Another Day At The Office

Another day at the office.

It is the end of January now and the monsoon still continues unabated. There was heavy passing shower and strong gusty winds before the take off. Visibility was down to 400 meter RVR (Runway Visual Range).The mind went through all the possible threats and counter measures. What if we encounter sudden wind-shear on the take off run, what if an engine fails before liftoff,what if there is aquaplaneing, the list goes on.The co pilot must be kept in the loop all the time. Good communication skills, good situational awareness , good decision making process, good leadership,good handling skill are what we are trained for. It is time to put to good use now.

The big machine is on the runway now with the windshield wipers sweeping frantically and yes, counting the number of runway edge lights,the visibility was lousy. A quick check at the wind sock through the blur of the heavy down pour confirms the wind velocity provided by the control tower. A quick decision must be make now on the take off or to opt for a delay.

The thrust levers are advanced the the full forward position now and the roar of two hundred thousand horses are straining the big machine to go. But the brakes must be stepped on firmly. The rotors and the turbines must be checked to make sure that they are behaving as commanded.

The 320000kg machine reach weightlessness at 350km/hr.The auto pilot was engaged soon after the gears were retracted. It is now time to navigate away from the lightings and the thunder.

The weather radar showed another cumulonimbus on the right as the big machine climbed through 3500 meters. We did not intend to fly into it and was planning to navigating the craft further left.Suddenly  there was the loud deafening clap of thunder and the lightning was so intense the I was able to feel the sudden heat in the cockpit. The big machine has been struck by lightning.

The immediate thought was the aircraft, is there any damage? Are the power plants working normally?The full time fault monitoring system on board did not indicate anything abnormal. A careful check on the gauges showed all systems functioning as per command.

The cabin crew in charge was ordered to discreetly do a visual inspection of the wings,just to made sure. A few minutes later, the call came through the intercom system that everything looked normal. No fuel leak and no burn mark on the surfaces.

The next thought was the crew and the passengers, they must be traumatized.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your Captain speaking. We had a lighting strike. The aircraft is well protected and all systems on board are functioning normally. Please do not be alarm. We will continue with our journey to London."

As the big machine climbed towards the optimum cruising altitude,flying through rain with moderate to severe turbulence now transitioned to flying through ice with the same bumps. The big machine needs to be protected from icing now. Ice near freezing point melts on impact and flows back to the wing surface.It will refreeze and cause the aircraft to be heavier. Ice at much lower temperature is in the form of hail stone,sometimes the size of a pingpong balls.It will damage the aircraft when it impacts at 80% the speed of sound.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your Captain speaking. We have been airborne for about half an hour now and we are still in weather. For the safety of our crew, we will not be starting the inflight service for another 15 minutes. My apologies for any inconvenience caused."

Yes, safety first,champagne and caviar can wait.

It is three hours in the air now. The big machine glides through the air at a ground speed of a thousand kilometers per hour yet nothing seems to move. The spotless blue sky is up above and the haze of human creation is down below. From afar, the great curvature of this common planet of ours is in view. Come think about it, this is not a very big place.
This is the time for the co pilot to be in control and a walk through the cabin is good. Most are engrossed with the screen mounted at the back of the seat in front. Quite a few are grateful that the captain comes to re assure them that everything is all right. There is this big muscular guy seated at 40C, the poor man had been staring at a rivet on the wing for the pass three hours, face pale and palms with cold sweat claiming that it is a hole at the wing. No amount of assurance from the cabin crew can convince him otherwise . He even claim that the aileron is actually part of a broken wing. The man with a gold wing on the chest and four gold bars on the shoulder thanked him for the feed back and the fact was explained. He seemed to have calm down and on the way back to the cockpit, I can see him starting his meal now.

The big machine sits like a feather on Runway 09L,London Heathrow.
 Only idle reverse is needed for ideal conditions like this. We save fuel, save engine life and protect the environment.

"Captain, the aircraft is chocked and you are cleared to shut down the engines. We received the message from operation center in Singapore about your lightning strike 10 hours ago. We have done an inspection and there is no damaged to the aircraft. Have a good night-stop and hey, you guys bring the sunshine."

The big machine will then undergo a quick clean up and dress up,unload and reload before she heads back to Singapore,under the command of another team of highly trained, highly skilled professionals.

The crews will now go for their much needed rest but the machine cannot sit on the ground for too long. The nature of business is such that a $200 million equipment must be quickly put to producing revenue, of cause provided that it is safe to do so.




Metta,
jkhoowc

YP-SPORTSDAY-TEAM SPIRIT-30-JAN-11

YP Sports Day - 30-Jan-11 was really fun good clean sports with YP Coaches/students - even BF PROs came to join us too.

Blessed with nice cool weather & YPs were assigned to 5 different teams to break the ice in getting students to know each other through sports. YP had great potential footballers + badminton players too.

The Buddha said: ‘Good health is the highest gain’ (Dhp.204) and he encouraged monks and nuns to do exercise as a way of promoting vigour and health (Vin.II,119). As far as the mind is concerned, sport can help to develop positive states like team spirit, friendship, alertness and even a degree of detachment (gracefully accepting the umpire's decision or defeat). Sadly, nearly all sports today have become excessively competitive and few things bring out the worst in people as much as competition does. Cheating, violence amongst both spectators and players, personal animosities, doping, match fixing and being a bad loser have all become the norm in professional sports. Some encounters are even promoted as ‘grudge matches.' The old value of ‘it is not whether you win or loose but how you play the game' has been unceremoniously shoved aside by large egos and even larger salaries.

With T.V., movies, computers, and video games becoming more and more popular, it has become so much easier for teens to be by themselves rather than going out with friends. Kids used to go hang out at the mall or drive around town; now they just sit at home. Getting your teen into a sport gives them an opportunity to go out and socialize. While they may not find a new best friend, they will learn how to interact and work as a team; something they’ll find useful later in life.

1 particular YP student showed honesty being practiced during his football game when he found a dollar coin in Yeo's Auditorium & told me to donate to BF Charity Box.

So very proud of YP Coaches + Students - Great Team Spirit

Friends with Special Needs

We hope you have enjoyed our discussion about friendships, specifically about sharing friendship with kids with special needs.

No matter how obvious the difference we may perceive in kids with special needs (whether in behaviour, physical ability, mental or intellectual ability, social ability), we hope you realise how very much alike we are in many ways, especially the need for true friends, respect, dignity and realising one's potential and aspiration.

In the video clip about Kennedy, a 5 year old girl with Down Syndrome, despite having suffered so much since birth (underwent multiple surgeries and challenges of developmental delay), she still wears a beautiful smile and inject bountiful energy to keep trying and learning. Her parents strive hard to keep her healthy, happy and provide a near normal life for Kennedy. Perhaps Kennedy is a good reminder for us to pause and count our blessings, thankful for our good health and grateful for the dedication of our parents.

In Bobby's story, he's a young man with high-functioning autism. He has 5 other younger siblings who are also diagnosed with autism. Bobby shouldered the responsibility of taking care of his siblings and grapple with his own difficulty in social interaction e.g. friendship. If you meet a Bobby in your school, is there anything you can do?

We touched on the issue about bullying. Bullying is any form hurt people, regardless whether the person has special needs or not. It probably hurt a lot more for kids with special needs because they have already suffered so much to try to be the same as others. Are you aware of kids being bullied in school? Is there anything you can do? Developing awareness is the first step. Making a choice is next. We hope the Dharma (having the right view, the right intention, right speech, right action, right effort, right mindfulness) will guide you in making the right choice. The video clips from ABC News on Special kid bullied on Facebook serves as an example of how cruel and thoughtless act can cause harm and suffering to a young man and his family, perhaps even society at large.

To end with a more uplifting note, we have two inspiring video clips. Eric, a student with autism who is class salutatorian and delivers an inspirational high school graduation speech. "Do not let others define you by your limitations rather your ability," says Eric.

The second is on Carly's amazing journey to find her true voice. You can read more about Carly at http://carlyvoice.com

Thank you all for your patient attention and fantastic participation in the discussion. We look forward to more fruitful and insightful sharing.

We also salute the brave Young People who come forward and share their own experiences with special needs friends as well as their own challenges growing up with special needs.

As mentioned, we posed the following question to Ajahn Brahm a few years ago;

Question: Ajahn, how do we teach Dharma to kids who have difficulty in understanding even the most basic things, some with attention problem who can't even keep still for a minute and some with little speech.

Ajahn Brahm's answer: "You don't teach them Dharma. They are the ones who teach you. They are your teachers."

Perhaps the essence of the discussion is not so much on how much we can do to help the kids with special needs, rather the awareness of how their presence have enriched our life and deepen our learning about humanity and humility.

"I may be different, I am not less."

Quote from Temple Grandin (Innovator, Author, Activist, Autistic)

With Metta,

Coach Yean Hoon and Coach Ean Keat

The True Hearted Friends.

The Helper
The Companion of Constant Joy and Sorrow
The Good Counselor
The Caring


The Helper: - when heedless, guards your property, refuge when in fear, task to do provides supply.
Companion of Constant Joy and Sorrow: - tells you his secrets, keeps your secret, do not abandon you when in troubles, even gives his life to you.
The Good Counselor: - restrains you from evil, inspire you to do good, tells you what you have not heard, shows you the way to heaven.
The Caring:-does not delight in your misfortune, delight in your good fortune, prevents others from telling ill about you, comments others who speak well of you.


True hearted friends are hard to come by, treasure it when you meet one. While expecting others to be your true hearted friends, you should refer to the qualities and make yourself one.

An article titled THE ASPIRATION appeared in the October issue of the Buddhist Fellowship Newsletter, The Connection. Would you like to meet the author? Tune in on 270211 :)

HEY PPL!

Yo peeps! (Yes Nat,I know I'm ripping you off so shut up.)

  To start it up I'm going to spam my most FAVOURITE FOOD here:

CHEESEcheeseCHEESEcheeseCHEESEcheeseCHEESEcheeseCHEESEcheeseCHEESEcheeseCHEESEcheeseCHEESEcheeseCHEESEcheeseCHEESEcheeseCHEESEcheeseCHEESEcheeseCHEESEcheeseCHEESEcheeseCHEESEcheeseCHEESEcheeseCHEESEcheeseCHEESEcheeseCHEESEcheeseCHEESEcheeseCHEESEcheeseCHEESEcheeseCHEESEcheeseCHEESEcheeseCHEESEcheeseCHEESEcheeseCHEESEcheeseCHEESEcheeseCHEESEcheeseCHEESEcheeseCHEESEcheeseCHEESEcheeseCHEESEcheeseCHEESEcheeseCHEESEcheeseCHEESEcheeseCHEESEcheeseCHEESEcheeseCHEESEcheeseCHEESEcheeseCHEESEcheeseCHEESEcheeseCHEESEcheeseCHEESEcheeseCHEESEcheeseCHEESEcheeseCHEESEcheeseCHEESEcheeseCHEESEcheeseCHEESEcheeseCHEESEcheeseCHEESEcheeseCHEESEcheeseCHEESEcheeseCHEESEcheeseCHEESEcheeseCHEESEcheese

And so now that I have officially wasted space, let's start...*drumroll*...with some not-so-emo messages to not-so-emo people!(Depends on who it is)

To all Sec1s this year : Hey!Hope you guys like your new school!If you don't...TOO BAD...you've gotta stick with it...GUYS!Come to ACS Barker!

To all P6s this year : Yo!Work hard for PSLE! Here's a list of people you can go to if you need help for any particular subject.(Whatever you do,DON'T mention my name 'cause I've never asked them)

English:Phionna Teo
Chinese:Phionna Teo
Maths:Phionna Teo
Science:Phionna Teo

So basically you can just ask Phionna for help for anything...if she says yes...HAHA!LOL!Just joking!Here's the ACTUAL LIST:

English : Phionna Teo, Brian Toh,Your Parents
Chinese : Phionna Teo, Your Parents,Brian Toh
Math : Heng Soon, Justin Po, Brian Toh, PieMan, π Man, Your Parents
Science : Phionna Teo , Your Parents , Justin Bieber , Jade Something-or-Another (SORRY!I forgot your surname!)

The underlined ones are the important ones.If you guys need help for other stuff just look for me!GOOD LUCK FOR PSLE!PSLE IS FUN!(Depends on matter of opinion)

I Come and Rest in Peace,
Brian