GFS Open Day

Last Sunday, I paid a visit to the GFS (Government Flying Services) open day with my family. It took me thirty minutes to queue up at the bus stop in Tung Chung and another thirty minutes outside the entrance of the GFS headquarter. It was quite exhausting and annoying to wait so long on a hot sunny day. After going through all the formality like document check and registration, we finally got in and walked around in the hanger.

My daughter was excited by the flying performance such as high speed low 'fly-pass', SAR (search and rescue demonstration), release of 'water bomb' and hovering with crewman winched down. We also had a chance to have a close look at choppers such as the EC 155 Dolphin and L2 Puma. The fixed wing 'Jet-stream' specially designed for long-range rescue and reconnaissance also drew our attention. We all loved the air show and the airplanes.

After the visit, my daughter told me that she want to be a pilot one day. I told her that good English is one of the requirements of being a pilot. " You always pronounce 'three' as 'tree"', if you can pronounce 'three' correctly, you will not be qualified as a pilot", I said. After learning this, she immediately pronounced the word 'three' and did it correctly.

Somtimes a dream is an important driving force to learning especially for children.

Blood stain or red ink

I scratched my itchy back while I was reading a book with my daughter last night. This act tore off a clot of an age-old wound on my back and immediately blood was seeping out. I soaked the blood with a tissue paper and my daughter kept on asking what the 'red stuff' was. I told her that it was blood that stained the paper red. She then sketched a red line on the paper with a colour pen and asked me how to distanguish red ink from blood stains.

Her question reminded me of a book named 'Crime scene investigation for grade 6-12'. I learnt from this book a simple way of telling the difference between blood stains and red ink. The chemical reagent needed for the test is commonly available in all first aid box- it is hydrogen peroxide. I added a few drops of hydrogen peroxide to the blood stains and gas bubbles emerged right away. I did the same thing on red ink and nothing visible occurred.

The scientific principle behind is comprehensible to all senior form science students. As blood cells contain an enzyme known as catalase, hydrogen peroxide acts as the substrate for the catase to carry out catabolic reaction that produces oxygen and water. The bubbles evolved are oxygen gas. This explains why blood stains and red ink behave differently when reacting with hydrogen peroxide.

Apart from using hydrogen peroxide as a test reagent, can you think of other ways of distinguishing blood stains from red ink?

蓋茨教你做人十大道理

蓋茨教你做人十大道理
微軟主席蓋茨有次對員工講話，以下十點對同學可能幾有意思。
一、社會充滿不公平現象，未能改造它之前，只能適應它。
二、世界不會在意你的「自尊」，只指望你「有所成就」！未有成就之前，切勿過分強調 自尊。
三、中學畢業的你不會成為公司CEO，直到你已將此職位得到手為止。
四、如你陷入困境，少抱怨，反要從中汲取教訓。
五、你出世之前，你父母並非如依家咁乏味，他們變成今天這個樣子，係因為要養你、教你及望你成才。

六、今天學校已不再在乎你「考第幾」，但社會仍作類似區分。
七、讀書時可以放暑假，但打工不會分學期，無人保證你讀完一年書便可以升職兼放暑假。
八、老師會協助你學習，上司卻不會。如果你認為你的老師嚴厲，因你未打過工。上司不會對你嚴厲，只會令你失業。
九、電視劇不是真實生活，真實生活係你無暇睇電視。
十、你未做老闆之前，不要在別人面前批評你現時的老闆刻薄、無知兼缺乏領導才能。

我們的學生需要擁有什麼條件才能夠維持競爭力?

我們的學生需要擁有什麼條件才能夠維持競爭力?

(1) 除了精通本科知識外，還要具備國際視野，掌握其他範疇的知識。
(2) 具備極高的中英文水平。
(3) 有自信心和領導才能。
(4) 有批判思考能力，能夠從多角度了解問題。
(5) 能認真和努力地做好每一件事，這不只是指認真預備考試和做功課，而是在人生歷程的每一個階段，有否認真做好每一件事。

除了以上條件外，同學要擁有不斷迎接轉變的魄力，因為社會的變化周期愈來愈短。我認識一位在跨國銀行工作的朋友，閒談間得知他的同事都有不同的專業背景，有唸工程，有唸心理學也有唸社會科學的。他們也曾從事其他行業，但因社會的變化使工作周期變得短暫。在今日的社會，一份工作能夠做到退休的想法己經不合時宜，同學要在今天的社會保持優勢就必須在知識、心態和學習能力方面下工夫。使自己能夠隨時隨地迎接挑戰。

以上不是什麼新的論點，其實早在一九六九年、現代管理學之父德魯克(Peter Drucker)就預言知識員工(knowledge worker)的出現。在經濟發展成熟的地區例如香港，對高學歷(學位或以上程度)的人才需求甚殷，但中三教育水平或以下者面對極大的失業壓力。所以同學要爭取得來不易的學習機會，努力裝備自己，使自己成為知識工作者。

知識改變命運

How youth can expand their horizons with technology and global issues.

According to a recent survey on the academic performance and self-confidence of young people in Hong Kong, our students excel in mathematics and sicence but score low in self-confidence among OCED countries. Local young people have long been blamed for lack of social awareness and global perspectives. This claim may not be fair to them as there is a lack of platform for our youth to voice their opinions on global issues. With the help of technology, a new avenue is open to our youth to collaborate and express their veiws and even act in response to certain global issues.

TakingITGlobal.org (http://www.takingitglobal.org/home.html) is developed for this purpose.

It is an online community that connects youth to find inspiration, access information, get involved, and take action in their local and global communities. It is now the world's most popular online community for young people interested in making a difference, with hundreds of thousands of unique visitors each month.TIG's highly interactive website provides a platform for expression, connection to opportunities, and support for action. Join now and connect with thousands of other young people around the world!

遠大的理想

各位同學，盼望大家時刻謹記以下三則箴言：
1. 我們無法改變環境，可以改變自己。
2. 遠大的目標是成功的磁石。
3. 求知是積累優勢邁向成功的第一步。