the water from excessive nitrates.
However, to put them in a small fishbowl is too extreme (though they may still live) and will lead to shortened lifespan and an unhappy Betta fish.
Online, many sources say that a 5 gallon tank will be a good fit for Betta. 5 gallon is roughly 18.9 litres.
Where to buy Betta Fish Tank
Hence, this “Ripples Premium Aquarium Glass Fish Tank (with Filter and LED Lights) 18.9L” is a perfect fit for a Betta fish. Buying from Qoo10 is also convenient for those without a car, as taking a fish tank around in public transport is highly inconvenient.
This Qoo10 aquarium shop Fins and Paws is very good; I experienced the fastest ever delivery time with them (ordered and delivered the next day).
[S$54.90](▼22%)[Resun Aquarium]Ripples Premium Aquarium Glass Fish Tank (with FilterLED Lights) 18.9L/56.7L
WWW.QOO10.SG
For those who want an even bigger tank, you can try out the Classica ECO 60 Aquarium Fish Tank. Your Betta fish will definitely feel like a king in this fish tank, and you can add more fish to keep the Betta fish company. (Note that there can only be a maximum of 1 Male Betta fish in the tank, as they will fight each other to the death if put in the same tank.) For suitable Betta tank mates, check out this website: ModestFish.
[S$95.00][Classica]ECO 60 Aquarium Glass Tank – 60 x 30 x 35cm Fish Tank with LEDFilter
WWW.QOO10.SG
It is good to have some substrate on the floor of the tank (e.g. sand, gravel, soil). This is especially so if you want to grow some real aquatic plants. For a 18.9 litre tank, 3L of Aqua Gro Aquarium Soil will cover the base nicely to a suitable depth.
To buy the Betta Fish itself, you can check out Iven Betta. They have won many awards for Betta Fish breeding, currently they are located at KAP Mall, 9 King Albert Park #02-15. (Note: do call/message them before going if you live very far. The last time I went on Saturday 7pm, they were closed though their official hours states that they should be open from 1pm-8pm.)
For a cheaper option, check out Polyart Clementi (open 24 hours!). While not exactly show-quality, the Male Bettas there are decent quality and cost only $4 (correct as of Jan 2019). They even have Nemo Betta and Crowntails selling for $4!
My Betta Community Tank
My personal 5 Gallon Betta Community Tank consists of: 1 Male Betta (Delta/Super Delta), 2 Amano Shrimp, and 1 Zebra Snail. Currently, the Betta is quite friendly/indifferent to the shrimp, they are coexisting peacefully for the time being. I do have a few aquatic plants for the shrimp to hide if necessary. The Betta is bought from Polyart Clementi at just $4.
Some academics at the annual Indian Science Congress dismissed the findings of Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein.
Hindu mythology and religion-based theories have increasingly become part of the Indian Science Congress agenda.
But experts said remarks at this year’s summit were especially ludicrous.
The 106th Indian Science Congress, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, runs from 3-7 January.
The head of a southern Indian university cited an old Hindu text as proof that stem cell research was discovered in India thousands of years ago.
G Nageshwar Rao, vice chancellor of Andhra University, also said a demon king from the Hindu religious epic, Ramayana, had 24 types of aircraft and a network of landing strips in modern day Sri Lanka.
Another scientist from a university in the southern state of Tamil Nadu told conference attendees that Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein were both wrong and that gravitational waves should be renamed “Narendra Modi Waves”.
America (and prosperous European countries like UK and France), being 1st world countries, are sometimes concerned about “First World Problems” that most other countries do not have time/energy/money to care about.
Two health concerns that are very popular in America, but virtually unknown in most Southeast Asian countries are:
Vaccines Health Concerns
Although the main research linking MMR Vaccines to Autism has been retracted, many Americans, including President Donald Trump, have expressed their concern about vaccines. There are many anecdotal stories from parents whose children are doing well developmentally, until the day they took the vaccine where strange effects happened, including autistic regression.
Read here about a Nature article on “The real issues in vaccine safety”. By the way, Nature is the top science journal in the world, it is considered a tremendous achievement for any professor to publish in Nature.
The main author behind the MMR-Autism link, Andrew Wakefield, has published his version of the story in his book called “Callous Disregard”. He has been called a fraud, but yet many people do believe in his theory. Notably, in his retracted paper Wakefield did not claim that vaccines cause autism, he just investigated the link and basically said that more research needs to be done. His punishment was very severe (lost his UK doctor’s licence; he spent a decade earning his Gastroenterologist specialist degree), and some people believe it to be a conspiracy theory backed by the billion-dollar vaccine pharmaceutical giants.
“We have identified a chronic enterocolitis in children that may be related to neuropsychiatric dysfunction. In most cases, onset of symptoms was after measles, mumps, and rubella immunisation. Further investigations are needed to examine this syndrome and its possible relation to this vaccine.” (Andrew Wakefield’s paper’s final conclusion.)
Basically, vaccinations rely on a phenomenon called “herd immunity”, it requires at least 90-95% of the population to be vaccinated in order for it to be successful. Hence, many people dropping out of the vaccinations can cause the “herd immunity” to be lost, which may be dangerous. On the other hand, vaccines contain dangerous ingredients like preservatives and viruses, and even used to contain a mercury compound called thimerosal, which no doubt is something unnatural that you wouldn’t want to put in your body. Due to the vaccine controversy, thimerosal has now been discontinued in most vaccines.
In Southeast Asia, I would say that more than 90% of people do not know what gluten is (though they eat it everyday). In Laymen’s terms, it is a type of protein that is found in wheat, barley, rye, etc. In America, many people have been tested to have gluten sensitivity, causing digestive problems such as Crohn’s disease or Celiac disease. Again, similar to vaccines, most people have no problem at all eating gluten, but in a selected minority of the population, it can cause severe problems.
The digestive system is said to be a “second brain”, (see The Strange Location of Your Second Brain). It contains a lot of neurotransmitters. Hence, many scientists have started to notice the gut-brain connection. Read this Harvard article that links anxiety and depression to digestive (gut) problems. Hence, for people with gluten sensitivity or allergy, gluten can be the starting trigger for their other problems like depression/anxiety. It has also been linked to ADHD and even schizophrenia.
Check out this book (1,001 positive reviews) on the connection between the gut (digestive system) and the brain:
Since last time I cooked portobello mushroom last time, my husband had deeply fallen in love with this giant brown mushroom. He required to buy some portobello mushroom when we went out for shopping.
One of my hobbies is to explore the different cooking method for different ingredient. So I decided to try this dish with this mushroom. It’s quite easy.
preheat oven to 180 Degree c.
wash portobello mushroom gently in water. Then wipe them dry with kitchen towels.
remove the stem. Also use a spoon to scratch off the black gills to save more room for egg.
brush mushroom with butter.
sprinkle a little salt over the mushroom. Only a very little is enough.
place mushroom in baking try, better with a parchment paper underneath. crack an egg onto the gill of each mushroom.
sprinkle cheese, black gills scratched off and chopped spring onion on egg. Avoid egg…
It just came to me that there was still a piece of beef fillet in my fridge last night, so I decided to cook beef wellington today.
Main Ingredients:
beef, chopped shiitake mushroom & carrot (of course you can use the help of a blender), puff crust, salt, and pepper.
1, Sprinkle salt and pepper over the fillet. Rub a bit with hands.
2, Heat a pan, add in some oil. Fry beef fillet till each side turns brownish.
3, Beef fillet in a plate and rest for a while. Use the same pan to fry mushroom and carrot. When the juice comes out, drizzle in a little red wine. (I just want to add a little flavor, if you don’t have red wine, you can just skip this step.) Add in a little dried thyme. Turn to low heat and simmer for a little while. Season with salt.
Since Singapore is such a hot country, it is important for students and adults to keep hydrated to avoid heatstroke. One of the most popular and best brands of water bottles is Nalgene, which is made in the USA.
It is BPA free, which is very important to avoid drinking toxic plastic particles that may leach into your water. (I think by now Singaporeans know it is not good to reuse Coca Cola bottles as your water bottle; 10 years ago it was very common to do that.)
It is quite hard to find Nalgene bottles in supermarkets. NTUC Fairprice, Giant does not seem to carry them in their stock.
Interested buyers may purchase Nalgene bottles from Qoo10 (see image link below). Do choose this store as it has many positive reviews, it has an actual store in Pasir Ris, but buying online would be much more convenient.
[S$12.00](▼74%)[GHSGIFTS]Nalgene Water Bottle / WIDENARROW mouth/BPA Free / Small water Bottle – 500ml / 1000ml / 1500ml
WWW.QOO10.SG
For our international readers, Nalgene is also available on Amazon:
Many countries (including Singapore) promote Biology/Lifescience as a very good major with plenty of jobs after graduation. However, students may want to read some opinions from multiple sources to get a balanced viewpoint.
According to most of the answers, it is recommended that students truly love biology to pursue it in university. Also, many answers comment that a Bachelor Degree is usually insufficient for a good job in Biology/Life Science, and even people with advanced degrees can face problems finding relevant jobs.
You asked so I will give you an honest answer. I am a 64y old career biologist. I can speak freely. I could not with a clear conscience recommend biology as a career. It might sober you up that I got tenure one month after I turned 60y old. I am not being a snob. I am a first generation graduate. I do admit I have had a long and interesting career but at the cost of no wife, no children, no family and no job security before becoming too old for such domestic things.
This looks like a Math question, actually it is an Epiphany tradition called Chalking the door.
20 and 19 stands for the year 2019. C, M, B stands for the names of the three magi, Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar. The plus sign is actually a symbol for the cross †.
Some variations also put “20*C+M+B+19”, where the star stands for the star of Bethlehem.
CMB can also be the abbreviated form of the Latin blessing “Christus mansionem benedicat“, which means, “May Christ bless this house”.
Check out this interesting video highlighting Korea’s academic system. Seems at least thrice as stressful as Singapore, no? Recently, I do see quite a few Koreans studying in Singapore, possibly to them it is less stressful in Singapore compared to Korea.
One comment in the video summarized it: “How sad, all that for a spot in university that isn’t ranked high internationally, an average job with average pay and a crappy personal life that barely exists.”
New Zealand Government has set up an official website targeting Singaporeans to migrate to New Zealand. Check out the website here.
Natural environment wise, New Zealand is fantastic, with great landscapes and low population density. Due to its faraway proximity and buffer in the form of Australia, it is the least likely country to be affected in World Wars.
Only potential downsides are natural disasters (earthquakes), and possible employment difficulties. I have heard anecdotal stories about people migrating to Canada (another low population density country) and then having a hard time finding jobs.
I used to think that with a balanced diet, there is no need to take vitamins. However, recently I read several articles that due to soil depletion, there is lack of minerals in the soil that is used to plant the crops. According to the Bible, the soil is supposed to rest every 7 years for the Sabbath, but I doubt many countries practice this as it will lead to total loss of income for that year.
By the way, Northern China has a type of rice called Dong Bei Rice that is considered one of the best type of rice, certainly superior to Thai rice. I have tasted Dong Bei Rice in Liaoning Province, it is absolutely delicious. The reason it is so good is because due to the harsh winter, the soil there is forced to rest once a year during the winter. Hence, the soil is rich in minerals.
As a result of soil depletion, the plants that you eat may lack certain trace minerals like Magnesium, Molybdenum, Zinc, etc. The animals (cow/pig/lamb) eat plants that lack the minerals, hence the animals themselves lack the mineral too. Basically, the entire food chain, including humans, lack the mineral. Magnesium deficiency is especially serious, even in 1st world countries like America, 57% of the US population lack Magnesium.
Centrum Men’s and Women’s Vitamin Review
Centrum is the number one selling vitamin in the US. And it is very affordable. For its price range, it is probably the best multivitamin. There are two types for Men and Women. (Women need more iron due to the monthly loss of blood; Men need less iron. There are some other differences too, like Men need more Zinc.)
After just one day, I can feel the difference, more energetic and alert. My wife feels it too, and also experienced less hair dropping. Possibly people in Singapore and 1st world countries do not need to eat it everyday, since our diet is relatively nutritious (but still lacking certain minerals due to soil depletion). One can eat it every other day, or up to your own schedule.
Amazon sells it quite cheaply (different packaging from the Singapore version):
[S$54.90][3M][STOCK IN SG] 3M Peltor H10A Optime 105 Earmuff Ear Muff Ear Protection Head Set. Noise Reduction Rating of 30dB
WWW.QOO10.SG
The exams are coming, but your neighbor decides to do a major renovation? Neighbor has loud music blasting/ very noisy children? An urgent and drastic measure must be taken, as scientific research has shown that loud background noises reduce children’s test scores! Recent research in London (UK) has shown that high levels of environmental noise outside schools reduce children’s scores in standardised nationwide academic tests.
This is hardly surprising, as it is very hard to do any studying in the presence of very loud noises. The source of noises, in Singapore context, may come from the following:
Neighbor’s heavy renovation (Drilling, Hammering, etc.) Singaporeans are big fans of renovation and like to renovate their houses every couple of years! Unfortunately, as long as the neighbors stay within the…
Yong Tau Foo is a Hakka Chinese cuisine. Yet, I have never tried it in China before. Yong Tau Foo stall is quite similar to Chinese spicy hot pot (malatang). All the meat, vegetables and seafood are displayed on shelves. Customers can choose whatever they want to add in their Yong Tau Foo. The main difference I guess lies in cooking method. Malatang (麻辣烫） includes 3 Chinese words. 麻 （ma）means numb, it refers to the feeling caused by pungent spices like Sichuan pepper corn. 辣（la）means spicy, it refers to chili, chili powder and chili oil. 烫（tang）means hot. Because malatang is always served very hot. I still remember when I had social linguistic class, my teacher taught us malatang could be translated as “3 hots”: hot, hot, hot. 🙂
I have tried Yong Tau Foo several times after I came here. Since I really missed malatang and I couldn’t find it…
Students trying to import the package “matplotlib” on PyCharm will soon face the cryptic error message: “Python is not installed as a framework. The Mac OS X backend will not be able to function correctly if Python is not installed as a framework.”
It is extremely puzzling what to do. I have researched the steps that you can follow to solve it in 3 minutes:
This is the first time for me to cook Portobello mushroom. They are really big and look like a giant brown umbrella.
For steak:
1. Season both sides with salt and black pepper.
2. Heat a pan. A little oil in. Sear the steak for about 3 mins.
3. Flip the steak over. Cut in a cube of butter. And add in 2 cloves of garlic and dried thyme (fresh thyme will be better, but I didn’t have any at that time).
4. Fry for about 3 mins. Use a spoon, to scoop better and spread over steak. Sear the edge side too.
Steak in the plate and rest.
To cook Portobello mushroom:
Remove the Portobello mushroom’s stem first and wash clean.
1. Heat a pan. Cut in a small cube of butter.
2. When butter melts, add the mushroom in with cap side down. Sear for 3 mins. If…
My husband loves fish, especially fish from the deep sea. We often buy salmon. We don’t buy cod fish that often. Last time when we went out shopping for groceries, he saw the frozen cod fish fillet. He asked if he could buy some. I was a bit hesitant because I didn’t cook cod that much. He told me just to cook it in the same way of cooking salmon. OK, then. My husband always tells me to cook seafood in a simple way with less condiments, even though he almost never cooks.
As he said, I just pretend I am cooking a salmon fillet.
1. Season cod fillet with salt and pepper.
2. Heat a pan, drizzle in a little oil. When pan is hot, place cod fillet in.
3. Sear the cod fillet for 3-4 mins. Then flip over. Sear for another 3-4 mins. I also added in…
National Geographic Kids is a nice magazine that kids will love. Kids have a natural interest in animals/birds/dinosaurs, and this will inspire them to start reading, and learn about animals at the same time. Animals are a key topic in Science and will be tested in PSLE eventually. PSLE requires students to know the difference between mammals, birds and reptiles, and also certain insects.
Note that the National Geographic Kids is for around age six. Many Singapore students are more advanced in reading, and in fact they can move on to the adults’ National Geographic magazine if they are interested.
Especially if your child is gifted or in the GEP, at age 9 they should be poised to read the adult version of National Geographic to learn more advanced vocabulary and scientific concepts. (For gifted students, the kids version of the magazine may be too simple.)
For students interested in Geography, the National Geographic Atlas of the World, Tenth Edition is an excellent book to learn all about the Earth. A piece of trivia is that the chess world champion Magnus Carlsen could memorize the entire atlas when he was just a little kid. “Magnus was able to recall the areas, population numbers, flags and capitals of all the countries in the world by the age of five. Later, Carlsen had memorised the areas, population numbers, coat-of-arms and administrative centres of “virtually all” Norwegian municipalities.”
According to popular Chinese Social Media, a Chinese teenager from high school has purportedly proven the difficult Goldbach Conjecture, which is that every even integer greater than two is the sum of two prime numbers.
Update: He has recently realized his mistake and deleted the post. Do check out his proof if you are interested!
Recently, I’m crazy about tomatoes. I always want to try sun dried tomato, yet weather here in Singapore is very humid. So I guess sun dried tomato is impossible here. Then this oven-Roasted tomatoes came to my head.
And it’s very easy.
1. Chop tomatoes into slices (around 0.5cm thick). You can use cherry tomatoes or any ones of small size.
2. Place all tomato slices in a big bowl. Drizzle in olive oil, spread a little salt and add in dried herbs you like. I used dried oregano. Toss a bit.
3. Put tomato slices in baking tray and arrange them in one layer. You can put them very close to each other. Because they will shrink after dehydrated.
SeaHorse pillow is my favorite brand of pillow. I have tried many types ranging from “top-end” brands like Tempur, to standard popular brands like King Koil. Basically it is worth buying a quality pillow to have a good night’s sleep.
SeaHorse is a Hong Kong brand, and it has several advantages:
Designed for Asian body in terms of firmness and thickness. Westerners have broad shoulders so they need a very thick pillow. If you buy Western pillow brands like King Koil, often they are too thick, your neck will be at an awkward angle.
Also, westerners like to sleep on very soft beds, while Chinese like to sleep on firmer beds due to an ancient belief in Chinese medicine (the best is allegedly to sleep on a hard wooden bed). Hence, western brand pillows are designed to sink into the soft bed. If your bed is Asian bed (i.e. more firm), it won’t sink in and you will be left with a very tall pillow.
Quite affordable in terms of price. If you want the best pillow, it is probably Tempur as they have “space-like astronaut material”. However it is very expensive, and also it may become hot under the Singapore weather due to the “space material”.
This is the standard Sea Horse pillow that is good enough for everyday usage (from Official SeaHorse Qoo10 site):
[S$18.00](▼64%)[Sea Horse]SeaHorse SIL Comfortable Foam Pillow(100-100) Free Delivery!
WWW.QOO10.SG
They also have a memory foam version, which is better contoured to your head.
A mother’s heartfelt comment on Facebook (received 184 likes).
Excerpt: “I refused to meet my son’s JC teacher after the 1st meeting with her after 1st half of JC1. She focused the whole conversation on my son’s grades and that he will fail eventually. She was very superficial all the way and kept reminding me that it’s a prestigious school. I told her it’s just the 1st 6 months, too early to judge anything. My message to all parents, trust your kids and give them moral support and space. They have enough from these so called teachers who just worry about the school reputation and not the kid’s potential.”
Thank you for trying us out. We are glad that you have chosen Ohm as your preferred electricity retailer.
Our mantra is to keep prices competitive and not disadvantage customers who have signed up earlier. We still maintain the same view. Since the start of the Open Electricity Market (OEM) on 19 March 2018, we have kept our prices consistent in spite of the increase in Brent prices. After consideration, we realised that we are able to introduce additional savings to our customers and so, from 1st January 2019, we will be updating various Price Plans. The intention of this email is to inform you that although we are updating our prices, if you are still on our 3-month trial, you would be eligible to switch to any of our other price plans, you can choose to do so on our customer portal. at www.ohm.sg.
Our Fixed Ohm Price Plans will be lowered to the following prices (inclusive of GST):
6-Months Fixed Ohm: From 20.01 cents/kWh to 18.35 cents/kWh
12-Months Fixed Ohm: From 19.58 cents/kWh to 18.03 cents/kWh
24-Months Fixed Ohm: From 18.14 cents/kWh to 17.98 cents/kWh
Our Ohm Discount Price Plans will be updated to the following prices:
6-Months Ohm Discount: From 20% discount off Regulated Tariff to 25% discount off Regulated Tariff
12-Months Ohm Discount: From 22% discount off Regulated Tariff to 25% discount off Regulated Tariff
Below is a Quick Guide on the price plan change process:
1. Go to our website at www.ohm.sg and click on Login at the top right-hand corner. If you have forgotten your password, you can reset your password through the “Can’t remember your password” link.
2. When you have logged into Customer Portal, Go to the “Electricity Price Plan” tab.
3. Select “Change my Price Plan”.
4. You will be redirected to our webpage by clicking on the “leave” button.
5. Select the Price Plan of your choice on the left top corner on the price plan page (e.g. 24-months Fixed Ohm). Click on “Change Ohm Now”, your current information will be auto-populated.
6. You will then reach the confirmation page, click “confirm & verify” to accept.
7. If you face any issues or you are required to re-enter the information, you can refresh the screen by clicking on your account name on the top right-hand corner.
Should you have any questions during the change process or have other general questions about the electricity market, please do let us know and we will be happy to assist you.
#TeamOhm would like to thank you for a great 2018 and an even better one in 2019. Happy New Year!
Sincerely,
Team Ohm
Price Plan Change Summary for Fixed Ohm and Ohm Discount
One of the search terms for my website is “Where can I buy Staub cast iron cookware in Singapore”. I did some research and it sounds incredible, but one of the cheapest option is actually to buy from Amazon and ship it to Singapore.
This is a good idea for several reasons.
Firstly, Amazon has certain offers from time to time that make Staub cookware extremely cheap. For instance, currently the Staub Cast Iron Round Cocotte, 4-Quart (3.8 liters) is selling for USD $99.95, whereas its original price is USD $407. Hence, even after factoring in the shipping fees of around USD $30, it is likely to be cheaper than anywhere in Singapore. (See the below Staub cookware, which is selling at $99.95 and ships to Singapore.)
2. Local e-commerce websites may not necessarily be cheaper than Amazon. Be aware of a process called “drop shipping“. That means that the local website may not keep physical stock of Staub. When you order from them, they in turn order from USA and ship it to you! Hence, if you order directly from Amazon, you skip the middleman and it should logically be cheaper.
3. Amazon has extremely good customer service (that is how they became one of the richest companies in the world). If for any reason, your cookware is damaged (highly unlikely given the durability of cast iron), you can just lodge a complaint to Amazon and they will compensate you accordingly.
This is the dark side of the Integrated Programme, parents and students should read this (and definitely watch the video).
Something in the video is quite shocking: According to the interviewee Edwin, someone in his HCI batch “hacked into the files of another Project Work (PW) group to sabotage them so that they wouldn’t do well”. This is certainly “absurd”, as Edwin put it. (Note that PW is widely considered the least important of all subjects.) Such is the level of competitiveness in the top tier IP schools? Such unethical students are really the black sheep of IP program and society in general, it reflects the “black heart” of the student.
Good luck to Edwin, he seems like a nice guy. Perhaps this may be a blessing in disguise for him, his path less travelled may lead him to a better life in the Land Down Under (Australia).
Excerpt:
“With his top honours in finance and economics, Singaporean Edwin Chaw, who recently graduated from the University of Melbourne, should enjoy good job prospects when he returns home.
is an excellent book to learn all about the Earth. A piece of trivia is that the chess world champion 
Mathtuition88 