- toaster — (light and cheap) many Chinese bread are very nice once toasted
- microwave — ($100? but heavy) in U.S. relative to Singapore, there are 3 times more varieties of healthy and economical frozen food. Quick and simple to keep, /divvy up/, reheat, clean-up.
- steam-cooker-cum-boiler — ($50-$80) healthy, tasty and low-cost in the U.S.
- glass pot — (cheap) microwave, bowl, …
- Greg Racioppo’s mountain bike
- the $700 Italian stroller — expensive but fairly durable
- power drill
- yoga mat
- photo copier and scanner at home rather than in office
- $$ smart phone to use wechat
- next, a car?
Tag: t_fuxi
aa or aaa 型汉字, AA 型 中文词语
- 从,林,吕,回,多,朋,竹,比,出
- 众,森,品,晶,川,
— 叠词 such as the phrases below, are vivid, memorable, fun, powerful phrases.
- 轻轻, 淡淡, 慢慢,弯弯, 软软, 硬硬, 紧紧
- AABC： 碌碌无为，沾沾自喜, 面面俱到, 绵绵不绝, 斤斤计较, 津津有味，（恩情）念念不忘，念念有词，多多益善， 依依不舍，
- AABB: sorted by pinyin:
- A-C:白白胖胖, 匆匆忙忙, 颤颤巍巍（站起来）
- D: 大大方方, 大大咧咧，大大小小, 打打杀杀, 点点滴滴，躲躲藏藏/躲躲闪闪,
- F-G: 沸沸扬扬, 分分秒秒, 风风火火, 高高低低, 鬼鬼祟祟,
- H: (小孩宝剑)花花绿绿, 浩浩荡荡, 慌慌张张, 昏昏沉沉, 欢欢喜喜,
- J: 家家户户, 兢兢业业，
- K: (家里)空空荡荡, 哭哭啼啼，
- L: 来来往往, 老老少少, 来来去去(跑了5次), 唠唠叨叨,
- M-N: 慢慢腾腾(收拾了3天), 磨磨蹭蹭, (大千世界)男男女女, 扭扭捏捏, 忙忙碌碌,
- P-Q: 平平安安(过了年), 婆婆妈妈, (事业)起起落落, 千千万万(个读者), 清清楚楚, 轻轻松松,
- R-T: 日日夜夜 (思念), (电视上)说说笑笑, 实实在在, 是是非非, 岁岁年年，偷偷摸摸,
- W-Z: 歪歪扭扭, 弯弯曲曲(小路), 寻寻觅觅, (做事)稳稳当当, 形形色色, 嘻嘻哈哈，隐隐约约, 遮遮掩掩, 战战兢兢,
- ABCB: 人云亦云，没事找事, 倚老卖老，以牙还牙, 以毒攻毒，将心比心, 出尔反尔
- ABAC:
- A-J: 碍手碍脚, 毕恭毕敬, 笨手笨脚, 成双成对, 潮起潮落，呆头呆脑, 多劳多得，
- F-K:飞来飞去, 古色古香, 虎头虎脑, 花开花落，今生今世, 糊里糊涂, 快人快语,
- L-N: 每家每户, 美轮美奂, 难兄难弟, 冷言冷语
- P-U: 入情入理, 所见所闻, 少男少女, 说来说去 (还得卖), 三起三落, 三天三夜, 数一数二, 实话实说, 徒子徒孙,
- W-Z：稳扎稳打，相辅相成， 要死要活, ,亦步亦趋 , （在庙里）转来转去, 再接再厉
- 不偏不倚, 不慌不忙/不紧不慢, (态度)不软不硬/不卑不亢, 不离不弃, 不声不响(考了状元), 不吃不喝, (3 天)不言不语, 不死不活, 不冷不热，不大不小, 不高不低(正打中)，不悲不喜, 不喜不怒,不说不笑，不哭不闹
- 此时此刻, 此时此地, 此情此景
- 大风大浪, 大起大落, 大江大海, 大红大紫, 大吃大喝, (老人)大喜大悲, 大哭大闹, 大吹大擂,
- 可亲可敬，可歌可泣，可圈可点, 可有可无
- 尽职尽责，尽心尽力
- 没完没了, 没大没小, 没日没夜/没早没晚，没头没脑, 没肝没肺, 没心没肺,
- 人来人往, 人山人海，
- 无声无息, 无影无踪, 无法无天, 无德无能, (婚姻)无风无浪,
- 一草一木，一砖一瓦，一针一线，一家一户，一朝一夕，一人一票,
- 又唱又跳, 又懒又笨, 又高又瘦,又爱又恨, 又打又骂, 又说又笑, 又推又打,又哭又笑，
- 有声有色, 有来有往, 有说有笑, (家乡)有山有水,有钱有势, 有荤有素, 有吃有喝, 有板有眼，有始有终，有头有脸
- 愈演愈烈, 越走越远, 越赚越多, 越卖越贵, 越看越爱, 越想越气, 越挖越深, 越爬越高, 越写越快, 越喝越苦, 越唱越累, 越战越勇
- 自生自灭, 自暴自弃
- ABAB: 掂量掂量, (你也不)算计算计, 收拾收拾(你的桌子), 打扫打扫, 琢磨琢磨，活动活动(腿脚）
- ABCC: 想入非非
strict yet SUPPORTIVE coaching, briefly
For Yixin’s personality, we need to be strict, but balanced by supportive attitude, not harsh and ruthless.
gentle but firm warning #Yixin学习个性
Beware – Not sure of the side effect. May need some fine tuning…
The piano tutor Alex Chung demonstrated a style of verbal warning, which might be effective for kids like Yixin…
Gentle but firm warning. Clearly stated rules and targets.
Avoid creating a penalty after the offense.
remind kids of past rewards
Suppose your company pays quarterly bonus in the form of silver coins (or wines, or handbags…?).
If you have a lot of the same coins, you will not remember which coins are the company bonus, unless you record the amount of coins you receive each time.
My son get lots of rewards from trivial to big ones. If I want him to get the motivation, I need to remind him “that vacation was a reward for your effort in ..”. Otherwise naturally he is likely to assume those “good” things are unrelated to his good or bad actions. The cause/effect is not obvious to us until we are in our teens.
## charms@U.S. over SG
(semi-consciously, I tend to play up the adv of SG and play down the adv of US…) This is a biased view of nice things about US… Feel good about the prospect@US…
Above should move into post about “US^SG”
- spacious homes, possibly with garden
- high rental yield esp. with strata lease
- job: I don’t feel (like in Singapore) left behind by increasing number of high fliers who were once my peers. This subconscious and irrational sense of inferiority is deep-rooted, pervasive, insidious. It’s something to rationalize away if I stay in Singapore. No such painful feeling if in US.
- job: i feel needed, in-demand, respected
- job: I feel tech IV is my game. No such game in SG
- more places for vacations
- more places for hikes
- more nature
- winter vacations
- name brands cheaper
- winter sports
- culture of outdoor sports
- communication style is simpler and more natural
- free movies
- can drive — some people really enjoy it
- There’s a chance I could help kids get a job in finance or tech, if he wants to
- broader perspective for the growing mind
- kids can more easily go to Europe or Asia. Somehow Singaporeans are not venturous.
- 4 seasons… not so hot all year round. Important to boy and grandma
- cheaper milk
- buy cheap books online — to build up my tech advantage
- buy and return anything
- U.S. is more of a reading society
academic bmarks worldwide
On one hand, we need to check benchmarks to know where a child is seriously lagging behind [1].
On the other hand, I think many parents put too much value on the school marks and relative ranking within the school. This benchmark doesn’t mean a lot in the grand scheme of things.
[1] Clearly boy isn’t, so this is not a justification for using the benchmark.
It’s probably misleading to compare with a kid in another country.
* For example, Chinese and East European schools have more rigorous abstract math training. So a Singapore student would fare badly in such a test. (However, at work, I doubt the Chinese professionals demonstrate stronger math skills.)
I think Singapore schools are very conscious of international benchmarks. In this environment, it’s extremely hard to shield our mind from the (powerful) influence. It would take tremendous conviction, fortitude and mental strength. I basically accept I would be swayed, but hopefully not losing my foothold. Raja said “bend and sway, not get broken”.
Among any group of students, you always notice your standing — no choice.
Sugg: parents need to be aware that some kids are late bloomers. They would catch up in P5, or in secondary school or later. It’s very stressful for parents. Consider air-lifting (emigration) as a real choice.
Sugg: parents need to identify (for themselves) which tested skill is really short-term. I wrote in other blog posts. Punctuation could cost many marks but why would I worry?
boy gets no help on ..which subject?
- 偏旁部首
- free flow writing. Could be fun for him when he’s in the mood. Not suitable for “1 minute a day”.
I want to be a supportive coach …
laptop key press enters multiple chars
4 6 8 0 c … each inputs 2 characters. Sometimes a restart fixed things but temporarily.
The method that worked — uninstall the keyboard driver then reboot.
The methods that didn’t help:
* fn-numlock
* regedit InitialKeyboardIndicators
HDL boosters
http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2007/0416/054.html shows there are good HDL and bad HDL. HDL is less understood and more complicated than LDL. Exercise + diet is the natural HDL booster, better than medication.
30min exercise 5 times a week. Examples of brisk, aerobic exercise include walking, running, cycling, swimming, playing basketball and raking leaves – anything that increases your heart rate.
Moderate use of alcohol has been linked with higher levels of HDL cholesterol.