Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Think Creatively

The mentor moment: think creatively
By John Bittleston

The article is published on today's My Paper, 16 Dec 2009, page A6

I like the article and the way he expanded the concept of creativity.

Instead of cutting the paper and keep it, I thought it will be nice to have an e-copy to share with like-minded. I was thrilled to find the article on terrificmentors.com, the bonus of reading it online is, you have the choice of reading the text or listening to the audio:

http://www.terrificmentors.com/2009/12/11/think-creatively/

I like many of his thought and here are some that I would like to quote and share:


"Everyone thinks they are creative; very few people actually are."

"If we can get over the fear of failure we can think creatively. "

'The four Nobel Prize winners who discovered penicillin did not have financial accounts or Key Performance Indicators."

"Of the seven rules for being creative observation, ... is the first."

"Creativity is the ability to perceive relationships."

'You perceive only when you are alert"

"We score an “A” for focus and a “Z” for peripheral vision."

'Sensitivity is the most difficult of the creative tools."

"Insensitive people cause most of the accidents in the world. They don’t have their antennae tuned to danger. It can be fatal."

"Reflection is the tool that is hardest to define. It is part analysis, part interpretation, part projection."

"Humour is, to me, the most important of all the tools, and the most neglected."

"If creativity is the ability to perceive relationships, humour is the ability to create them."

"Vision and foresight are ways of describing imagination."

"Imagination is itself creativity, so not an ingredient."

"To achieve foresight we must forecast."

"Every decision in life is based on forecast."

"Foresight is extrapolating what we know. Vision is seeing what we cannot see. Together they form a vital element of creativity."

"Problem solving means overcoming an unresolved obstacle in order to achieve a desired objective."

"Problems are a mixture of trouble (sometimes potentially disastrous), inconvenience, emotional upset, irritation and opportunity."

"Unfortunately, we often let the emotional aspects of a problem cloud the usually simple solution."

"If we approached each problem with the question ‘what do I want to achieve?’ and forgot all the side issues we should see the solution quickly."

"With easy access to data why do we need memory?"

"The very speed of today’s communication determines what we must be able to call up without delay – or miss an opportunity that may not present itself again."

"The rule for modern memory is relevance. Where in the past showing off knowledge was often a way to command respect we now need to demonstrate that the knowledge we are displaying is relevant to the subject and, even more important, to the moment."

"My rule is to try to remember the future, not the past."

"Stories – and exercises – are the best way to learn creativity"

"What of the educational needs for creativity? We admire teachers and those educating the young. They are hugely important. But they are stuck in knowledge-based formula teaching quite unsuitable for our present needs."

"Today we must have a new, broader-based form of education encompassing the 98% of the brain we are not using."

"Such education is not about fact and experience but about imagination and creativity."

"I am what I eat; I become what I think; I will be what I decide."

I like the article very much and read it again and again!

Listening to the audio when I write this blog make me reflect on my understanding, you may like to do the same and get the full text or audio from:

http://www.terrificmentors.com/2009/12/11/think-creatively/

Second shot - precision heritage photography

I visited the Second shot blog today and like to recommend it:

http://2ndshot.blogspot.com/search/label/2nd%20Shot

Here is the words from the author of the blog:

"This blog is my attempt at second shot - precision heritage photography - and my search for little nuggets of Singapore history and heritage. When free, I can be found wandering along the streets and elsewhere, trying to uncover our geographical past."

If you like to link the present to the past, you would not like to miss this blog and the photos of the "then and now" taken in Singapore!

Dexterine Ho

Wednesday, December 09, 2009

U.S. Academic Libraries Today: Challenges and Opportunities

This morning, I attended the following talk hosted by NUS Libraries:

U.S. Academic Libraries Today: Challenges and Opportunities

Speaker: Dr Wendy Simmons, Information Resource Officer, US Embassy, Thailand
Date: Wednesday 9 December 2009
Time: 10.00am – 12.00pm
Venue: Theatrette 2, Central Library, NUS Libraries

About the talk:

Technology, increased demands for accountability, and a changing student population over recent years have posed major challenges to academic libraries in the US.

This talk describes how American librarians have responded, by designing new physical structures and entering the social networking world, to reach out in new ways to students and continue in their role as the heart of their institution.

About the speaker:

Dr Wendy Simmons is the Information Resource Office for the US Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand.

She provides professional guidance and assistance to the Information Resource Centers and American Corners in US embassies in Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Singapore and Vietnam, as well as in Thailand.

Prior to joining USIA, she lived for eight years overseas, and worked in academic, government and non-profit libraries and archives, in Wisconsin, Massachusetts, and Washington, DC.

LAS Professional Development Scheme (PDS):

Participant can earn 46 points under Industry Knowledge Development – Participate in library related talks, forums, discussion sessions and business meetings organized by LAS or other libraries (category ID1)

Source of information: email dated 30 Nov 2009 from lassec@las.org.sg

Finding the Best of the Internet

The Programmes & Social Committee, LAS have the following talk for LAS members:

Topic: "Finding the Best of the Internet"
Speaker: Dr Wendy Simmons, Information Resource Officer, US Embassy, Bangkok, Thailand
Date: Wednesday 9 December 2009
Time: 3.00pm – 5.00pm
Venue: Theatrette 2, Central Library, NUS Libraries

About the talk

This presentation is intended for librarians and information seekers who want better results from their web searching. It offers a guide for searchers to develop a strategy to find quality information online and then using it in appropriately. Basic reference tools, Internet searching, advanced use of Google, citation builders and copyright issues are discussed.

About the speaker

Dr Wendy Simmons is the Information Resource Office for the US Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand. She provides professional guidance and assistance to the Information Resource Centers and American Corners in US embassies in Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Singapore and Viet Nam, as well as in Thailand.

Prior to joining USIA, she lived for eight years overseas, and worked in academic, government and non-profit libraries and archives, in Wisconsin, Massachusetts, and Washington, DC.

LAS Professional Development Scheme (PDS):

Participant can earn 46 points under Industry Knowledge Development – Participate in library related talks, forums, discussion sessions and business meetings organized by LAS or other libraries (category ID1)

Tuesday, December 08, 2009

The Concept of Property in Virtual Worlds and Online Spaces

As I subscribe to Singapore Law Watch Daily Update, I was alerted to the following seminar and just attended it this afternoon.

Seminar on "The Concept of Property in Virtual Worlds and Online Spaces"

Date: Tuesday, 8 December 2009

Time: 12.15 p.m. - 1.30 p.m.

Venue: Conference Room, Level 1

Oei Tiong Ham Building
Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy
469C Bukit Timah Road, Singapore 259772


SYNOPSIS

The rise of virtual worlds and massively multiplayer online games has brought with it an understanding of how people treat property in online spaces.

This, coupled with the rise of social media games, has seen the emergence of a billion dollar market for assets that don't exist.

This presentation maps out what we know about virtual property, and present some theories about what this means for the nature of online markets, intellectual property systems in Asia and the rest of the world, and the way that humans will live in a computer-mediated future.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Dan Hunter is an expert in internet law, intellectual property, and artificial intelligence & cognitive science models of law. He holds a Ph.D. from Cambridge University on the nature of legal reasoning, as well as computer science and law degrees from Monash University (Australia) and a Master in Laws from the University of Melbourne.

Before joining New York Law School, he held a chair in law at the University of Melbourne, was a tenured professor at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and taught on the law faculty at Cambridge University...

Source of the above information:

http://www.singaporelawwatch.sg/legal/ln2/rss/legaledu/64949.pdf?utm_source=email%20subscription&utm_medium=email&title=The%20Concept%20of%20Property%20in%20Virtual%20Worlds%20and%20Online%20Space%2C%20NUS%2C%208%20Dec&notShowClose=y

I find the topic relevant to information and library world, yet I am the only Library Professional at the seminar.

I learnt about the orginal of private property law:

* Ownership of property is not just about control and security for individaul, but is also for better management of property for the country and society.

* If property are all common property, everyone will exploit it without caring for it.

* Private property is the transfer of right: common right to private right

* All ownership come with responsibility, and private property owner have the responsiblilty to take care of what is being possessed.

If we look at virtual property (all the objects/elements in Second life, World War Craft or Games in Facebook etc...) as a record in database, or an entry in the computer, it is created by someone, and maybe common or private in ownership depending of the intention of the creator.

In the library world, MARC record is created by cataloguer and have the same nature. Some are free for downloading, yet some are owned by database vendors.

I find it enlightening to look at the database vendor from this perspective. It is the ownership that make records accessible. It is the care of the record owner that create systematic and searchable field that increase the accessibility.

With that mindset, I search on the net and find some good read on "Property", here are two that I would like to recommend:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Property

http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2009/11/property-ownership/

Monday, November 30, 2009

Towards Archiving and Managing Community Formation in Web 2.0

As 20 vacancies are available for LAS member, I just take an afternoon off to attend the talk by Dr Paul Wu Horng-Jyh, Senior Fellow (Wee Kim Wee School of Comm & Info), NTU


Topic : Towards Archiving and Managing Community Formation in Web 2.0 environment

Speaker : Dr Paul Wu Horng-Jyh

Date : Monday, 30 November 2009

Time : 3.30pm - 5.30pm

Venue : Toa Payoh Public Library / Agatha Room (level 3)

6 Toa Payoh Central

Singapore 319191


LAS Professional Development Scheme (PDS):

Participant can earn 46 points under Industry Knowledge Development – Participate in library related talks, forums, discussion sessions and business meetings organized by LAS or other libraries (category ID1)


Outline of Talk

In this talk, Dr Paul Wu Horng-Jyh, Senior Fellow (Wee Kim Wee School of Comm & Info), NTU present a case study on the formation of learning community.

He first explained the functioning of the learning community as an activity system constituted by spirals of offline as well as online SECI (socializing, Externalizing, Combining and Internalizing) knowledge creation activities. The online activities are supported by a cascade of Web 2.0 tools consisting of blog, forum and wiki to reflect distinct SECI cycles.
About the Speaker

Dr. Paul Wu Horng-Jyh is a Senior Fellow with the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information at Nanyang Technological University (NTU).

Presently, he researches and directs the academic areas of Digital Preservation and Archival Informatics, particularly in the e-Learning and e-Social Science domains.

Before joining NTU in 2004, he had been involved in technology start-ups for almost a decade and was a co-founder and CEO of Mustard Technology, which specializes in multilingual search and data quality technologies for businesses and government agencies in the region and beyond.

After obtaining PhD in Artificial Intelligence from University of Michigan, he served as a Senior R&D Member of Kent Ridge Digital Labs in the 90’s, during which he invented two US Patents on search and language processing technologies.

He has two decades of experiences in theoretical and practical consultancy in information science and technology. The most recent project he consulted was the Web Archives of Singapore (WAS) project – a collaborative effort between National Library Board (NLB) and NTU, which created the first Web Archives in this region.

Currently, he is conducting a general study on Website Preservation and a case study on preserving e-Learning records, under the InterPARES 3 framework.

Source of information: email dated 25 Nov 2009 from lassec@las.org.sg

Saturday, November 28, 2009

How to Write a Memoir

Just attended the talk: "How to Write a Memoir"

Saturday, 28 November, 2.00 - 4.00pm (Registration starts at 1.50pm)

Visitor's Briefing Room, Level 1, National Library Building

The session is conducted by Mr Wong Chai Kee. The talk walks through the four-year writing journey of a first-time author – of how the difficulty in getting out the first 1,000 words and other experience related to writing.

A Melbourne University-trained psychologist, Wong Chai Kee has run his own management consultancy firm, with a 190-strong client list of multinational, government-linked and mainboard-listed companies, for twenty-two years. He loves writing, and has written numerous articles on psychology and on Christianity. A voracious reader, especially of memoirs and history, he has an insatiable urge to buy books, despite reading at least a page of every book bought.

Here is the title of the book by the speaker available from National Library Online Catalogue:

Title
Even when she forgot my name : love, life and my mother's Alzheimer's / Wong Chai Kee.

Author
Wong, Chai Kee, 1952-

Publisher
Singapore : Epigram, c2009.

Physical Description
182 p. : ports. ; 22 cm.

Notes
Some pages contain repetition of words, words crossed out, words jarred together or no words at all, to represent the state of an Alzheimer's mind.

Friday, November 27, 2009

Graphic Organizers

When I teach mind mapping using the Software "Inspirations", Graphic Organizers http://www.graphic.org/goindex.html is a site that I use to explain and expand the concept of mind map.

The Graphic organizer, a mind mapping software similar to "Inspirations" illustrates concept mapping, and mind mapping with good examples.

Some resources you might find useful for teaching mind mapping and concept mapping can be found on the "References and Links" page at"

http://www.graphic.org/links.html

You can use the rich resources to help motivate the students to organize their thoughts. After they understand the use of mind map, they can apply and it to increase recall and assist understanding.

Teaching mind mapping this way can create interest and combat boredom!

Thursday, November 26, 2009

NLB Professional Talks: Driver or Passenger - Responding to Changes

Here is some backgroup of the Professional Talk series and brief information on the talk:

Source of information: 28 Sept 2009 email from Petrina_ANG@nlb.gov.sg
===============

NLB's Professional and International Relations (PIR) is expanding their Professional Talks to include prominent local library and information professionals in addition to the current overseas speakers.

The speakers will share with us best practices and their respective areas of expertise and specialisation.

We seek to engage the various libraries across Singapore through these sharing sessions which will serve as excellent platforms for networking and bonding within the local library community.

In addition, NLB staff and LAS members will benefit from the sharing and imparting of knowledge during the talks.

PROFESSIONAL TALKS

Topic : Driver or Passenger - Responding to Changes - NTU Library

Speaker : Mr Choy Fatt Cheong, University Librarian, Nanyang Technological University Library

Date : 22 October 2009 (Thursday)

Time : 4.00pm - 5.30pm

Venue : Imagination Room, Level 5, National Library Building


LAS Professional Development Scheme (PDS) Points:

46 (Applicable only to librarians who are participants of PDS)


Summary of the talk by the speaker:

"Libraries today exist in an environment that is bubbling with rapid and often disruptive changes in the technological, social and cultural dimensions.

These changes have and will continue to alter the nature of many of the core functions of libraries and perhaps create new roles for librarians.

The biggest challenge for libraries is to find ways to respond to these disruptive changes, which by definition cannot be predicted or anticipated.

I believe the key lies in how we prepare our staff and how we organize our libraries to meet these challenges successfully as and when they come.

These thoughts were very much on our mind when NTU Library reorganized itself four years ago. This talk reflects on some of the major initiatives we undertook and discuss some problems and issues we encountered in our attempt to respond successfully to the challenging environment. "


About the speaker:

Choy Fatt Cheong is University Librarian at Nanyang Technological University.

He started his career in librarianship at NUS Library in 1984. Since then he has worked in MINDEF to set up the SAFTI Military Institute Library, at Temasek Polytechnic to set up two diploma courses as Course Manager and Principal Lecturer and finally ran his own consultancy company for four years before joining NTU in 2004.

He had served as the President of the Library Association of Singapore (LAS) from 1997 to 2005 and also as Board member of the National Library Board for six years until 2003. He contributes actively to the profession and recently helped to initiate the LAS Professional Development Scheme as Chairman of the Working Committee.

Currently, he is also a Board member of the International Association of Scientific & Technological University Libraries (IATUL).

Source of information: 28 Sept 2009 email from Petrina_ANG@nlb.gov.sg

IFLA Journal

For your reading pleasure, if you are a librarian or like the subject...


IFLA Journal Volume 35, No. 3 (September 2009) available at: http://www.ifla.org/files/hq/publications/ifla-journal/ifla-journal-35-3_2009.pdf

Contents:

Editorial: Reading, Information Literacy and Professional Development Stephen Parker 211

Letters to the Editor: Nunavut and the Inuit Peoples Stephen Salaff 213

The President’s Page
Claudia Lux, President of IFLA, 2007–2009 214

Reading Sources and Reading Spaces in Honduras Denice Adkins 215

Information Literacy and Scholarly Investigation: a British perspective Andrew K. Shenton 226

Our Space: professional development for new graduates and professionals in Australia Fiona Bradley, Alyson Dalby and Andrew Spencer 232

Open Access Repositories in Computer Science and Information Technology: an evaluation Mohammad Hanief Bhat 243

The Library Services to People with Special Needs Section of IFLA: an historical overview Nancy Panella 258

REPORTS
Indian Library Association International Conference 2008: a report N. K. Swain and Satish Kumar 272

NEWS (with separate Table of Contents) 274

INTERNATIONAL CALENDAR 283

SOMMAIRES 285--ZUSAMMENFASSUNGEN 286--RESÚMENES 288--Pефераты статей 289

Notes for Contributors 291

----

Each issue covers news of current IFLA activities and articles, selected to reflect the variety of the international information profession, ranging from freedom of information, preservation, services to the visually impaired and intellectual property.

Sign up for Email Alerts from Sage! (http://ifl.sagepub.com/cgi/alerts)

• Editor: J. Stephen Parker (zest@bart.nl) • Frequency: Quarterly • ISSN: 0340-0352 • eISSN: 1745-2651 • List of previous issues (http://www.ifla.org/en/publications/ifla-journal)

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Supporting Faculty Knowledge Production

This morning I went up to NTU and attended the following talk:

Supporting Faculty Knowledge Production:
Challenges and opportunities for information professionals in a digitally connected world

Speaker: Mary Lee Kennedy
Executive Director, Knowledge and Library Services,
Harvard Business School

Date: Wednesday 25 November 2009

Time: 10.30am – 11.30am

Venue: Lecture Theatre 5, Nanyang Technological University


About the speaker:

Mary Lee Kennedy is responsible for Harvard Business School’s knowledge and information management strategy and its implementation.

Prior to Harvard, Mary Lee held knowledge management positions with global responsibility for Microsoft Corporation and Digital Equipment Corporation.

In this talk, Mary Lee Kennedy shares about:

1.Primary shifts in digital scholarship and the related changes in the nature of the information profession

2.Challenges in a time of transition

3.Opportunities to create significant value for constituents

4.The work at Harvard Business School

5.New opportunities for Global Knowledge Exchange via GKEN


Source of information: 11 Nov 2009 email from lassec@las.org.sg

As I like to know more about the speaker, I run a search on youtube and found the following clip:

Interview with Mary Lee Kennedy on Information Types



I also found the following article "The knowledge: Mary Lee Kennedy" posted on 18 Jan 2006 in Volume 9 Issue 5, Inside Knowledge.

http://www.ikmagazine.com/xq/asp/txtSearch.competitive+intelligence/exactphrase.1/sid.0/articleid.737ADABC-1138-455B-8F1C-FDD3943C699C/qx/display.htm

Here is what I like to quote:

"Today we realise we can’t document everything. By understanding the nature of human discussion, conversation, collaboration and communities, we can create environments for knowledge sharing that may not be accessible to large numbers of people.”

"We can now do things we hadn’t even dreamed about. It has changed what we do and has made things more complicated as we accommodate how different people choose to use and share information.”

Some interesting facts and background of her are listed at the end of the article:

======================
Name: Mary Lee Kennedy

Place of birth: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Education: B.A. Social Psychology, MLS

Employment history: Universidad Autonoma de Yucatan, Mexico; Sherritt Inc., Canada; Digital Equipment Corporation, USA; Microsoft Corporation, USA; The Kennedy Group, Harvard Business School, USA

Personal strengths: Determination, a sense of humour, critical thinking

Must improve: patience

Biggest inspiration: People who think and do things a lot bigger than themselves

What I do to relax: Talk to my kids

Favourite film: Shakespeare in Love or The Mission

Must read: Anything by Shakespeare or, for professional reading, "When Sparks Fly" by Dorothy Leonard

======================

I enjoyed her sharing at NTU and I think her success in her information work is not because she can uses IT well, but have her main focus on users.

"My career has focused on understanding how different people use and share information, expertise and ideas, and what motivates them to do so to create a free-flowing exchange of knowledge.”

I think it is this core focus that make her do her work differently and win the heart of the people around her!

The Paradox of our Age!

The paradox of our time in history is that...

We have taller buildings, but shorter tempers.

Wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints.

We spend more, but have less. We buy more, but enjoy it less.

We have bigger houses and smaller families.

More conveniences, but less time.

We have more degrees, but less sense.

More knowledge, but less judgment.

More experts, but more problems.

More medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly,

laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry too quickly,

stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little,

watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values.

We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We've learned how to make a living, but not a life;

We've added years to life, not life to years.

We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbor.

We've conquered outer space, but not inner space;

We've done larger things, but not better things.

We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul.

We've split the atom, but not our prejudice.

We write more, but learn less;

We plan more, but accomplish less;

We've learned to rush, but not to wait;

We have higher incomes, but lower morals;

We have more food, but less appeasement;

We build more computers to hold more information to produce more copies than ever, but have less communication.

We've become long on quantity, but short on quality.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion;

tall men, and short character;

steep profits, and shallow relationships.

These are the times of world peace, but domestic warfare;

more leisure,but less fun;

more kinds of food, but less nutrition.

These are days of two incomes, but more divorce;

of fancier houses, but broken homes.

These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throw away morality, one-night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill.

It is a time when there is much in the show window and nothing in the stockroom; a time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to make a difference, or to just hit delete...

Dr. Bob Moorehead

The essay appeared under the title "The Paradox of Our Age" in Words Aptly Spoken, Dr. Moorehead's 1995 collection of prayers, homilies, and monologues used in his sermons and radio broadcasts.

Read the Urban legend about the essay

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Stinking thinking

Just found some good reading on "Stinking thinking" and here it is:

Our own reality is created by our thinking.

"Stinking thinking" generate thoughts that cause us pain. The more we pay attention to our own stinking thinking, the more we increase our inner pain.

=========================
How to Get Rid of Stinking Thinking
By Jeff Herring
http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Get-Rid-of-Stinking-Thinking&id=60091

"Have you ever tried to drive your car looking only through the rear-view mirror? It's a silly notion, but it's how we live our lives when we get caught up" in Stinking thinking!

"When you catch yourself using this particular brand of self-defeating thinking, stop and ask yourself some better questions, such as: "What can I learn from this situation?" "What mistakes did I make that I never want to make again?" "How can I use what I've experienced and learned to live better the next time I face a similar situation?

... Then you are able to live in such a way as to create few, if any, future regrets."

To read the article, visit:

http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Get-Rid-of-Stinking-Thinking&id=60091


=============================
The Top 10 Types of “Stinkin’g Thinking”
by David Burns, M.D.
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/showthread.php?t=1787


"As you learn to better identify them, you can then learn how to start answering them back with rational arguments.

In this manner, you can work to turn your internal conversation back to being a positive in your life, instead of a running negative commentary.

1. All-or-nothing thinking - You see things in black-or-white categories...

2. Overgeneralization - You see a single negative event, such as a romantic rejection or a career reversal, as a never-ending pattern of defeat by using words such as “always” or “never” when you think about it...

3. Mental Filter - You pick out a single negative detail and dwell on it exclusively, so that your vision of reality becomes darkened, like the drop of ink that discolors a beaker of water...

4. Discounting the positive - You reject positive experiences by insisting that they “don’t count.” If you do a good job, you may tell yourself that it wasn’t good enough or that anyone could have done as well...

5. Jumping to conclusions - You interpret things negatively when there are no facts to support your conclusion...

6. Magnification - You exaggerate the importance of your problems and shortcomings, or you minimize the importance of your desirable qualities...

7. Emotional Reasoning - You assume that your negative emotions necessarily reflect the way things really are: “I feel terrified about going on airplanes. It must be very dangerous to fly.” ...

8. “Should” statements -You tell yourself that things should be the way you hoped or expected them to be...

9. Labeling - Labeling is an extreme form of all-or-nothing thinking. Instead of saying “I made a mistake,” you attach a negative label to yourself: “I’m a loser.”...

10. Personalization and Blame - Personalization comes when you hold yourself personally responsible for an event that isn’t entirely under your control...

To read the article, visit:
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/showthread.php?t=1787

Friday, November 13, 2009

Beauty in everything

Everything has its beauty but not everyone sees it.


--Confucius

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Freedom

Neither my life of luxury in the palace nor my life as an ascetic in the forest is the way to freedom.

-- Buddha

What is Freedom?

Here is the definition from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom

"Freedom may refer to:

Freedom (philosophy), the idea of being free.

Freedom (political), the absence of interference with the sovereignty of an individual

Four freedoms, Roosevelt's freedoms of (1) speech and (2) belief, along with the freedom from (3) fear and (4) want.

Liberty, the condition in which an individual has the ability to act according to his or her own will

Economic freedom, a term in economic research and policy debates

Free content, freedom of an artist's work to be redistributed, modified, and studied by others

Freedom of the City, an award made by municipalities

Systolic freedom, a concept in mathematics

Individual freedom, the moral stance, political philosophy, or social outlook that stresses
independence and self-reliance

Statue of Freedom, on top of the U.S. Capitol dome in Washington, D.C. "


It is interesting to note that "Freedom" is also a first name and the names of many places in the world etc...

To learn more on "Freedom" being used as name of many things and objects, just read the entry at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom


What attracted me is the first definition "Freedom (philosophy), the idea of being free." at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_(philosophy)

I think the "Inner autonomy" is the one that I find it closed to my heart.

"Freedom can also signify inner autonomy, or mastery over one's inner condition. This has several possible significances:[1]

the ability to act in accordance with the dictates of reason;

the ability to act in accordance with one's own true self or values;

the ability to act in accordance with universal values (such as the True and the Good);

and the ability to act independently of both the dictates of reason and the urges of desires, i.e. a arbitrarily (autonomously)."

Thursday, November 05, 2009

Dealing with the Digital Deluge

Today, I attended the following talk organized by Professional and International Relations (PIR) of NLB.

NLB PROFESSIONAL TALKS (20 vacancies are available for LAS members)

Topic of today's talk:

Dealing with the Digital Deluge: NLNZ's Role in Shaping the Strategy and Delivery for New Zealanders

Speaker: Ms Sue Sutherland,
Deputy Chief Executive, National Library of New Zealand (NLNZ)
Director, National Digital Library, National Library of New Zealand

Time: 3.00pm - 4.30pm

Venue: Possibility Room, Level 5, National Library Building

Ms Sue Sutherland, Deputy Chief Executive of National Library of New Zealand (NLNZ), is also the Director at the National Digital Library, NLNZ.

With immense experience in the library and information profession, Ms Sutherland outlined in her talk the digital content framework NLNZ is working on and describe some of the initiatives that are addressing the challenges we all face in living and working in the digital age.

Here is the website cited in her presentation:

DigitalNZ
http://www.digitalnz.org/

================

DigitalNZ is an initiative that aims to make New Zealand digital content easy to find, share and use. This includes content from government departments, publicly funded organisations, the private sector, and community groups.

DigitalNZ is a collaborative initiative led by the National Library of New Zealand and work with a wide range of contributing institutions and organisations. The tasks of DigitalNZ is to test and develop approaches that increase the amount of New Zealand content flowing through the Digital Content Life Cycle.

It sees the need to create and digitise more New Zealand content to stay digitally connected to national stories, creations, knowledge and culture.

DigitalNZ does not have a copy of the items in the collection. Instead, it holds metadata about items in other collections, together with a pointer to the content object.

DigitalNZ therefore behaves much like a search engine, except that the metadata is highly structured.

================

From a librarian's point of view, it is a national union catalogue of digital contents. The union catalogue is just a catalogue which helps users/searchers to locate items available from various sources. It serves as a pointer for searchers. It does not provide the actual ditigal content, yet link the content or content providers with the users.

The first step to build the database and make DigitalNZ conprehensive is to source for contents contributor.

Here are some information extracted from http://www.digitalnz.org/contributor:

================

Participation in DigitalNZ is free, and potentially means:

* your content will be easier for people to find, through the DigitalNZ search engine

* people can build their own mini search engine to find your content - you could make one too!

* new tools and applications created by other developers (using the API) bring more people to your website

* options to share content through other DigitalNZ projects are available to you, such as the remix campaign we ran last year.

================

To learn more about the development of DigitalNZ, visit the blog at:

http://www.digitalnz.org/blog

================

To understand how the interface works, visit:
http://www.digitalnz.org/developer

Here is some information extracted from the page:

================

About the API (Application Programming Interface)

The metadata available through DigitalNZ comes from content providers across the New Zealand cultural and heritage, broadcasting, education, and government sectors; as well as local community sources and individuals. Geospatial and commercial content is coming soon.

Our goal is to uncover hidden or buried New Zealand content such as images, audio, video, interactives, and documents, and make them available for discovery and use.

We only collect metadata for the content, so these APIs will point you to the online items made available by our fantastic content contributors.

We hope you'll use this metadata to do good and wonderful things, create new experiences, and demonstrate the value of sharing data.

================

After listening to the talk, I have a question

What’s an API (Application Programming Interface) ?

I search the blog and found some entries in the search result page that provide more information:

http://www.digitalnz.org/search/contributor?q=API

"In short, it’s a way for software applications to ‘talk to’ each other, and a way for developers to ‘talk to’ applications. We use an API to share data with other applications."

"The Indicommons website summarises it like this:

"Open APIs allow services and collections to become interconnected, the experience of outside developers to be engaged, and new tools and spaces to be fashioned to benefit the community at large."

Over the past couple of weeks we’ve seen two new examples that really demonstrate the joy of a ‘joined up’ web of data. Both Te Papa and Auckland City Libraries have recently launched systems that draw links to content from other organisations into their local search experiences. Take a look below to see the DigitalNZ API in action.

Via the API you can submit a query to our search index and it will return information about the various NZ images, audio, video, magazines, documents, and web pages that we're aggregating. We're working with a wide range of content providers from across the New Zealand cultural and heritage, broadcasting, education, and government sectors; as well as local community sources and individuals."

About the speaker:
=============

Ms Sue Sutherland is highly regarded by the library and information profession both within New Zealand and internationally.

In April 2007 she was awarded a Leadership Development Centre Fellowship that recognised her as one of New Zealand's leading public servants. In her professional life, Sue was President of the Library and Information Association of New Zealand Aotearoa (LIANZA) in 1991 and in 1997 she was awarded a Fellowship of the Association.

She was also involved for seven years in a group of international librarians sponsored by the Bertelsmann Foundation. In addition, she had led the development of the draft New Zealand Digital Content Strategy and also organised the first New Zealand Public Libraries Summit in 2007.

With her rich experience, the talk is informative and insightful. I think those who attended will find her message valuable!


Interesting point about the talk
======================

This talk is made possible by Ms Ngian Lek Choh, Director, National Library of Singapore who learnt about Ms Sue Sutherland's transit at Changi Airport and invited her to visit NLB. She is having her holiday now and being a librarian, her holiday before home ended with a visit to a National Library overseas and a talk to share her experience in "Dealing with the Digital Deluge".

Even though the talk is a brief one, it is informative and insightful. I think those who attended the talk like me, will find her message valuable!

If you missed the talk, you may view the following ppt I found on SlidesShare which have some info on DigitalNZ

http://www.slideshare.net/nextlibrary/sue-sutherland


Notes:
LAS Professional Development Scheme (PDS) Points: 46
(Applicable only to librarians who are participants of PDS)

Tuesday, November 03, 2009

Learn to make do with less

Lately, I start to look at what I have collected and I think one major message I get from packing and re-locating items is how to make good use of what I have in stock, and how to make do with less.

We tend to worry about having limited resources, and we like to acquire things for our future needs and wants. If we sense that we do not have things others have, we cannot have the comfort that we will be just fine.

A lot of things in our present possession are the needs and wants that we preceived in the past.

When I examine the things in my cupboards and books on my shelves, there may not be my needs now.

Nevertheless, the desire to have them are still there. Hence, to keep them in my "Wants" list, I have to spend money to create new storage and spend time going through them.

To be with them and feel their present, I need to clear them. To enjoy the present view of my collection, I need to give them special attention and decrorate them in some new ways from time to time.

Having the company of the wants is both enjoyable and exhausting. That is life!

So, if possible, learn to make do with less!


Dexterine Ho





e, and more wants are Even if a new edict of economy comes down from above, you can hold your ground and hang on to what belongs to you and your peers.

Be an editor at heart

The role of editor is to weed and select good articles for publication. Rewrite some of the articles and make it flows better. Source for new contacts for the next cycle and keep the publication work continue.

It is very similar when we handle our heart issues.

When we are dealing with our own emotion and thought, be an editor at heart. Communication of all types your received is your source and you need to edit it and select those that suit your life at the present moment.

A lot of issues will become clearer and the most important thing(s)to your heart will stand out if you adopt the approach of an editor.

But, first you need to have an objective in mind. It is good to use that objective to guide you whereable it applied.

When you change your objective, you need to look at issues at hand from another angle and your editorial process will be very different.

Just re-look at how you experience in your daily life in the past and you will understand how editing affect your life even if you are not aware that you did something to it at that point,

When time change and your objective is changed, you will likely to handle the same issue differently.

There is no right or wrong answer. It is how you feel at your heart that count and make you do it that way to suit your choice.

"If you are pained by external things, it is not they that disturb you, but your own judgment of them. And it is in your power to wipe out that judgment now." -- Marcus Aurelius

So just be aware that you have a choice and exercise it!


Dexterine Ho

Be mindful and to be a better person to compose them carefully and express exactly what you mean every time.

《轉載》香港名DJ 梁繼璋給兒子的信

<作者介紹> 梁繼璋(1955年8月17日-),英文名Michael, 前香港電台第二台節目主持人,也是一位名DJ、作家, 曾從事廣告、電視台等媒體創作。因其柔和、磁性的聲線,令他讀文章時更有氣氛、更容易令聽眾投入。


香港名DJ 梁繼璋給兒子的信

我兒: 寫這備忘錄給你,基於三個原則:

(一)人生福禍無常,誰也不知可以活多久, 有些事情還是早一點說好。

(二)我是你的父親,我不跟你說,沒有人會跟你說。

(三)這備忘錄裏記載的,都是我經過慘痛失敗得回來的體驗, 可以為你的成長省回不少冤枉路。

*****************

以下,便是你在人生中要好好記住的事:

(一)對你不好的人,你不要太介懷,在你一生中, 沒有人有義務要對你好,除了我和你媽媽。 至於那些對你好的人,你除了要珍惜、感恩外,也請多防備一點, 因為,每個人做每件事,總有一個原因,他對你好,未必真的是因為喜歡你,請你必須搞清楚, 而不必太快將對方看作真朋友。

(二)沒有人是不可代替,沒有東西是必須擁有。看透了這一點, 將來你身邊的人不再要你,或許失去了世間上最愛的一切時, 也應該明白,這並不是甚麼大不了的事。

(三)生命是短暫的,今日你還在浪費著生命, 明日會發覺生命已遠離你了。因此,愈早珍惜生命, 你享受生命的日子也愈多,與其盼望長壽,倒不如早點享受。

(四)世界上並沒有最愛這回事,愛情只是一種霎時的感覺, 而這感覺絕對會隨時日、心境而改變。如果你的所謂最愛離開你,請耐心地等候一下,讓時日慢慢沖洗,讓心靈慢慢沉澱, 你的苦就會慢慢淡化。不要過分憧憬愛情的美, 不要過分誇大失戀的悲。

(五)雖然,很多有成就的人士都有受過很多教育, 但並不等如不用功讀書,就一定可以成功。你學到的知識, 就是你擁有的武器。人,可以白手興家,但不可以手無寸鐵,緊記!

(六)我不會要求你供養我下半輩子, 同樣地我也不會供養你的下半輩子,當你長大到可以獨立的時候, 我的責任已經完結。以後,你要坐巴士還是Benz, 吃魚翅還是粉絲,都要自己負責。

(七)你可以要求自己守信,但不能要求別人守信, 你可以要求自己對人好,但不能期待人家對你好。你怎樣對人,並不代表人家就會怎樣對你,如果看不透這一點, 你只會徒添不必要的煩惱。

(八)我買了十多二十年六合彩,還是一窮二白,連三獎也沒有中, 這證明人要發達,還是要努力工作才可以,世界上並沒有免費午餐。

(九)親人只有一次的緣份,無論這輩子我和你會相處多久, 也請好好珍惜共聚的時光,下輩子,無論愛與不愛,都不會再見。


你的爸爸

梁繼璋

*****************

Primary source: unknown

Secondary source: from an email forwarded by a friend, additional information from http://www.wretch.cc/blog/lisa56731/21133435

Monday, November 02, 2009

Courage

"Often the difference between a successful man and a failure is not one's better abilities or ideas, but the courage that one has to bet on his ideas, to take a calculated risk and to act."

- Dr. Maxwell Maltz


"Courage is nine-tenths context. What is courageous in one setting can be foolhardy in another and even cowardly in a third."

- Joseph Epstein


"Never grow a wishbone, daughter, where your backbone ought to be."

- Clementine Paddelford


"Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear -- not absence of fear."

- Mark Twain

Sunday, November 01, 2009

Character

"Character is not a commodity that can be purchased. It is built by the decisions you permanently chisel on your heart. Strive for a reputation that will cause people to say, 'He means what he says.'"

- Neil Eskelin"

A character is like an acrostic or Alexandrian stanza; read it forward, backward, or across, it still spells the same thing."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson


"Our own heart, and not other men's opinion, forms our true honor."

- Samuel Taylor Coleridge


"Circumstances do not make the man or woman, they merely reveal them."

- Brian Tracy

Thought is the seed

Thought is the seed that may grow to a tree.

If you know that it is your thinking that determines your reality, you can be in control of your feeling and emotion.

If you blame your frustration on others, you pass your control of your own emotion to others. When you are defeated, your will feel very helpless psychologically and act like a victim.

With that kind of mind set, you will be a slave of your emotion. With the same experience repeated in your life and your social cycle, you conditioned yourself to be a person with negative thought. With that, you attract all the negative reaction inside you!

Remember that we are the gardener of our own head and mind.

A good mind gardener weeds away unwanted plants regularly. That keeps the bad away from the good.

To glow something new, a seed or a new plant need to be nurture with constant care. Having enough sunlight, yet not over exposed at the beginning. Water it regularly and use pot with holes that allow excess to be drained. Trim it so that it will branch naturally. Pass what you have trim to others, so that it will grow in their own garden. That allows the good to grow and multiply.

Blooming beautiful flowers in our head and mind is like gardening a "Botanic garden".

What is blooming inside is planted and nurtured by our thought and habit.

Fixing physically unhealthy bodies is relatively easy. Mending unhealthy minds on the other hand, may not be so easy.

Nevertheless, once we realised that we are the gardener of our thought, caring for our mind is like growing plants in our garden, we can find a way to weed the bad thought and tender to good one slowly!

Fixing negative thought is not easy, it is only easy when we realized that we can think differently, choose differently and behave differently and we start to swift the focus on ourselves instead of blaming it on others.

We that kind of mindset, we will experience life in a different perspective.

Learn to think differently!

Remember that everything begin with a thought. With a new thought, you create a new reality!

So start and create a different garden for your mind, once you have a beautiful garden that you enjoy yourselves, you will attack like minded people.

Beautiful mind is contagious too!

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Concentration and focus

"Determine what specific goal you want to achieve. Then dedicate yourself to its attainment with unswerving singleness of purpose, the trenchant zeal of a crusader."

- Paul J. Meyer


"On the way to work, concentrate on the way ? not the work."

- Jim Rohn


"When you work, work all the time you work; put more of yourself into what you do."

- Brian Tracy


"When every physical and mental resource is focused, one's power to solve a problem multiplies tremendously."

- Norman Vincent Peale

Friday, October 30, 2009

Communication

"Outside of the privacy of your own home, all speaking is 'public speaking'. There is no such thing as 'private speaking'."

-- Patricia Fripp


"Speak softly. If you really want to be heard, lower your voice."

-- Terri Levine


"Think before you speak, and then speak clearly and distinctly. Face the customer directly, lean forward, smile and relax."

-- Brian Tracy


"I have to laugh when I hear the term 'soft skills'. There is nothing soft about learning how to communicate, how to give constructive feedback, or how to negotiate with a union, employees or customers." ?

--Peggy Klaus

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Improve Your Life

I like the following quotations from Jeffrey J. Mayer. You can register to receive a weekly newsletter from SucceedingInBusiness.com and read some of his quotes and other business tips.



Improve Your Life:
=====================================

The road to success is based on the choices you make.

There will be many challenges. Face them one at a time, and you'll go further and farther than you ever dreamed.

Learn to see the invisible opportunities where other people only see visible limitations.

You grow by building on your strengths. By getting better at the things you're already good at. Become good enough and you become an expert.

Experts stand head and shoulders above everybody else.

Say YES to your big dreams, and your whole world changes.

You succeed when you do what it is you know.

Take action, and the purpose will be revealed.

Expect and demand the best from yourself and those around you.

You can be good, pretty good... or GREAT.

Acknowledge the people who have helped you. Nobody goes through life alone. Your successes are an accumulation of the things you have learned and the ideas you have gathered from the people you've met along the way.

As you grow and develop in your business, industry, community and family, your growth comes from those who came before you.

Remember: You're standing on the shoulders of giants.


The Power Of Enthusiasm:
=====================================

Put enthusiasm into your work. Look forward - with excitement - to each new day.

Be energetic. Enthusiasm is contagious. It effects your colleagues, your customers, your family and your friends. You'll feel better when you put energy and enthusiasm into your life.


Vision And Values:
=====================================

Think of your vision as a lighthouse. It's a beacon that lights the way and shows you the direction you want to go.

It shows you your path to success while illuminating the obstacles to be avoided.

When you know what your vision is you make better choices and build better relationships.
You are in control of your destiny. It's your life.

If you're not having the best year of your life, you're a fool to think it will get better if you don't make some changes.

Remember: Relevance is something we earn by the importance others place on what we do for them.


Building Relationships:
=====================================

You are paid for your wisdom.

Knowledge is the information you get from reading books.

Wisdom is what you've learned from your experiences.

#1 Sales Secret:

Find out what the other person wants, then help him find the best way to get it. The best way to find out what someone wants it to ask. Learn how to ask brilliant questions and you'll be a huge success.

Remember: It's not about you. It's about them!
Think in reverse. Ask yourself these four questions:

1. What does the customer want?

2. What does the customer need?

3. What does the customer value?

4. What does the customer expect?

#1 Motivation Secret:

You can't make anybody do anything. The only way you can get anybody to do anything is to make the other person WANT to do it.

Remember: Logic makes people think. Emotion makes people buy.

People don't buy what they don't understand.


Add Humor - Laughter - To Your Life:

When something embarrassing happens, remind yourself that 'someday you'll look back on this...' and laugh.

Don't take everything so seriously. Since you're going to look back on this and laugh about it later. Then try to laugh about it now.

As you go through life, be flexible instead of rigid.

Expect that things won't go as planned. Plan for the unexpected. If something happens, you're prepared. And if it doesn't, you're better off.

See the humor in your life. Many events are funny, if you can take a step back and look at what's happened.

Take a deep breath and relax. Chill out, and laugh... in spite of life.

Remember: Everything becomes a wonderful story you can tell.

Changes and Choices

"There are two ways of meeting difficulties: you alter the difficulties, or you alter yourself to meet them."

-- Phyllis Bottome


"To those who have confidence in themselves, change is a stimulus because they believe one person can make a difference and influence what goes on around them. These people are the doers and the motivators."

-- Buck Rogers


"Nature gives to every time and season some beauties of its own; and from morning to night, as from the cradle to the grave, it is but a succession of changes so gentle and easy that we can scarcely mark their progress."

-- Charles Dickens


"The main dangers in this life are the people who want to change everything or nothing."

-- Lady Nancy Astor

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Top 15 ReferDesk pages

I like to use ReferDesk and set it as my home page.

Bob Drudge, the Webmaster of ReferDesk, ranged the top 15 ReferDesk pages and have it at:

Top 15 ReferDesk pages
http://www.refdesk.com/topref10.html

I had recommended it to my Students in DLS (SM 2 & 3 from NIE) and here are the first five sites listed on the page:

Newspapers - USA and Worldwide
- over 3,500 U.S. papers listed by state and over 1,500 international papers listed by continent/country.

Crosswords Resources
- over 75 links to top crossword puzzle sites and resources.

My Search Engines
- over 260 search engines in 19 subject categories.

Site of the Day Archives
- locate your favorite 'Site of the Day' in this archive dating back to August 1999.

First Things First
- start your day with easy access to top wire services, newspapers, comics, sports, weather, and much more.

If you like to see the rest, just visit:

Top 15 ReferDesk pages:
http://www.refdesk.com/topref10.html

On planning

"People waste most of their waking hours every day going through the motions, chatting idly, shuffling paper, putting off decisions, reacting, majoring in minors and concentrating on trivia.

They spend their time in low priority tension relieving, rather than high priority goal-achieving activities."

-- Denis Waitley


"Planning is a real waste of time....for those who waste time."

-- Doug Firebaugh


"Every evening, write down the six most important things that you must do the next day.

Then while you sleep your subconscious will work on the best ways for you to accomplish them. Your next day will go much more smoothly."

-- Tom Hopkins


"Failing to plan means planning to fail. What are your goals?"

-- Brian Tracy

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Attachment

People become attached to their burdens sometimes more than the burdens are attached to them.

-- George Bernard Shaw


When I spent many long nights reposting my NIE 2003- 2005 SM 2 and 3 student name lists on my blog, I somehow do felt that I am doing something to fulfil my attachment and it is a burden that I self-imposed.

I think the memory I have in 2001 to 2007 teaching "Digital Literacy Skills" NTU students who are SM 2 and 3 scholars from PRC is something I treasured. At the beginning, we only have Microsoft Office Skills and Library Database Searching Techniques to impart to students. After web became a common communication interface, we introduced it in the course and started to use Geocities to compose web pages in 2002.

I have all the 2003 -2005 students' web sites log on my web pages for assessment purposes and it was a nice place for me to revisit it when I shown new students the work done by their seniors.
Thoughout the years, I have increased my teaching load from 4 classes to 7 classes per year.

Going retrospectively, it is a burden to do the list again now as some of the text were in html codes and have to be re-edited into normal text.

Having the list in the past years and building slowly is less stressful than converting it within a few days before 26 Oct 2009.

I just cannot bear having the list disappear forever when I know that Geocities is closing the free web hosting websites. That is why I think I am attached to my burden.

I do not think others will find my job worthwhile, yet somehow, I think if my ex-students found the listing in the future, they may appreciate it.

Well, I do it to keep my teaching memory in my treasure troll. It is something that is self-fulfiling for me. Hence, I echo what the quotation say, "People become attached to their burdens sometimes more than the burdens are attached to them."

Do you do something like that once in a while?

If you do, you know what I mean and how I feel!

Cheers!


Dexterine Ho

GeoCities free web hosting is

GeoCitiesfree web hosting was closed on 26 Oct 2009!

Yahoo! will delete all GeoCities websites due to the closure of its free hosting service.

Yahoo! is closing not only GeoCities but also such services as Yahoo! Briefcase, Farechase, My Web, as well as Yahoo Pets, Yahoo Live, Kickstart and Yahoo For Teachers.

Here are some useful links that I had on my Geocities teaching webpages http://www.geocities.com/dexterine from 2003 to 2005:

Useful links:
3 D Textmaker Fun to experience! Animate your text and save it as animated GIF file!

Free Buttons Allow you to modify the colour of the buttons and add button text

Quotation sites List quotation sites for you to search for quotable quotes by subjects or keywords

Flash buttons Creating one or a panel of flashbuttons without tears

Anfy Homepage

Microsoft Top tips for PowerPoint

Presentationzen.com/

Searching Guide 1

Searching Guide 2


Learn PPT Onlline
Power Point Presentation:

* Presentation Scenario

* Presentation Exponents (A slide-to-slide guide)

New teaching web site at dexterine.tripod.com From 2006 June

Student's Home Work: Example

2005 teaching page

2004 teaching page

2003 teaching page

As most of the above teaching pages at Geocities (http://www.geocities.com/dexterine) are not accessible now, I just spent one whole day recreating my 2003- 2005's student name list on the blog.

The NIE SM 2 & 3 students' web project after 2006 are posted on Tripod: http://dexterine.tripod.com/ under the tab "DLS in NIE"

if you like to have direct access to the NIE teaching page, just visit http://dexterine.tripod.com/id40.html

MY 2005 Student name list: SM 3 Group 1

MY 2005 Student name list

SM 3 Group 1

(All the links of the Geocities web pages created by them are now not available as Yahoo closed the free web hosting on 26 Oct 2009)

1 CHENG SHAN
2 DING GUOQIANG
3 GUO AIFEN
4 HE HONG
5 LI HONG

6 LI QING
7 LI XIAO
8 LIANG XINYU
9 SHENG XIAOGENG
10 SONG QINLONG

11 WANG YI
12 XIA BIN
13 XIONG YUANTING
14 YAN LINA
15 YANG LIFENG

16 YUAN XIANLI
17 ZHANG CHENG
18 ZHANG YI
19 ZHAO LU
20 ZHOU DAPENG

MY 2005 Student name list: SM 3 Group 4

MY 2005 Student name list

SM 3 Group 4

(All the links of the Geocities web pages created by them are now not available as Yahoo closed the free web hosting on 26 Oct 2009)

1 AN WEI
2 BAI YONGCHAO
3 CHEN SHU
4 FU YECHAO
5 HUANG DEZHAO

6 LIN YAYING
7 LIU JIA
8 LU JIAO
9 LUO YINDI
10 MO WEI

11 NIU CHANGLEI
12 QI LIHUA
13 TIAN HUI
14 WU QIANG
15 ZHANG HONGZHOU

16 ZHANG YAO
17 ZHANG YU
18 ZHAO GUANGLEI
19 ZHENG YANJUN
20 ZHOU HONGMING

MY 2005 Student name list: SM 2 Group 9

MY 2005 Student name list

SM 2 Group 9

(All the links of the Geocities web pages created by them are now not available as Yahoo closed the free web hosting on 26 Oct 2009)

1 Chen Qin
2 Ding Zejun
3 Fang Zhefei
4 Gao Zhiming
5 Huang Yuli

6 Lang Shuang
7 Li Guoliang
8 Li Hui
9 Li Yize
10 Liu Jiannan

11 Ma Ji
12 Sun Zhe
13 Wang Fei
14 Wang Tiantian
15 Weng Yao

16 Xia Yu
17 Yang Qian
18 Yang Shuai
19 Yang Yang
20 Zhu Wenchao

MY 2005 Student name list: SM 2 Group 10

MY 2005 Student name list

SM 2 Group 10

(All the links of the Geocities web pages created by them are now not available as Yahoo closed the free web hosting on 26 Oct 2009)

1 Cui Yifang
2 Feng Xueying
3 Gu Yangshuo
4 Han Xiaohan
5 Huang Yingying

6 Li Sujie
7 Shu Haojiang
8 Su Le
9 Sun Zhongyinan
10 Wang Kaiwen

11 Wang Mengxi
12 Wang Xiang
13 Wang Xiao
14 Wu Jiawen
15 Xia Bingxing

16 Xiao Dezhong
17 Zhang Simin
18 Zhao Xumin
19 Zheng Yanchao
20 Zhong Hua

MY 2005 Student name list: SM 2 Group 11

MY 2005 Student name list

SM 2 Group 11

(All the links of the Geocities web pages created by them are now not available as Yahoo closed the free web hosting on 26 Oct 2009)

1 Chen Mengli
2 Dong Feng
3 Guo Meng
4 Han Ling
5 He Shu

6 Huang Min
7 Ji Xiang
8 Li Chao
9 Li Shengjin
10 Luan Qianqian

11 Meng Lei
12 Wang Fang
13 Wang Liyong
14 Wang Renzhe
15 Wang Xiaole

16 Xie Yin
17 Zhang Chunyan
18 Zhang Hao
19 Zhang Xuan
20 Zhong Yuan

MY 2005 Student name list: SM 2 Group 12

MY 2005 Student name list

SM 2 Group 12

(All the links of the Geocities web pages created by them are now not available as Yahoo closed the free web hosting on 26 Oct 2009)

1 Cao Luyan
2 Chen Yanhong
3 Cheng Xikai
4 Cui Min
5 Deng Chunhui

6 Gui Lin
7 Huang Qingyin
8 Ji Tuo
9 Li Yancheng
10 Li Yongmei

11 Ouyang Lili
12 Teng Lei
13 Wang Laohu
14 Wei Yazhe
15 Xie Wei

16 Xu Zhengji
17 Zhang Xiaoyue
18 Zhuo Jiali

MY 2005 Student name list: SM 2 Group 13

MY 2005 Student name list

SM 2 Group 13

(All the links of the Geocities web pages created by them are now not available as Yahoo closed the free web hosting on 26 Oct 2009)

1 Chen Xi
2 Deng Lu
3 Huang Ruixiang
4 Jin Mengyi
5 Luo Danlin

6 Luo Jiayu
7 Nie Zhenzhi
8 Wang Lu
9 Wang Yawen
10 Xuan Zhiyang

11 Yang Xiao
12 Yang Xiaolu
13 Ye Shuqin
14 Zhang Jixin
15 Zhang Wentao

16 Zhang Yi
17 Zhao Wen
18 Zheng Encen
19 Zhong Hua
20 Zhou Yanyan

SM 2 and 3: optional web topics 2004

Interesting Places in Singapore and Memory of Singapore

Students' Choice in 2004 (Published on their Geocities Web Page which is not available now)

Great World Cities at Kim Seng Road
What to see: 9-12 Toilets with Thematic Deco

Parkview Square near Bugis Junctions
What to see: Statutes of famous personalites like Plato, Newton & Danty etc...

Orchid Garden at Botanic Garden
What to see: Orchid in four "seasons?"

National Institute of Education in NTU Campus
What to see: Library, Building of different Schools etc

Nanyang Technological University
What to see: Yunnan Garden, Chinese Heritage Centre, Nantah Lake, Canteen 1 and Lee Wei Nan Library


Singapore Memory and Singapore from the perspective of Chinese Scholars, 2004

A Colourful Singapore

Singapore and Everyone

Different Places Introduced in Students' Pages
*Sentosa *Singapore River *Life in NIE

MY 2004 Student name list: SM 3 Group 2

MY 2004 Student name list

SM 3 Group 2

(All the links of the Geocities web pages created by them are now not available as Yahoo closed the free web hosting on 26 Oct 2009)

1 Cao Min
2 Chen Ye
3 Fu Chunmiao
4 Ge Bin
5 Hu Yueping

6 Huang Guangpu
7 Li Chong
8 Li Rui
9 Liang Kun
10 Liu Tong

11 Liu Wenhu
12 Pang Caiji
13 Qing Songlin
14 Qiu Ningyi
15 Sun Yuan

16 Tao Qian
17 Wang Fei
18 Wang Xiu
19 Zhang Li
20 Zhu Ling

MY 2004 Student name list: SM 3 Group 3

My 2004 Student name list

SM 3 Group 3

(All the links of the Geocities web pages created by them are now not available as Yahoo closed the free web hosting on 26 Oct 2009)

1 Bai Yunfei
2 Cai Yi
3 Fu Haitao
4 Fu Kangkang
5 Gao Jing

6 Guo Min
7 Li Baihong
8 Li Xiaohui
9 Liang Peiyuan
10 Lin Lin

11 Ning Zeyu
12 Sun Zhuoxin
13 Yang Fan
14 Yang Mingfei
15 Yang Yizhou

16 Yu Hangying
17 Zhang Kuan
18 Zhang Guowei
19 Zhong Yuan

MY 2004 Student name list: SM 3 Group 4

MY 2004 Student name list

SM 3 Group 4

(All the links of the Geocities web pages created by them are now not available as Yahoo closed the free web hosting on 26 Oct 2009)

1 Bei Junjun
2 Chen Yaqi
3 Guo Wei
4 Guo Xinqing
5 Jiang Mingxuan

6 Jin Xu
7 Lin Zhe
8 Liu Ting
9 Liu Xiao
10 Shan Wenming

11 Shao Jun
12 Si Guanglin
13 Suo Yujing
14 Wang Wei
15 Xu Mingming

16 Yao Yujin
17 Yu Liguo
18 Zhang Huiyuan
19 Zhang Juntao
20 Zhou Zheng

MY 2004 Student name list: SM 3 Group 5

MY 2004 Student name list

SM 3 Group 5

(All the links of the Geocities web pages created by them are now not available as Yahoo closed the free web hosting on 26 Oct 2009)

1 Bo Juyi
2 Chai Yu
3 Chen Xi
4 Dong Tongtong
5 Guan Xiaochong

6 He Mingguang
7 Hou Wanyi
8 Liang Dayang
9 Liang Yuanxi
10 Liu Hui

11 Luo Xiaodong
12 Ma Qian
13 Ren Ye
14 Shi Wenqian
15 Tang Haitao

16 Xiong Beili
17 Zhang Meng
18 Zhang Fan
19 Zhang Lei
20 Zhao Xiaolin

Monday, October 26, 2009

MY 2003 Student name list: SM 3 Group 1

MY 2003 Student name list

SM 3 Group 1

(All the links of the Geocities web pages created by them are now not available as Yahoo closed the free web hosting on 26 Oct 2009)

1 Chen Qitian
2 Chen Ziliang
3 Chu Hong Gang
4 Huang Wei
5 Jin Guoqing

6 Li Qiao Yang
7 Liu chang hui
8 Peng Li
9 Shen Yuan
10 Shi Xia Qing

11 Sun Hong Mei
12 Wang Haixia
13 Wang Ji Hai
14 Wang Jing
15 Wang Kai

16 Wang Zhi Yuan
17 Wang Zhilin
18 Yang Yuanguang
19 Yu Yue
20 Zhou Yong

MY 2003 Student name list: SM 3 Group 2

MY 2003 Student name list

SM 3 Group 2

(All the links of the Geocities web pages created by them are now not available as Yahoo closed the free web hosting on 26 Oct 2009)

1 Dai Xiaoming, Robbie
2 Fan qu, Flint
3 Hu Nan
4 Hu Xing
5 Liao Jie

6 Liu Yang
7 Ning Rong Rong
8 Shi Jing Sheng
9 Tian Ya Fei
10 Wei Lei

11 Wei Xiao Hong
12 Wu Bo, Jack
13 Wu Zhengning
14 Wu Zhi Hao
15 Xu Zhenyu

16 Zhang juan juan
17 Zhang Jun Bin
18 Zhao Hui
19 Zhou Iiting
20 Zhu Guo Jun

MY 2003 Student name list: SM 3 Group 4

MY 2003 Student name list

SM 3 Group 4

(All the links of the Geocities web pages created by them are now not available as Yahoo closed the free web hosting on 26 Oct 2009)


1. Dong Kaika
2. Fei Wei
3. Guo Jian
4. He Jianpeng
5 Huang weiping

6. Li Dongwei
7.Li Fei
8. Liang Yuxi
9.LinYu
10. Ni Wei

11 Pan Tan
12. Pei Yiyang
13. Shao Zaiming
14. Wang Yinjie
15. Wu Liang

16. Wu Xia
17.Yang Site
18.Yi Suhuang
19. Zheng Shichun
20. Zhou yuan

MY 2003 Student name list: SM 2 Group 14

MY 2003 Student name list

SM 2 Group 14

(All the links of the Geocities web pages created by them are now not available as Yahoo closed the free web hosting on 26 Oct 2009)

1. Chen lin, Cynthia ***
2. Chen Taotao
3. Hua Xia
4. Li Hao *
5. Li Haoyang ****

6. Liu Junlian .
7. Tang Lin
8. Tu Xiaoying
9. Wang Xueqian **
10. Xie Boya

11. Yu hang.
12. Zhang Heliang
13. Zhang Qiushi
14. Zhang Yi *****
15. Zhang Ying

16. Zhang Yu xiang, Chris
17. Zhong Tian
18. ZhuWei

On personal responsibilty

"You are responsible, or it won't get done. There's a fine line between taking it personally, and handling it personally. Individual responsibility leads to happy customers. Do you take responsibility or try to pass it off?"

-- Jeffrey Gitomer


"You can't change what you don't acknowledge."

-- Phil McGraw


"We are taught you must blame your father, your sisters, your brothers, the school, the teachers - you can blame anyone but never blame yourself. It's never your fault. But it's always your fault, because if you wanted to change, you're the one who has got to change. It's as simple as that, isn't it?"

-- Katherine Hepburn


"Refuse to make excuses or blame others. The leader always says, 'If it's to be, it's up to me.' "

-- Brian Tracy

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Preparation

"Preparation is the mark of the professional. Do your homework before the negotiations."

-- Brian Tracy


"Nothing is more powerful for your future than being a gatherer of good ideas and information. That's called doing your homework."

-- Jim Rohn


"From product knowledge springs the expertise to work with clients in the effective and professional manner that earns high income. Invest ten minutes daily reviewing your product information or using your product so you know it inside and out."

- Tom Hopkins

Friday, October 23, 2009

Chinese electronic resources

Today, I attend the following LAS talk:

Topic: Introduction to and comparison and analysis of Chinese electronic resources (in Mandarin) 大陆中文电子资源介绍与比较分析

Speaker : Mr Zhang Hongyuan
Assistant to the Director, Head of Acquisition Department, Wuhan University Library, China

Date : 23 October 2009

Time : 3.30 pm - 5.30 pm

Venue : Toa Payoh Public library

As the organiser think that the group attending the talk will be small, we only register at the venue on day of talk.

About the speaker:

Mr Zhang Hongyuan is Assistant to the Director and Head of Acquisitions Department of Wuhan University Library.

He started his career in librarianship in library of Wuhan Hydraulic and Electrical College, the former Wuhan Hydraulic and Electrical University (WUHEE), in 1986.

Prior to that he majored in library science at School of Library & Information Science of the Wuhan University and graduated with BSc degree.

In 1991, he obtained his MSc (Information Management) degree from Graduate School of the Wuhan University.

He has served in the library of WUHEE for nearly 12 years. Since WUHEE combined with other 3 universities and the new Wuhan University established in 2000, he served in the new university’s library until now.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

The Current Time, Around the World

Like to know the international time for all the country at the present moment?

Or

If you are in Singapore and like to know which countries share the same time zone as ours, then

http://www.timeticker.com/

is a good site for you!

The web page created by Martin Zwernemann (http://www.zwernemann.com/) help to tell the Current Time, Around the World

When you open the page, the default time zone is GMT.

You can set the time zone you like to view by choosing the name of the countries listed on the window on the right.

If you like to know which countries follow the same time zone, just view the window on the left.

It also come with a ticking sound to make you feel that time is constantly running.

You may mute the ticking with a click on "Mute Ticking" and let the system read you the time using real audio.

It is fun and handy!

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

別讓靈魂跟不上

人不可能在一天內做完所有的事!

你只要將一天中最很重要的事情做完就已足夠了。

這並不是不求上進,恰恰在於懂得放下的,才最終會贏;
而整日忙碌不休的人,收穫的往往只是焦慮和疲憊。

我看到了這樣一個故事:

有一支西方的考察隊深入非洲腹地考察,
請了當地部落的土著人做背伕和嚮導,由於時間緊,需趕路,
而這些土著人很吃苦耐勞,背著幾十公斤的裝備物資依然健步如飛,
一連三天考察隊都很順利地按計劃行進,大家都很開心。

可是第四天早上,考察隊準備出發的時候,
土著人們都在休息不走了,好說歹說就是不願出發。
隊員們很奇怪,這幾天大家相處得很好啊,
是不小心觸犯了他們還是要坐地加錢?

這時,土著人的頭領解釋道,
按照他們的傳統,如果連續三天趕路,第四天必須停下來休息一天,
以免我們的靈魂趕不上我們的腳步。

這個現代人也許看來很難理解的解釋,讓我很受觸動。

我們的生活太忙碌了,工作和生活的壓力讓我們日復一日地在趕路,
以至於我們很少停下來思考一下,就不斷地被很多東西推著走,
或者追逐著眼前的東西而去,
而我們的靈魂早已落後在我們匆匆趕路的身影後面無影無蹤。

沒有了自己我們的生活就交給了外物去控制。

又到了一周,我們是不是也放緩腳步,等一等我們的靈魂?

~~~忙~~~

如同… ”心” 己 “亡”

也如同…. 一個人沒了靈魂!

Story and message edited from an email forwarded to me by a friend, May Kong.
(Thanks May!)

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

為什麼您的狗叫'放下'?

有這樣一個故事:

一個著名的寺院裡住著一位非常有道行的道長。他每天都要在傍晚6時去餵他的狗。

狗的名字很奇怪,叫做"放下"。

每到日落時分, 靜修道長就為"放下"送飯了,嘴一邊呼喚著 : "放下!放下!"

小弟子覺得很奇怪,就問道長:

"為什麼要給狗起這個奇怪的名字,人家的狗都叫阿黃、來福什麼的,為什麼您的狗叫'放下?"

靜修道長不語,讓他們自己去悟。

小弟子就觀察老道長,終於發現:

每天當道長餵完狗後,就不再讀經書,到院中打打太極拳,散散步。

小弟子到道長面前,訴說了他們觀察的收穫,

老道長微笑地點點頭說:"你們終於明白了。

其實我在叫狗的時候,其實也是叫自己'放下',讓自己放下許多事情。

因為人們不可能在一天內做完所有的事情,你只要將一天中最很重要的事情做完就已足夠了。

在人們越來越習慣動輒高呼殘酷競爭時,其實學會"放下"的意義就越大。

正仿佛當你自覺遭遇滅頂挫折時,不妨手搭涼棚,

你一定會發現:天並不會塌下來。

這並不是不求上進,恰恰在於懂得放下的,才最終會贏;

而整日忙碌不休的人,收穫的往往只是焦慮和疲憊。

Story and message edited from an email forwarded to me by a friend, May Kong.(Thanks May!)

Monday, October 19, 2009

Life without regrets

Who am I?

I am who I say I am and tomorrow someone else entirely.

--- White Oleander


It is hard to say that we live life without any regret. Why?

I am sure that you, like me have more than one regret in life?

Though we like to have a life full of joys and happiness, yet it is so easy to do something that make our life the other way round!

We like to put off something that brings us joy!

We fail to see the opportunity to experience joy!

We tend to use excuses like we have not thought about it!

Though joys is in our life seeking list, we do not have it on our busy schedule!

We sometime know it was coming, yet we were too rigid to depart from our routine to experience it!

We like to cram so much stuff into our life and keep joy out of our calendar!

We tend to schedule our headaches first and let our fresh mind doing the fire fighting all the time. We just leave no room for joys.

We live to fulfil our promises to others and not keeping the promises we have for ourselves.

When all the conditions are perfect for joys, we are too tire to enjoy it!

If you add one decade to your life, and compare your energy level you have with that a decade ago, you will understand that life has a way of accelerating as we get older.

Our days will get shorter, and the list of promises we have made gets longer.

Do you have clothes that you bought years ago and have no time to wear? Do you have shoes that you pay a lot for it and have never find a change to put your feet into it?

Do have gifts that you kept for others or yourself and it is, until today, remained as an unopened gift?

Do you thrown away expensive food that you kept in your fridge as it was too costly to eat without any reasons or occasions?

Even though we do not run life like a race, yet we treat our life (from birth to the grave) with so much hurry!

We have the tendency to find the quickest way to to get from one place to other!

Why not have some time in between to look at the sky and things around you!

Steal some moments in life to feel the wind blow!

Have some time to hear the music and song of life before it is over.

Just reflect and look at life in retrospect, 5 years from now, or 10, 15, 20 etc., would you be happy with things you have done today or at this very moment? Or would you be disappointed or regret that you did it now?

It is so easy to correct them when we look at the mistakes we made in the years just passed us.

With that kind of mind set, when we explore, dream or discover any new thing now, we could make a wiser choice!

Some statements of life, like "if I know, I could have, might have, and should have" may has less occurence in our description in retrospect.

Just remember, it takes us less effort in the future if we have less worry and regret about life. So we choose to make it it right at the time you do it! The choice is yours at the moment of your action!

Just remmember, If we hurry through our days and make choices that we are going to regret or feel disappointed, we are wasting our life!

Do you still want to hurry so much and lost so much in time!

Life without regrets is not easy, yet, you may create it slowly now with all your remaining life!


Dexterine Ho

Sunday, October 18, 2009

On personal philosophy

"My philosophy is that not only are you responsible for your life, but doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment."

-- Oprah Winfrey


"Take your job seriously, BUT don't take their complaints personally. If you take it personally you'll get upset, and lose your edge. If you take it too personally, you'll lose your edge and your job. If you take it seriously - it's you with them. If you take it personally, it's you against them. What steps can you take to ensure keeping your cool?"

-- Jeffrey Gitomer


"A character is a completely fashioned will."

-- Novalis


"Your personal philosophy is the greatest determining factor in how your life works out."

-- Jim Rohn

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Some time you need to learn how to shake off a talkative colleague or friend who monopolizes your time.

Spend time with other colleagues/coworkers or friends who make your day flow meaningfully is the way to build a meaningful life.


In the future when you reflect upon your life, you will appreciate the input of others to your life that make it greater collectively.

When you talk or connect with others, do keep that perspective in mind and make their life fill with good and meaningful input.


Dexterine Ho

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Information

Information is our most precious resource, limited only by the constraints of human intelligence, innovation and imagination.

However, like most resources, it is not shared equally.

I would like to see full and free sharing of information and knowledge, across all sectors and borders, guided by the shared values and unversal language of human rights.

-- Mary Robinson, Former president of Ireland


Being a former librarian, and now teaching the information studies courses, I understand that it is a long to go for any one who works in the library and information field to achieve the goal of Mary Robinson.

Nevertheless, I think with our (anyone who possess valuable information and knowledge) collective efforts, we can close the gap and make free sharing of information and knowledge, across all sectors and borders possible!


Dexterine Ho

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Priceless possession

To be rich in admiration and free from envy,

to rejoice greatly in the good of others,

to love with such generosity of heart that your love is still a dear possession in absence or unkindness

- these are the gifts which money cannot buy.


-- Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894)

Saturday, October 10, 2009

A new phase of existence

A new phase of existence begin today. I have more space created today with an additonal 40 sq ft of display cum work area added to my home office.

The freedom I gain from the space incite me to revise my conception of life.

I know it will be the moment to take more creative move.

It is not a risk as I am not to speculate in term of my return.

Being considerate and putting other needs before me, luck seem to support me in an insolent manner, allowing me to sensibly increase my gains with a minimum of effort.

However, it is also necessary to avoid letting myself be intoxicated with the mood of success -- just have to be contended yet don't fall into the trap of an easy life.

On the other hand, I am comfortable with work that other think it is hard and unbearable. Like understanding library classification systems (DDC or LC), Chinese Language (Simplify or Traditioanl stokes), teaching & training, 3D display for schools & libraries and many innovative art and craft ideas, etc...

Being a workaholic I tend to immerce in work and forget about time.

A lot of things like food and drinks are essential yet not critical to me. I need to eat regular meals and have tea breaks to refresh my mind, yet time for lunch can be 11.30am or 1.pm depending on work flow and schedule on my calendar.

Having an afternoon nap is not a fix pattern in my daily life, yet with a short and power nap once in a while do make a day recharged with lot of extra energy.

For the interest of my physical and mental health, I have to beware of overwork,

It is for my best interests to have chance to move about.

Travelling to other countries if I have a chance once or twice a year is great.

If I am able to see new things outsied Singapore, I will create the new experience by visit all kinds of exhibitions and libraries, attending performance, meeting friends and work groups.

Being on the move and able to mix new wiht old experiences make me feel that I am Nevertheless, I have to be a little reasonable with my own work and activities schedule and do not over book myself with too many things on my calendar.

When a day is overfill with too many events, I may just take away one or two activities and make room to rest or breath normally.

With that kind of give and take, I can flow with less stress from over commitments.


Dexterine Ho

Friday, October 02, 2009

Watch your thoughts

Watch your thoughts; they become words.


Watch your words; they become actions.

Watch your actions; they become habits.

Watch your habits; they become character.

Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.


Forward by someone via email and source not provided.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

人 生 都 在 學 做 人

第七、「學習生存」。

為了生存,我要維護身體健康。

身體健康不但對自己有利,也讓朋友、家人放心, 所以也是孝親的行為。


星雲大師

Monday, September 21, 2009

人 生 都 在 學 做 人

第六、「學習感動」。

我們看到人家得好處,要歡喜; 看到好人好事,要能感動。

感動是一個愛心、菩薩心、菩提心, 在我幾十年的歲月裡,有許多事情、語言感動了我, 所以我也很努力的想辦法讓別人感動。


星雲大師

Sunday, September 20, 2009

人 生 都 在 學 做 人

第五、「學習放下」。

人生像一只皮箱,需要用的時候提起,不用的時就把它放下。

應放下的時候,卻不放下, 就像拖著沉重的行李,無法自在。

人生的歲月有限,認錯、尊重、包容才能讓人接受, 放下才自在啊!


星雲大師

Saturday, September 19, 2009

人 生 都 在 學 做 人

第四、「學習溝通」。

缺乏溝通,就會產生是非、爭執與誤會。

現在中國大陸、香港和台灣, 兩岸三地最重要的就是溝通, 相互了解、相互體諒、相互幫助, 大家都是龍兄虎弟,互相爭執、不溝通怎麼能和平呢?


星雲大師

Friday, September 18, 2009

人 生 都 在 學 做 人

第三、「學習生忍」。

這世間就是忍一口氣,風平浪靜,退一步海闊天空;

忍,萬事都能消除。

忍就是會處理、 會化解, 用智慧、能力讓大事化小、小事化無。

各位要生活、要生存、要生命,有了忍, 可以認清世間的好壞、善惡、是非,甚至接受它。


星雲大師

Thursday, September 17, 2009

人 生 都 在 學 做 人

第二、「學習柔和」。

人的牙齒是硬的,舌頭是軟的,到了人生的最後, 牙齒都掉光了,舌頭卻不會掉,所以要柔軟, 人生才能長久,硬反而吃虧。

心地柔軟了,是修行最大的進步。

一般形容執著的人說,你的心、你的性格很冷、很硬, 像鋼鐵一樣。

如果我們像禪門說的調息、調身、調心, 慢慢調伏像野馬、像猴子的這顆心,令它柔軟, 人生才能活得更快樂、更長久。


星雲大師

How you behave in a quarrel

The test of a man's or woman's breeding is how they behave in a quarrel.

Anybody can behave well when things are going smoothly.


-- George Bernard Shaw

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

人 生 都 在 學 做 人

第一、「學習認錯」。

人常常不肯認錯,凡事都說是別人的錯, 認為自己才是對的,其實不認錯就是一個錯。

認錯的對象可以是父母、朋友、社會大眾、佛祖, 甚至向兒女或是對我不好的人認錯, 自己不但不會少了什麼,反而顯得你有度量。

學習認錯是美好的,是一個大修行。


星雲大師

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Google Fast Flip

Google Fast Flip at http://fastflip.googlelabs.com/ is a web application that lets you discover and share news articles.

It combines qualities of print and the Web, with the ability to "flip" through pages online as quickly as flipping through a magazine.

It also enables users to follow friends and topics, discover new content and create their own custom magazines around searches.

How does it work?

It captures images of the articles on our partners' websites and then display them in an easy-to-read way. The stories are grouped by categories, such as Entertainment, Business, Opinion, Politics and Most Viewed. Readers can flip through stories quickly by simply pressing the left- and right-arrow keys until they find one that catches their interest. Clicking on the story takes them directly to the publisher's website.

For more information, read the FAQ at:

http://www.google.com/support/news/bin/answer.py?answer=161790

Having interesting conversations

Business is a conversation because the defining work of business is conversation - literally.

And 'knowledge workers' are simply those people whose job consists of having interesting conversations.

-- David Weinberger


If you like the above quotation, you may like to read his book "Everything is miscellaneous: the power of the new digital disorder."

Some topics in this book I enjoyed are:

* the differences between how we organize and think about physical and digital information (very much a librarian's approach)

* the power of the Internet to let us consume information in unique and customized ways (the free text indexing that public enjoyed)

* the implications of the above for retailing, politics and education (tagging and not classification by call number or control vocabulary etc.)

If you do not have time to read his book, you may like to listen to his interview at:

http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2007/06/weinberger_on_e.html


Notes:

Everything is Miscellaneous: The Power of the New Digital Disorder, by David Weinberger. Times Books, 2007.

Friday, September 11, 2009

禅之智慧

禅之智慧

* 每一种创伤都是一种成熟;每一个经历都是一笔财富

禅之智慧

* 当你对自己诚实的时候,世上没有人能欺骗得了你

禅之智慧

* 世间的人多知对法律负责,却少有人知对因果负责

* 能够把自己压得低低的,才是真正的尊贵

* 对人恭敬是在庄严自己

* 良心是每一个人一生最公正的审判官

* 感谢我所拥有的,感谢我所没有的

* 若能一切随他去,便是世间自由人

* 宁可自己去原谅别人,莫让别人来原谅自己

* 静坐常思已过,闲谈莫论人非。

Original source: Unknown

Forwarded by Shue Teng Lee to a group of travelling fans!

心灵鸡湯: 何为最高处?

心灵鸡湯: 何为最高处?

当你喜欢你的过去,看重你的现在,乐观你的未来时,
你就站在了生活的最高处。

当你明了成功不会造就你,失败不会击垮你,平淡不会淹没你,你就站在了生命的最高处。

当你修炼到足以克服一时不快,专注于自身的责任而不是权力时,关切他人的一切不快,
专注于安慰和拯救时,你就站在了精神的最高处。

当你以宽恕之心向后看,以希望之心向前看, 以同情之心向下看,以感激之心向上看, 你就站在了灵魂的最高处.


Original source: Unknown

Forwarded by Shue Teng Lee to a group of travelling fans!

Thursday, September 10, 2009

50+ Designing for 50+ Workshop: some photos


The group photos taken at the end of the workshop!



Now just reflect on what we did on the first day:



We started the actual workshop after the briefing with cutting and pasting our Mood Board. I like the way ideas are sourced and transformed from design magazines.
The idea of "Mood Board" is very interesting yet the actual process is rather time consuming and tiring.
The Mood Board above are filled with lot of futuristic ideas. It is created with the help of the students and other group members, we have many more cut-out, yet the board is too small to host all.


Below is my simple Dream Home ideas:


There are lot of great ideas from other participants, here is the link:

http://www.designedby50plus.com/2009/index.html

Click on the colour dots and move the page side way to see the rest of the page. Most of the web page are not designed this way and many first time viewer may miss the rest of the page that way.


I do not see the need of creating pages that way, nevertheless, design students like to do things differently. They like to create something unique which may not follow the habit of web readers. I just hope that their hard work is not being missed or ignored by impatient visitors!

With the help of students, the dream home ideas we generated are transform to drawing and design ideas. It is fascinating to see the great dreams and great ideas in print.

For me, the most valuable moment for the workshop was to see all the presentations created by different groups at the end of the four day workshop.

This web page captured all the ideas, and I am sure you will enjoy reading them:

http://www.designedby50plus.com/2009/ideas.html

50+ Designing for 50+ Workshop

School of Design, Singapore Polytechnic organised 50+ Designing for 50+ Workshop held on 7-10 Sept 2009.

As one of the many participants, I enjoyed the experience working with students and like-minded 50+.

Following is the program:



To learn more about the workshop, just visit the official website at:

http://www.designedby50plus.com/2009/index.html


Here are some points I extracted from the web pages:

"Design is everywhere. Whatever we use, wear, experience, like and dislike are designed for."

"Design is about changing the existing condition of living to a preferred condition, and the users need to have a say."

"The 50+ designing for the 50+ workshop consists of a structured framework to provide for the stimulation of new ideas, new thinking and new possibilities of 50+ living and activities to bring about awareness in our students towards a basic understanding and appreciation of the rich experience of our 50+ through working together."

"It is a workshop, where for the first time in Singapore, the 50+ users get to express and co-design what they need, want and desire."

The Objectives of the workshop are:

* "To showcase design recommendations, new ideas, new thinking and new possibilities for 50+ Living Well."

* "To develop in both students and the Silver Population an awareness of the possibilities of designing their ways of 50+ Living Well."

* "To promote awareness of 50+ Living Well in our young students through an understanding and appreciation of the rich experience of our 50+ through this collaborative workshop."

* "To develop an awareness of the process of design as a meaningful and creative activity."

* "Thus the 50+ will be able to work with designers in future collaborations."

* "To stimulate the market with new ideas and thoughts and ways of understanding the 50+."

I enjoyed the designing process as a wide range of user research methods were used and applied effectively, such as "REAL PEOPLE Methods (Design Ethnography, Shadowing, etc.)" and "CO-OPERATIVE Methods (Participatory Design, User Forums, Lead User, etc.)"

"The OUTSIDE-IN approach rather than the traditional INSIDE-OUT approach" make users like us felt that our needs are the main focus of the workshop. The students who use the input of the users are designing something with the user in mind.

I think the state-of-art design approach is very stimulating "The main goal is not to solve a specific problem, but to DISCOVER and UNDERSTAND the user life's patterns and his/her unmet needs and desires. And then DEVELOP DESIGN and EXECUTE on radical concepts that will stimulate the market."

Here are some "Facts & Figures"

Total Number of Facilitators
20

Total Number of Singapore Polytechnic Students
80

Total Number of 50+
60

Total Number of Participants (Including the facilitators)
160

Workshop Duration (Monday-Thursday 9am-5pm)
4 days

Number of Working Groups
20 groups (3 Seniors + 4 Students in each group)

Total Number of Ideas Generated
Unlimited!

To learn more detail, visit the official website at:
http://www.designedby50plus.com/2009/ideas.html

Tuesday, September 08, 2009

Tact is not my strong suit

I am a person who speaks what is in my mind.

Hence, tact is not my strong suit.

From time to time, I have to remind myself to be less impulsive. When there are unclear zone that I have to enter, I try very hard to rely on keeping the calculations watertight.

I learned to be very precise when I am being pushed into delicate conversations.

Based on fact rather than hearsay, no one will be able to challenge and alter what I quote.

What is fact is fact, what I quoted is a quote!

I am pleased that a lot of truth can be unveil with facts and quotations!

I can be grow to be true to myself!

I can communicating my points and opinions without being classified as being bias.

Cheers!
Dexterine Ho

Sunday, September 06, 2009

Youth is a state of mind

"Youth is not a time of life - it is a state of mind.

It is not a matter of red cheeks, red lips and supple knees.

It is a temper of the will; a quality of the imagination; a vigor of the emotions; it is a freshness of the deep springs of life.

Youth means a tempermental predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over a life of ease.

This often exists in a man of fifty, more than in a boy of twenty.

Nobody grows old by merely living a number of years; people grow old by deserting their ideals."


- Samuel Ullman


Read and re-quoted from THOUGHT OF THE DAY, Sun, Sept 6, 2009: http://www.refdesk.com/

I know people who are at my age now like to see that "youth is not a time of life, but a state of mind".

I believe that nobody really "grows old by merely living a number of years"; many do "grow old by deserting their ideals."

I think if you have taken photos at certain age, you maybe amazed how your look change when your emotion change. Some older photos of you may look older than you are now. If it is so, it is because you now have a different perspective of life and have some dreams to pursuit.

Most of my friends are looking younger than they are in their 40s. The reason being, they change the way they dress, the way they think and the way they look at day to day living.

With lot of ideals to fulfil and dreams to transform to reality, you will not feel that the days are dull. As you add life to day and live your days with joys, you will look and feel younger.

Try it, I think you will transfer Samuel Ullman's words to reality and live the days like how he projected!


Dexterine Ho

Friday, September 04, 2009

Everyone of us is the architect of our destiny.

Everyone of us is the architect of our destiny.

Things go in cycle and it is true that those give with a big heart are richly rewarded.

Same with our body, remember to enrich your body with good diet and making sure you get the required amounts of minerals, vitamins and fiber.

If you body is in good condition, the body will be able to handle more.

If you mind is feed with good and professional knowledge, it will be enrich and you will be knowledgible. The professional projects that come to you will have great chances for success in the best of conditions.


Dexterine Ho

Saturday, August 29, 2009

友情

當大部分人都在關注你飛得高不高時,

只有少部分人關心你飛得累不累,

這就是友情。

Forwarded by
好友: 文香
on 世界好友周

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Refreshed by the presebce of cheerful people

You will find yourself refreshed by the presence of cheerful people.

Why not make earnest effort to confer that pleasure on others?

Half the battle is gained if you never allow yourself to say anything gloomy.

-- Lydia M. Child (1802-1880)


It is hard to find cheerful people nowadays, so be one yourself and you will gain half the battle and gain the other hard by making the rest around you less gloomy!


Dexterine Ho

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Heaven in a wild flower

To see a World in a grain of sand,

And Heaven in a wild flower,

Hold Infinity in the palm of your handAnd Eternity in an hour.

-- William Blake

Friday, August 21, 2009

I hope ...

I hope everyday is a great day to expand my creativity.

I hope my creative juices will flow everyday, and I can turn some of my creative thoughts into action.

To prepare my self for the spark of moment to make and create something new, I tend to spending some extra dollars aquiring material items I may need, so I have to keep my spending in check.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Heutagogy

Heutagogy: a new word learned today

According to the Free Dictionary http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Heutagogy

"Heutagogy is the principle of teaching based upon the concept of truly self-determined learning."

"It is suggested that heutagogy is appropriate to the needs of learners in the twenty-first century, particularly in the development of individual capability, individualised learning and independent learning using the internet-based systems including multimedia, virtual learning environments, online assessments and social software."

For more information on "heutagogy", please refer to the following entry:
http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Heutagogy

"Heutagogy" was one of the word used in one of the many ACTA course reading materials, and I found it relevant to any one who is keen in learning on their own.

In the past, it was teachers who decided what the learner needed to know and how the knowledge and skills should be taught.

Today, as a learner myself, I can set my learning curriculum and do it the way I find appropiate and applicable.

It is very self enriching process and learning become more flexible as Internet resources allow one to explore on their own and learn from experts all over the world.

It is not a closed learning that is limited to participant of a certain course, but an open access one as the learning is globalized and freely accessible if you know how to find the knowledge that is being stored in various portals or databases or service providers.

Learning is globalized though it is at the desk of the learner that learning takes place.


Dexterine Ho

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Happiness depends upon our dispositions

I am still determined to be cheerful and happy, in whatever situation I may be;

for I have also learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances.

-- Martha Washington (1732-1802)

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

LAS: PDS update cum sharing session

LAS: PDS update cum sharing session

Today I attended the sharing session and get an update on PDS.

According to the email from the secretariat:

"The LAS Professional Development Scheme (PDS) is an award that recognizes the achievements of librarians in their professional training and development effort. The award of “Practicing Professional (PP)” is given to librarians who attain a prescribed level of training and professional development activities."

"Response has been encouraging. 45 members have been granted the award of PP with a validity period, Jan 2009 to Dec 2010. Another 30 members have been granted provisional approval for the award of PP."

Date: Wed 12 Aug 2009
Time: 3.30pm
Venue: Possibility Room, National Library Building

Programme
3.00 pm Registration
3.30 pm Tea reception at the Courtyard
4.30 pm PDS Update
5.15 pm Presentation of letters to successful PDS applicants
5.30 pm Sharing on the PDS by successful applicants
5.45 pm Q&A
6.00 pm Group photograph

Professional Development Scheme (PDS) Points

Eligible for PDS Points: This activity attracts 46 points under the Industry Knowledge Development (ID) category." Participate in library related talks, forums, discussion sessions and business meetings (e.g. AGM, Council & Committee meetings) organized by LAS or other libraries (provided they are open to LAS members or other librarians)

Monday, August 10, 2009

Creating your own experience

Some time, I feel that creativity is my ally at certain moment.

Whatever I tried or can imagine just become a reality through some hard work of my hands.

Some may see that as magic and I am thrilled to have magical moment like that too.

To be frank, I am not very sure what can turn out sometime, yet with confidence that something nice will be created.

I just try playing with different ideas, different materials or whatever I can use at that moment.

I am a person who like to collect things and ideas for my art and craft work. I think having a big "databank" of ideas and a home office with ample space to store all sorts of material now just make the flow easier to manage. But remember, we all start from zero and build things day by day, step by step!

I was and still a librarian at heart. With all the searching, indexing and cataloguing skill within my reach. It just makes sourcing ideas and organising ideas handy.

Some colleagues and friends are amazed that I can come out with art and craft pieces with ease, I think they should not hesitate to try and create the same experience for themselves.

I think most people can have this sense of abundance like me if they don't question their abilities and take the risks that will reap the rewards they most hope for.

With Internet and Libraries around us, it is not necessary to have a personal databank like mine as I created it during long before the Internet era and just keep it for notaligic reason. Nevertheless, remember, even with Internet, it need to be practice day by day and step by step and make the ideas work for you first before amazing other!

Cheers!

Dexterine Ho

Monday, August 03, 2009

Brain Tour

This interactive "Brain Tour" at http://www.alz.org/brain/01.asp explains basic concepts about the brain.

Viewers navigate at their own pace through 7 illustrated screens on "Brain Basics" and follow colored text links that highlight key areas and special features of each illustration.

You will learn some interesting fact like: "Your brain is your most powerful organ, yet weighs only about three pounds. It has a texture similar to firm jelly." and understand what is cerebrum, cerebellum and brain stem etc.

If you explore further, you will learn more about Alzheimer's Disease and the Brain in the next 9 illustrated screens which explain what happens to the brain in those people who have suffered Alzheimer's disease.


If you like to learn more about the brain, The World Almanac 2009 is a good place for a quick reference. Here are some points extracted:

* The human brain has approximately 100 billion neurons.

* Neurons are the oldest and longest cells in the body.

* You have many of the same neurons for your whole life.

* Although other cells die and are replaced, many neurons are never replaced when they die.

* You have fewer neurons when you are old compared to when you are young.

Now I know why I am more forgetful now as it is a fact of life that everyone of us has to live with!

Hence, treasure what you have now and what you remembered before. Nothing is permenent, nothing is eternal, changes is life is inevitable, we lost something everyday, even memory in our own mind is not for us to behold forever!


Dexterine Ho

Sunday, August 02, 2009

Some reflections

Today, I would like to remind myself on:

* Appreciation for your loved ones must include acceptance of who they are and who they are not.

* Appreciate myself includes acceptance of who I am and what I can and who I am not and what I am not capable of.

* If I acknowledge that I am not capable of changing an aspect of my personality, I am free to love myself and others better, and to focus on some of my good personalities ts and do whatever well in the way I see my priorities go.

* If I acknowledge that I am not capable of changing an aspect of someone's personality, I am free to love myself and others better, and to focus on my own priorities and not imposing any changes on them.

* Invest the energy I have in being the person I can best be and not trying to be the best in meeting the impossible criterias others thing I should be.


Dexterine Ho

Saturday, August 01, 2009

The road to wisdom?

"The road to wisdom?

Well, it's plain and simple to express:

Err and err again but less and less and less."

-- Piet Hein (1905 – 1996) Danish Inventor.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

A personal record: your palm line etc ...

To a librarian, a book is a record of data, information, knowledge or/and wisdom of the author.

Being a librarian for over 20 years and teaching information study and library courses since 1996, I see palm reading (or palmistry) and face reading like I look at a book.

Your palm and your face is a record of your life.

It is for you to create freely and for other to read, interpret and get some understanding of you as a person.

The line on the palm and a face of a person is a record (or a reflection) of one's personality, character, life experience, hidden emotion and health condition etc. As it is a personal record of the person, so it varies from one person to the other.

A record of a person is written by that person. You write it yourself, you are free to create it the way you like.

Throughout one's life, one constantly creating new record and writing new data and information to one's life record book.

I like to read books, and I like to read palms and faces. To me, it is the same in nature. My interest in reading books is being transported laterally to palm and face reading. Nevertheless, the knowledge of palm and face reading and the wisdom of translating your knowledge is something that I always find it hard to master.

Some palmist maybe able to read the record and see the data, others can extract some/selected information. The same palm or face can be read by different people and have different interpretation.

Reading palm line and reading palmistry books help me to gain a lot of insight into how one think and react.

The wisdom of reading and expressing it is a very interesting interactive process.

I enjoy palm and face reading and like to read books on the subject since I started secondary school.

My father, before he passed away, always like to share his knowledge on face reading and palmistry with me. He also brought a lot of books on face reading, palmistry and related subjects and let me read them. Maybe, it is this common interest that made me closer to my father as compare to other siblings.

Both of us like face reading and palmistry so much that we both enrol into a course at NUS Extramural and have a few lessons on face reading and related subjects by a professor.

Now my father had passed away for over 20 years, yet when I read books on this subject, I always recall the fond memory of sharing and exchanging our understanding and knowledge at the dinning room.

If my father is still alive, I think he would appreciate the following youtube videos:

Palmistry & Palm Reading Secrets



Read your palm ! - only 7 minutes lectured by Japanese Ninja



Inside Palm Reading Secrets Revealed



JIM WINTER Teahing Palm reading



The Basics of Palmistry and Astrology

Monday, July 27, 2009

Commencement address to the graduates of Stanford University by Steve Jobs, June 12, 2005.

Steve Jobs delivering his commencement speech to the graduates of Stanford University in 2005. In it he talks about getting fired from Apple in 1985, life & death.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1R-jKKp3NA

It is a truely inspirational speech:

He shown everyone that your destiny is in your very own hands!

* Follow your passions -- life is for the living. Real success comes with happiness and love.

* Take the road least traveled, and it may not be the hardest one sometimes -- you may find riches beyond your dreams and at the sametime enrich the lives of others around you and beyond.

* Happiness and fulfilment are abundant to anyone who thinks outside the box. Financial, emothional, spiritual & intellectual riches are yours if you are able to connect the dots. Everything that happens to you -- even the things that look rough at the time -- will serve and enrich you in many ways when you connect the dots of the past.

The fulltext of the speech was published on "Stanford Report, June 14, 2005"

'You've got to find what you love,' Jobs says

The text of the Commencement address by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, delivered on June 12, 2005.

http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2005/june15/jobs-061505.html


Here I quote what touches my heart:


** The first story is about connecting the dots.

* The minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn't interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting.

* And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on.

* I learned about serif and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can't capture, and I found it fascinating.
None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography.

* If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts.

* Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later.

* Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.


** My second story is about love and loss.

* I was lucky — I found what I loved to do early in life.

* ... And then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started?

* I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down - that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me.

* I was a very public failure, and I even thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me — I still loved what I did.

* I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.

* I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me.

* The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.

* It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it.

* Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith.

* I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did.

* You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers.

* Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.

* If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle.

* As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on.


** My third story is about death.

* When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right."

* Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.

* Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

* About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer... I didn't even know what a pancreas was.

* My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor's code for prepare to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you'd have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.

* I lived with that diagnosis all day... I had the surgery and I'm fine now.

* This was the closest I've been to facing death, and I hope its the closest I get for a few more decades.

* Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept:
- No one wants to die.
- Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there.
- And yet death is the destination we all share.
- No one has ever escaped it.
- And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life.
- It is Life's change agent.
- It clears out the old to make way for the new.
- Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away.
- Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

* Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking.

* Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.

* They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

* ... The Whole Earth Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation ...created by Stewart Brand ... all made with typewriters, scissors, and polaroid cameras. It was sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions.

* Stewart and his team ... put out a final issue... On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, ... Beneath it were the words: "Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish." It was their farewell message as they signed off.

* Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.

* Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

On teaching children

Children do not need to be made to learn to be better, told what to do or shown how.

If they are given access to enough of the world, they will see clearly enough what things are truly important to themselves and to others, and they will make for themselves a better path into that world then anyone else could make for them.


-- John Holt (1923 - 1985)

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

On teachers and delusion

We teachers - perhaps all human beings - are in the grip of an astonishing delusion.

We think that we can take a picture, a structure, a working model of something, constructed in our minds out of long experience and familiarity, and by turning that model into a string of words, transplant it whole into the mind of someone else.

Perhaps once in a thousand times, when the explanation is extraordinary good, and the listener extraordinary experienced and skillful at turning word strings into non-verbal reality, and when the explainer and listener share in common many of the experiences being talked about, the process may work, and some real meaning may be communicated.

Most of the time, explaining does not increase understanding, and may evenlessen it.

-- John Holt (1923 - 1985) American Educator

Monday, July 20, 2009

Perception and the minds tricks

Perception and the minds tricks

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAhqDH2pfg0

A Israeli street games with a sign reading from the other way!

It maybe upside down to the street readers, yet it is the right way from the person's own perspective.

What a brilliant experiment with the sign to me!

Like one of the viewer's comments: "May be all ideas/thoughts are just reactions to someone elses' ideas or thoughts, all actions are just reactions, there is nothing new under the sun unless our brains ... are capable of something better."

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Organization

Something, I have to hacking my way through lots of clutter and disarray, and I know it's time to clean things up if it gets into my way and prohibits my work flow!

I will make organizing my own system a priority if I cannot get much done on that day. , even if those around me remain in chaos.

Dexterine Ho

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

A successful day

If I have been of service, if I have glimpsed more of the nature and essence of ultimate good, if I am inspired to reach wider horizons of thought and action, if I am at peace with myself, it has been a successful day.

-- Alex Noble

Thursday, July 09, 2009

LAS 3M Visit


Today I joined the Programmes and Social Committee, LAS for a tour of the 3M Woodlands and 3M Yishun Facilities.

Date: 9 July 2009 (Thursday)

Time: 12.45 – 6.15pm

The itinerary for the 3M visit:

Meeting point is at Admiralty MRT Station Taxi Stand.
At 1.00 pm, a bus took us to the 3M Woodlands Staff Shop (purchase 3M items at a discount) and later to 3M Yishun facility.

I was impressed by the variety of items 3M produced worldwide. The group is about 33 members and most of us took the opportunity of the visit and bought some 3M products.

Thanks to Mustafa Bin Mahadi, who co-ordinated the tour for LAS and reminded us to bring cash for shopping!

I was one of the four lucky draw winners and brought home a stationary set (3M tape plus dispenser and a set of post it notes.)

By the time we finished the visit and listened to all the 3M stories, it was 6.15pm.

It was a very fruitful day and we wonder why we never thought of visiting 3M all these years.

The visit is highly recommended for LAS members. If you missed this round, look up for the next one.

Notes: Professional Development Scheme (PDS) Points

1. Eligible for PDS Points: This activity attracts 36 points under the Industry Knowledge Development (ID) category.
"Participate in product/services briefing & demonstrations by vendor organized or approved by LAS"
2. Reference: See para 4.6 of the PDS Guide [:http://www.las.org.sg/PDS-Guide-2008-LAS.mht ]

Monday, July 06, 2009

Moody and depressed

Sometime if I feel moody and depressed, I will take a break to relax, walk outside, do something different or meditate.

As things at work could get a little overblown and exaggerated when you concerntrate on it for too long, it maybe better to step back and let them roll away like water rolling off a duck's back.

In between heavy tasks, take a detour to gain a new perspective. You will unlock yourself and not being sucked into an argument or a locked mindset.


Dexterine Ho

Sunday, July 05, 2009

Quit doing less-than-excellent work

If you want to achieve excellence, you can get there today.

As of this second, quit doing less-than-excellent work.


-- Thomas J. Watson (1874-1956), Founder of IBM

Friday, July 03, 2009

Devote Our Life To Great Thoughts

Often we allow ourselves to be upset by small things we should despise and forget.

We lose many irreplaceable hours brooding over grievances that, in a year's time, will be forgotten by us and by everybody.

No, let us devote our life to worthwhile actions and feelings, to great thoughts, real affections and enduring undertakings.


-- Andre Maurois (1885-1967)

Thursday, July 02, 2009

Be Thankful For Your Troubles

Happiness is to be found along the way, not at the end of the road, for then the journey is over and it is too late.

Today, this hour, this minute is the day, the hour, the minute for each of us to sense the fact that life is good, with all of its trials and troubles, and perhaps more interesting because of them.


-- Robert R. Updegraff, Author of "Be Thankful For Your Troubles"

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

Happiness

Remember, happiness doesn't depend on who you are or what you have; it depends solely on what you think.

-- Dale Carnegie (1888-1955)

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

LAS ILS sharing session from poly libraries

I learnt a lot from the four poly libraries ILS sharing session today.

The objective of the ILS sharing session is to share and gain a better understanding of the features and functionalities of different library systems used by four poly libraries (i.e., Temasek Poly, Singapore Poly, Ngee Ann Poly and Nanyang Poly).

It is interesting to note the creative way librarians used in solving work problems. Some workarounds approach make "impossible" things possible. Many turn-key/vendor systems are now integrated with other library services and campus systems.

Date: 30 Jun 2009
Time : 2.00pm - 6:00 PM
Venue : Temasek Polytechnic Library

Professional Development Scheme (PDS) Points

1. Eligible for PDS Points: This activity attracts 46 points under the Industry Knowledge Development (ID) category." Participate in library related talks, forums, discussion sessions and business meetings (e.g. AGM, Council & Committee meetings) organized by LAS or other libraries (provided they are open to LAS members or other librarians) “

2. Reference: See para 4.6 of the PDS Guide http://www.las.org.sg/PDS-Guide-2008-LAS.mht

Monday, June 29, 2009

Comfort

Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.


-- Neale Donald Walsch

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

The road to preeminent success

I believe the true road to preeminent success in any line is to make yourself master in that line.

I have no faith in the policy of scattering one's resources, and in my experience I have rarely if ever met a man who achieved preeminence in money making...

certainly never one in manufacturing ...

who was interested in many concerns.


-- Andrew Carnegie

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

This world were not fashioned by those who were realistic

One of the saddest lines in the world is, 'Oh come now - be realistic.'

The best parts of this world were not fashioned by those who were realistic.

They were fashioned by those who dared to look hard at their wishes and gave them horses to ride.


-- Richard Nelson Bolles

Monday, June 22, 2009

Adversity is our teacher

Even the most daring and accomplished people have undergone tremendous difficulty.

In fact, the more successful they became, the more they attributed their success to the lessons learned during their most difficult times.

Adversity is our teacher.

When we view adversity as a guide towards greater inner growth, we will then learn to accept the wisdom our soul came into this life to learn.


-- Barbara Rose

Sunday, June 21, 2009

See ourselves as others see us

It is good to see ourselves as others see us.

Try as we may, we are never able to know ourselves fully as we are, especially the evil side of us.

This we can do only if we are not angry with our critics but will take in good heart whatever they might have to say.


-- Mahatma Gandhi

See ourselves as others see us

It is good to see ourselves as others see us.

Try as we may, we are never able to know ourselves fully as we are, especially the evil side of us.

This we can do only if we are not angry with our critics but will take in good heart whatever they might have to say.


-- Mahatma Gandhi

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Until ...

Until you have learned to be tolerant with those who do not always agree with you;

until you have cultivated the habit of saying some kind word of those whom you do not admire;

until you have formed the habit of looking for the good instead of the bad there is in others,

you will be neither successful nor happy.


-- Napoleon Hill

Friday, June 19, 2009

Appreciating art or reading books.

I like to spend my free time appreciating art or reading books.

Reading a book or a gallery/museum visit allow me a different ways to look at things.

Having the new ideas installed in my mind, it is like having a new software that add new power to my life.

With the new powered wired and embedded, it is easy to make things works in a different way.

I may not be able to find the new application immediately, nevertheless, the possibility of have such an application by itself is something I enjoy having.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

When you are inside of the frame

It is difficult to see the picture when you are inside of the frame.


-- Author Unknown

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Builds a dream

Everybody builds a dream in their lifetime.

You’re either going to build your dream, or somebody else's.

So build your own!


-- Christopher LaBrec

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Criticism

Most of the time we tend to view criticism in negative mode.

Just reflect on your own experience of giving comments to other. Is it not always given with a good intention.

Hence, if criticism come your way, take it as positively. It is a gift that someone give us to make our life better.

Realize that it meant to help, not to hurt, you will see and read criticism from a different light.

If we are able to face the criticism or negative comments like the way we receive presents, we will have a different perspective in reading the message. With good reading, we will be able to accept criticism as advice and internalized it to make us a better person.

If we take criticism negatively, we will reject the message, yet it is like poison in our body and harm us.

If we take things negatively, we will be moody and being moody, it could lead to depression.

If we take criticism possitively, we will be happy to have some improvement to make. Having improved ourselves and realize that we are a better person, we will be happy. If we make our day joyful, we will live our life with gratitudes and not hatre.


Dexterine Ho

Monday, June 15, 2009

Knowledge vs wisdom

To attain knowledge, add things every day.

To attain wisdom, remove things every day.


-- Lao Tzu

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Wealth

If we command our wealth, we shall be rich and free.

If our wealth commands us, we are poor indeed.


-- Edmund Burke

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Aim

The greater danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.


-- Michelangelo Buonarroti (1474-1564)

Friday, June 12, 2009

Happiness is ...

Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed.

Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude.


-- Denis Waitley

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Living fully

The difference between great people and everyone else is that great people create their lives actively, while everyone else is created by their lives, passively waiting to see where life takes them next.

The difference between the two is the difference between living fully and just existing.


-- Michael E. Gerber

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

LAS Tour of Chinese Heritage Centre and Wang Gungwu Library

Today, I join the Programmes and Social Committee, LAS for a tour of the Chinese Heritage Centre and Wang Gungwu Library.

Date: 10 June 2009 (Wednesday)
Time: 3:30 pm
Guided tour sponsored by LAS with a group of 40 LAS members

It is the first time LAS Programmes and Social Committee required member to register the tour with membership number. As I have been a life member for over 20 years, it is hard to recall my membership number. With the help of the committee, I refresh my long lost memory and re-registered in my mind that L041 is my Life membership number.

The Chinese Heritage Centre is housed in a four-storey building opposite Yunnan Garden on Nanyang Drive. The Wang Gungwu Library is on the first level of Chinese Heritage Centre.

Notes: LAS Professional Development Scheme (PDS) Points

Eligible for PDS Points: This activity attracts 46 points under the Industry Knowledge Development (ID) category." Study visit to other libraries (local and overseas)"

Reference: See para 4.6 of the PDS Guide [:http://www.las.org.sg/PDS-Guide-2008-LAS.mht ]

Tuesday, June 09, 2009

Develop a greater vision

People who consider themselves victims of their circumstances will always remain victims unless they develop a greater vision for their lives.

-- Stedman Graham

Monday, June 08, 2009

Don't hurry, don't worry

Don't hurry, don't worry. You're only here for a short visit. So be sure to stop and smell the flowers.


-- Walter Hagen

Sunday, June 07, 2009

Change

Whether we like it or not, change happens.

It is best to stay as open-minded as possible when facing new policy at your workplace or new changes at home.

Try to embrace it as you are unable to stop it.


Dexterine Ho

Saturday, June 06, 2009

Dream

Reach high, for stars lie hidden in your soul.

Dream deep, for every dream precedes the goal.

-- Pamela Vaull Starr

Friday, June 05, 2009

Travel light

If you wish to travel far and fast, travel light.

Take off all your envies, jealousies, unforgiveness, selfishness, and fears.


-- Glenn Clark

Thursday, June 04, 2009

Happy and hopeful outlook

If you keep a happy and hopeful outlook, you will turn an ordinary day or a bad day to a joyful and an enjoyable one.

Just remember, we have everything we need to make our day a lucky one (or otherwise).

Change the way you look at yourself, change the way you communicate or interact with the world.

Only when you change your inner outlook, you then be able to change the way you look at the outer world. The happiness you experience in the outside world, is sometime a mirror or a reflection of your inner world.

Instead of letting events steer you or other's schedule overtakes yours, take control over how your time is being used. You can do a lot of things that may you happy if you organise and prioritize your time base on your choice and your need to fulful your inner needs.


Dexterine Ho

Wednesday, June 03, 2009

A peaceful heart

If I have a peaceful heart, it is easy to go with or go against any outside forces are working in my life.

When I feel peaceful, the strengths of tact, grace, and creativity automatically provide me with a perfect opportunity to fix a situation or conflict, or to create something innovative at ease.

When I feel peaceful, I like to trust my sense of style and take a bold new look at things and situations at hand.

When I feel peaceful, I like to just go with the flow and let the feeling overtake me!


Dexterine Ho

Tuesday, June 02, 2009

Grow

Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow.


-- Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

Monday, June 01, 2009

See your goal clearly

Before you begin a thing remind yourself that difficulties and delays quite impossible to foresee are ahead.

You can only see one thing clearly, and that is your goal. Form a mental vision of that and cling to it through thick and thin.


-- Kathleen Norris (1880-1966)

Sunday, May 31, 2009

Our happiness or misery depends on ...

I have learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions and not on our circumstances.

We carry the seeds with us in our minds wherever we go.


-- Martha Washington

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

It is hard ...

It is hard to resist the urge to cut corners when we are short of time, nevertheless, I believe that any job worth doing is worth doing well.

Success is achievable if we are willing to put in some extra works.


Dexterine Ho

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Something definite to do

Life means to have something definite to do

—a mission to fulfill

—and in the measure in which we avoid setting our life to something, we make it empty.

Human life, by its very nature, has to be dedicated to something.


-- Jose Ortega y Gasset (1883-1955)

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Creativity

Sometimes you've got to let everything go

- purge yourself.

If you are unhappy with anything

- whatever is bringing you down, get rid of it.

Because you'll find that when you're free, your true creativity, your true self comes out.


-- Tina Turner

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Action

You cannot change anything in your life with intention alone, which can become a watered-down, occasional hope that you'll get to tomorrow. Intention without action is useless.

-- Caroline Myss

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Dare to believe

Nothing splendid has ever been achieved except by those who dared believe that something inside them was superior to circumstance.

-- Bruce Barton (1886-1967)

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

No vs Yes

A 'No' uttered from deepest conviction is better and greater than a 'Yes' merely uttered to please, or what is worse, to avoid trouble.


-- Mahatma Gandhi

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Financial Planning

There are plenty of ways to get ahead.

The first is so basic I'm almost embarrassed to say it: spend less than you earn.

-- Paul Clitheroe

Monday, May 11, 2009

The real winners in life

The real winners in life are the people who look at every situation with an expectation that they can make it work or make it better.

-- Barbara Pletcher

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Effective people

Effective people are not problem-minded;they're opportunity-minded.

They feed opportunities and starve problems.


-- Stephen Covey

Saturday, May 09, 2009

The more tranquil a man becomes, the greater is his success, his influence, his power for good.

Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom.

-- James Allen

Friday, May 08, 2009

Endeavors to live the life which he has imagined

If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.

-- Henry David Thoreau

Thursday, May 07, 2009

Your life is the result of ...

Do you realize that your life at this very moment is the result of everything that you have ever thought, done, believed or felt up until now?

You can start right now to consciously and deliberately attract whatever you desire in this lifetime.

-- Jack Canfield

Wednesday, May 06, 2009

生活智慧王

台湾- 生活智慧王 - 专辑

The Wisdom in Daily Life (TV programme in Chinese)

http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/G39YKMJtWD8/

Tuesday, May 05, 2009

生活智慧王- 快速折衣法