AT -Live

Silicon Valley was never meant to be

2011-09-26T10:32:00.000+08:00

I was speaking to some business professionals a few weeks ago. We’d just come out of a presentation by Methven Ltd, where the CEO Rick Fala shared with us his vision, and direction for the company. He shared with us the financials, operational and corporate strategy. He also noted that the biggest issue the company faces is marketing. They mainly market B2B, preferring to work with large clients like hotels and business chains. Not so much on private individual clients. Their bathroom products are for the top end niche market. They are headquartered in Auckland and have plants in China. All the design, innovation and magic happen with their designers in Auckland. For example, they created a special shower head that uses less water and can give you a more fulfilling all over spray.

I told him that I would like to help with their marketing and especially with regards to social media as I consider it my forte. He was surprised by my directness and said that not too many young people go out there and carve their own fortune. I told him that I have always wanted to be an entrepreneur, wanting to add value to society. Through the conversation, he then told me this story about Silicon Valley and Stanford University. Silicon Valley was never meant to be. It was that entrepreneurial culture that stems from Stanford that have that spillover effect on the surrounding area: Palo Alto, aka Silicon Valley.

People in Stanford are young and ambitious; they always wanted to outdo each other. This is a common trait among youth. New inventions, the Bell Labs, William Shockley and the electronic transistor are all results of the competition and natural drive of hungry young men. Silicon Valley have a history of over 100 years in entrepreneurialism. It spanned companies like Hewlett Packard, Cisco and Google just to name a few. Entrepreneurialism is a philosophy built into the DNA of all Stanford grads. It is a culture, like how I was infused in the LaSallian culture during my time in SFI, always keeping ‘Age Quod Agis’ in mind. Whatever you do, be the best that you can ever be.

Yet, here, we do not need fancy infrastructure or high tech devices to be entrepreneurial. Who says that we have to all be tech entrepreneurs? Sure, that is the direction the world is heading now. But, we have to play to our strengths of being here in the Waikato. As the world population looks to double in the next 10 years, food entrepreneurs are crucial. Doesn’t sound that fancy? Well you can always change the title. We here in the Waikato are meeting a need that always has demand for, aside for water of course, blue gold.

As youth, we already have that entrepreneurial attitude built into us. We are between the kid and the adult stage, so take advantage of it and make the best from both worlds. Remember, we have not absorbed that much of conventional knowledge so yet to become ‘uncreative’. On the other hand, we as youth still have that ‘child mind creativity’ in which we are not afraid to try new things, we take risk and pretend we don’t know about them. Broaden your horizons, try not to say no to anything; and if you do have to say no, make sure you have a very very good reason to justify it, like death. Otherwise, go for it and take every single opportunity that comes your way.

Have the assumption that the world is a wonderful place, and strive to add value to it. Back to Stanford, people there, as I said are young and hungry and always want to win over their peers, even in friendly games. Who’s not addicted to winning? Let that drive your competitive spirit. And it is that competitive spirit, of ever growing Stanford startups that attracts the VCs and angels. From, guess where? New York City! (Corporate kings are not that smart). And what attracted them, the entrepreneurial culture displayed by the youth of Stanford.

You don’t have to think far to be creative, in fact it’s in all of us since young. We just happen to lose it as we get piled with more and more ‘expert’s advice’. To be creative, take something original and try to tweak it a bit so that it looks different from what other people see it. And they’ll go, WOAHH!!! You’re brilliant! When in fact you’re simply changing their perception of that very same object.

To start that entrepreneurial revolution right here in Waikato, it needs just one small spark from someone influential. Then expect it to spread like a wildfire of ideas and ventures trying to outdo each other. Julian (fictional) is an influential chap, who has his circle of followers, everyone likes him and people respect him. One day, he starts the idea of having smart bins around campus. These bins automatically sort it out based on the trash’s chemical composition. It has proven a hit! Other people see that he’s successful, and want to outdo him and create something even better. This cycle goes on and on, each trying to outdo each other on sheer competitiveness. Do you think ‘older’ people would do this? They’ll probably get tired after a few rounds. They might not even try it because they fear that it may fail. This is a different scenario altogether for us.

We, youth, leaders of today (not tomorrow) shall lead the change in innovation and entrepreneurship.

All Rights Reserved ©
Andre Teow
26 Sept 2011

AT live new logo

2010-05-14T09:42:00.003+08:00

On my mind right now, exams in less than a month time, semester ending pretty soon. Joined SIFE (will explain in detail in next post). Gaining event management experience

Logo for this blog, and also my future company(hope to be on par with Richard Branson's virgin on day. About this logo:
1. Designed using CorelDraw X4.

2. Started of as a vector graphic, vector allows my to maintain the details in the picture when enlarging, eg) picture won't be blur if enlarged.

3. Reedited the vector on CorelPhoto-Paint x4.
I wanted to give it a nice chrome metallic shade, went to 3D effects, chose the cylinder option, this was to add a perception of a rounded 'AT'. 'AT' was done by simple brush strokes by the way.

4. Next, I transferred it to photoshop cs4 where I filter and 'AT' layer, blurred the image a bit so the colours whould kinda mix together. Finished of by adjusting the hue and saturation and then added a drop shadow just for the effect.

5. Tranfererd back to CorelDraw where I add in the word'live'. I wanted a tough but professional font at the same time, so it was quite a hard choice, but at last settled for Eras Bold. If you know sites where i could download fonts. I need it!

6. next, I added a line below the two words. Try to position them like they're on a orbit, used default setting.

7. The words in blue are interchangeble, will think of somrthinhg else later. use my favourite font, Tekton Pro.

The logo is a simple one, pretty amateurish. For now the background is white, if you have suggestions for the background, tell me. I'll incoporate them into my future designs.

Some really true situations..

2010-04-26T10:55:00.002+08:00

The eight rules of Dean Carney

2010-04-01T07:13:00.002+08:00

The eight rules of Dean Carney, from the book Ugly Americans, The true story of the Ivy League Cowboys who raided the Asian markets for millions. The book is a light read, and by no mean true — it’s highly fictionalized, but fun to read.

1. Never get into something you can’t get out by the closing bell. Every trade you make, you’re looking for the exit point. Always keep your eye on the exit point.

2. Don’t ever take anything at face value. Because face value is the biggest lie of any market. Nothing is ever priced at its true worth. The key is to figure out the real, intrinsic value — and get it for much, much less.

3. On minute, you have your feet on the ground and you’re moving forward. The next minute, the ground is gone and you’re falling. The key is to never land. Keep it in the air as long as you fucking can.

4. You walk into a room with a grenade, and your best-case scenario is walking back out still holding that grenade. Your worst-case scenario is that the grenade explodes, blowing you into little bloody pieces. The moral of the story: don’t make bets with no upside.

5. Don’t overthink. If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck — it’s a duck.

6. Fear is the greatest motivator. Motivation is what it takes to find profit.

7. The first place to look for a solution is within the problem itself.

8. The ends justify the means, but there’s only one end that really matters. Ending up on a beach with a bottle of champagne.

Turning point in life

2010-03-08T06:02:00.000+08:00

Just to update you guys a bit, I just started university last week, 1/3/10. A little prologue would be more appropriate, right?

Continuing where I left off... And so I attended Hamilton Boys’ High. The environment was different from what I used to experience. Class started at about 9am and ended at about 3 with 90 minutes of lunchtime and 30 minutes of morning tea every day. A period is an hour and I have about 4-5 periods a day. We switched classes every period so it’s kinda like a permanent floating class. Students are allowed to bring cellphones, iPods, PSP’s, etc..... as long as they don’t disturb the peace of the class.

There, I did English, statistics, physics, chemistry and economics. Most of the subjects are okay except for English and economics as I was a total virgin to it. English, because of the heavy Shakespearean language and the ultra boring novel which we have to study, ‘Atonement’. We, in year 13started the term with a leadership camp at Ngaruawahia (you can check Google earth for that!) The camp was good, learned lots of brand new stuff there. One thing that I remembered was the food. One of the best camp foods ever! Completely opposite from the usual scout cooking back home.

Coming back from the camp, I had the chance of seeing a new school year powhiri (pronounced as poferhti). It’s a formal welcome for new students at the school, the year 13’s did the haka or the traditional Maori warrior cry. You know those cheers that were done before any rugby game by the all blacks, yeah, that sorta thing. Very energetic and soulful bunch I would say. Another thing about Hamilton Boys’ high is that they are just sports-crazy. One of the top in NZ for touch rugby, rugby, cricket, football, basketball, badminton, and the list goes on. This school is basically an elite sports school. A new gymnasium has just been built, state of the art facility. The school also has the most comprehensive sports organisation I’ve seen. Nearly every teacher is in charge of a sports club, you’ve got from archery to equestrian (horse riding) right down to mountain biking and rowing. Not to mention the 4 tennis courts, 6 basketball cum badminton cum volleyball courts, two large fields front and back at could easily fit a 2 football fields, a rugby oval, softball and cricket greens.

The academic part was just as impressive as the sporting half. Too long to list, And that includes top in the world for Cambridge IGCSE ! The teachers there were fantastic, you talk to them as they were your friend, no personal barrier in between. I guess this was why the education system back home was lagging behind.

A month at Hamilton Boys’ High, I’ve met up with some pretty cool friends. But in week 4, I’ve receive a letter saying that I was accepted for university. This was when a hard decision came in, whether to continue and finish my high school here OR advance myself to the adult world. This was really the hardest decision I would have to make. I understand that I consider myself extremely lucky to be enrolled at HBHS, many people would jump at the chance for it, and I just let it hang by a thread. The pros and cons are there. If I stayed at school, I might be able to earn myself a scholarship, enjoy my very last year as a boy, attend the school combine social at the end of the year, and graduate from a NZ high school. And if I choose to accept my place at university, I would be able to graduate earlier, start work earlier and make my living a year earlier as well. And all those come at the cost of forfeiting my final year at high school, final chance to be a boy.

After carefully weighing the decision for about a week, I’ve decided to go to university. The few reasons are: getting a scholarship would be tough; my year is full of smart asses. Secondly, I felt that I really and only am a Franciscan and a La Sallian. Thirdly, my goal is to make a difference for the society, improving mankind’s quality of life. And I would be able to achieve this faster by starting earlier.

To Mrs Hassall, Mr Hughes, Mr Nixon and especially Mr Robinson, I am indeed indebted to you for my time at HBHS if you’re reading this. Although my time there was a short one, I will still carry what I’ve learned in my future undertakings. ‘Sapiens Fortunam Fingit Sibi’. My warmest gratitude to all the other teaching staff and friends I've made there.

Next Post: The transition

1st few weeks of January

2010-02-26T18:55:00.005+08:00

Alright, I bet everyone is itching to know how I’ve been, how’s NZ, any difference compared to Malaysia, bla bla bla.......

Just a quick over view of January, I was bored to hell at home with nothing to do except well, reading books by Ben Mezrich (fantastic author, getting more of him soon), telling how Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook literally conquered the world in a matter of two months.

Oh yeah, on the 19^th Jan, I went to see my school, Hamilton Boys High School (HBHS). HBHS is one of the elite schools in New Zealand, where I stayed. I have to say that I was damned super f**king lucky to be accepted there. Only a very select few from overseas were picked, 10…15 maybe. How I manage it, I’m not quite sure myself. I just emailed the enrolment form, answer a few questions and poof! I was in. Maybe the same way Joel got into KTJ. So I met up with Mr. Robinson, the vice principal of the school. This man was one of the most positive, most influential, most gentlemanly man I’ve ever met. I think he surpasses even Mr Ong and Barack Obama combined! The moment I walk into the office which was lined with more than a hundred trophies and newspaper cuttings, Mr Robinson already recognises me.

‘That was one of the longest and most impressive resumes I’ve ever seen. You are obviously a very bright student’ he begin the conversation.

‘Thank you, I’m very much appreciated that you admit me into HBHS’ I said. I thought if he could have looked at Yong Pak Chin’s portfolio or even Kenny Ang’s. They would all be admitted as well. SFI’s 5H of 2009 is a very unique class. After telling me about the school’s very colourful history, he went on to introduce me to the staffs. When I had problems with my subject choice, he called the subject teachers to help me out. The dean in charge of my year also came down to talk to me about a leadership camp. Obviously, the school was expecting a lot from me, how I could bring up the school’s name and such. Curse myself for writing such an elusive essay about myself!

However, I chose to stall the enrolment as I was waiting for the University to confirm my place there. Fast forward 2 weeks, I met up with Dr Foo at the university. He’s a lecturer in the finance department. He advised me to go back to high school.

‘High school life in NZ is not the same as in Malaysia’ he says. ‘You only get to be a boy for one more year and then you’ll be an adult for a very very long time’. Mr Robinson’s words also echoed in my mind ‘when you’re an old man like me, 6 months is nothing, compared to the youth you have now’. (I’ll be starting my degree in July if I did pre-u now, January if I did year 13 in high school)

So on the 29 of January, I made my mind to go back to be a boy for one last year. My Robinson was glad, ‘we thought we lost you forever, luckily I still kept your file’. I went on to complete my admission into Hamilton Boys’ High School. I was supposed to meet a Chinese guy there, my new mate. According to Mr Robinson, he’s the world no. 1 for Cambridge IGCSE economics. Yup, as you guessed it, Chinese for China, I looked up the academic statistics and was surprised to find that among the top 50 students in the school, 35 of them are Asians. I suddenly felt proud being one. LOL

Recapping the year 2009

2010-01-05T09:10:00.001+08:00

Looking back at this year, it seems like everything just went by so quickly. This whole year seems even faster than my whole primary school years combined. In a blink of an eye, 2009 was the year I finished secondary school. The dreaded SPM exams just came and go. Hey, we studied 2 years for it. Looking back, as what Jameson Liu always says ‘SPM ba liao ma (Its only SPM!)’. Yeah, before that, we thought this exam was our life but really it isn’t anything at all.

My last year in secondary school, I was in the class of SFI 5H ’09. Basically, 5H I would say is made up of two main elements, the students’ and of course the very lovable/sarcastically Bro Michael Kum. No offence there, sorry. Just a brief history lesson, students of 5H were mainly students of 2H , then 3H, after that we parted temporarily in 4P and 4H. Finally, you get the very diverse and unique 5H. I don’t know whether it’s purely coincidental or what, but did you noticed there are 2 teachers that has been with the class since the beginning of time, Bro Mike and Mr Yong. I feel that there’s a certain affinity to the class ever since.

So the year started, Bro Michael was our form teacher, taught us English. And then we have Mr Yong of course, fantastic history storyteller. Ms Hong –Malay Language, Mrs Juliet –Moral studies, Mr Chong –Chemistry, Mdm Goh –Physics/civics, Pn Norzamah –Biology, Ms Ser –Maths, Mr Lee –Add Maths. And arguably, we had the best P.E class ever in secondary school with Mr Fauzi as the gym teacher. He’s stout, but full of energy and youthfulness. The head prefect has his own mom in school. We call her his ‘Kai Ma’ made famous by none other than our form teacher himself. One of the grand events this year was helping ‘mommy’ organize the school annual concert. Excellent show, no doubt Leroy becomes the Franciscan of the year.

Friends I made in secondary school are friends for life no matter what our differences are. Some are short, some are tall; some are big headed, some are just soft in nature; some smell pungent, some are pure slackers. But no matter what we are, we are a somebody. Let’s take an example, let me see….. the lowest profile boy in class, Chee Seng, am I right? Yeah I should be…. Bro Mike doesn’t even know he existed. I tried talking to him one day and that guy can annoy you right to the bone, and I thought I was paranoid already! That guy can become a lawyer!

I don’t know why but this year I wasn’t too keen in the opposite sex. Instead of going out with the gals, I find myself at the mamaks with the guys’ watching Chelsea thrash Arsenal 3:0. (Chelsea champions, Leroy that was for you!) Other than that, I was at home married to my History and biology textbooks. Why was I studying so hard? F

Recently, I heard Joel ‘Yippie’ was offered a scholarship, congratz man! This shows me something, you don’t need to be a big headed academic genius to be successful in life. Exams aren’t really everything. Joel. You proved me wrong, keep it up, Slackers Rule!

One big event that happens this year for me was the retirement of SFI principal, Mr Ong Chong Wee, I wrote about him in the previous post so you could just take a look. This man changed how I viewed life altogether. Two other people have also made a big impact on me this year. If like times magazine, I were to name a man of the year, he would be Mr Ong. However to me two other people who didn’t make the list were Mt Liao and Bro Mike. Mr Liao was my add math tuition teacher, his stories about how he used to defy his teachers and often fail his exams inspired me. ‘Do just enough to pass, I 80 also A while you 99 also A, Why try so hard?’ He says. He told us about the all important loophole in the law. As you are not breaking the law, you can use it, for example, the law doesn’t say you cannot look down when going to the restroom. So, LOOK DOWN! Can see other people's answer! Mr Liao is the ideal strategist, very objective orientated; he does things to get the job done. Whereas Mr Ong is the opposite, he always adds value to what he done. While, for Bro Mike I think there no further explanation needed. :-X

2009 was the year Facebook became a trend among us. And before that, what do we have, Friendster. Haha, we’re all goin with the flow. Friendster no more!

2010 is gonna be a fantastic year for all of us, just wait… and see.

1650:251209

2009-12-29T09:55:00.003+08:00

Noticed I was a little quiet lately even after the SPM exams? yea, I was quite busy and all. The lack of the internet has also hindered me down so much that even wheels might not been invented yet. Well, right now, I'm blogging from another country about 8900km away from Malaysia.

1650. The time I left home for the last time. I was leaving for a new place (well not that new, just slightly unfamiliar). I left home for Hamilton, New Zealand. I was actually born in Wellington so I was just moving to a place up north. You see, the southerly you go, the colder it gets. So Hamilton was just nice, not too cold nor too hot unlike Auckland.

2130. My plane left the ground for which I stood on them for the last 12 years. I was going home. It was a 10 hour journey in the plane, MAS. There wasn’t much to do besides the LCD screen in front of me. The seats were quite tight and the plane was rather small (Boeing 777-200). So I watched this movie about some guinea pig spies trying to save the world, G-force was just OK. So I switched to G.I. Joe, which was way better than the chipmunk film. Next, I tried the games, well they’re dull and sick. No point commenting much. A game called ‘Pong’ rekindled the memories where I and my 4 ‘Brit buds’ played. It was the only one that was worth playing. For the rest of the journey, I switched to audio mode and listen to the musics till I dozed off. While in the midst of going to dreamland, one song particularly sentimental, try googling it, Daughtry’s ‘September’. Nearly made my tears rolling…

1220, local time: Auckland Int. Airport.
Just for your info, NZ is 5 hours ahead of Malaysia, So at that time it was 7.20 am there. My first impression, I was home. Secondly, the securities and customs were super strict. I had to pass through about 5 security gates before reaching the passport processing point. The line was long. How do I describe it, something like people lining up for the corkscrew at Genting during the school holidays. I was expected to wait 40 mins(like in Malaysia) before it was my turn. Amazingly it took less than 15 minutes! So I approached the officer with my passport. This happened while he was processing the documents.

‘Is that your son?’, the officer point to a small boy
‘Err… no, that’s my brother’,

'Then how come you’re so fair while he’s so dark'
(What should I say!, Andre, come on, you're the master of lame excuses! Think, think, think!)

'I supposed its some genetic factor I think'

‘You’re too young to have a son, huh?’ he said with a laugh

We pass the final gates, collected our baggage and went through the arrival gates

Coming out of the airport, I was greeted by a very familiar surrounding...

The weather and climate is as hot as Malaysia itself. Perhaps even hotter. Maybe because it was the summer. I guess the temperatures were about 32* or 33* Celsius. The ground was scorching. I then made my way back to Hamilton in my mum's car. Believe it or not, the car cost NZ$1800 only! Its a Ford Festiva by the way. But in every yin, there's a yang. The petrol cost around NZ$1.90 which works out to be RM4.56/litre.
Hamilton is a beautiful place, different from Auckland. The green rolling hills, the cows, and the whole landscape itself simply stop you in your tracks. This was the location of one of the settings for the Lord of the rings: fellowship of the rings. Going a little up, I passed the Waikato River, which was another setting where Frodo, Merry and Poppin were separated form Aaragon and the other warriors.

And hey, the sun was still shining brightly at 6'o clock when I got home. I finally saw the darkness coming only at 9.30pm.

The night was sheer hell. The coldness at night bites you right to the bones. Even my 3 layered jersey and blankets weren't enough to keep them out. At about 5am, the rays of lights blast though my windowstill. Noticed anything so far?

The sun rises at 5am and sets at 9pm. Next month, I'll be entering the peak of summer, where the sun wont set till 10. The day would be about 33*celcius and night would fall to around 13*celcius.
I'll upload the pictures and photos in my next post or you can checkout my facebook page.

To everyone, Happy New Year 2010!

Michael Jackson Medley

2009-10-28T23:27:00.002+08:00

Michael Jackson releases This is it today. 28 September 2009. It shows footages of his pre-concert rehearsals.

I think this is a really beautiful piece for Mj. Just play it and let it run in the background. Enjoy!

Principled Principal

2009-10-27T01:16:00.006+08:00

Wrote this piece in tribute to a man whom I deeply admired, Mr Ong Chong Wee.

‘The Secret is how to die.’

The line above was the first sentence from Dan Brown’s international bestseller, The Lost Symbol. Theologically, this meant the calling of heaven for the soul when death draws near. Every man leaves the face of the earth, the person he loved so dearly, the memories he treasures so deeply. Over the years, this term evolved metaphorically and it now describes what a person brings with him when he’s leaving a phase in life he’s so familiar with.

On the 23^rd of October 2009, SFI Principal, Mr Ong Chong Wee retires. He may have stopped being the principal, but he still continues to teach and educate the young minds of this technology driven generation. Teaching and learning have one thing in common. They don’t have an age limit. A Chinese master calligrapher teaches his students to appreciate traditional art and culture, or a grandson teaching his grandfather how to communicate via Facebook. Mr Ong is a man who constantly learns from prominent leaders like Obama and Najib. And then, he shares with us what he learnt from them, particularly the values which were instilled in them.

Over the years, Apart from Anas Zubedy, I’ve never heard a person who concenters so much on the importance of values and integrity than our very own principal. Believe it or not, he has never skipped a day in his life in his profession as a teacher. What motivates him to do so is the sense of responsibility. He knows that the students out there need his guidance and assistance. I admired him when most teachers would choose to teach the top class if given the choice, Mr Ong did exactly the opposite. He taught the ones weak academically. He wanted them to succeed in life just like all the other students. I myself as a LaSalle tutor personally felt that sense of satisfaction when a student of mine finally passed his maths test. Although it’s only a pass, I was proud of him. This I believe is an example of the sense of achievement and accomplishment from the students he taught that made him an outstanding educator. An educated person is one that is responsible and independent. Mr Ong is a 1^st class person that we should all try to emulate as much as possible.

Time after time who could possibly forget one of his famous quotes, ‘to be successful in life, you need two things. One is your roots and the other is your wings’. When he meant roots, he means that we must always have our principles and keep to our traditions and distinctiveness. At the same time, keeping our feet firmly on the ground no matter how high we may ever soar. The wings symbolises the knowledge and wisdoms we gain along the 4 phase of life. Lastly, he said he must always remember to give back to society. Mahatma Gandhi once said knowledge without conscience is nothing. Remember when Mr Ong told us his future plans not too long ago? He wanted to do charity and social work. The man who has given up half his life to education still wants to continue serving the society! Mr Ong is a real gem, and we are indeed blessed to have collided with an individual like him in our lives.

Still recall the times when our dear principal did rounds on the school? He sees a piece of plastic wrapper in his way. He walks towards it, pick it up and put it where it ought to be. This action seemed almost natural to him. It’s like what we are supposed to do instead of just walking pass that particular wrapper without even blinking an eye. He had planted the seeds of values well, especially in the prefects. They are the ones who bring order and security. If I’ve not forgotten, Mr Ong spoke about order and feeling secure before, the key to becoming a happy and contented person. Thinking about it, the whole example makes sense, picking up the plastic brings order to the place and after that you feel secure and happy because the place you now stand is clean.

Lastly, the one thing that I will always cherish Mr Ong for is the value of respect. The man hangs on firmly to the ground even as the top boss in the school. He looks at people for who they are and not based on their materialistic features. He treated every one of us like we were special in some way, irrespective of who we are. In turn, all of us should do just the same for him. A simple act of paying attention when he speaks goes a long way. It develops your social and inner values. It’s not surprising for a person who had just met Mr Ong to instantly feel warm and welcomed. Our principal is an excellent role model in many ways.

He made a request that all gifts to him be donated to goodwill. I realised that he cannot possibly bring everything with him toward his next phased in life. However, just like going to heaven, you only bring your soul. I am quite sure that the thoughts and memories of his 10 years in SFI will be forever remaining etched deep in his heart.

This piece is a reflection of dreams and aspirations he presented to us.

For the years you have been with us. Thank you for adding that extra bit of value in our lives. Happy Retirement, Mr Ong.

Andre Teow

5 Hijau

*Pictures courtesy of JS incomplete

Best Thank You Speech EVER!!

2009-10-14T03:38:00.001+08:00

MTV Shows

The part where the brain starts talking to him is fantastic

New spm grading system

2009-10-03T14:14:00.000+08:00

The Star Online, October 3rd.

PETALING JAYA: A new grading system for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) will be implemented from this year.

Education director-general Tan Sri Alimuddin Mohd Dom said the change would provide a detailed breakdown of excellent candidates who obtained grade As in the examination.

“The change means there will now be a new grade of A+. Previously, the highest grade possible in the SPM was 1A,” he said in a statement yesterday.

Under the present system, students are graded as 1A, 2A, 3B, 4B, 5C, 6C, 7D, 8E and 9G while the new grades would be from A+ to G (see chart).

Alimuddin said the change was based on feedback from various quarters that the existing system did not provide a more detailed breakdown of excellent students.

“The change in the grading system will enable more qualified candidates to be chosen for training programmes and new scholarships, such as the one announced by the Prime Minister recently,” he said.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said in June that a new category of Public Services Department scholarships would be introduced next year based purely on merit, regardless of race.

Alimuddin said the Cabinet approved the change in the grading system last month.

“This will not affect the examination at all as it only involves a change in the grades given,” he said.

He said school principals have been directed to explain the new grading system to students sitting for the SPM this year.

Now go to hell.... gotta aim for A+ instead of A1. A1 ain't the best anymore.
Stupid.

The new system's gonna be like the following:

XX -> A+
1A -> A
2A -> A-
3B -> B+
4B -> B-
5C -> C+
6C -> C-
7D -> D
8E -> E
9G -> G

What was I doing at 3am on the morning of my chemistry paper

2009-09-10T02:46:00.008+08:00

1. Tried to read up on chemistry

2. Bored, so I went online

3. Checked out Facebook and posted some comments on the wall which Bro Mike replied to (scary..)

4. Suddenly Joel yip signed in (what was he doing?)

5. Went youtube for random search. came across methodists' High Prom night. Shawn Yap was the lead singer

6.Listened to some Emo songs by the Fray (felt sleepy after that)

7.But I knew couldn't sleep too soon, "I still have the whole form 5 chapters here!!"

8.Went to the kitchen and open the freezer (why isn't there any light in here!?)

9.Read a news article "Bed sharing 'bad for your health'". Who knows? it might be useful for my EST essay

10.Went out and count the number of cars on Jalan Melaka Raya (sign of nothing better to do...)

What About now... Lets do something..

2009-08-28T21:32:00.003+08:00

Driven by passion, inspired by the men who revolutionise

2009-08-24T11:26:00.004+08:00

Finally I’m going in one direction

For the last few weeks, I’ve been deciding what course should I take up soon in university. I initially set my sight on event management. Why? Interest perhaps, I like to organise and run things. I also hoped to work with the media and celebrities. So I found out that my job scope would be hosting celebrity parties, organising charity concert, media exhibitions, managing projects in corporate companies and stuff like that. It also provides a platform where I get to talk. Yes, I like to talk, given the opportunity to do so.

So recently, I was reading a book by Richard Branson. This man is a phenomenon. He’s got business all over the world in all types of genre! Bookstores, resorts, airlines, cruse ships, music companies and most recently galactic tourism, you name it, he got it!

I also read about this guy called warren buffet, 2^nd richest man in the world. What’s his job? Investor. He made his billions by putting his cash into another company and eventually buying over them. The company made the cash for him, he just invest.

So I was thinking about my dream, to be millionaire by 21, yeah I know, sounds unrealistic. I am a DREAMER. I always think of the impossible, unorthodox ways to be different from others. I may even be an eccentric or a wacko decide to pursue the long and exceedingly risky path of investment. The world out there is enormous, money is everywhere, stocks, share, properties, services, bank trusts but of course you have to work hard to earn them. I was inspired by these 2 men, who changed the way of business all together.

‘You make money, you happy, no money you goin suicidal’ one black man ( I’m not trying to be racist here) from Brooks, New York said. That’s how risky this path is. They can make you or even wreck you. I want to revolutionise the way Wall Street operates altogether and then I’ll take the world by storm! OK this is a little unrealistic but again anything is possible

Oh, before I forget, I’m doing economics and marketing later on. Wish me luck!

Nonsense is what drives the world forward

2009-07-06T21:07:00.005+08:00

Rather strange, but have you notice that the world actually progress because of nonsense. What I'm talking about are crazy, outrageous ideas that actually shape the modern world we live in now.

When I let my imaginations run wild, I tend to think of stupid and impossible ideas. Ideas that are beyond the human capabilities. I told my friends lots of my ideas and the very same reply I get is,

'Nonsense", "You're talkin' shit", "A dreamer's dream"

An example, in the 18th century, people drem of flying and this is what they created

Looks pretty crappy, but these were the crazy ideas that people were thinking of long long ago. So time after time they developed this. A while later, the first man was sent to the moon.

For other people, nonsense is crap, and crap is rubbish, and rubbish is s**t.
Ever heard of the phrase, 'one man's trash is another man's treasure'
For me, I believe that all imaginations are creative, no matter how crappy they may sound. See the relationship on how nonsense is the key to a better world (and bad too!)

At the present, I'm working on a project called 'I care for the environment' organised by INTI UC. A lucrative contest is on to find the next crazy green idea that may revolutionize the way we consume energy. Meanwhile, lots of not-so-crazy green ideas are just waiting to be implemented.

But why focus on "crazy" solutions?

"The day before something is a breakthrough, it's a crazy idea," Evans said. "We haven't yet had a major breakthrough in green technology yet, so all of the ideas challenge the current conceptions of energy production."
And these are the great ideas I've found so far:
Ways to save the planet:

1. Wrapping Greenland

Dr Jason Box, a glaciologist from Ohio State University, proposes wrapping Greenland in a blanket. By covering the valleys that form darker areas, therefore attracting the sun's heat, he hopes to significantly slow the melting of the glacier.

2. Hungry ocean

Dr Brian von Herzen of the The Climate Foundation and marine biologists at the University of Hawaii and Oregon State University believe that the ocean could absorb much more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by creating plankton blooms. This is done by mixing the nutrient rich water in the colder depths of the ocean with the warmer surface water by placing huge wave-powered pumps on the swells of the North Pacific.

3. Space sun shield

Professor Roger Angel, who helped create the world's largest telescope, believes the power of the sun could be reduced by placing a giant sun shield in space. The 100,000 square mile sunshade would be made up of trillions of lenses that reduce the sun's power by two per cent.

4. Raining forests

Consultant environmental engineer Mark Hodges believes forests could be generated by dropping "tree bombs" from a plane. The seedlings are dropped in a wax canister full of fertiliser that explodes when it hits the ground and grows into a tree. The method has already been used to regenerate mangrove forest in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina.

5. Infinite Winds

Fred Ferguson, a Canadian engineer specialising in airships, has designed a wind turbine that will use the constant winds that exist at 1,000 feet to produce renewable energy.

6. Brighter World

Stephen Salter, an Edinburgh University engineer, believes that clouds can be created to protect the world from the power of the sun. He proposes forming clouds above the ocean by sending salt into the atmosphere.

7. Orbital power plant

Former Nasa physicist John Mankins believes the world could have a never-ending source of power and reduce carbon emissions by sending thousands of satellites into space to gather the sun's power and then beam them down to earth as a microwave.

8. Fixing carbon

David Keith, 2006 Canadian Geographic Environmental Scientist of the Year, believes he can create a machine that sucks in ambient air and sprays it with sodium hydroxide and then expels it as clean air. The carbon from the air will be captured and stored underground.
There! What you think are nonsense may just moves the world ahead!

Franciscan Night 2009

2009-06-25T23:11:00.026+08:00

This post on the event contains about 70 pictures in all, from start to finish including exclusive backstage photographs! It is recommended to open this post ONLY, separately if you want to avoid swearing at how slow streamyx really is.

Event main backdrop

Representatives of various uniform bodies makng up the guard of honour

Teachers of the 90's

Drummers getting ready

Just posing for the camera

These are just what hapen backstage

Girls having fun

The lights are dimmed, show's about to start

Part of the crowd from the VIP section

Exclusive front rw sits for VVIPs

More VVIPs

students eagerly waiting (probably lower forms)

'When's the show gonna start, we've been here for ages!'

Mr and Mrs Ong

Bro. Michael Kum with somebody

Parents

We are handicap friendly, right?

The 3 emcees, Jameson, Andre, Eugene

'To start of the show, introducing...

'when are we going up..?'

'I'm ready, i'm ready!'

'...Introducing the franciscan military band!'

Kompang guys strutting their stuff

nice opening, not bad

24 seasons' Drums troupe

'We twist and we turn and we bang'

Drum rollls..

Bom Boom Pow! (24 drums version)

SFI Choir with a peice

Francisco Overee standing out

How do you measure love..

School band extravagant opening

They played 3 masterfully crafted musical piece

Indian Cultural Dance

Star of the show, showing his moves

And they end with a bang

Wushu performance, staff

wushu performance, Sword

Indian;'s way of self defence

Even taekwando can become a dance routine

Silat

A demonstration

A performance by the SFI girls

SFI's version of Elvis Presley

And his trusty sidekick

Shufflers shuffling

Why were we called national champs!

2009-06-14T01:09:00.006+08:00

These are just some of our winnning footage two years back.

NIE Campaign 4 Rewads 2007 part 1

2009-06-14T00:53:00.004+08:00

This was our star poster. Showcases multicolored Malaysia

This is the poster that I think caught the judges attention. Showcases the country's lush foliage
Our first poster. Believe it or not, this was done on Microsoft paint

These were what propelled my team, Malaccans (pretty lame name huh) to the finals. We were shortlisted from over 14 000 teams.

Reliving The Dream!

A continueation, revitalisation, reinventment

2009-06-14T00:37:00.002+08:00

Finally, I get a chance to blog again. Man, those two months were hectic. Super busy, exams, club activities, family bla bla bla.. So, I'm making it a point to blog at least once a week no matter how busy I am.

Recently, Ive been involved in he mag inc project as well, so its a pretty packed holiday for me.
This blog is going to a whole new direction!

Keeping you guys updated!!

Might Minds 2009 Melaka Zone

2009-04-01T22:29:00.002+08:00

For the sake of the thrills, I will not spare any details. Might be dull, boring... but read on!

Last Sunday, 29 March 2009, I left my house at 10am, should be on time for the registration that starts at 11 at Mahkota Parade. FYI, my team consisted of Yong Pak Chin, Jameson Liu and I. So at about 10.55, I got a call from the teacher asking me to hurry up, she doesn't sound too happy then. At the time, I was about two minutes away from the shopping centre.Almost there, a minor mishap happen, that two minutes became 12 minutes.

So, I reached the venue at 11.10. by the time, I saw bunch of other competitors already there and the briefing has already gone halfway. I noticed the other team from my school and I noticed that only one of my team mates was there. Can't see jameson anywhere. The teacher that called me ask me to get into my team quickly and said, 'I settle with you later, now go, quickly!' in a tone that I knew she was annoyed.

So apparently, Jameson was not there at all. 3 minutes before the competition starts, our saviour turned up, Yeow. He was draft in as a replacement by the teacher. Why him, there was nobody else there at that very time, Yeow was in school involed in the chinese chess competition, so he was THE ONE.

11.30, the competition begins with the first stage in which you have to answer 20 objective questions. Top 30 teams enter the 2nd stage.

1st Q Who discovered the proton in an atom?
a. Niel Bohr
b. Albert einstein
c. Ernest Rutherford
d. James Chadwick
e. J.J thompson
So this is the 1st question huh? We don't really read up on our history, so we just guess
Our answer was 'c'.
And the answer was C!

Of the a perfect start, so this momentum carried on, we just keep getting every answer correct. After 14 questions we have a perfect 140/140. Top of the scoreboard, only team with perfect score. That was quite an achievement. So at the very last question,

Q20 Who was born the earliest?
a. Tunku Abdul Rahman
b. Long Jaafar
c. Tun Abdul Razak
d. Ngah Ibrahim
e. Tun Hussein Onn
WTF!? there were suppose to ask questions regarding maths and science. Eg: Q12 what is 148 x 600? History is a subject we don't really bother to read, so again we guessed 'd'
An the answer was "B"
We got wrong for that of course, but we still qualify for the final as one of the top 30 teams.

Stage 2
In this stage we have to design something on a certain topic. We were given materials.
So the topic was
'BUILD A TABLE LAMP WITH ADJUSTABLE HEIGHT AND HEAD'
we poured the contents out from the material bag and we were given.... SCRATCH
Yes, build the lamp from scratch, bottle, straws, ice cream sticks...etc

I was blank, no ideas at all
To be continue/...

Running the show

2009-03-19T23:41:00.003+08:00

After a week of uncertainty...... I finally felt certain for once.
For the school concert, "Franciscan Night", I will be the emcee, the guy running the show with my partner Eugene Wong.

Just a little background on "Franciscan Night (FN)" This is the first time we will be organising a concert. There's a few factors involved in here. First, I believe that with our principal retirement, he would want something sweet as memories. Secondly, a teacher's initiative to give us this idea to start this concert, to be honest, I was quite pessimistic at the time when she announce this plan last year. Nevertheless, everything changed now. I, with all my might will make this concert a stunning success.

So about a week ago, we had an audition for the role of the emcee, I was hoping for it, I wanted it so much! On that day, a friend of mine who was rather humorous got the job. Gosh, DISAPPOINTMENT! big one yet.
Even I told the teacher that he was a better guy, and he doesn't seem to be quite happy at it at all. Seeing my disappointment, this kind teacher offered me to be the narrator of the musical play, i declined.

Some time later, I ask Jameson about his job, see whether I can help him in any way. He was unsure of being and emcee, but he also don't want to turn down the teacher's offer. I told him that I'd like to be the emcee, less than 2 secs he said 'you wanna become emcee ah? take it lah, I'm too stressed already'. Jameson, if you're reading this now, (thank you very much)^8 rotated 90*.

Now, the show rest on my shoulders, make it or break it, me. I will not disappoint the trust the teacher, the organising team and my friend put into me. This is the time.

And I taste every moment,
And livin' out loud,
I know this is the time,
This is the time of my life...

Time of my life- David Cook

It's all in the mind!

2009-03-01T00:45:00.005+08:00

Quite true, its the belief....only!

Magazine Inc.

2009-03-01T00:42:00.003+08:00

An old competition with a totally new format. This time we have to create a 3 page magazine.
The theme: Teen Angst

It actually means, we have to create a magazine about the problems faced by teenagers today. So for me, I joining with another 2 former team members, Lee K.M & S. Tay. we'll be choosing two more new members to join the team soon.

What I have in mind is highlighting those little things that we often overlook. That is how creativity comes about. I cannot post my ideas here for certain reasons though. The main thing we need now are ideas, ideas people never thought of.

Equally, The magazine layout have to be attractive and simple at the same time. not too over cluttered.
The crunch : This magazine have too bee right at the border of sensitivity, and problems. Just a little-little bit over, we're out! Just nicely positioned, Hooray!

Open Mindedness and the real 'tidak apa' atitude

2009-03-01T00:04:00.002+08:00

The Scenario

"So, I registered for the minds contest earlier. But there was this twenney little bit of problem. A school is allowed 2 teams, so I was team no. 2. The 3rd team consists of a guy who hates me over some small issue since last year (T), a good friend and a neutral one. So this team didn't get in because they were 5 minutes late for the registration. ;-D.

However, T still insisted that his' was the better team and would stand a better chance of winning (He tried to bend the rules a bit). hey, My team got in fair and square."

And because of this, he hates me even more, so what did was...

'adopt the true Malaysian attitude!'
I don't dislike him or whatever, neutral with the guy. You see, what for be his enemy, I don't bother with these small sorry tiny problems. that's the way to live life. keep you mind open for ideas and dreams you want to achieve

Tidak Apa! No problem!

Mighty Minds Challenge

2009-03-01T00:00:00.002+08:00

While I was reading the papers some time ago, I stumbled upon this contest that caught my attention. The first prize was RM3000 for the state level and RM6000 for the nationals. The contest is divided into 2 stages And this is what we have to do
- Form a team of 3 with a teacher-in-charge
-Answer maths and science related questions for stage one

Now this is the interesting part,
- Get past the 1st stage then you move on to stage 2 in which you have to create/design a model to solve a problem in 90 min!

So I formed a team which is not too much of the academic side, but more of the creativity. Why...? Because I feel that new things was developed by the right side and not the left side of the brain. The left side is for analysis while the right side is for imagination!

Themes for the Franciscan 2009

2009-02-18T21:43:00.003+08:00

"The Franciscan 2009 (school magazine) needs for a theme to be work on"

A few days ago, some magazine editors ask me this question. Here are just some of the themes I suggested:

1. Beyond boundaries
Normally students think their abilities are limited to just books and what the teacher teaches them. This theme is to enable them to find their confidence and go even furthur than they think they will. 1 answes, CREATIVITY, they are just diamonds waiting to be polished and cut.

2. Inspiring moments, Aspiring dreams
This theme came to my head when I thought of Mr Ong, SFI princal of 10 years. He inspired us, motivated us, he let us reach for the skies. He gave us the dream that all Franciscans would do well. AGE QUOD AGIS!

The reason of this blog

2009-02-07T00:31:00.002+08:00

This blog is for all sorts of creative ideas, pictures, dreams and ambitions. not posting a great idea here equals nothing at all.
Did you realise that when you thought of something very practical, and you didn't write that down. Well, you go home and you forgot what you were thinking of. Happen to me loads of times!
Another reason for this blog is to achieve certain goals in life, goals like eg. climbing mt Everest or going to a trip to the moon. Goals that we think is entirely impossible

Impossible is Nothing
Just do It

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