text:
Thanks for sharing :)
Thanks for sharing 🙂
In line with MOE recommendations of no exams for our 1st Graders (Primary One students)… other forms of assessments are implemented in some schools. While some schools may have started much earlier… the idea of alternative assessments, is catching on with the rest of the schools that have yet embarked on it. This further amplifies the phrase… "honeymooning period" in Primary school. Hehee..
The Alternative Assessments programme complements in the now widely known; Teach Less Learn More approach. Many parents do not know that this programme requires greater curriculum customization as it needs respective teacher to come up with school-based curriculum to best cater to the needs of the students' abilities. To add to that requirement, teachers are also responsible to chart up the scoring rubrics for the students' evaluation report. The variety of alternative assessments on the different subjects may constitute to a certain percentage of the overall performance for the year.
One such alternative assessment is the recent Show & Tell article i have shared. While it is understood that the exam setting will not be as per what our P3 students onwards are doing, the need for pen and paper test will still be necessary for a holistic evaluation of students. They may come as short pen and paper tests, like topical tests, listening comprehension tests and a little bit of testing on writing skills; which is termed as the Written Expression.
Written Expression requires each student to come up with at least a minimum of 5 sentences under a selected title / topic. It could be titles like :-
1. My Favourite Food
2. The Holiday I Enjoyed Most
3. My Family
4. My School
5. My Best Friend (etc)
So for SA1 this year, my DD2 has to go through a detailed list of various alternative assessments which i find is a good way and a formative way in assessing the students' learning journey. I mean in Singapore, it is very difficult to separate parents and that paper evidence / paper chase… much to our denial that is… we are indeed kiasu parents lor..
As my continued support to this addictive KiasuParents forum, here are some suggestions of how parents can prep children for the Written Expression day. While i may have posted a little late (post-session) for the Show & Tell article, i do hope this one would come in earlier for some of you out there so that fun preparation work can be done with your children. It should be fun lah, since it IS honeymooning period… hehee..
DD2 was given the title My Favourite Sandwich to work with and was given (if i recall correctly), 2 weeks prior to the actual day. Parents were informed much earlier about it, (again if i remember correctly) almost the same time as all other alternative assessments that were detailed out in the circular. The title was given 2 weeks before the official writing day. For some schools, children were given a picture to write about. So, the format varies between schools & the formative structures they implement.
As many of you already know, i am pro-hands-on kinda momma. I prefer for children especially the younger ones, to learn by experimenting, by touching, by smelling, by tasting…. in short; by doing. Engage children in their 5 senses and the experience of that session will allow for creative ideas in those little minds of theirs by three-fold if not more. 🙂
Here's sharing what we did together. (DD2 and I)… yes… amidst preparing DD1 for her semestral exams! Guess this hands-on session came as a de-stress factor for me.. Hah!
I asked DD2 what her favourite sandwich was… Blaaah… As usual, she gave me TOO MANY! She talked me through a couple and said they were all too simple… like just dip the knife in the jar and spread. Just like plain bread, she thought it was too bland. Eventually, she decided on something more challenging to write about :- Omelette Sandwich. She repeatedly reminded me that her teacher encouraged all the students in the class to write "more"….. She loves her teacher to bits and find her an ultimate inspiration, so this work by her is also to inspire her teacher….. through her writing.
We began on our journey by getting all the ingredients laid out on the kitchen cabinet one morning.. We've done it together many times before but i did more of the work, so this time i made sure she did most of it! DD2 ran through the items in her mind and went ahead to get all the stuff.. She said, "Mom, we need bread… eggs… butter and for the cutlery and stuff we need a bowl, a butter knife…. for now, i think." She even went to the extent of reminding me that it is imperative we check the expiry date stated on the bread clip. She said, "Phew, safe. Still got 3 more days.."
DD2 used the butter knife to cut the two slices of bread in half. I assisted her a bit so that the bread pieces do not become soggy pratas instead…:P
Next is the tough part, cracking the egg. D'ya know that young children find cracking eggs very amusing? The 1st time i allowed her to crack it, the poor egg was crushed into so many pieces and the egg cud not be saved as it was flowing all over the kitchen cabinet… into the drawers… onto the floor! Everywhere!
This time i held her fingers and assisted her with the pressure. Thank goodness. No major disaster entailed from the egg cracking experience this time. Phew!
She managed whisking the egg with the fork just fine..
I heated up a small frying pan and again held her hand to pour in the whisked egg once the oil was nicely heated up. We waited for a few seconds and i showed her how to check if that side was done. Following that, how to do the flip… to the other side.
When we flipped, it was light brown and suddenly DD2 quipped, "Mommy, the omelette is breathing!" (Copied phrase from the Enchanted movie).
I cut the fried omelette into two pieces to fit the slices of bread that had been cut. DD2 spread some butter on one side of every slice of bread. Together, we placed the warm fried omelette in between two slices of bread.
And our favourite omelette sandwich was finally ready to be eaten!
DD2 had her sketch book and writing materials in the kitchen.
She immediately recorded the process down each time she finished doing a step, so she will not forget the details. Finally, after she ate the sandwiches for her light lunch that day… we went through the writing together once again to vet. Next, she was to close the sketch book and try to write as many sentences as possible, that she recalled from the short preparation of the sandwiches.
She practiced everyday before she went to school and also after dinner… she was that diligent. She said she was afraid she may not remember the contents for her written expression test. I advised her to just do a short write-up on a peanut butter sandwich instead but she refused… again reminding me, "Teacher said better to write more…" So we told her, "Up to you… YOU are gonna do the writing on that day, so you better know what to write girl!" Frankly, hubs was against her doing the long one… but oh heck, we're talking about my little… well… you know what…
Here is her final product.
After the project was completed DD2 said to me, "Thanks for helping me mommy. Learning with you is so much fun! I hope we can do this again next time… and i also hope i will do well for my writing test."
Well, as much as i know that she will not be able to remember nor write that many sentences on the actual Written Expression day (especially with time constraints and what nots), i too hope she is able to do well enough……. to pass lah.. Good luck, DD2!
Love Mummy…
Thanks for sharing 🙂
Hi Buds!
Thats very impressive work. You are a wonderful mummy!
Thanks Buds,
This is a very interesting article!
Quote amylqf, "wow, your child can really draw and her handwriting is so neat!"
Follow mood wan lah amylqf.. Still work in progress for this girl. This is (like i mentioned) …… her 'final' product. The initial raw stages weren't like this of course. 😛 Still need to vet, edit, proof read.. plus minus ok-ok like that then the final publication. That said, she is neater now as compared to before. Dun bluff you.. hehee.. you can check out my How to write a diary thread to check out the 'before' handwriting… when she was younger… and compare with the current one now… truly vast difference. I also award this success to a fab teacher she got for P1 this year. We're very blessed.. 🙂
As for the drawings, she'd always say dunno.. not creative enuf.. cannot think.. etc.. so i can draw first and she tries to follow mine. When she comes to the point of giving up, i will hold her hand to steady the drawing curves… not something natural or automatic for her (yet) but we still keep encouraging her anyhow. Good thing is DD2 is not one to give up easily. She has natural determination. Or can oso say the kiasu spirit in her. Hahahaa!
DD1 is better at drawing! That one has natural talent and inborn creativity. So, it's true when they say… no 2 children are alike. Even two of mine are poles apart. In character and in academic achievements.. I learn as i go along. 🙂 Still learning……..
Quote malyhunesh, "Dear Mum,"
Well… hello to you too. 🙂
"This is a great article and i think it is very useful for me."
Thank you and i am very happy you find the sharing useful.
"My daughter is in P1 and is in the learning journey as well. Im very worried as she has to do composition and she is not sure how to complete the story."
We're all learning….. as we go about our days really. Sometimes we don't realise that. I learn from my children too at times… subconsciously. Hee.. Do not worry. They can always start somewhere.. start small.. with achievable tasks. Start with story starters.. say, if you're going to the market… let your child bring a small notebook and you can say, "Mother is going to the market to buy,……………….. to make (name of dish) for example. When you go home, after cooking that dish, you may want to sit down with her and get her to draw your shopping list. Then label the items beside her drawings or doodlings. If she is keen to continue the activity, sit down together and mebbe start with a 3 liner (3 sentences) of your shopping trip. For future shopping outings, your daughter may want to help you write down your list all on her own! My girls especially love this.. and they like to include the snacks and whatever nots as well.. 😛
Once she is having fun with the process of learning to write the bits and pieces, it may trigger the spur of creativity in her to write more.
"This is a real help to me and all parents too. All the best and keep posting more articles."
I appreciate your generous compliments and i'll try to find time to share more.
You may also click on "buds' blog" to back read other articles that have been shared sometime back as well.. PM me if you require further assistance okie. No worries. I will try to help where i can, if i can.
"Thank you."
You're welcome, Mel.
Quote minnie2004, "This is very creative buds! Thanks for sharing!"
You're welcome, minnie2004!
"You gave me some new ideas in teaching my DD writing. She is still in K2 so she's not exactly writing yet. But she likes to draw so sometimes I'll ask her to label the items she draw, usually in Chinese as I'm in charge of teaching her Chinese."
Wah, envy leh… Mandarin pro mummy!
We may have many ideas to teach our children, however as parents we know our children best. If a child is new to writing, start small. After all, big successes begin with small ones. So, be good to start nice and steady instead of a steady stream all at once. I do have experiences where parents are very ONZ and very eager to teach a lotta things but the child finds it information overload. We can pace it to ensure the small goals are the little successes that the child can feel and help motivate them to do more. The idea is also to start early.. gee.. i am like a broken recorder.. but really lah.. can never over emphsize the need for children to have early and yet gradual preparation throughout their learning journeys.
"She also likes to carry her little digital camera around and take shots of everything (yes she's a budding photographer and had some pretty nice shots). It's a good idea to let her bring a stetch book as well on our upcoming vacation so she can draw and write something along the way. Sure will keep her busy on the plane and make our trip more interesting."
Hi-5! Mine are budding photographers too! Gramps and daddy allows them to snap on their DSLRs sometimes and also the digicam, hph cam, and videocam for exposure. This also helps in allowing the kiddies to learn how to handle these delicate electronic stuff better instead of simply fiddling with it behind your back due to curiosity. Do share your DD's work here with us too. Then, you can show her that many mummies here think she is making good effort to begin writing.. 🙂
wow, your child can really draw.
and her handwriting is so neat!
Dear Mum,
This is a great article and i think it is very useful for me. My daughter is in P1 and is in the learning journey as well. Im very worried as she has to do composition and she is not sure how to complete the story. This is a real help to me and all parents too. All the best and keep posting more articles.
Thank you.
This is very creative buds! Thanks for sharing! You gave me some new ideas in teaching my DD writing. She is still in K2 so she's not exactly writing yet. But she likes to draw so sometimes I'll ask her to label the items she draw, usually in Chinese as I'm in charge of teaching her Chinese.
She also likes to carry her little digital camera around and take shots of everything (yes she's a budding photographer and had some pretty nice shots). It's a good idea to let her bring a stetch book as well on our upcoming vacation so she can draw and write something along the way. Sure will keep her busy on the plane and make our trip more interesting.
Quote gajidouma, "I can't help but admire you a lot! :))) You are such a wonderful mother with lovely kids. God bless. Just curious, are you a teacher yourself?"
Aaaaww, sheesh..
God bless you too, gajidouma.
To satisfy your curiosity.. yes, i WAS… and
yes… in the next few months will be again.
I resigned before i delivered my second
baby to spend time with the 1st one.. and
have been a stay-home-mommy since DD2
was born. I did some short stints on & off
and also freelance-from-home assigments
as well. But yes, planning to go full-time
if possible; with a reliable helper.
Quote tankee, "Very nice! I'm very impressed by your DD2's writting and drawing skills. She is so neat and tidy too!"
It took a LOT of naggings, screamings, vomitings and yes of course a LOT of work and patience to get there, bro. I'm just happy that all the efforts i have put in have finally harvested. Thanks for the compliment! I'll tell DD2… to teh her into doing it more often… Guess threatening to put an i-dun-care-if-it's-ugly-kinda-piece-on-KSP may have also worked in triggering the Little Miss Perfect project quite well. Hmm.. think about it.
Quote Yerdua, "My ds (and me) has a easier time for his "Wriiten Expression" for term 2. He will be given pictures and has to write a sentence each to describe the pictures. Everything will be done in class on the spot. : )"
Hi Yerdua, yes.. the structure for Written Expression varies from school to school. In fact, DD1 had pictures for her Written Expression as well back when she was in Pri 1. With pictures, children should be able to mind map the sequence much clearer and plus in P1, they are usually given helping words to help them with the flow of writing. As for this year's P1, since they are using the Stellar programme… i suppose this idea for written expression was more thematic to the genre of storybooks based curriculum, where there was this story of a giant or something who had a particular favourite food item, which if i remember correctly… was an ice-cream. DD2 and her classmates also had their own sandwich making in class one of the days, again; i suppose it was meant to be an intro to the actual writing process. As for 'Written Expresstion Day' itself, all children are to write based on the topic given (2wks adv) without the aid of notes or cue cards and whatever prepz.. so eventually, i do see it as done in class and on the spot in a way.
"But comes term 3, he has to write a personal account on a field trip! So Buds, your tips will come in very handy! Thanks!"
Oh boy, this sure is a fun topic to write about! This school hols, bring your DS to as many places as possible and bring a sketch book or note book with you too! Jot down in points as you go along your trip/outing with him. To encourage the writing process, i encourage you to have your own book too! So, DS will not see it as it is only an assignment for him alone per se.. bring paints, crayons and colour pencils too! DS and you can draw or doodle the stuff you see during your trips.
You can even use your handphone camera to snap memorable trip pictures and even videos of yourself and DS for extra idea tools when you begin the actual writing process at home, once the outing is over. This idea is akin to your child writing his journal / diary. I say, the more field trips your DS enjoys….. the more his ideas will come in!
I can't help but admire you a lot! :))) You are such a wonderful mother with lovely kids. God bless. Just curious, are you a teacher yourself?
Proud Daddy of P1 Boy at Tao Nan School …
My ds (and me) has a easier time for his "Wriiten Expression" for term 2. He will be given pictures and has to write a sentence each to describe the pictures. Everything will be done in class on the spot. : )
But comes term 3, he has to write a personal account on a field trip! So Buds, your tips will come in very handy! Thanks!
Superb piece of written and art work. Kudos to both mummi and daughter
Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can read – Mark Twain
Quote Jav, "Hi Buds, as usual, I have always enjoyed reading your article. It is very well described and with creative ideas to motivate children. We are so fortunate to have you in KiasuParents to keep sharing with us. Kudos to you!! 🙂 "
Hi Jav! Thank you for dropping by to keep in touch..
I appreciate it very much.
Thank you for your sweet compliments too!
Quote janet_lee88, "Hi Buds, I will make a copy of your post to keep and read nearer end of this year. It's wonderful for parents like myself who have kids going to P1 and do not have any idea what this Stellar English program is all about."
Different schools may have different selection of books for Stellar English programme. Since Stellar is more open concept, i do provide the needed structure to inculcate the grammar, vocab, oral, listening compre and also simple compre with separate assessments. Stellar programme introduces reading books (big books) to recap Phonics… ie. single letter sounds and letter sound combinations. There are also sight words recognition, parts of vocab & grammar and also comprehension included post-reading session. Expanding the learning of English from the use of stories can be very very interesting and can span very widely if the curriculum and also the teachers are / can come up with creative activities for the children whether inside the classroom or fun out-of-class-learning experiences.
"My son had Show n Tell for P1/2 for his Oral exam. I really wonder whether this 'honeymoon' stage for P1 is really that sweet to help kids adjust to primary school."
My girls have worksheets that i have from my past teaching days and also from assessment books like My Pals workbooks plus CASCO Pass English. For oral prepz we have one from Raffles Publications : A Guide to English Oral Skills to work with.
We cannot allow the "honeymoon" phase to cloud the reality that the actual P3 level will bring. Hence the need for some structure so that the children do not get left behind just cos we just let things go with the flow. Early gradual preparation is the key. Yes, the current no-exam-for-P1 does help with children adjusting to P1… and some up till P2. But if caught unprepared, P3 can be a wham-bham disaster especially with the inclusion of Science in their schedule as well!
I do find with or without extra lessons (outsourced)… parents still have the responsibility to keep themselves updated of the goings-on… the standard… the changes (if any)… that are revolving around our school going children. Full-time working parents will be hit hardest cos there doesn't seem to be enough time to do so many things. (Esp if no domestic help… cos house chores can be a killer boy…)
Catch up with me again when your son's Written Expression assessment is nearing, cos mebbe i will have more tips to share then! Cheerios! Hope you had a fabulous Mother's Day today!
Quote autumnbronze, "A BIG hug and fly kiss from me to you for this article.I do believe you know where I am coming from with this response of mine."
Hahaa! I am sheepishly grinning with the thought of that flying kiss that ermm.. didn't really fly.. so cute, you know!
"Thank you for sharing, once again."
You are very welcome.
Quote ksi, "Well structured (Flow of thoughts)"
Hands-on activity helps children with the flow of thoughts since their distracted minds are usually like all over the place lah hor.. Keeping their little hands occupied helps with the thought process, hence remembering the details a little better…… than usual.
"Great illustration (My P2 probably cannot draw half the pictures there, takes alot of imagination)"
She practiced on it… that's why i say at the last part, "her final product".. heheh.
"Penmanship is fantastic…"
Fantastic only when kanna scream by me, sista…
"My P2 only writes like that if there is a contest or special event….otherwise wait long long"
Hahaa! I like how you phrase that! Same lah.. all children same. Mine included.
"Tell her she will score well for her assessment, Outstanding!"
Only if she managed to write it 100% like that loh. Kekeke..
Niwae, results next week liao… so…..
My jaws dropped… Amazing work from head to toe….for a P1 gal.
Impressive on all fronts:
1. Well structured (Flow of thoughts)
2. Great illustration (My P2 probably cannot draw half the pictures there, takes alot of imagination)
3. Penmanship is fantastic (My P2 only writes like that if there is a contest or special event….otherwise wait long long)
Tell her she will score well for her assessment, Outstanding!
It's okay lah babe.. after all you ARE ksi mah.. so that's understood. Uploading pictures can be time consuming especially with internet connections like mine. 😛 Also, when the webbie is under overwhelming traffic congestion, it takes double the time taken. Plus the more pictures, the more uploading time. Sometimes when i am logged out of the webbie, i even gotta re-do.. ie. re-upload everything that i have put up…
And that's the part where it gets super frustrating!
Niwaes, all the pics are uploaded / updated liao. Lemme noe watcha think okie?
Oic….then will wait patiently….thanks! :))
I must be a "complain" queen as the rest never make any noise…
Pictures are being uploaded as we speak.
I think yesterday's connection was bad lah.
I am after all using mobile broadband… 😛
Can be frustrating at times with the connection!
Actually, after the last sentence "Here is her final product", buds is suppose to show some pics of the end product by DD2 but due to some technical difficulties, the pics seem to disappear. Will get it rectified ASAP.
Hey buds…after "here is her final product"….is there anything else as I cannot seem to read if there is a page 2. How to see ah?
Hi Buds,
As usual, I have always enjoyed reading your article. It is very well described and with creative ideas to motivate children. We are so fortunate to have you in KiasuParents to keep sharing with us. Kudos to you!! 🙂
Hi Buds,
I will make a copy of your post to keep and read nearer end of this year. It's wonderful for parents like myself who have kids going to P1 and do not have any idea what this Stellar English program is all about.
My son had Show n Tell for P1/2 for his Oral exam. I really wonder whether this 'honeymoon' stage for P1 is really that sweet to help kids adjust to primary school.
A BIG hug and fly kiss from me to you for this article.
I do believe you know where I am coming from with this response of mine
Thank you for sharing, once again.
Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can read – Mark Twain


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subset: commoncrawl


text:
Nissan's Rick Kelly has taken top spot in first practice at the CrownBet Darwin Triple Crown.
Last year's pole sitter recorded a 1min07.0515 lap and held off the Bulls, with Jamie Whincup 0.0215sec adrift and Shane van Gisbergen 0.0441sec behind.
Kelly said the team was working through its program and not focused on outright speed – so watch out for the Sengled Nissan again this afternoon.
"Most of our session was tuning to our plan and not for outright car pace," Kelly said.
"That second session this afternoon we'll focus on getting it a little quicker than it is."
Temperatures are in the 30s in Darwin, with in-car cooling mandatory for drivers in these conditions.
Finishing P2, six-time champ Whincup was encouraged by the day's first run, his Triple Eight team having tested since last round at Winton.
"I'm much happier with my car, it's nicer to drive [and] better than it's been for two or three months… It's a better base – it doesn't guarantee results, we'll still have to grind on – but I'm much happier."
Last year's race winner David Reynolds shot to fourth in the order with five minutes remaining in the session and ultimately topped Michael Caruso, who was at the top for a chunk of practice in his Altima. Winton winner Tim Slade followed in P6.
James Moffat hit the tyres at turn 10 late in the session and Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport struck trouble with a power steering issue with Andre Heimgartner's car, and a broken roll bar for Nick Percat.
Another Supercars practice session kicks off at 1.45pm local time.


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Failure to full the acquire after agreeing to purchase now may possibly outcome in termination of your bidding privileges. Use of internet site and its affiliates constitutes acceptance of the User Agreement Copyright © 1999 – 2017 , Inc. Partners with more than one hundred provincial and community organizations for the development and delivery of applications for the higher participation and achievement of excellence in amateur sport by Manitobans. Speeds are DDR4-2400 for the Sport and Sport LT lines and DDR4-2666 at stock for Tactical and Elite versions. If you are a man, preserve at least 1 sport coat, preferably in a neutral color such as black.
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- Britney Spears will rap on her next album. This will be a good challenge to the Advanced listener. Your mission: learn to like it. You can start by liking it ironically if you like, but you have to get beyond that.
- Art Garfunkel got out of his $100 pot fine by speaking to kids about living a "healthy lifestyle." So that's why Paul Simon didn't like him: He's a miser.
- Ronnie Wood's wife, Jo, says that the Rolling Stones eat only organic food when she goes on tour with them. Proving that the Rolling Stones have never seen Spinal Tap.
- I'm not sure where Perry Farrell fits in Advancement-wise, but before we decide, it's important to know that his upcoming solo record will feature Nuno Bettencourt of Extreme and Black Eyed Pea Fergie.
- Thom Yorke's solo record is set to release in July. Because he's still Overt, he says this isn't a "solo" project, but with any luck he will leave Radiohead to make a roots-rock record with Aaron Neville, featuring the Tower of Power horns. Plus Nuno Bettencourt and Fergie, of course.
Home of the Advanced Genius Theory, a celebration of the least-celebrated work by the most-celebrated minds in pop culture.
Monday, May 15, 2006
Britney Spears' Rap Challenge, plus Art Garfunkel, Jo Wood, Perry Farrell Gets Extreme and Takes a Pea, Thom Yorke Edges Toward Advancement
Posted by Advanced Genius Theory at 4:18 PM
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Jan. 25 (UPI) -- Residents of a Florida neighborhood said they want their homeowners association to evict some unwanted squatters -- wild pigs.
Neighbors in the Avalon Park area of Orlando said the boars, which live in a reserve bordering the neighborhood, have been spotted periodically during the past two years, and recently they have been sighted tearing up yards and even entering homes.
"Well, the problem is they come straight to your house," Carmen Caraballo, a 16-year resident of the neighborhood, told WFTV. "They're not afraid of coming in, and they make those huge holes everywhere."
"I know they start scratching; scratching the floor," she said.
Neighbor Pat-Ann Gangasingh said she has repeatedly complained about the hogs to the area homeowners association.
"It's just ridiculous to have these kinds of animals come out and tear up your property and you get nothing out of it," Gangasingh told WKMG-TV.
She said the homeowners association assured her the pigs would be trapped and relocated, but the animals' presence in the area does not seem to have been reduced.
"It's a beautiful neighborhood, very quiet, and they should take care of us because we pay our homeowners fees," Gangasingh said.
The association's budget shows $5,700 is allocated each year for wild boar removal.
"But still," Caraballo said. "Coming in, I don't know what else to do."
She said she worries about her family's safety.
"My daughter, coming down with the baby," she said. "They got to be careful, because you never know."


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Dream Home Canada Cup – competition of wood projects in culture & tourism sectors
In recent years, the Chinese Government has encouraged the development of the third industry (Service Industry) including the culture and tourism sectors, where wood frame constructions (WFC) can fit well. WFC buildings have characteristics of being low-carbon, naturally beautiful, and environmentally friendly. As a result, there are many wood frame construction projects been built all over China. However it's a pity that these excellent projects haven't received great attention from the public, especially from professionals in the construction/ culture & tourism industry; therefore, they have lacked a platform to promote and advertise these projects.
As a response to the aforementioned developments, CW China decided to organize a competition of wood projects in the culture & tourism sectors – we called it the Dream Home Canada Cup (DHC Cup). We believe the competition can help expose WFC in the culture and tourism sectors to professionals (developers, DIs, designers, builders, etc.) in the field.
The competition was announced on October 15th, 2016 and we received 41 projects which met the criteria for the competition[1].
We invited a group of judges composed of government officials, professors, chief architects and developers to assess the projects. The judges are listed below:
The judges rated each project on a scale from 0 to 100. They should take three elements into consideration while rating, and each element takes different percentage: Design: 50 points; Wood application: 20 points and Influence of project: 30 points.
And the winners….:
The Best Office Building:
The Best Mobile House:
The Best Design:
Finally there are 13 awards were set according to the results. We held the award ceremony on Mar. 22nd during Beijing Green Building Conference.


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Italia Ricci
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Nancy Moser File:
Excerpt of Just Jane
Buy Nancy's books:
Reviewed by Heather R.
Just Jane by
Nancy Moser
"Moser succeeds in bringing Jane Austen's quiet life to life for the reader by mixing together thorough research, a novelist's imagination, and a woman's intuition."
"Just Jane" is Nancy Moser's second biographical novel after the intriguing "Mozart's Sister." Judging by "Just Jane," Moser has a real knack for this genre-crossing method of historical storytelling.
As a biographer, Moser succeeds in bringing Jane Austen's quiet life to life for the reader by mixing together thorough research, a novelist's imagination, and a woman's intuition. In authorial notes Moser acknowledges the use of her own experiences as a sister author to guess at Jane's reactions to the events in her life as well as how these trials and triumphs may have contributed to the particular novels that Jane wrote during those times. Readers can be comfortable with the results of Moser's educated guesses because of the thorough explanations given at the end of the novel in her "Dear Reader" and "What is Fact and What is Fiction" articles. Moser also gives biographical information for the rest of the Austen family in her "What Happened Next?" article.
As a novelist, Moser succeeds in telling Jane's story in such a way that it reads just like a Jane Austen novel! Except the sisters in this case don't end up with their Mr. Darcys ...
Moser has Jane tell her story in the first person, which makes it feel like an autobiographical novel and brings readers even closer to Jane Austen the woman and the writer. In addition, many if not most readers will identify with Jane's struggle to be herself in a time that was very restrictive for women. It's a triumph when she learns who she is and how to be content with being "Just Jane." As a bonus, Moser also gives us a full-blooded portrait of Cassandra and the vital sister/mother/mentor relationship she has with Jane.
This is a lovely book to be read with a cup of tea by a gently crackling fire in a quiet sitting room. Readers will not only learn all there is to know about Jane Austen in an enjoyable and creative format, they will also be led to ponder their own gifts and talents and whether they are meeting their God-given potential. "Just Jane" is much more than just a novel.Heather R. Hunt is a business editor in Connecticut. For fun she reads, writes, cheers on the Red Sox, and enjoys tennis and cycling. She also co-leads a local tea party and enjoys holding government officials and media outlets accountable. Check out her blogs, The View from Stonewater and Connecticut for Sarah Palin.


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...for "Gatherer" of the GenoType Diet world...
Pre-heat your oven to 350
Mix together the dry stuff:
5 1/2 cups Organic Oats and Almonds (I used about 2 1/2 cups Almonds and 3 cups Oats)
1/4 cup Rice Bran
1/2 cup Coconut (I know, I shouldn't have!)
...and beat up the wet stuff (I used a glass 2 cup measure):
1/2 cup Rice Bran Oil
1/2 cup Egg Whites
1/3 cup Molasses/Honey (MORE molasses and less honey)
1 T. Cinnamon
1/4 t. Salt
1/2 t. Vanilla
1/8 t. Butter Flavor
I ended up mixing in a lot of extra toasted almonds after- it needed more!
~Happy Eating!


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Who We Are, When & Where do we meet?- Come and meet us!
Club meetings and calendar.
Please click HERE for our 2020 calendar (Jan - June)
Please click HERE for our 2020 Calendar (July - Dec)
You are most welcome to come and meet us at any of our Regular meetings.
We meet on
Tuesdays at 7.00 for 7.30pm except when we have a speaker (at the Raven) and then we meet at 6.00pm for 6.30pm
(Our regular meeting place is the Raven Hotel in Hook, except for the first Tuesday in the month when we have a pub night at the Bell in Odiham. Please see website & check by phoning 01256 702712 or 01256 767521 beforehand.)
Raven Hotel, Station Road, Hook RG27 9HS Tel: 01256 762541
The Bell, The Bury, Odiham RG29 1LY Tel: 01256 702282


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Geriausios verslo mokyklos ir universitetai Rusijoje 2020/2021
Šiame puslapyje Jūs galite ieškoti universitetai, verslo mokyklos ir Rusija. Jūs sužinosite viską apie aukščiausią reitingą universitetų Rusija informaciją. Paspauskite ant "Skaityti daugiau " už išsamų aprašymą universiteto ir studijų programų siūlo apžvalga....
Šiame puslapyje Jūs galite ieškoti universitetai, verslo mokyklos ir Rusija. Jūs sužinosite viską apie aukščiausią reitingą universitetų Rusija informaciją. Paspauskite ant "Skaityti daugiau " už išsamų aprašymą universiteto ir studijų programų siūlo apžvalga.Skaityti daugiau
Ieškoti universitetų Rusija ir naršyti savo programas rasti tuos, kurie tiktų jums geriausia. Gauti visą apie įvairias studijų galimybes Rusija informacijos ir palyginti mokesčius už mokslą ir studijų trukmės. Galite sutaupyti laiko ir kontaktiniai universitetų Rusija tiesiogiai: užpildyti "Prašymas informaciją nemokamai " formą, kuri padės jums susisiekti su priėmimo biure.
Pradėkite savo ateities švietimo paiešką iš karto!Skaityti mažiau
Ural Federal University (UrFU) is one of the largest higher educational institutions in Russia bringing together fundamental education and innovative approach towards the challenges of modern times. O ... Skaityti daugiau
We are Skoltech – a new international English-speaking STEM university in Moscow, Russia. In just 8 years, we united dozens of researchers and globally renowned professors, built a stunning campus, se ... Skaityti daugiau
Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration - Institute Of Business Studies
Since its inception Institute of Business Studies (IBS-Moscow) within RANEPA has been a leader in the Russian business education market. IBS-Moscow is a collegiate business school operating an RANEPA' ... Skaityti daugiau
The Autonomous Non-Profit Organisation Russian International Olympic University (RIOU) was established on 21 October 2009 under the Memorandum of Understanding between the International Olympic Commit ... Skaityti daugiau
Consistently ranked as one of Russia's top three universities, the National Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE University) sets itself apart by its internationally-minded, research-dr ... Skaityti daugiau
Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University was founded in 1899. Recently SPbPU became "National Research University", also known in Russia and abroad as Polytechnic Institute — a recognized ... Skaityti daugiau
The Faculty of Business and Social Sciences combines Kingston Business School and the School of Law, Social and Behavioural Sciences. Together they cultivate critical thinking and a problem-solving ap ... Skaityti daugiau
Nowadays, Gzhel State University (GSU) appears as a dynamically developing educational center, whose institutional body includes 50 educational and scientific subunits. According to the results of the ... Skaityti daugiau
Pskov State University (PskovSU) is one of the 33 key regional universities in Russia located in just an hour ride from the Russian border with Latvia and Estonia (European Union). The university is ... Skaityti daugiau
Moscow State University of Civil Engineering (MGSU) is the leading Russian University in the area of civil engineering with a century of teaching and research tradition.
Today BMSTU, a National Research University of Engineering and Technology, is one of the three leading universities in Russia and is ranked number one among Russian technical universities. According t ... Skaityti daugiau
Established in 1919, the State University of Management is one of the largest state universities in Russia, specializing in training managers. It has more than 10 000 Russian and international student ... Skaityti daugiau
With origins dating back to 1915, Southern Federal University (SFedU) is the largest scientific and educational centre in the south of Russia. SFedU traces its roots to the Royal University of Warsaw, ... Skaityti daugiau
TSU is the oldest university in Russian Asia, in Siberia, that was founded in 1878 in Tomsk, Russia. It was the First Siberian Imperial University.
North-Caucasus Federal University is the most high-profile higher education institution located in the South of Russia, Stavropol region. The North Caucasus lies between the Black Sea in the West and ... Skaityti daugiau
Irkutsk National Research Technical University (INRTU) is a leading research university in Eastern Siberia and ranks among the most innovative and perspective. It provides a wide range of higher edu ... Skaityti daugiau
Eurasian Management and Administration School (EMAS Business School) is one of the leading business schools, the expert in strategic management and MBA programs in Europe, Russia and CIS countries.
Kursk State Medical University (KSMU) occupies a prestigious level in teaching General Medical, Dentistry and Pharmacy in English medium and in preparing international students. This occupancy shown a ... Skaityti daugiau
St Petersburg University is the oldest university in Russia and for nearly 300 years it has been teaching its students up to the highest educational standards, preparing the graduates who are in high ... Skaityti daugiau
SWISSAM is the world-class educational institution in Russia and the CIS specializing in Hospitality & Culinary Arts. It is situated in the very center of St. Petersburg. SWISSAM Hospitality Busin ... Skaityti daugiau
For a hundred years, the State University of Management has been a leader in management education in Russia. Over 12 thousand students study at SUM. The university offers 13 Bachelor's programs, 9 Mas ... Skaityti daugiau
The University of Technology is a young, being on the rise, university. It is located in the Moscow region, the city of Korolev - a cradle of Russian astronautics and the largest science city in Russi ... Skaityti daugiau
Международный институт менеджмента ЛИНК — крупнейшая школа бизнеса России, предоставляющая бизнес образование международного уровня. МИМ ЛИНК является эксклюзивным партнером Открытого университета Вел ... Skaityti daugiau
Moscow Power Engineering Institute (MPEI) is one of the main technical universities in Russia in the field of Power Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Radio Engineering and Electronics, Informatics ... Skaityti daugiau
Kazan Innovative University named after V. G. Timiryasov (IEML) was founded in 1994 and now is the largest private higher educational institution in the Republic of Tatarstan and the entire Volga regi ... Skaityti daugiau
Nosov Magnitogorsk State Technical University (NMSTU) is one of the most credible and reputable multiple- discipline technical universities and scientific centers in Russia. Representing a widespread ... Skaityti daugiau
Voronezh State University is a research-led institution and its research activities are organised within a network of 18 faculties, 6 research institutes, 16 research laboratories administered by the ... Skaityti daugiau
Lomonosov Moscow State University was established in 1755 as a first Russian university. More than 40 000 students (graduate and postgraduate) and about 7 000 undergraduates study at the university, a ... Skaityti daugiau
The 2018 Access Masters Spring Tour begins on 24 January with an event in Brussels, offering Masters aspirants the opportunity to meet the best schools One-on-One. Between January and April 2018, the ... Skaityti daugiau
The Federal State-Funded Educational Institution of Higher Education "Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation" is one of the oldest Russian higher education institutions wh ... Skaityti daugiau
We have combined long-time academical traditions and modern educational technologies.
Saratov Socio-Economic Institute of Plekhanov Russian University of Economics is the legal successor of the Saratov State Socio-Economic University. The process of unification of federal and regional ... Skaityti daugiau
MGIMO is the best Russian university for international students who are interested in studying foreign affairs. Its courses are modern, exciting and intellectually challenging. The University offers a ... Skaityti daugiau
Ammosov North-Eastern Federal University is one of ten federal universities that are oriented at solving of geopolitical tasks, meeting personnel needs for large inter-regional investing projects. NEF ... Skaityti daugiau
Innopolis University is a Russian higher education institution focused on education and research in the field of IT and Robotics.
South Ural State University is the center for educational, scientific, cultural and athletic activities in the city Chelyabinsk and the region.
The city that has kept its spirit of old times. Anyone who happens to walk along the streets of Nizhny Novgorod seems to be carried a hundred years ago.
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VSTU is the leading regional University, which ranks among the best institutions in the number of qualified specialists of the Volgograd region, the South of Russia and some foreign countries. Univers ... Skaityti daugiau
Founded in 1930 the Bonch-Bruevich St. Petersburg State University for Telecommunications (SPb-SUT) has 85 year experience in training highly-qualified specialists for telecommunication industry.
Indian Technical Institute - Management Educational Trainings (ITI MET) and Goa Swiss Institute of Hotel Management (GSIHM)
Has programs in hospitality management and yoga
Rostov State University of Economics (RSUE) was founded in 1931, it is a modern university with deep-seated traditions. RSUE is located in the South of Russia, namely in Rostov-on-Don, the informal so ... Skaityti daugiau
The mission of the Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University (IKBFU) is to build competitive human capital on the basis of modern technological platforms to ensure the socioeconomic development of the K ... Skaityti daugiau
Novosibirsk state university (Russia), located in the heart of Akademgorodok, is a world-famous research center of Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Results of the research conducted ... Skaityti daugiau
On the 11th of February, 2011 the Moscow Technical University of Communications and Informatics (MTUCI) celebrated its 90th
VSUES, founded in 1967, is located in the center of Vladivostok, the city with unique monuments and architecture, combining Russian and Oriental style traditions.
Russian language has always been one of the most widely spoken languages, not only in Russia but in the whole world. According to recent research, more than 500 million people speak Russian, making it ... Skaityti daugiau
The Moscow Film School is a unique educational center aimed at training specialists for all areas of film industry — preproduction, production, post production and film distribution
Altai State University (the city of Barnaul, the south of Western Siberia, Russia) is a federal state budget educational establishment of higher professional education.
With over 100 years of experience educating in the fields of scientific research, technology, and metallurgy, The National University of Science and Technology MISIS has a proud and distinguished hist ... Skaityti daugiau
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The business school of the Moscow University of Finance and Law specializes in providing high-quality business education, and currently offers
Today Peoples' Friendship University of Russia is one of the leading state higher educational institutions of Russia. It is the only university in the world every year uniting students from 140 countr ... Skaityti daugiau
NArFU's strategic tasks are closely linked with implementation of the national geopolitical interests in the Arctic. Russia lacks experts and technologies for the development of its Arctic area, its c ... Skaityti daugiau
In the period of more than 50 years, the Perm State Technical University has greatly contributed to the development of education, science, and culture being promoted in Perm Kray, the Urals, and Russi ... Skaityti daugiau
Akademinio universiteto aukštojo mokslo centras yra vienas ir tik aukštojo mokslo įstaiga, susijęs su Rusijos mokslų akademijos. Aukštojo mokslo centras yra skirta mokymo magistrantūros ir mokslo dakt ... Skaityti daugiau
Irkutsko valstybinis lingvistikos universitetas datuojamas 1948 m. Anksčiau dėvėti pavadinimus: Irkutsko valstybinis pedagoginis institutas Užsienio kalbų, Irkutsko valstybinis pedagoginis institutas ... Skaityti daugiau
Tarptautinio universiteto Maskvoje as yra pirmasis privatus universitetas, Rusija, kuri užima pirmaujančią poziciją tarp Rusijos privačių mokyklų. Ji buvo įkurta 1991 m. savo dabartinio pirmininko Hav ... Skaityti daugiau
Apie Universitetą Krasnojarsko šiandien yra žinomas visame pasaulyje kaip vienas iš didžiausių Rusijos raketų ir kosmoso centrai pagrindinių mokslo, mokymo aukštos kvalifikacijos darbo jėgą ir pramon ... Skaityti daugiau
Maskvos valstybinio universiteto (MSU)   Įkurta 1755 m. Maskvos valstybinio universiteto (MSU) yra seniausia ir labiausiai žinomų universitetų Rusijoje. Šiandien Maskvos valstybinio universite ... Skaityti daugiau


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Build a better booty and achieve proper glute activation with a Body Science Booty Band. A medium to high resistance 13" fabric band with a non-slip grip that stays in place better than any latex band.
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With a silicone non-slip grip for precision hold, our resistance band stays in place and won't slip or roll up like traditional latex bands, no matter how sweaty you get or how hard you train.


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Hi! My name is Daniel Foo, an equestrian enthusiast. This site provides practical tips for anyone in Malaysia who wishes to get started in horse riding for fun. If you are at the edge of deciding whether to take up horse riding as a new hobby, go for it! Winston Churchill said, no hour of life is wasted that is spent in the saddle. Have a good day!4 Comments
Horse Riding Malaysia Posts
Amigo Horse Riding is strategically located in Pasir Gudang, which is 30 minutes or 27 KM away from Johor Bahru. It's a great weekend getaway for Singaporeans to spend some horsey time while staying in Tanjong Puteri Golf Resort which is right next to Amigo Horse Riding stables.
This is the signage you will see while driving in. You can search for the location accurate in Google Map.
The road that leads to Amigo Horse Riding stables.
Here we are at Amigo Horse Riding stable!
Amigo Horse Riding stables is owned and operated personally by Mos, an Iranian who has been in Malaysia for decades and running the stables for more than 10 years. Most importantly, Mos is a very skillful and experienced horseman.
My friends and I booked 2 rides with Mos. One in the Sunday evening and another on Monday morning. When we arrived, Mos has already parked our horses at the round pen while the groomer was tacking up the horses for us.
Kai Sing wanted to use her own endurance stirrup. Mos was helping her to set it up.
We had a few minutes of walking in the arena and Mos lead us out to the trail.
The horses were pretty calm and easy to work with. The trail was mainly flat land. We started off with walking, some trotting and a little bit of slow cantering. We arrived to the river bank in about 30 minutes later.
We continued our trail…
There were very few rocky paths. I believe Mos purposely pick the softer ground which are good for the hoof.
Pretty scenic trail to ride on a Sunday evening.
You can definitely cool your eyes with so much of greenery along the trail.
Mos also took us into Tanjong Puteri Golf Resort for quick tour.
Jac was having so much fun on her horse back on our way heading back to stables.
Passing by the entrance the stables on our way back.
Mos is keeping a lovely parrot in his stable that can speak "I love you" in a really cute voice.
We spent some time hanging out in the stables and were chatting with Mos. He shared his experiences and many other funny stories running the stables . Mos is definitely one of the coolest guys you can hang out with in the stables. It was a a great time and time flied! Before we knew it, the sky turned dark and it was time for us to head for dinner.
We ended the day with a delicious crab meal in JB town.
A video of our evening ride with Mos.
On the next day we have a morning ride with Mos. He led us out through another exit which is next to Tanjong Puteri Golf Resort.
Tanjong Puteri Golf Resort is on the left and stable is on the right. We were following Mos to walk till end end of the street to enter the trail.
We entered the trail…
Turned back for photo in the terrain.
We head to the river bank that we visited yesterday.
Jac with her favorite pose on her horse…
Jac and Mos at river bank.
Mos and Daniel.
Daniel and Jac in uniform
We continued our trail…
We head back to the stable in slightly less than an hour as the sun is getting really warm.
When we came back, Mos was kind enough to let us play with his painted horse in the round pen.
If you wish to ride in Amigo Horse Riding, please contact your friendly horseman, Mos at +60 12-796 6806 or at his Facebook and he will be glad to assist you.
Riding fees varies depend on whether it's on a weekend or weekday or if Mos is running a promotion. We paid RM165 per pax for 1.5 hour ride on Sunday and RM94 for 1 hour ride on Monday.
Have fun riding in Amigo Horse Riding!Leave a Comment
It's the first week after cross-state travel is allowed since MCO, Jac and I went to Bidaisari Stables in Janda Baik for an outride on Sunday. Here is our awesome hacking group photo.
Warming up in paddock.
We went to the kampung trail today. It was not a very long trail since the horses are just getting started again after a long break. It was approximately 8km and we completed that in about an hour.
While coming back, we took some time to pose for photos.
Upon coming back to the stable, I dismounted first while the other riders continue riding in the paddock.
Solea looking a little tired after coming back from kampung trail. It's the first time I ride with Solea. She was naughty in the paddock trying to canter around on her free will for a short while. She has been a really good girl out in the trail by following the horses in front. Her trotting is easy and cantering is smooth. I think she can be a good horse for taking to endurance.
After we came back, we saw Natasya was practicing her walking and trotting on Bella.
Natasya has been absent from riding for some time. She was trying to get back her rhythm on the horse. Jac was
busy body kind enough to help her out by leading the horse in front.
Coach Yasman was giving some extra pointers to Natasya after a few more rounds of riding in the big paddock.
I didn't get to play with Bomber today but she has always been such as a darling for the us in Bidaisari Stable. Go try riding with Bomber, it's so fun!
Here is a couple a video of us training the rested horses a week before inside the paddock.
Here is an outride video we did back in November 2019 where we took an endurance trail for almost 20KM. It was a really fun trip, be sure to check out the video!
Here is the address: Jalan Cherengin 1 28750 Kampung Janda Baik, Pahang, Malaysia. You can also check out the Google Map.
For more information, please contact Yasman at (+60 11-3229 3111) or visit Bidaisari Stable Facebook page.
Until next time!
Seremban Equestrian Center is located approximately 70km away from Kuala Lumpur.
It is not an overly popular spot for horse riding. I'm guessing it is mainly due to the stable being slightly remote compare other stables in the southern region.
It took me 45 minutes to get there from Kajang. If you are coming from KL, it will probably take you 1 hour and above.
I have been there twice. The 1st time was with Jaclyn. The 2nd time was with Suki, as her final farewell ride before heading back to Netherlands.
During our first ride, the guide took Jaclyn and I to a big open spot as you can see from the above video. The area is probably reserved for future construction. It was like a super big fence-less arena. We had our horses there to canter freely. Yeeeeeeeeeehar!
It was fun to be able to canter freely in the open area but it is something that you only want to do it once in a while.
Few weeks later, Suki and I went to Seremban Equestrian Center again.
I always like to ride horses in the track instead of the arena, regardless how big the arena is.
This time I have specifically asked the guide not to take me to the big fence-less arena again.
As a result, Suki and I went to the track. The track is not very long. But we did enjoy the greens along the track.
The unfortunate time was during our ride it started raining and it was a really wet ride.
We didn't have a guide taking us into the track. We had to remember the instruction given by the guide prior to entering the track.
Well, at some point we got lost. The next thing we did was let our reins loose and let the horses take us back.
More Information on Seremban Equestrian Center
The outride fee was RM100 per session. If you are interested to pay a visit, feel free to contact Along at +6017-3120814.
Have fun!Leave a Comment
3rd day of our 3-day horse riding trip across Peninsular Malaysia! We selected Terengganu International Endurance Park (T.I.E.P.) as our final destination.
Terengganu International Endurance Park (T.I.E.P.) is my most looking-forward-to track to ride since my endurance competition last year.
Our accomodation is fairly near to T.I.E.P. It took us about 15 min drive to get there. (Look at Suki's sleepy eyes!)
Good morning horsies!
The girls abandoned me in the car while I was parking. They ran over to welcome the horses instead!
Jaclyn got Princess, I got Jacq and Suki got Langkasari.
Wasted no time, we started off our ride in T.I.E.P. – one of the top 10 endurance tracks in the world!
The initial track that we planned for was 14KM.
Upon completing the 14KM, we didn't get enough of umh! and requested our guide, Anuar to bring us to another round of 10KM.
In total, we completed 24KM in the track as you can see in the following video.
Upon coming back, horses rest and drink before heading back to the stables.
This is an emotional moment for me.
I took Jacq for my 40km last year. I spent fair amount of time training with him back in Batu Arang last year (average of 3-4 times in a week).
Jacq was sold to another private stable in Terengganu, which means I can't see him and ride with him as frequent as I used to.
Because of the endurance training, my riding style has changed so much to fit to Jacq. When I was riding Jacq, we feels in-sync with each others' movement.
Jacq has got a lot more thinner than he used to be. Frankly, I have such an unspokeable heartache to see him again.
As much as I felt reluctant to leave Jacq, but it's time to move on after petting and feeding Jacq.
I carried a heavy heart to come back to Kuala Lumpur on Friday.
It was as if I farewell to a long time friend.
It was really good seeing you again, Jacq.Leave a Comment
2nd day of our 3-day horse riding trip across Peninsular Malaysia! We selected Pahang Equestrian Centre (also known as Pusat Equestrian Pahang) because riding at the beach is one of Suki's bucket list items. Jaclyn and I have never done beach riding as well so we were really looking forward to ride at the beach.
We got there in the morning about 8.00 AM.
The stables are not located right next to the beach. We had to cross a busy street in order to get to the beach. The traffic started building up at that hour so we had to wait until approximately 9.00 AM for the traffic to be clearer.
The good news is, that gives us a lot more time to play with our horses in the arena. Yay!
Jaclyn got on Pekan (right), I got on Goldie (middle) and Suki got on Putra (left).
Flatwork in the arena.
We had to trot for almost 1KM in the village road before arriving to the beach.
Around 9.30AM, the sun was high and bright. We were already sweating before even arriving to the beach.
Here we are at the beach, Tanjung Lumpur!
Suki overtook everyone and started cantering at the beach!
Jaclyn with her signature pose.
Goldie is trotting freely at the beach.
We passed a small stream while riding at the beach.
Jaclyn cantering fast from my right.
Suki cantering fast from my left.
The girls are having good time posing with their horses after exiting the beach.
After exiting the beach, we passed through a long strech of village road.
We stopped at an open field to take a rest before heading back to the stables.
Back to the stables. Suki posing with Putra.
Here is at track recorded by Jaclyn's smart watch.
Cantering on the endless beach is an unique experience for us who are mostly riding in the arena or trail. It is an experience that every rider must try!
Further Details on Pahang Equestrian Centre / Pusat Equestrian Pahang
We had a chance to take photo with the crew members who went out ridng with us.
This is the location to Pahang Equestrian Centre / Pusat Equestrian Pahang. The riding fee is RM200. If you would like to visit, please give Cikgu Paiza a call, +601113237416.
Up next, we are heading to T.I.E.P. (Terengganu International Endurance Park) – one of the top 10 endurance track in the world!Leave a Comment
First day of our 3-day horse riding trip across Peninsular Malaysia!
We decided to have Bidaisari Stables in Janda Baik, Bentong (Pahang) as our first stop. It is a track that Jaclyn wanted to go since last year but never had a chance.
Suki and I rode in Bidaisari Stable once in September last year. It was a reasonably relaxing ride so we were really looking forward coming back again after 6 months.
Jackly got on Pampa, the first endurance horse she ever had; Suki got on Zaafa, an anglo Arab that has pleasantly light and smooth canter; while I got on Bella, an easy-going grey horse and she is really good looking.
Our guide, Raju came along with us on his horse and guided us to finish through the big loop in the trail.
We crossed 2 small streams and spent fair amount of time allowing the horse to rest and eat, while the riders took the time to take lots of photos!
We covered 12KM and it took us slightly more than 2 hours to complete the trail.
Next stop, we are heading over to Kuatan for Pusat Equestrian Pahang!1 Comment
Felt down from horse in the trail!
I got a jumping horse, (named Russian) which is not used to going out the trail. Before going out, I flatwork Russian for about 10 minutes in the arena and Russian was a really steady boy while walking and trotting.
When we hit the trail, I gave Russian the clue to go canter. He started off with slow canter and within very short time he transition into fast canter and I couldn't slow him down.
Russian kept fast cantering for the next couple of minutes and eventually transition into galloping while going down hill. Yeeeeehar! (Well, it was actually steadier than I thought it will be)
The only problem was, I couldn't slow him down and I felt fairly uncomfortable riding a horse that I couldn't control.
Eventually at a very sharp turn, Russian was fast cantering into left while my body momentum was still going forward. I felt down on my right side and knock my head. I could tell I almost lost my conscious as the world was spinning when I hit the ground. I laid on the mud for a couple of minutes before Din came to my rescue.
Din and I exchanged horses. I got back on to horse back and ride back to the arena. At this point I could feel I lost a bit of my balance because my hand and leg coordination was out of sync.
Back into arena, I flatwork Russian again for another 45 minutes. The objective for doing this is to make sure I find back my balance and confidence on horse back before calling it a day.
It's been a while since my last fall from a horse. The good thing about falling down is we always get to stand back up on our own and remember to stay humble no matter how much one has been riding.
Benua Equestrian Stables is a private stable located in UPM. There are 2 stables in UPM, one runs by the university and the other (Benua) is privately owned.
I get the meet the owner during last year endurance competition and I have been putting off to visit his stable.
UPM is located next to MAEPS but the riding track is not identical. MAEPS offers into-the-forest track while UPM has well-maintained farm track.
The track in UPM has plenty of clear path for cantering.
In the track, if you do slow canter on open area and trot and walk on down slope, you will complete the track in approximately 45 minutes.
Taking break half way into the ride with my horse, Mufasa, a really light endurance horse.
Mufasa is back from our ride and cooling down. I could see her body was steaming a little the moment the groom removed the saddle.
The groom, Eddie was showering Mufasa after my ride.
A couple of other horses outside their stables.
Getting ready for flat work.
The open area in the compound.
Banner inside the office. You can tell Benua Equestrian Stables offers wide range of riding activities.
The office is elegantly decorated.
Hall of fame!
A few more frames exhibiting horse info-graphics.
A little coffee table in the office for the staffs and visitors to relax and chat.
The front entrance of the management office is cozily decorated and looks welcoming.
Benua Equestrian Stables
Signage in front of the management office.
Benua Equestrian Stables pick-up truck for taking horses out for competition.
The arena within Benua Equestrian Stables compound. Large enough for trainers to coach students for various types of lesson.
There is also a much bigger arena above while is within UPM stables. Both UPM and Benua Equestrian Stables are using the big arena during my visit.
Kids having their riding lesson in the big arena.
This is the location of Benua Equestrian Stables.
If you would like to visit, please contact Chris at +6011-23464152.1 Comment
I bought my last pair of riding glove from Decathlon in 2016. It has been a reliable pair of glove for my ride for the last 1.5 year.
After my endurance competition in July 2017, it started to have some tiny holes and I have to eventually replace it with a new pair.
I got this new pair of gloves from the shop in Putrajaya, from Uncle Michael… No wait, he is now a Dato Michael.
As usual, he will let me play and try with as much as I want.
Finally I settle down with this pair…
A very solid pair of riding glove. Definitely thicker than my previous pair yet it is not too hot while wearing.
An extra padding above the little finger for additional grip for reign.
Yup, it is friendly on my touchscreen too!
The price is RM100. Usually if I ask for it, Uncle Michael will give a little discount. But I didn't ask for it because Uncle Michael has been an awesome friend 🙂
Here you go… My new pair of riding glove for the next 1-2 year to come.
This is my 3rd pair of riding glove.
- 1st pair I bought it in Plaza Ampang City for RM35,
- 2nd pair from Dechalon for RM89,
- 3rd pair from Uncle Michael for RM100
I'm pretty happy to have this new pair of glove as every time I replace a glove, it's a sign that I've clocked much more hours on the saddle. Keep riding folks!Leave a Comment
Countryside Stables Penang is located in Balik Pulau, Penang (Pulau Pinang), approximately 30km from George Town.
You will be passing through some small roads and village area. For the distance of 30km, it will take you about 30-40 minutes coming from George Town in early morning.
Upon arrival, you will see the grand entrance.
There was no out ride activity in Countryside Stable Penang. I went there for an hour of riding in the big arena. The entrance fee for Malaysian adult is RM10 and RM15 for non-Malaysian adult.
The riding fee and lesson fee is the same. RM80 for 30 minutes or RM120 for 60 minutes. I opted for 60 minutes to ride in the arena.
Upon entering, you will see a tastefully decorated signage.
Countryside Stables Penang
The colorful decoration gives a Thai-ish sense of design.
There are many ponies being stationed at the front part of the stables. That definitely get the kids excited during their visit.
Of course, there are also bigger horses and a lot of them look totally stunning!
This is Frankie. The groom got Frankie for me for my ride in the arena.
Frankie used to be a jumping horse and he is now being used for schooling.
The groom got me to ride inside the ring for 15 minutes to assess my riding level before allowing me get into their big arena.
I walk for a couple of circles and spent the remaining time trotting inside while chatting with the staff, Ganesan who is a really friendly guy.
Posing with Frankie, after the warm up and before entering to arena.
Frankie has been an energetic boy in the big arena.
I didn't need to use my whip. Gentle squeeze on the leg and a few kissing sound could get Frankie transition into trotting and cantering the the arena.
There is also an indoor arena. This is wonderful as even during rainy days students can continue their lessons.
An open area for visitors and students to chill out.
The staff was kind enough to turn on the fan for me while I went in to take a seat.
Some carriages on display.
This is the location to Countryside Stables Penang. If you would like to ride here, please contact Wan, 012-4080678 for more information.Leave a Comment


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As a change of pace I thought I would share a little of something I am working on. Please free to comment and add constructive criticism
Not A Very Secret Secret Service
Scene 1. EXT. The Bop Shop Record Store. (Day, it is raining)
It is a fairly basic shop front, with a few records , CDs and musical instruments set in the window as a display. There is a well worn sign hanging above the door bearing the legend THE BOP SHOP and there is a pubsign style painting on it showing a generic bebop band.
WILSON enters from the far end of the street, dressed in a long coat, cheap brown suit and tie, pink shirt and a well loved battered Panama hat is upon his head. Once he reaches the shop door, he produces his wallet and takes a scrap of paper from within, checks the it against the sign on the door, returns it to his wallet and pushes the door.
Scene 2. INT Shop
The shop is fairly cramped but the proprietor has made good use of the space and everything is perfectly organise sections VINYL, CDS, NEW RELEASES, SECOND HAND etc.. there is a small staircase declaring more stock upstairs. Tucked up in the corner is an Arkwright till and stood behind it is, JANE- a fiery red-head in a glamorous out fit. She is idling a way as she has had few customers. A copy of either Miles Davis- Birth of the Cool or Tubby Hayes- The Complete Temp Recordings whichever can be cleared, is playing over the shop speakers. JANE starts a little as WILSON enters, clearly lost in a day dream. She approaches him.
JANE: Good afternoon sir,
WILSON: Hello (takes in her appearance), I say you look a bit out of place here.
JANE:(Laughs) You aren't the first to say that.So how can I help you?
WILSON: Well I might need to talk to your employer, my nephew wants me to get him a few jazz albums for his birthday and I'm afraid I know very little about Jazz.
JANE:I may mainly be here for a bit of glamour, but I do know something about Jazz. Well enough to aid a beginner any road…
WILSON: Well he says he wants something up tempo but not too fast and not trad. Though I have no idea what he means by trad.
JANE: He means Barber, Ball and Bilk and their ilk. Just bear with me, (she goes to one of the shelves and hovers over a few albums before picking them up, they are Moanin' by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, The Sidewinder by Lee Morgan and The Jazz Couriers by Ronnie Scott and Tubby Hayes ), these are good starting points. Does he have a huge collection?
WILSON: Just a few compilations, I have a feeling it is a fad to impress a girl.
JANE: And he chose Jazz? I take it she is a player..
WILSON : No idea. Can I listen to a few tracks?
JANE: Certainly. If you would like to follow me upstairs.
They head upstairs, as they do so the shop door opens and a balding man donning pince-nez enters and makes for the TRAD section. He flicks through a few albums and we hear in the distance one of WILSON'S records begin to play. JANE descends the stairs and clocks the man. They make eye contact and he smiles and approaches her.
JANE: Hello again sir.
THE MAN: Hello, i'll just take these. (Shows her the albums) and I believe there is a special delivery for me. The name is Perking.
JANE: Oh yes. (She disappears under the counter and produces a small box). Here we go. (She rings in the cost of the bill, takes the money and hands over the parcel).
PERKINS: Thank you.
PERKINS departs the shop. WILSON descends and Crosses to JANE.
WILSON: Yes these will do admirably.
JANE: Yes I know, they are good records.
We hear a screech of tyres and the sound of a car crash. JANE and WILSON rush out of the shop.
Scene 3. EXT. Shop.
As WILSON and JANE emerge we see a car jack knifed into a wall and PERKINS is flat on the floor in a pool of blook, his parcel half ripped opened. WILSON rushes over and checks the man's pulse, shakes his head and closes the dead man's eyes, then checks the driver who is alive but unconscious. JANE is on her phone calling the emergency services. WILSON picks up the blood stained package and opens it. He is a gasp, inside are a bundle of documents declaring TOP SECRET: NOT TO BE REMOVED FROM PORTON DOWN. He looks at JANE and back at PERKINS.
TITLE CAPTION : Not A Very Secret Secret Service
CAPTION Written by Michael Storm


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Origin of threadbare
OTHER WORDS FROM threadbarethreadbareness, noun
Words nearby threadbare
Example sentences from the Web for threadbare
Even though there is a threadbare concession stand, overflowing picnic baskets abound.Native American Basketball Team in Wyoming Have Hoop Dreams Of Their Own|Robert Silverman|August 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Instead, Carson tends to alternate between inflammatory arguments and threadbare truisms.The Conservatives' Great Black Hope|Evan Gahr|May 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Immigration and tax policy are just as beggared and threadbare and awful.Hillary Clinton, Jeb Bush & the Politics of Exhaustion|Nick Gillespie|April 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
On the other hand, the economic model is as threadbare as many of the buildings and much of the island's infrastructure.Obama Should End America's Stupidest Foreign Policy: Isolating Cuba|Robert Shrum|February 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Sequestration tore at our threadbare social safety net, and this deal leaves the damage intact.Tea Party Republicans: The Biggest Sore Winners in Washington|Jamelle Bouie|December 12, 2013|DAILY BEAST
It was a common belief on that street that his fortune was stuffed away in some of the threadbare cushions.Travelers Five Along Life's Highway|Annie Fellows Johnston
Arrived at this point, he tried to draw the skirts of his dressing-gown over a pair of angular knees encased in threadbare felt.Cousin Pons|Honore de Balzac
One prefers a wooden bench to a greasy velvet cushion, and a sanded floor to a soiled and threadbare carpet.
His clothes were baggy and threadbare, his linen soiled and shabby.
Here is a scholar in his long gown, threadbare and showing signs of decay.Sidelights on Chinese Life|J. Macgowan


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I'm loath to say that X-men: Days of Future Past is one of my absolute favorite X-men films, solely because it was directed by Bryan Singer. I guess it's satisfying to think that everything went downhill from there, with X-men: Apocalypse signaling the beginning of a hard decline. Dark Phoenix follows suit, leading to yet another hugely unsatisfying stab at the Dark Phoenix arc.
For those who may not know, this film is based on the Dark Phoenix comic arc, widely considered to be a classic. Basically, Jean Grey gets exposed to a solar flare that unleashes her ability's full potential, making her one of the most powerful beings in the universe, the Phoenix. After a while, the power becomes too much, and she turns into the Dark Phoenix, an unstoppable force of death and destruction. TL;DR, just give this a watch.
Bringing this to the silver screen has already proven next to impossible. X-2: X-men United started to tap into the storyline, with Jean kind of becoming the Phoenix at the very end. Then came X-men: The Last Stand, and it all went to hell in a flaming ball of fire. It was a disaster.
Dark Phoenix commits similar sins.
To start, the internal logic of the film is all over the place, specifically in how it connects to its predecessors. First Class, for instance, is set in 1962, making Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto (Michael Fassbender) 32 years old (he was born in 1930). By now, he should be 62 years old, yet he looks exactly the same. The same thing goes for Charles Xavier (James McAvoy), born the same year, and Hank McCoy/Beast (Nicholas Hoult) who was born in 1940. They should all be in their late 50's, early 60's. With the exception of Raven/Mystique, we should be seeing the effects of time on all of them, and yet they don't look a day over 40 – or in Hoult's case, 29.
Am I nit-picking? Totally. But for a franchise this huge that's been so successful in the past, we should be holding these entries to higher standards than what we're given. Their lack of attention to detail makes the end result feel phoned in.
And speaking of holding them to higher standards, the women in this film are all reduced to platitude-spouting balls of uncontrollable emotion. Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) has gone from one of the strongest characters in the franchise to the woman who angrily says to Xavier "the women keep doing all the work around here, you should change the name to X-women!" before she storms out of the room. (I'm paraphrasing because I was so mad I didn't write it down immediately).
Then we have Jean (Sophie Turner), the doe-eyed little girl with all the gifts who only wants to mack on her boyfriend. She spends the majority of the film crying. This was their big play to make her seem out of control; make her cry a lot and then lose her shit. Cool. You've reduced the most powerful being in the universe to little more than the hugely problematic stereotype of an overly emotional woman who can't function normally because of all of the feels.
There's so little to say about Jessica Chastain's role in this film. She's a genderless alien who assumed the form of this random woman – Chastain was a housewife at a dinner party before she went all robotic. She then spends the entire film lecturing Jean about how she's always been a pawn for men to manipulate, conforming to their expectations of women's strength and power. This was her big ploy to get Jean to give up the power so she and her people can destroy Earth and form their own planet.
And then there's Storm (Alexandra Shipp). Once again, she's given barely anything to do, and anything to say. I'm with Shipp on this one and support her completely. Storm was supposed to be a badass. As a child in Cairo, she was worshiped as a goddess. But in every film, unfortunately even the Halle Berry days, she was reduced to a near tertiary character. She is a literal force of nature, but in Dark Phoenix, she feels simple and flat. Ororo deserves better. So do her fans, and so does Shipp and any actress who plays her.
It's hard to even say this flick is a good time. Watching Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee) finally lose control was a thing of beauty, but it was far too little too late. They completely misused Quick Silver (Evan Peters) again, and, I'm sorry, but Magneto's running a kibbutz now? Maybe that's how he still looks 42 – all those freshly grown vegetables.
Factoring in the poor writing, what we're left with is a series of platitudes and buzzwords written by men to try and shoehorn Dark Phoenix into the canon of feminist superhero films. At this it fails worst of all, cheapening the notion of female empowerment for the sake of cashing in on something that, to them, just seems like a trend. Given that the main cast is almost half women, they really should have let one or two into the writers room.
At the end of the day, this felt phoned in and underwhelming. Despite every actor in the film being misused and poorly directed, some of them truly worked their asses off. Others phoned it in, and I don't blame them. Dark Phoenix is a huge misstep in the franchise. Hopefully the merger with Fox will allow Marvel to regain control of their property, so they can revisit the franchise and do it right.


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Nestled in the Big Horn Basin of north-central Wyoming, surrounded by rolling, snow-capped mountains and the expansive blue sky is Thermopolis, a small town of about 3,200 people. If you've heard of Thermopolis at all, it is likely for its distinction of containing the world's largest mineral hot springs (as its Greek name implies). What may surprise you is that Thermopolis is also the place where one of the country's most innovative technology experiments is taking place. This experiment is not housed in a secret government lab or Apple testing facility. Rather, it is in the classrooms of Thermopolis High School. At the forefront of this effort is a 26-year-old science teacher named London Jenks who has a passion for tech and a teaching philosophy that challenges the education status quo.
Plugging In
While other teachers are entrenched in a never-ending battle to get students to put away their smartphones and tablets, Jenks is putting them to use in his lesson plans. Upon entering Jenks's classroom, each student is handed an Apple iPad (made possible by grants from the Wyoming Department of Education and the Hot Springs School District). Students can personalize their iPads and, basically, have open access to the Web. With the devices, they complete assignments, collaborate with other students (even those in other classes), use science-based apps, and go on research scavenger hunts by scanning QR codes with clues to the next location. Jenks's physics, earth science, astronomy, and chemistry classrooms are largely paperless. They store assignments and other class documents in Google Docs.
A native of Twin Falls, Idaho, Jenks is a Brigham-Young graduate and the recipient of the Knowles Science Teacher Fellowship, which offers financial support and academic guidance for Jenks's technology initiative. He was also chosen to be one of 50 teachers nationwide to attend the Google Teacher Academy, where he received advanced training on Google's various education tools.
Critics of Jenks's approach—or technology in the classroom in general—say that such devices are not tools but rather toys to socialize, distract, and basically skirt "real learning." Jenks disagrees.
"Technology is a way to draw students in, as long as they are using those tools," Jenks says. "If they're not engaged, they're going to be distracted and disruptive regardless of whether there are iPads in the classroom or not."
He adds that according to a survey the school conducted, about 80 percent of parents supported the technology initiative.
Hindrances to a High-Tech Classroom
A big hindrance to using technology effectively in the classroom, Jenks says, is a lack of training and understanding by both teachers and parents. Thus, the Hot Springs School District is aggressive about training teachers on the application of tablets, smartphones, and other devices in the classroom. And during parent-teacher conferences, Jenks puts iPads on display for parents to use to see what their kids are doing.
And what about students using the Internet—that place where vast academic possibilities and idiotic, offensive content coexist? Jenks says that because school is a place where kids go to gain both knowledge and a social code of conduct, why shouldn't school be the place they also go to learn proper, responsible Web surfing? Though Thermopolis High adheres to all state and federal laws regarding content filtering and password protection, putting in overly rigid firewalls and safeguards also keeps out the content you need for research (completely blocking YouTube, for example). There are tools to help minimize students' access to questionable material and ensure safer searching, Jenks says, such as Google Scholar and YouTube's new Education site. Instead of students doing most of their Web surfing at home—often unsupervised and without safeguards—most Internet use by Thermopolis High students is done in school; not to mention that in this rural community, a number of students live beyond the reach of Internet service.
A Next-Gen Lesson Plan
So why iPads? Jenks says that, along with a straightforward user interface and minimal IT hassles, the iPad also has the largest selection of apps available for science students. (Jenks also tested and liked the Motorola Xoom, but the app selection wasn't quite there yet.) And, as mentioned, students can also shoot photos, take video, and scan with the infrared capability. For example, seniors in the Spanish classes shot videos of vocabulary and pronunciation lessons for underclassmen to study. This type of collaborative learning (in which students are teaching each other as well as teachers teaching students) is the future of education.
Jenks stresses that his classroom is not just another example of schools using technology for technology's sake. Often, teachers are obligated to use technology donated to schools or acquired by the district without a clear sense of how it will integrate with the curriculum (see: Oregon Trail).
"You can always add peripheral technology to any lesson. But it's about how to make it essential to the lesson," Jenks says.
Jenks makes sure that the technology is a vital part of the lesson, as essential to learning as a microscope or protractor. Jenks is constantly looking for new and better apps to use in the classroom. He says he's even been contacted by developers to discuss creating or improving science apps.
Another common hindrance to using technology in the classroom is money. Many school districts cannot afford to buy every student an iPad. But Jenks says it's all about "using what you have," even if that means bringing your laptop from home. And in so doing, Jenks believes, teachers can raise the caliber of their profession and teach students to "become producers rather than just consumers."