My Pa Is Smarter Than Your Dad!

It’s true.  How many of you can say that your dad made his own hifi-amplifier (high-fidelity) including acid etching the board, wire wrapping, case design, wooden body, front panel design, selection of knobs, flip switches, masking of front panel label, lacquering and final touch up?  Not to mention all the assembly, soldering, and testing.  None?  I thought so. 😛

Oh, and did I mention that he also made from scratch the two multi-cone speakers, each with a bass-woofer cone, (one or two) mid-range cone, and one high-range twitter cone (not that twitter.com twitter!)?  Oh ya, he had them as well.  Including the wooden frame that he sketched, designed and got them cut to size in a factory, which he assembled together, fitted in the yellow noise absorption foam stuffs, and lacquered the whole thing to a perfect finishing.

The wooden diamond pattern gauze cover over the speaker had a brush with me.  I managed to clip one or two off when I played “smash myself into anything like I am driving a car” while I was a kid.  Of course that also got me more than a cursory slap on the wrist.

While all of the above are true, I don’t quite recall myself going around in school trumpeting to my friends about how “My pa is smarter than your dad!”.  Perhaps it was because I just took it for granted that he was able to do that.  It didn’t occur to me that most people’s pa cannot barely tell the difference between a diode and a resistor, much less do anything close to what my pa did.  And so in the past when I watch some movies, in particular, American movies, I was rather amused to see the little kids bickering over whose dad was better.  In fact I don’t recall any of my peers ever getting into this type of
juvenile antics.  Perhaps we were a matured bunch?

Now what if I tell you that all the above about my pa was just something that I think up?  (For the records, it is true and I’ll post the photos as proof! :p … you are also welcomed to visit their humble abode to witness first hand, what real hifi is about! hehe).  What if out of admiration of my pa and perhaps out of pride, I was led to think that he was able to do all that when in fact he could not.  Some kids are known to be self-deluded or confused.  They genuinely believe that their pa is ze greatest and can do everything, including giving birth to kids! :p

What if they start going around criticising other kids’ father or even mother?  Most would just dismiss it as kiddish.  What if they go to play at the neighbours’ place and then ridicule the kid’s parents, deriding them as useless, while trumpeting their father as the greatest?  Or what if they even claim that the neighbour’s house was bought or built by their father.  As you can see, if this persist, this can get quite annoying.

Now, what if the kid then suggest to the neighbour’s kids that they have to agree with him, or else they will not get any toys for their birthdays or that their daddy and mommy will be gone forever.  If you think this is ridiculous, think again.

Look around you and see if you see such juvenile behaviour exhibited by people.  And I am not talking about kids.

I don’t care if the kid is delusional.  Most kids are.  But when the kid goes around imposing his delusion or little fantasy or belief onto others, then I think it is unhealthy.<%

During Mother’s Day, At Least Don’t Give Trouble to Your Mother! And Not Just During Mother’s Day, Everyday, Don’t Give Her Trouble. That Way, You Show Your Love and Respect For Your Mother by Not Giving Her Trouble

I find Bhante’s delivery during the Mother’s Day lunch very meaning, practical and close to heart. As I recall, one part that resounds deeply with me, goes like this:
“… During Mother’s Day, at least don’t give trouble to your mother! And not just during Mother’s Day, everyday, don’t give her trouble.
That way, you show your love and respect for your mother by not giving her trouble. … “

The same goes for our father.

Metta Charity Walk cum Family Carnival 2011 慈光义走与嘉年华会

Metta Charity Walk cum Family Carnival  2011

慈光义走与嘉年华会 

Sunday, 20 March 2011
9am – 5pm

Metta Building
32 Simei Street 1 Singapore(529950)

Free Shuttle-Bus Service between Simei MRT and Metta Welfare Association, 8am to 5.30pm.

More info: Metta Charity Walk cum Family Carnival 2011

Why you should support this Carnival?

This annual carnival serves a two-prong purpose:  1) It is a day for the beneficiaries, students, volunteers and supporters to come together to celebrate the great service that Metta Welfare has been providing to the people in Singapore, inclusive of all, regardless of race, language or religion.  2) It is to raise awareness of its services it is running and to raise fund for its operations.

Playing a pivotal role in realising its mission are nine welfare centres and a social enterprise that are located islandwide. Currently serving over 900 beneficiaries from various races and religions, these centres are segregated into the following areas:

Disability Care

Metta Day Activity Centre for the Intellectually Disabled (a day care centre for the intellectually disabled)
Metta Home for the Disabled (a residential home for the disabled)
Metta Home Day Activity Centre (a day care centre for the disabled)

Medical Care

Metta Day Rehabilitation Centre for the Elderly (a day rehabilitation centre for elderly and stroke patients)
Metta Hospice Care (home hospice care for the terminally ill)

Children Care

Metta PreSchool @Simei and Punggol (preschools that offer early intervention programmes to young children aged three to six with special needs)
SE CDC – Metta Student Care Centre

Special Education

Metta School (a special education school for children aged seven to 18 with mild intellectual disability and/or autism spectrum disorders)

Social Enterprise

Happy Arts Enterprise Ltd (a social enterprise that creates vocational training and employment opportunities for adolescents aged 18 and above from special education schools)

To Reason or Not to Reason – 講不講道理

講道理,作人要講道理,但道理是給兩個懂道理的人來講的。教育小孩更是如此。

To reason, we should be reasonable and to reason with people, but reason is to be reasoned by two person who knows reason. Educating children is even more so.

I’ve seen many parents try to explain and reason to their little kids. Some even try to do so to their toddlers who can barely speak, much less reason. It is funny or sad for me to see how parents seem to be expected to explain and account for their every actions and decisions while kids seem to be given a blank cheque to do as they please.

The Family Ground Rules 家規

Being born in a Chinese family, I was brought up in quite a different environment. While my parents were relatively open-minded to begin with and in many cases, entertained my “WHYs” when I was in my mid to late teens, there were many moments where they put their foot down and basically let me know that I’ve crossed the line. What line? The family ground rules (家規).

In my family, there are certain Dos and Don’ts that everyone have to observe. It is not a democracy. It is the family ground rules (家規). It is not something that we sit around and discuss how we would revise it. These may vary from family to family or clan to clan, and most parents
adapted or inherited theirs from their parents. In most cases, it was from either parents or a hybrid decided by the parents. Democrats can argue all they want, but I don’t see the whole nation go have a discussion on the constitution or the law every other day. Members of parliament (or senators in US) represent the citizens and they try their best to protect their interest. By electing them for their term of office, you trust their judgement and integrity to protect your interest. If they fail, don’t vote them the next term. Rinse. Repeat.

In the case of our parents, you did not elect them. Buddhist believe that we are all linked in some ways, some deeper than others. Parents and child are strongly linked in past lives and the links serve as a condition for this lives’ parent-child relation. So in a way, we elected with our link with people. Associate with wise people and you probably have a better chance to have wise parents (and wise kids too!). Associate with foolish or nasty folks and … …

Then there are those who are already on the path to Enlightenment and they associate with the foolish and nasty people in order to help them. Which are you? The former or latter?

I don’t know about the mechanisms for choosing parents or kids in other faiths or cultures, though I heard that the stork was responsible for people in the west.  In the past at least! :p Read More …