Hyphen-abuse Alert

Or better know by its acronym, HA!

Saw this article on asiaone reporting on the-best-units-of-the-SAF and one particular paragraph caught-my-eye:

The squadron operates the F-15SG all-weather multi-role fighter, which is equipped with state-of-the-art avionics and a sophisticated integrated sensor suite, and provides the third-generation SAF with enhanced air-defence and air-superiority capabilities.

Holy-crap! Is it the style of new age writing these days to incorporate morse code into their sentences by balancing out the dots (periods) with dashes? I have one thing to say about it: I-don't-like-it.

The definition and usage of hyphens are readily available online. Technically, the writer is correct using hyphens in the paragraph, however it is really an eyesore. Which brings us to another bug bear of mine: the semi-colon. Many people fear to use it, some use it wrongly, others just treat it like a comma; everyone should just check out this easy-to-understand poster from the oatmeal.

Social Mobility

Read a touching article from a UK newspaper online (props to mrbrown).

The key to social mobility is having a devoted and determined family
Because, to my mind, social engineering isn't the best way to propel a child out of a council estate and onto better things. There is a much more effective solution — and my friends and I are living proof of it.
I didn't end up eating £100 steaks because someone put a 'Poor Kid' sign around my neck and sent me to be taught with the children of millionaires.
No, I got there thanks to my mum and dad, who worked their socks off to ensure their children were well-fed, well-clothed and well educated.

I can relate very strongly to this and do constantly feel guilty about not spending enough time with my parents, even though they understand that we are busy these days working and raising our little one. I come from a family where only my Dad worked (really hard at times), and thanks to capital gains, managed to put me through university (both degrees, although i did get some help in the form of a 'local' scholarship), for which i am forever grateful. These days I find my broad education in a wide range of technologies a blessing as i talk to engineers, researchers and inventors, because i can understand their tech-speak and relate to them easily. Growing up, i never had to worry about food or clothing, and i got pretty much whatever i wanted. However whatever i wanted was influenced by upbringing and conditioning by my mother, hence i never asked for a holiday to disneyland lol. My parents never held back when it came to my education, whether it be trips to the science centre (however many), or music lessons. In fact, there was a period when my fees per month added to more than $500 (piano, organ and drums) (although for a good time i was on scholarship which did help heh). It is with this background that I can entertain (largely) myself and others (when i play for mass).

Which then leads to, what can our offspring achieve? I think what we have/can achieve is freedom for her. She will have choices which we did not have before, since we were told to pick our degrees (thence professions) with one eye on what we want to do for the rest of our lives, which leads to traditional (boring?) roles like doctor, lawyer, accountant and engineer.

I once discussed about being thankful to my Mum and her reply was that we repay our debt to our parents by bringing up our kids the same way they brought us up, with plenty of love and affection. And to that aim we will strive.

scaling new heights

Just a quick update from my previous post on playing at Sacred Heart (i didn't play for midnight mass, just morning mass...).

Got to play for first communion mass on Sunday and it was heartening to see so many young ones all excited about receiving communion. Good mix of hymns as well in terms of style, ranging from country (Come and Dine) to latin (Blessed Sacrament), and ending the mass with everyone quite upbeat (Bread of life). Also got to impart some knowledge in terms of how to slot in a scale while playing using modes. I use this (too?) often to either break the monotony, bridge a gap, or lead the choir (and congregation) to their starting note between phrases. Sometimes i just use it (like i did on Sunday) to fill in for the left hand while leading with the right, and it provides a really nice harmony background. Heh.

book review: the Cobra

I thought it's been some time since Frederick Forsyth published a new book since the Afghan (which i did a review of). This new book is more of a page turner and builds upon the characters found from his previous book called the Avenger. In fact, the storyline midway was so suspenseful that when i found that i had left the book in office, actually considered going back to get it (insomniacs of the world unite!). I have to say that the ending is a bit of an anticlimax though, so don't get your hopes up.

On the whole, the amount of research and preparation, and the way he organises and present his material is unsurpassed (as usual). There were one or two instances when i had to refer back to an earlier page to understand what was going on, but generally easy to follow given the number of characters and rather multiple events happening at different places at the same time. Was a little daunted seeing the (long) list of characters at the start of the book, and also reminded me of Tom Clancy books. In fact, i was reminded most of TC's novels where the 'superior' American technology trumps everything else when the drugdealers struggled to cope, although the stuff they used appeared relatively Amish. Also, I did sense a bit of inconsistency in the characters since the Avenger, but that's to be expected when (as explained to a friend) Cobra Commander and Snake Eyes join forces to fight the drug barons. (Anyone remember GI Joe?) What stood out the most was the level of violence being described. It has cranked up a notch since the (already) brutality seen in the Avenger and at times made me cringe. I guess it served its purpose of showing how evil men can be, although in reality i doubt (or rather hope) no such evil people exist.

Interesting bit: Singapore features quite often in the plot, i think because of our position as a shipping hub (thanks to our central geographical position!)

Wilful kids

This NZ herald article used this term and i like it! Our daughter is now 13 months old and becoming quite a handful, always trying to get what she wants and throwing a tantrum when she doesn't get it, i.e. wilful. =)

We have been trying to set up the right atmosphere for her and constantly remind her that we love her. She's begun to reciprocate and demonstrate this by hugging us and (more recently) giving us a kiss. Of course there will be times when she wonders why she can't do something, and most of the times, she can't understand our explanation. She tries to say 'please' in order to get her way, although it only comes out (after a big intake of breath) as "pah" (exhale). People have also noticed that she has a good set of lungs 'cos she'd yell (really loudly) when she doesn't get her way. LOL.

From the same NZherald article:
Mantras of parenting
* Atmosphere is everything
* Take a break
* Boys need to hear: "you've got what it takes"
* Girls need to hear: "you're lovely and capable"
* Remember what it was like to be a child
* Children will repeat whatever behaviour gets them what they want
* Don't sweat the small stuff
* We all want to be happy

headline double take...

I saw the headlines for this article and had to do a double take:

Zero tolerance for violence at nursing homes

Our take on this is correct of course, not like other people who may have some tolerance for violence at nursing homes, or even high tolerance for violence at nursing homes. Wait, that last one can also be read that nurses are able to cope with the physical abuse they sometimes face (nurses = respect!). The byline reads:

All interviewed agree caregivers must treat elderly residents well

Is there anyone out there who would disagree with this? Especially in a nursing home? LOL.

My own stance is nursing homes are sometimes necessary for people (especially the elderly) who need constant specialized care. In an ideal world, one would hire a nurse to take care of our elderly in our own home, but i recognise not everyone can afford this.

Walking on faith...

Our daughter has started walking a couple of days after her birthday and it is quite interesting and heartening to see her advance so quickly from those tentative unsure steps to practically flying now. In fact, she's walking so fast that we had to buy her proper walking shoes to stop her foot from pronating (yet another new word i learn as a parent). Outcome? She's walking even faster now! *fainted*

There is something about watching your child toddle around the place. First, rather unsteadily, holding on to stuff on the way during her mini-breaks from walking. You can see her planning how to get from the sofa to the room by holding on to the chaise, the dining room chair and the corridor wall ... or maybe i'm just imagining that bit, although it was still a bit of a shock to realise she had walked all the way to her room. LOL

Speaking of parenting styles, there's a WSJ article (hattip to ww) that seems quite accurate, since we noticed that we both have different parenting styles. We do adapt from each other's so sometimes we swap the 'mothering' and 'fathering' roles, but i do believe it is working well together. I feel like hugging my daughter after reading the article..... =)

Some excerpts from the article:

Minor injuries
DADS: Tend to distract the child by directing her attention to another activity or carrying her to another part of the playground. This can help kids develop the resiliency needed to shake off small setbacks and move on.
MOMS: Tend to comfort and soothe the child and encourage her to talk about what she is feeling. This can help a child feel secure and safe and express emotions in words.

Playtime:
DADS: Interactions are more rambunctious and physical. Dads are more likely to startle babies, laugh, play physical games such as tossing them in the air, and spark peaks of emotion or excitement. This is believed to help kids develop self-regulatory skills.
MOMS: Tend to interact face-to-face with babies, babbling back and forth, responding to subtle shifts in facial expressions and touching the baby affectionately. This is believed to teach children to read facial expressions, use words to communicate and to enjoy close, intimate contact.