Gerry recently started to learn how to swim. We enrolled in the weekend course at Stanford Swim School (the site is chinese only so don't bother clicking if you can't read chinese) which seems to be quite a popular and semi-famous locally. They also ban photo's at the swimming pool as they have a lucrative side business of providing photo's of your kids with the swim instructor...
Anyway, Gerry's been to several lessons now. The first lesson initially started well. Despite one of the other kids in his class crying severely, he wasn't phased at all and really enjoyed himself in the pool. At this point, I have to admit that the class is quite well run. There are quite a lot of instructors to keep an eye on the kids and the instructors seem to be quite experienced in dealing with children as well.
Unfortunately, near the end of the first lesson, things took an unfortunate turn. While the instructors were gathered together and chatting (I guess about what they were going to do next), Gerry slipped and fell into the water. Luckily, the pool isn't deep so he was able to stand up on his own. However, he swallowed a mouthful of water and together with him falling under the water, he became really scared and ended up crying for the rest of the lesson. This happened so quickly that I only saw the after effect - I didn't actually see him slip into the water. In hindsight, this may have been a good thing as I can only imagine how terrified I would have been to see him fall!
As he got out of the pool, all he could say was that he was very scared and didn't want to go swimming anymore. For the rest of the week, everytime we mentioned the prospect of swimming, he would repeat that he had fallen into the water and didn't want to swim anymore as he was scared.
Despite this, we still took him along to the second lesson. Which promptly resulted in him crying the whole time and ultimately, us leaving early as there was no way he could stay for the whole lesson. We had a chat with the instructor and they allowed us to change over to the parent accompanied class (which was rather nice of them as the class was actually full).
And so we spent the whole of the next week telling Gerry not to be scared as mummy would go with him into the pool. Despite this, he still didn't want to go swimming. In fact, this time, he started crying as soon as we got to the swim school. Nevertheless, we decided to soldier on - after all, the course fees had been fully prepaid...
And as expected, he was crying the whole time that we were changing him into his swimsuit. As the missus took him to the pool, he was extremely reluctant (even more so than in the second lesson). In the end, the missus had to physically pick him up and carry him into the pool. At this point, I expected him to really kick up a fuss but instead, he just stood in the pool and cried. If anything, this shows how scared he must have been of slipping and falling under the water again.
The instructor brought over some toys and let him play with mummy. Credit where credit is due - the missus did a great job of playing with Gerry and making him forget that he was afraid of swimming. After around 5 minutes, you could see Gerry laughing and having fun just standing there and playing with mummy in the pool.
Next weekend is my turn to go into the pool with Gerry. Lets hope I can do as good a job as the missus!
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
IE in HK?
Last Friday, I took the afternoon off work so that I could go to the HK Book fair with the missus. Before going though, I needed to have lunch so the missus and I decided to go to Central, more specifically to a restaurant halfway up the hill to Lan Kwai Fong.
On the way back down the hill after lunch, I noticed two people standing next to the pavement fence. They were both holding up different signs. I can't remember exactly what was on the signs but they effectively said "Free high fives". Just as I passed them, a guy literally materialises out of thin air (that's the only explanation for where he could have come from!) with his hand raised. I immediately realised what was happening and, being the good sport that I am, I high fived him (the wuss was wearing gloves!).
If this sounds familiar, then you are probably a fan of Improv Everywhere. I blogged about them in the past and one of their recent pranks was the High Five Escalator which, by all accounts, went down really well. I'm guessing this was the inspiration behind the stunt in Central last Friday but to be fair, I don't actually know if this is the case or if they came up with a similar idea all by themselves.
In any event, there were a couple of reasons why the stunt in Central didn't actually work very well.
For starters, the two people holding the signs were standing next to each other with the high five guy just a little bit behind them. This meant that by the time I saw them, I was almost on top of the guy giving the high five. In fact, if he hadn't jumped in front of me, I would have missed him altogether as I was staring at the signs. Of course, this also raises another problem as people will be startled by the whole thing which may make them more likely to avoid the "crazy" high five guy instead of actually giving him a high five. To be honest, if I hadn't realised what was happening, I might have avoided him as well.
Secondly, the guys holding the signs were all standing on the left hand side of a relatively broad and busy pavement. This meant that a lot of people didn't even see the signs as they were concentrating on navigating the street and avoiding bumping into people. When you factor in the different walking speeds of people, I wonder how many people actually responded to the sign and gave the high five.
Contrast this with the IE version where they have the signs spread apart so that you can easily see them and see the guy doing the high five as well long before you actually get there. This lets people get used to the idea first so that they are ready to give a high five by the time they get to the high five guy.
Also, by being next to an escalator, the IE guys have a captive audience. You know that everyone on the escalator will see the sign - the only question is whether they want to take part or not. This actually has the added benefit of peer pressure - if you see lots of people in front of you giving a high five, then you may be more likely to give a high five as well.
Obviously, an MTR escalator wouldn't work in HK as the stairwell isn't located next to the escalators here. However, a better location would have been the mid-levels escalator. Particularly if you did this during the lunch hour rush, you would have had a huge stream of people all going up the escalator with relatively few people taking the stairs. Furthermore, with the stairs being on the right hand side of the escalator on the way up, it means that the people you will be high fiving will all be standing still and will have plenty of time to see you and your signs before they get to you.
Still, it was interesting to see something like this happen in HK and I hope that they do more of this kinda stuff in future.
On the way back down the hill after lunch, I noticed two people standing next to the pavement fence. They were both holding up different signs. I can't remember exactly what was on the signs but they effectively said "Free high fives". Just as I passed them, a guy literally materialises out of thin air (that's the only explanation for where he could have come from!) with his hand raised. I immediately realised what was happening and, being the good sport that I am, I high fived him (the wuss was wearing gloves!).
If this sounds familiar, then you are probably a fan of Improv Everywhere. I blogged about them in the past and one of their recent pranks was the High Five Escalator which, by all accounts, went down really well. I'm guessing this was the inspiration behind the stunt in Central last Friday but to be fair, I don't actually know if this is the case or if they came up with a similar idea all by themselves.
In any event, there were a couple of reasons why the stunt in Central didn't actually work very well.
For starters, the two people holding the signs were standing next to each other with the high five guy just a little bit behind them. This meant that by the time I saw them, I was almost on top of the guy giving the high five. In fact, if he hadn't jumped in front of me, I would have missed him altogether as I was staring at the signs. Of course, this also raises another problem as people will be startled by the whole thing which may make them more likely to avoid the "crazy" high five guy instead of actually giving him a high five. To be honest, if I hadn't realised what was happening, I might have avoided him as well.
Secondly, the guys holding the signs were all standing on the left hand side of a relatively broad and busy pavement. This meant that a lot of people didn't even see the signs as they were concentrating on navigating the street and avoiding bumping into people. When you factor in the different walking speeds of people, I wonder how many people actually responded to the sign and gave the high five.
Contrast this with the IE version where they have the signs spread apart so that you can easily see them and see the guy doing the high five as well long before you actually get there. This lets people get used to the idea first so that they are ready to give a high five by the time they get to the high five guy.
Also, by being next to an escalator, the IE guys have a captive audience. You know that everyone on the escalator will see the sign - the only question is whether they want to take part or not. This actually has the added benefit of peer pressure - if you see lots of people in front of you giving a high five, then you may be more likely to give a high five as well.
Obviously, an MTR escalator wouldn't work in HK as the stairwell isn't located next to the escalators here. However, a better location would have been the mid-levels escalator. Particularly if you did this during the lunch hour rush, you would have had a huge stream of people all going up the escalator with relatively few people taking the stairs. Furthermore, with the stairs being on the right hand side of the escalator on the way up, it means that the people you will be high fiving will all be standing still and will have plenty of time to see you and your signs before they get to you.
Still, it was interesting to see something like this happen in HK and I hope that they do more of this kinda stuff in future.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Total eclipse of the heart?
Unless you have been living under a rock, you probably already know about the recent eclipse. In HK, we didn't get a full eclipse - only a 70% eclipse. Even so, this was something which I was looking forward to (and what were the chances of a full eclipse occuring in the same year as the 40th anniversary of the Moon landings!).
And I wasn't the only one. The region seems to have been gripped by eclipse fever with eclipse tours being run around China. Even flights at the time of the eclipse were fully booked as people tried to get a birds eye view of this once-in-a-lifetime phenomena.
In HK, first contact was at 8:16am with last contact at 10:47am. Considering my normal travel schedule, this means that I would miss the start. However, at the time, I wasn't too worried as I normally get out of the MTR at around 8:45am which would have given me a great view of the eclipse.
Sure enough, I entered the MTR system at approx 7:50am when the sky was still bright. As I got to Tai Koo station, I could feel the anticipation building. What would the sky be like as I exited the MTR? Would the skies darken in biblical fashion? Would I be exiting onto a dark street? I figured this wasn't very likely as HK wasn't getting a full eclipse. As I said above, we only got a 70% eclipse. Nonetheless, I figured that 70% would still darken the sky noticeably.
I get off the train at Tai Koo and eagerly rush to street level, almost forgetting to buy my breakfast bun from Maxims in my boyish eagerness to view the eclipse. And as I rush out into the street, I am almost blinded by the sunlight.
Double U - Tee - Eff!!
Where was the eclipse? Why wasn't the land shrouded in darkness? Considering that, not only was it not darker, it was actually brighter than its been in weeks, the sense of disappointment was palpable.
What a gyp!
And I wasn't the only one. The region seems to have been gripped by eclipse fever with eclipse tours being run around China. Even flights at the time of the eclipse were fully booked as people tried to get a birds eye view of this once-in-a-lifetime phenomena.
In HK, first contact was at 8:16am with last contact at 10:47am. Considering my normal travel schedule, this means that I would miss the start. However, at the time, I wasn't too worried as I normally get out of the MTR at around 8:45am which would have given me a great view of the eclipse.
Sure enough, I entered the MTR system at approx 7:50am when the sky was still bright. As I got to Tai Koo station, I could feel the anticipation building. What would the sky be like as I exited the MTR? Would the skies darken in biblical fashion? Would I be exiting onto a dark street? I figured this wasn't very likely as HK wasn't getting a full eclipse. As I said above, we only got a 70% eclipse. Nonetheless, I figured that 70% would still darken the sky noticeably.
I get off the train at Tai Koo and eagerly rush to street level, almost forgetting to buy my breakfast bun from Maxims in my boyish eagerness to view the eclipse. And as I rush out into the street, I am almost blinded by the sunlight.
Double U - Tee - Eff!!
Where was the eclipse? Why wasn't the land shrouded in darkness? Considering that, not only was it not darker, it was actually brighter than its been in weeks, the sense of disappointment was palpable.
What a gyp!
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Gerry and the digital camera
The invention of the digital camera is something which is rightly hailed as a significant advance in camera technology. Particularly for parents.
As any parent will know, taking pictures of children is extremely difficult. Actually, let me rephrase that. Taking good pictures of children is extremely difficult. As a general rule, you have to take loads and loads of photos before you get a good one.
This is particularly true for Gerry as he is so aware of the camera now. As soon as he sees the camera, and even before you have pointed it at him, he starts to do this:
or this:
These are just some of the outtakes that we had to go through before we finally got to one we liked here:
Can you imagine trying to do that with the old film cameras? Can you picture how expensive it would be?
Of course, the other option is to try to catch him unawares. Unfortunately, although you can get some funny pictures, you have no guarantee of getting a good photo:
As any parent will know, taking pictures of children is extremely difficult. Actually, let me rephrase that. Taking good pictures of children is extremely difficult. As a general rule, you have to take loads and loads of photos before you get a good one.
This is particularly true for Gerry as he is so aware of the camera now. As soon as he sees the camera, and even before you have pointed it at him, he starts to do this:
or this:
These are just some of the outtakes that we had to go through before we finally got to one we liked here:
Can you imagine trying to do that with the old film cameras? Can you picture how expensive it would be?
Of course, the other option is to try to catch him unawares. Unfortunately, although you can get some funny pictures, you have no guarantee of getting a good photo:
Monday, July 13, 2009
Literal music videos
Today's blog post is a bit of a video dump so I'd advise you to skip unless you have broadband (but really, who doesn't these days?).
Anyway, the genesis of today's post is the question - Ever wish songs just sang what was happening in the music video? DustoMcNeato on youtube posed this very question and to illustrate his answer, came up with the below incredibly awesome music video of Take On Me by A-Ha.
By the way, if you like the Darth Thriller clip at the end (and really, why wouldn't you?), you can find the full version by searching youtube for "Dancing With the Star Wars Stars 2008".
Since DustoMcNeato posted his first video (this was back in 2008), the literal music video has really taken off and is now an internet phenomenon. If you search youtube (or even Google) for literal music video, you get inundated with tons of hits. Unfortunately, not all of them are good as the majority of people just don't have good singing voices or don't have decent equipment to record the audio with.
So, being the good guy that I am, I have trawled through the cesspit to find the couple of gems that are worth you spending time to watch. Don't worry, you can thank me later.
:)
It probably goes without saying that you probably won't find this funny unless you have heard the original song.
Head over Heels by Tears for Fears - another 80's classic pop song in keeping with the theme.
Total Eclipse of the Heart by Bonnie Tyler - this is one of my favourite videos. It does drag a bit in the middle but picks up at the end. Overall, a great video with some hilarious lines and a decent voice.
Anything for Love by Meatloaf - dascottjr actually has several good videos. He was behind Total Eclipse of the Heart as well as this one. What's impressive is the quality of the singing - Meatloaf songs are generally quite hard to sing as Meatloaf has an impressive range to his voice which isn't always apparent until you try singing one of his songs.
Under the Bridge by Red Hot Chilli Peppers - not as funny as the other vids but worth including due to the quality of the singing.
Never gonna give you up by Rick Astley - the singing and lyrics are relatively poor in this one (its a measure of how bad the singing in some of these vids is that this wasn't bad enough to exclude). Having said that, now that you can literally rick roll people, how could I not include it?
Making Love out of Nothing at all by Air Supply - included because the missus is a fan of Air Supply (and because it has some funny lyrics)
Anyway, the genesis of today's post is the question - Ever wish songs just sang what was happening in the music video? DustoMcNeato on youtube posed this very question and to illustrate his answer, came up with the below incredibly awesome music video of Take On Me by A-Ha.
By the way, if you like the Darth Thriller clip at the end (and really, why wouldn't you?), you can find the full version by searching youtube for "Dancing With the Star Wars Stars 2008".
Since DustoMcNeato posted his first video (this was back in 2008), the literal music video has really taken off and is now an internet phenomenon. If you search youtube (or even Google) for literal music video, you get inundated with tons of hits. Unfortunately, not all of them are good as the majority of people just don't have good singing voices or don't have decent equipment to record the audio with.
So, being the good guy that I am, I have trawled through the cesspit to find the couple of gems that are worth you spending time to watch. Don't worry, you can thank me later.
:)
It probably goes without saying that you probably won't find this funny unless you have heard the original song.
See more funny videos at Funny or Die
Head over Heels by Tears for Fears - another 80's classic pop song in keeping with the theme.
Total Eclipse of the Heart by Bonnie Tyler - this is one of my favourite videos. It does drag a bit in the middle but picks up at the end. Overall, a great video with some hilarious lines and a decent voice.
Anything for Love by Meatloaf - dascottjr actually has several good videos. He was behind Total Eclipse of the Heart as well as this one. What's impressive is the quality of the singing - Meatloaf songs are generally quite hard to sing as Meatloaf has an impressive range to his voice which isn't always apparent until you try singing one of his songs.
Under the Bridge by Red Hot Chilli Peppers - not as funny as the other vids but worth including due to the quality of the singing.
Never gonna give you up by Rick Astley - the singing and lyrics are relatively poor in this one (its a measure of how bad the singing in some of these vids is that this wasn't bad enough to exclude). Having said that, now that you can literally rick roll people, how could I not include it?
Making Love out of Nothing at all by Air Supply - included because the missus is a fan of Air Supply (and because it has some funny lyrics)
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Owen to Man Utd?
Its been a funny summer for premiership football this year. At times, it's felt like a very quiet summer with very little transfer activitiy. And then comes news that Michael Owen has joined Manchester United.
Wow. I didn't see that one coming at all.
Don't get me wrong - I still think Owen can play in the premiership even though he is injury prone (despite his protestations to the contrary, I think any objective analysis of his injury time will agree). However, I have serious doubts as to whether he can play at the level that Man Utd will require of him.
Still, considering that Owen is on a free transfer, I'm sure Fergie is smart enough to make sure that Owen's wages are primarily in the form of bonuses for goals and appearances etc. Still, as a former Liverpool player, I wish him luck (but not in the matches against Liverpool obviously!).
Wow. I didn't see that one coming at all.
Don't get me wrong - I still think Owen can play in the premiership even though he is injury prone (despite his protestations to the contrary, I think any objective analysis of his injury time will agree). However, I have serious doubts as to whether he can play at the level that Man Utd will require of him.
Still, considering that Owen is on a free transfer, I'm sure Fergie is smart enough to make sure that Owen's wages are primarily in the form of bonuses for goals and appearances etc. Still, as a former Liverpool player, I wish him luck (but not in the matches against Liverpool obviously!).
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
My psychological profile according to Scott Adams
Here's something interesting. As you know, I'm a big fan of Scott Adams (love reading Dilbert and his blog posts are interesting as well. Recently, Scott Adams went through his old blog posts to see which ones got the highest ratings from readers and compiled a psych profile of his average reader based on that info. In other words, if I was an average Scott Adams fan, I:
- am curious about how things work;
- value function over form;
- like solving problems (even if they aren't my own);
- am argumentative;
- like pets;
- have at least one parent who is intellectual;
- place a high value on education;
- think people control their own success;
- have gotten in trouble for my generosity;
- don't trust the media;
- think I'm smarter than most people in my life;
- like trying to save time and money;
- have bumpy relationships;
- get justifiably angry a lot;
- wish I am funnier and more creative;
- have imperfect vision;
- don't exercise as much as I should;
- wonder what it would be like to be attractive;
- value science over superstition; and
- like learning.
Wow, quite a list. Out of the 20 points, 17 of them apply to me (can you guess which 17?). So, at first glance, it seems like the profile is accurate.
Having said that, looking at the list, so many of them are so general or apply to the majority of people anyway that you have to wonder whether he actually trolled through his blog posts or just decided to post a general profile up there. For example, get justifiably angry will apply to most people as very few people will get angry without some kind of (twisted) justification. Similarly, guessing that the reader has imperfect vision isn't particularly astounding considering the number of people who wear glasses.
Ultimately, I suspect his next blog post will say that this was all just an experiment in the Forer effect.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Damien Walters
I'm feeling a bit lazy so all I'll do is post the below video and ask you to watch it. Besides, after watching the video, I'm a bit speechless anyway!
btw - my understanding is that Damien Walters is an Olympic level tumbler from Blighty who also practices parkour (also known as free running) and martial arts.
btw - my understanding is that Damien Walters is an Olympic level tumbler from Blighty who also practices parkour (also known as free running) and martial arts.
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