The World of Speechcraft

This post is not about people who love to march out there and be leaders.

I am not a huge fan of being a leader among the masses. Not because I prefer being a follower each time, but because it involves interacting with people, it is energy-draining, it means additional responsibility, it draws too much attention to myself and it interferes with my primary preference of being a quiet observer. The only time I would willingly volunteer for the post would be if the ship I was in was really sinking fast and there was absolutely no one else to take the helm.

 Shu's impressions on being elected a leader

Back in year 2001, the senior teachers in my school decided to give me the title of Head Prefect. Up until then in all the long years that they knew me, I never displayed the widely accepted leadership qualities like good communication, assertiveness, self-confidence or being a socialite - so while I felt honoured, it did come as a surprise. I suspect the only reason I got it at the time was because I had the best balanced track record of good behaviour (seriously, how much damage can a quiet, dreamy kid do?), studies and sports in class and being an all-rounder in those areas was a prerequisite for the post.

My term didn't start off well. The tiny speech I had to give at the Induction and Awards ceremony that year in front of a hundred students, teachers and parents was a bit of a disaster. Despite my best friend's efforts to help me practice the speech until I knew all my lines by heart, I forgot them on stage on the most important day.

The Speech went something like this (dotted lines indicate actual words which elude my memory now):

Shu: Good afternoon everyone.......................................................................

.....................................................................................................................

......................................................I thank you all for coming (ends abruptly)

[Gets distracted looking at an object in a distance and forgets the lines. Not sure for how long I was gone]

Shu: Ummm...

[Recalls the lines after a very long pause]

Shu: I thank you all for coming and ...............................................................

...............................................(this time, manages to end speech correctly)

The only priceless memory of that day was seeing my parents glowing with pride as I came down from the stage after being inducted the Head Prefect and walked over to hug them. Everything else was mostly traumatic.

Public speaking was never my strong suit. I am soft-spoken in nature preferring to act in the shadows over shining in the spotlight. I hardly voice out my opinions in social settings. My thoughts take too long to manifest themselves into strings of utterable words and very often, the moment of impact is long gone by the time they are uttered. And nearing 30, I have mastered the art of successfully dodging group activities and careers that require public speaking skills. On some level, I knew I had to eventually address all my irrational fears associated with public speaking, so I put "Join a Toastmasters Club" towards the very end of my bucket list (after "Swim with whales" and "Give a solo violin performance on stage").

Due to a recent turn of events, I had to cross off this bucket list item much earlier than planned.

Being a Docent at the zoo meant that once a month I had no choice but to give a confident commentary on King Cobras and conservation of reptiles to the large group of visitors that gather on Sundays to watch a snake feeding session. While I was confident in my facts and the command of English, organising the speech and conquering a stage was always a challenge, that only got negligibly easier with time. On the days that the cobra was shedding and there was no feeding session or a commentary, I was quite relieved (overjoyed, even). 

This went on for months until one day, I was asked to evaluate and grade the commentaries of two new recruits since no seniors were available that day. I protested (unsuccessfully) saying I was bad at it myself and that I felt in no way qualified to evaluate others in an area I was not confident in. It was a strange experience being in an evaluator's shoes and giving constructive criticisms to my juniors on all the the points they had to improve on, like maintaining eye contact or projecting the voice. I observed first hand what my own shortcomings in public speaking would look like to my audience. I decided then that I had to pull myself together and get past this irrational fear since I'll need the skills for the causes I deeply care about. How else will I garner public support to fight for those creatures that need to be protected, for example?

The Toastmasters Club offers a non-intimidating and encouraging setting for many people with the same problem I have. It's like going to a clinic for STDs. Everyone there has or had one before and it is encouraging to see that most people have been successfully cured with proper medication (a lot of consistent practice - in the case of delivering speeches)! I had the initial urges to bolt from the gathering of strangers and never come back, but I'm glad I calmed my nerves and stayed. 

 A very fitting animation on the science of stage fright

I had to give two impromptu speeches so far. The first one was really bad with me having a brain black-out at 0:53 seconds. The second day's speech was slightly better with me sticking around until 1:59 minutes and feeling only a little light-headed. There's an overwhelming load of things to learn, pay attention to and adopt, but I feel hopeful and inspired by watching some of their experienced speakers with great stage presence.

Coincidentally, a few days after I attended my first Toastmasters meeting, I was elected the Reptile Station Head from my group of Docents. 

"I'm sorry, I work a 6-day job and I won't be able to attend any meetings and such on Saturdays," I said, hoping for an overruling of their decision.

"Nevermind, we will help you!" they said.

and so, Shu fell into another hole.

Photos courtesy of Google Images.

Mushroom Bloom

I had an epiphany this morning (why it never hit me earlier, I do not know). Here it goes:

I AM A CATERPILLAR. THIS BLOG IS MY COCOON! Duh, Shu.

Now there's a slight chance I'll never take flight and instead be a tasty snack to a big bird or something. But otherwise, I hope I'm slowly morphing into something better than when I first started out. Also, since butterflies have no time to blog, I'll try to remain in this cozy cocoon for as long as I can, eating as much chocolate cake as I can find and keeping myself amused with my blogs.

Metamorphosis, as we learnt in school

There's a story I remembered as I made some portobello mushrooms for dinner. BTW, mushrooms are amazing things to cook. They give out so much flavour and character to the main dish even when sautéed simply with salt and pepper.

So yeah, somewhere during our ages of 7 and 10 years, we experienced an unforgettable day while living in a housing scheme near my dad's workplace. It was the rainy season. Almost instinctively, we knew that after a rain like that, there were usually patches of freshly bloomed (edible) mushrooms in our lawn and hunting for these was an enjoyable thing we kids used to love doing. These mushrooms died almost as quickly as they bloomed and there were no traces of them after a day or two.

This day, however, we were pleasantly surprised to see a humongous area of our lawn covered in a thick blanket of mushrooms!! It was a such pretty sight to see. We went INSANE with mushroom-bloom-post-rain joy, followed by a frenzy of mushroom-picking for dinner. Even my mother was very hyped about the phenomenon and she cheered us on. We fills bags upon bags of mushrooms and went on to collecting them even in spare pots and saucepans. We distributed big bags of mushrooms to all our neighbours, as it is a common practice to exchange food with neighbours back home. We also ate that memorable batch of mushrooms for many, many consecutive delicious meals (luckily, suffering no toxicities).

Warning: It is not advisable to eat wild mushrooms, unless you are confident they are edible

In the years that passed, we never once saw another mushroom bloom of that magnitude ever again.

But D, as you turn 29 today, I wish you a wonderful life to come, filled with everything you need plus many more mad days of joy, much like our good old mushroom days! *big hug*

Tech Reviews: Samsung Galaxy S4

In the three years it took me to get a phone upgrade, MUCH has changed for me, as the rest of this post will detail. The world saw the gradual demise of non-touch phones, blackberrys and feature phones. Now it is the Golden Age of smart phones running on Android, iOS and Windows platforms.

I parted ways with Nokia after about ten loyal years. It was somewhat an emotional divorce. We had good times and Nokia was a good companion for a long time. Then there came a time when we found ourselves growing apart, with Nokia falling back behind times and me needing more than what Nokia can provide. So not long ago, I said hello to the Samsung Galaxy S4. The S4 turns out to be a brilliant piece of technology running on an Android 4.2.2 (Jelly bean) OS, making my life more enjoyable and its little tasks a lot simplified.

It took awhile to transition from Nokia to Samsung. After a few weeks of initial frustrations and several online guides on "How to personalise the S4" later, it is now my faithful aide.

Some might prefer smaller phones, enough to fit comfortably in a pocket and not be so delicate that to drop one is disastrous. Others might feel insecure walking around with an expensive device trusted with sensitive information such as social profiles, bank details and email accounts. While a large screen is a great-to-have for using the internet on the go, thoughts of safe-guarding the device against physical theft and identity theft gives me some distress.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 (aptly named "Life Companion") is not the best looking phone out there. I prefer sharp edges over curves, but picking a companion is not just about the looks, it is mostly to do with the capabilities. 

Notable features
The phone comes with a variety of interesting features that will forever change the way users do things. The way I see it, some features are still in their premature stages, such as face recognition or S-voice, where functions are not too reliable or practical, but it is evident that there are big ideas behind the innovations and we are part of an ongoing process where our expanding technological needs are driving the direction of technological advances.

Screenshots
This is something I find highly useful to capture and convey useful bits of info and other evidence observed on the phone screen. It reduces the need to type out explanations because pictures speak for themselves. What's even cooler is that the Samsung's "Motions and Gestures" (more on that later) setting allows to capture a screenshot by simply sweeping the screen once with the the palm.

Voice Control
This feature adds a new realm of convenience and fun to the phone by reducing the amount of physical clicks required to activate a function. The phone is able to respond to incoming calls by simply hearing "Answer" or "Reject" commands, control alarms with "Stop" or "Snooze" commands, take photos by simply saying "Cheese", "Capture", "Shoot" or "Smile", and control the Music Player with "Play", "Next", "Previous", "Pause", "Volume Up" or "Volume Down".

Face Recognition
I thought this was the ideal solution to unlocking the phone without worrying about typing out keys while nosy people watched over the shoulder. While my phone recognised me most of the time, at times it said "Sorry, don't recognise you" or "Couldn't find a face". They suggested that calibrating in a variety of lighting conditions can improve face recognition. Also, they warn that it is less secure than using a PIN since someone who looks like me can easily unlock it.

Camera modes
My digital standalone camera has been forced to an early retirement. As both the the front (2MP) and rear cameras (13MP) are fully functional, photos can be taken by either camera or have simultaneous images of both cameras merged into one photo. These and the various camera modes available introduce a world of possibilities for shutterbugs:

Sports - takes pictures of fast moving objects
Sound and shot - adds a 9 second sound clip of the background to a picture
Drama - takes multiple exposure pictures of a moving object and merges it into one dramatic picture
Eraser - allows erasing moving objects (such as passers-by) from pictures
Animated photo - captures a still image with some moving elements
Panorama - gives the ability to take a 360 degree shot, ideal for capturing beautiful landscapes (if only I had this when looking up at the snowy Annapurna mountain range in Nepal!)

A panoramic shot captured at Haputale, Sri Lanka

Photos sync
Updating photo albums from multiple sources like the camera, phone or a computer is no longer a chore. Photos in my computer (from an external camera) and phone (from the phone camera, my Facebook account, screen shots and received files) get automatically sync'd on a cloud and it can be viewed any time through either device. Thankfully, the S4 came with 50GB of free personal space on Dropbox for 2 years, but for others, there are options such as Microsoft's Skydrive and Google Drive offering free online storage space.

Air View 
With Air View, it is possible to hover the finger over emails to read the text without actually opening it, and see the pictures in a folder without actually tapping it. It is even possible to use the finger as a magnifying glass on the browser to preview information or enlarge pictures.

Motions and Gestures
Air Gestures allow navigating by waving the hand in front of the sensor. Instead of swiping the finger from picture to picture in the gallery or track to track on a music playlist, a wave of the hand will do the trick instead. Motions also allow calling a contact directly or answering the phone by simply bringing the phone near the face. Zooming in and out of a picture can be done by tilting the phone back and forth. Palm motions can be used to capture screen shots and mute/pause sounds by covering the screen.

Smart screen

This is another useful feature that enhances the phone experience. As long as you look at the screen, it stays on while the screen rotates according to the orientation of the face. The device is also able to pause a video when looking away from the screen and it allows scrolling up and down the screen by tilting the head.

Safety Assistance
Helps in an emergency by taking pictures using both the front and rear camera and then alerting the emergency contact persons by sending them a message with these pictures and location details - all with a few simple clicks. This should be good when taking a stroll down a deserted alley so that the cops can have some useful information while trying to track down your killer(s).

Blocking mode
This mode allows for notifications of selected features and calls of selected recipients to be disabled at preferred times as well as disable LED indications and alarms (as I found out the hard way when my alarm didn't go off on the 1st day of work for 2014 and I got late). It is another promising solution for me as I used to put my phone on silent to avoid being woken up calls and messages that elicit a COULDN'T-IT-WAIT-TILL-MORNING??-response. Now I can use this mode to be disturbed at night only by family and close friends for an emergency.

S-Voice
This is Apple's Siri counterpart of Samsung. Voice Commands are pretty neat and are a good way to keep oneself amused. Its practical applications are still limited to mild entertainment, simple instructions and a good hands-free option for drivers and lazy folk. The response time is rather slow, user accents sometimes get in the way of recognition and its abilities are far from KITT's in Knight Rider. Also, when I talk to my phone, it doesn't look cool like Robert Downey Jr. talking to J.A.R.V.I.S . The first time I tried it out, it even intelligently ignored the numerous "Holy *&$#!!!" exclamations I was making when it carried out simple commands like:

• Dial Mama
• Open Facebook (mind, after it opens Facebook, saying "Close Facebook" doesn't work in the same way)
• What is the weather for today?
• Memo "Buy bread"
• Search "King Cobras"
• Set alarm for 6:00am
• Turn on Bluetooth
• Navigate to Macdonalds (it pointed me to a Macdonalds 8.3km away by car O_O )
• Text Papa --> Hi Papa, how are you?
• What is the tallest waterfall? 

Fooling around with S-voice

Some of my preferred Apps on the Google Play Store discovered to-date

The upside to most apps is that they are free of charge. The ease with which developers can submit phone applications to Google also means that there is a mind-boggling amount of creative android apps (well over 1 milllion todate) and healthy competition amongst developers to keep innovating. The downside to free apps is that most of them come with tiny (and sometimes annoying) advertisements that run on the side. It is also a security risk to download free applications that may not have passed a thorough a screening by platform providers as they request to have access to personal information to carry out functions.

The Google Play Store not only has Apps, but also a huge collection of eBooks, some of which are free. I'm still a bit old-fashioned when it comes to reading so I prefer reading physically bound books where I can feel the papery pages as they are turned.

Wheres my Droid

"The first find your phone app on the Android Market continues to get better and better. Now with more features it is easier then ever to track down your missing phone. Where's My Droid can turn the ringer volume up and make your phone ring. The app can also get the GPS coordinates with a link to Google maps if you're not near enough to your phone to hear the ringer. You have the freedom to track your phone from anywhere with a text messaged attention word."

Walking Mate on S-Health

"Samsung S Health turns your device into a personal health management powerhouse. You can track health statistics like blood pressure, blood glucose levels, and weight. You can view and track environmental conditions, and even track your exercise regimen."

Walking mate is S Health's built-in step counter. After feeding it information like my age, current weight and weight loss goal, it recommended that I walk 10,000 steps daily. As carry my phone and walk around, it counts down the number of steps I take, giving me a realistic goal to work towards each day.





Google Sky Map

"Google Sky Map enables users to identify stars and planets by pointing their devices towards these objects in the sky. Sky Map automatically adjusts to identify on the device's screen the objects it is facing. Users can zoom in and out, and switch various layers such as constellations, planets, grids, and deep sky objects, on and off, choosing to make these elements visible or not. Users can also determine the locations of planets and stars relative to their own current locations with the search function. Inputting the name of a planet or star will direct users towards this object. A user may also explore the cosmos manually and move through the sky by touching the screen instead of having it adjust automatically.






Blogger

"With Blogger for Android you can:

• Compose a post that you can save to draft or immediately publish
• Edit existing posts
• View list of your saved and published posts
• Switch account/blog if you have more than one
• Embed an image from the gallery, or, by taking a picture directly from the app
• Add labels to your posts
• Add location information"

My Transport Singapore



"MyTransport.SG Mobile, an award winning app, is a content-rich service offering a wide range of information for all modes of land transportation – empowering commuters, motorists and cyclists in Singapore to make informed decisions and better plan their journey, with these features:




• Personalise your favourite services with MyConcierge
• Search and locate nearby bus stops and service number with bus route details
• Get real-time island-wide bus arrival information
• Search and locate nearby taxi stands and quick dial for taxi booking services
• Report road defects via Snap & Send
• Get real-time parking lots availability for popular locations
• Plan route with Traffic News and ERP Gantries on Traffic Smart
• View live traffic images along all expressways round the island
• Receive notification on expressways traffic news during peak hours and train service delay information
• Explore cycling towns, routes, and parking facilities
• Find out lifestyle events and promotions nearby"


Taxi Booking

"ComfortDelGro Android Taxi Booking is the ideal taxi booking application for individuals on the go. This user-friendly application offers convenience to both registered and non-registered users by allowing them to book a taxi with their current location, determined by their phone GPS. Bookmark your favourite addresses to launch at startup and experience an accelerated access for your future taxi bookings."




Movies

"The iCathay application allows you to check on the list of current and upcoming movies, movie synopses, cast, release dates and movie ratings.You will also enjoy easy access on the latest promotions, movie show times,cinema locations, email contact, as well as Cathay Cineplexes' facebook fan page. This integrated application is also equipped with ticket booking and payment security capabilities, allowing you to secure your seats on the go."

First Aid

"Accidents happen. The official American Red Cross First Aid app puts expert advice for everyday emergencies in your hand. Get the app and be prepared for what life brings. With videos, interactive quizzes and simple step-by-step advice it’s never been easier to know first aid."

Play Books

"Choose from millions of titles on Google Play including new releases, New York Times best sellers, up-and-coming authors, and free books. Easily personalize your reading experience, pick up where you left off on your phone, tablet, or computer, and get reading today!"



TED Talks

"TED's official Android app presents talks from some of the world's most fascinating people: education radicals, tech geniuses, medical mavericks, business gurus, and music legends. Find more than 1500 TEDTalk videos and audios (with more added each week) on the official TED app -- now for tablets and smartphones. This app is made possible with the generous support of Sony."




Name That Reptile

"An educational trivia app featuring almost 2000 reptile images, a global scoreboard, difficulty levels, and informational links for each species. Categories include Snakes, Lizards, Turtles & Tortoises, Alligators & Crocs"

- Squamata (Scaled)
-- Snakes
--- Viper
--- Colubridae
--- Boa
- Testudines (Turtle and Tortise)
- Crocodylia (Alligator & Crocodile)





At the rate in which mobile device technologies are developing alongside with Apps, my phone might be outdated in no time, but it is an exciting prospect to sit back and wait to see what comes next.


Disclaimer: views expressed here are based on my own personal experiences and it is neither an exhaustive analysis of the device's features nor a comparative analysis concerning other noteworthy devices in the market.

Borrowed from the Internet

I'm often amazed by how much information is out there on the Internet to be retrieved at the click of a button and at the convenience of not having to move even an inch from the seat.

Today, as I "enjoy" a day off work on medical leave and (unintentionally) keeping up with the last gloomy post, here is a very interesting TED Talk on our ideas of Death:

Here's a funny, yet powerful advertisement on a real social problem:

I face this on a daily basis while working in a construction site with hundreds of male foreign construction workers as I walk out to the public canteen for lunch or walk out to the bus. Not every worker does it, but most of them do. It is not restricted to one type of nationality, though some types are more prone to do it than others. My inherent nature of being hyper-sensitive to external social stimuli, makes the problem a deeply-felt one. It matters little if you are very attractive or not, conservatively dressed or scantily clad, with or without tattoos or piercings; but if you are a young female and a minority gender in the area, the chances of being stared at by certain groups of people increase exponentially.

While the work site is generally safe for female employees to work from any physical harm, the stares don't get any easier or lesser in incidence even after 1.5 years of being on the job. I have been forced to adapt to selective seeing (in other words, avoiding extended eye contact with any one human subject) and mentally blocking some of the anxiety it brings. I've also noticed that it helps greatly to have company going out to lunch as one's thoughts are less focused on the surroundings and more on the conversations at hand. And I suspect, from an evolutionary perspective, we feel safer and bolder being part of a "herd".

From the point of view of a starer, I think it is just a learned habit which most of them pay little attention to. They grow up in societies thinking it is a normal thing to do and are rarely challenged to re-think such habits or put themselves in the shoes of the people they affect, which is why the "mirror" in the advertisement creates a powerful impact. Also, it is not a punishable crime to stare so some take it as further as they can go without getting into trouble themselves.

Speaking of problems, the way some people learn to embrace their problems makes all the difference between achieving what they are capable of doing and achieving a lot less than that. The TED talk below also reminds that having the unwaivering support of family and friends to help us believe in ourselves can be a blessing.

A Sad Story

This is the story of Ginger.

Not so long ago, our next door neighbours carried out heavy renovation works in their apartment unit. The old couple (one of them bed-ridden) were looked after by a domestic worker. They also had a cat named Ginger who lived with them for many, many years. During the renovation phase, they moved out. We figured it was temporary. However, on completion of the renovation works, the family that moved in was different. I suppose our new neighbours are close relatives of the older couple who used to live there, since their newly renovated apartment deal came with a free cat.

The way we see it, they were either unprepared to look after someone else's cat, or as it is becoming seriously evident, they are clueless about caring for cats. Ginger is not fed sufficient portions and her food bowl is mostly empty when I see it. Her water bowl hardly has any water in it. And that's worrying for a domesticated cat that feeds 100% on dry cat food. I am quite restless until I get the message across to her new owners, be it leaving a note next to her bowl.

Ginger has sadly been forced to a life of catstitution on our corridor, going into any welcoming stranger's home in hopes of a meal, some water and a warm place to sleep. She's usually the first to creep into our house when each of our apartment dwellers return home from work. Luckily, we've still got a leftover pack of Whiskas cat food from the time of the renovation works, when she was pretty much left to die. Our house dwellers are also 80% animal-friendly.

Questions about Ginger are starting to float on our minds because, 1. we can't adopt her since we'll be moving out this year, 2. we don't want our generosity with cat food to affect Ginger's chances of bonding with her new family, 3. even if we do feed her till we move out, what will happen afterwards?, 4. what if our neighbours become cross and confront us?, 5. what if she falls ill and the owners don't care about taking her to a vet? and 6. is Ginger two-timing us and making the best of both worlds?

Begging to be adopted

There's more to this sadness. Lately, she's been showing signs of stress, biting off chunks of fur and leaving them in our living room. She always begs for cat food and treasures every morsel of cat food we give like it is her last. When we try to coax her out of our house, she runs to her food bowl and pretends to eat, almost like saying "Don't you know that people are not supposed to throw out an animal that is feeding??" My working hours hardly allow time off for cheering up friends. When this story took shape in my mind, I figured I should make time to give Ginger a little extra attention before she spirals into clinical depression. But today, she was not responsive to any attention. She seemed tense, purred less and looked suspicious of my behaviour like I might eat all her cat food while she was not watching. I guess it'll take time for her to settle in to the new changes in her life.

Here's hoping she has a happy ending.

[Afternote: Shu left a note for the neighbours on Ginger's designated chair with some helpful tips on responsible pet ownership, but maybe they took offense and threw it away because they still don't leave any water for their cat.]

 Tips on feeding Ginger

The pursuit of happiness

Hello, 2014!

A public holiday on the 1st of January here in Singapore is the perfect start. There were fireworks in the city last night, but this year, we were content to sit at home and watch it on TV in the comfort of our couch and sneer at the thousands of people who decided to endure the crowds and be smothered by others and their body odours to catch the fireworks in person. We also sympathised with them for taking extra long to return home after braving very long taxi queues, traffic congestion on the roads and exhaustion while we simply hopped from couch to bed.

It is great waking up to happy and hopeful people sending out new year wishes. All my lines of communication are clogged with notifications which are all going to take awhile to sort and clear. I woke up without an alarm, I set up my indoor fountain which my sister brought from Dubai when she visited me last month, had a traditional Sri Lankan New Year breakfast and sat down to blog in he midst of the loud noise my water fountain was making.

Surrounded by thoughtful cards! Thankfully, the postal service is still alive.

New Year Resolutions don't really work for me. I don't even remember what I made last year, let alone if I managed to keep it. But I'm going to try and save more, exercise more and work less this year, since it didn't work out too well last year.

The first day at the beginning of a new year is as good as any other day, but all the man-made hype is making it feel like standing on a cliff edge, knowing exactly where you are while being able to glance back on how you got there and decide what to do going forwards. 

Looking back, I recall having a good year, surrounded by love from the people I care about, comfortable means to live and enjoy life, safety, good health, freedom of thought and free will - all for which I am thankful for. However, as we plunge into a brand new year of unknowns, I hope there is plenty of love, blog posts, travelling, music, cake and dancing in it for all of us!