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IGCSE Tuition: Biology & Chemistry

2018-11-11T19:38:00.000+08:00

Looking for an experienced and qualified tutor?

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I'm an experienced tutor with more than 12 years of experience tutoring students of both local and international syllabus. I have tutored students from Yemen and was a Programme Co-ordinator for an IGCSE centre in Setia Alam for 2 years.

My primary main subjects are:

Biology and Chemistry (SPM, IGCSE)
Biology and Chemistry (STPM, A Levels).
Science and Mathematics (PT3, KS3)
KS3 Geography

I cover the following places within Klang Valley: Klang, Setia Alam, Petaling Jaya, Damansara, Bandar Utama, etc.

Leave me a message kiankheong[at]gmail.com for further enquiry.

Hainanese fare in Taiping

2015-02-26T09:12:00.002+08:00

The BEST hainanese chicken chop, only in Yut Sun in Taiping.

Spamming my own blog

2013-09-10T08:55:00.003+08:00

Bird Respiratory System

2012-09-22T16:12:00.000+08:00

The avian lungs are pretty neat, and can be considered an improvement over the typical mammalian lungs.

Avian lungs have air sacs that extend into bones and muscles. The air sacs act as bellows to directly deliver oxygen to sustain the high metabolic rate needed to enable flight.

Below is a picture with better description of the unique avian anatomy:

(Taken at the Jurong Bird Park, Singapore)

Pork + Coca Cola = Lies!!!

2012-09-01T15:26:00.001+08:00

What happens when you mix religion fundamentalisms and pseudoscience?

You spread lies to children. It's indeed a load bull of hypocrisy when religions supposed to espouse the divine truth.

There are numerous youtube post on maggots or worms coming out of pork, after being treated (marinated) with Coca-cola. The story paints a negative picture on pork eaters (note: non believers) and gives merits to certain religion that prohibits pork consumption (the believers).

Any type of meat may contain parasites, be they endoparasites or endoparasites. Besides, uncovered meat (especially those bought from butchers in the wet and open market) are exposed to opportunistic flies wanting to lay their eggs. The appearance of maggots is no longer a surprise. Premium butchers that keep their meat covered reduces the likelihood of maggots.

Even if there are fly eggs and parasitic worms in pork, they are killed during the cooking process. Even boiling alone is sufficient to kill. Else why do we bother boiling water before drinking if such parasites remain alive? And no sane person continues to consume meat already infested by maggots.

Bear in mind, pork consumption is widespread around the world. You don't see people drop dead instantly. Pork is only harmful when it is consumed in excessive amount, as pork is rich in saturated fats and cholesterol, leading to higher risk of getting cardiovascular diseases.

Here is a good discussion carried out by our skeptical community in Facebook: Link

It had a surprising conclusion: Coca-cola appears to be a good ingredient for meat marination. :)

This whole incident disgusts me how ignorant people resort to ignorance to spread falsehood in the name of promoting their belief. They rather twist facts and evidence only to further their imaginative cause.

Lastly, could haters probably are harbouring jealously towards bacon haters?

Here's something for haters to increase their hatred:

Bill Nye: Creationism Is Not Appropriate For Children

2012-08-31T03:05:00.001+08:00

The tittle sums up my sentiment.

I may have nothing against people believe in religion, but I have a HUGE issue with people indoctrinating children with the sky-daddy that they believe.

Such indoctrination is most certainly harmful to the developing mind of children. Indoctrination encourages children to just accept statements as fact, to deny evidence, and most importantly to kill of questioning or simply being curious.

Such is the toll to human capital that most adults do not comprehend basic sciences nor are they capable in explaining or conveying scientific knowledge to the masses. Instead, most adults are more likely swayed by pseudoscience or whatever mumbo-jumbo that their religion believes in.

The worst part has to do with science teachers themselves. Till today I still hear horror stories about school teachers refusing to teach evolution. Some teachers state publicly to the students that they are supposed to teach evolution, but they won't accept it.

Samsung's creativity

2012-08-28T23:56:00.000+08:00

Samsung recently posted an advertisement, espousing the company's creative team in designing the Galaxy SIII.

However, the timing of this advertisement was really bad as the next day Apple was awarded more than USD 1 billion for slavishly copying Apple's design and patents. Link.

Here is the original ad:

And here is a parody made by someone on Youtube:

Intriguing History of Batu Arang

2012-08-28T20:24:00.000+08:00

The name of this old Selangor town kept popping up as I was searching for articles on fossil fuels. Batu Arang is of course synonymous with its former abundant natural resources: coal.

In 2010, Malaysiakini produced an excellent short video on the turbulent history of Batu Arang.

The early coal miners were much more informed than labour workers in other parts of the nation. The coal miners had formed unions and organised strikes (typical communist tactics) in demanding for better wages and working conditions. Such portrayal of the "spirit of defiance" may have seeded the notion of independence from the British colonial masters.

The most surprising part is that the strike committee declared and formed the first independent country, Malaya's first Soviet government on March 27, 1937. This was a declaration of independence even before the formation of the Federation of Malaya in 1957. The Soviet government's brief reign came to an end when it was crushed ruthlessly by the combined forces of the police and Malay troops.

A Soviet government in Malaya? Back in 1937? Surely this must be a dream come true for the Malayan Communist Party (MCP).

For those interested in the history of Communism in Malaya, here are couple of links:

1. Red Star over Malaya

2. History in the making (there were some comical moments during the historical signing of peace treaty between MCP and the Malaysian government)

3. Disputed legacy

Back to Batu Arang.

Coal mining was carried out in the open as opposed to underground mining. The story of existing sealed secret underground tunnels helps to propagate this misconception. Now, the huge cavity in the ground has been filled with water and forms a huge pond.

View Larger Map

There are still some coal deposits underground in Batu Arang. This unfortunate resident's house turned into a sauna room one day when the underground coal deposit caught fire (coal seam fire or mine fire). Now, this is eerily similar to the movie, Silent Hill. I could imagine the fiery duration would be as long as peat fires, depending on the area and amount of fuel deposits. And this is not the first time such incident occurred in Batu Arang. In 1990, a primary Chinese school had to be demolished.

An important note to potential house buyers in Batu Arang!

More stories on Batu Arang:
1. Stepping back in time

Sunday morning Pork Roast at Yut Kee Restaurant

2012-08-05T18:12:00.002+08:00

Have been reading about this famous Chinese coffee shop in the heart of Kuala Lumpur that serves its famous roast pork and roti babi. Kedai Makanan Yut Kee.

After reading that this shop is moving away to a new location, I have always been reminding myself to visit this place soon, as not to miss the chance of dining in a nostalgic environment of colonial days.

Today Sunday I managed to wake up early and arrived at around 9:30 am. Ample parking can be found further down the road. However, the shop was already fully occupied and couple of patrons were queuing outside. We placed a booking order and our names were called 20 minutes later. While waiting, I snapped a picture of the facade.

We promptly ordered the recommended Hainanese pork chop and roti babi. The pork chop arrived first and it was different from those typically served in other shops, being that it's not served with sweet and sour sauce. The sauce was a type of brown gravy with lots of garlic and onions. But it's still served with green peas, which I dislike.

Next came the roti babi. The presentation was nothing to be impressed with. It looked like any plain French toast with some cabbage leaves.

However, once cut open, juicy pork floss began oozing out.

Sorry, the picture was blurry.

We finished our meals with a few quick bites, and were now ready to order the star of the attraction: pork belly roast with apple sauce. However, we have to wait till 10:30 am or after as the pork bellies were still roasting in the oven. So, in the meantime, we ordered a set of half-boiled eggs. Warning: the soya sauce is extremely salty.

The morning patrons.

The pork belly roasts were ready after some delay. The meat was succulent and the skin crispy. In fact too crispy till it's sometimes very hard to cut or bite. The apple sauce wasn't sweet nor too thick, but in fact I prefer otherwise. Hence, I skipped the sauce.

The entire roll of roasted pork belly. Damage: RM 150.00.

Here are reviews from others:
The Star
Rebecca Saw
Masak-masak

Wallop Pork Burger

2012-08-04T15:00:00.000+08:00

There is a sudden boom followed by multitude of reviews on pork burger in Klang Valley.

While driving around in PJ area, I chanced upon Wallop Pork Burger in PJ SS2 Chow Yang.

The lady at the counter was friendly and took her time to explain the various burgers and sets that they offer. As summary, all the burgers are almost the same the same. They only differ in their sizes and there is a spicy version. Besides, you can customise your own burger by adding cheese, pineapple, egg or even bacon. The price for these add-ons are quite reasonable, especially for bacon.

I must say the Sergeant wallop burger is the only selection that is large enough to fill me up. If you have a good appetite, you may need to order more than one of this. Don't forget to bring along your student card, which entitles you for discounts.

The taste is good. They claim that the patty is fresh, hand made, and with no artificial flavourings. Certainly, the patty is juicy and not too oily.

The Sergeant Wallop burger.

Give it a try if you are in the vicinity.

Hilux & ear infection

2012-08-04T14:43:00.001+08:00

Hilux the dog has been suffering from some kind of ear infection. Bad smell and thick blackish liquid were oozing from both her ears. In fact, she's been constantly scratching her ears till her nails turned black.

On her first visit, the vet provided me with saline solution for cleaning. However, the cleaning process proved to be too painful, even when used with cotton buds. Hilux grew accustomed to the cleaning process that she ran to the corner whenever I was holding the saline bottle and some cotton buds.

The second visit was no better. Armed with antiseptic solution, Hilux tried her best to avoid me when it comes to cleaning her ears. Besides, she even refused the antibiotics given.

The third visit has better results. I requested to vet to sedate her in order to clean the ears properly. Hilux limped almost instantaneously once the injection was given. It was quite comical seeing her struggling to get up when all her limbs were limping. For all her effort, Hilux managed to stand on her four feet after 15 minutes, enough time for the vet's team to clean up both ears.

As for the antibiotics, I sneaked them into Hilux's favourite food: cheese. She gobbled the entire piece of cheese, not minding of the tablets that I slipped into it.

This time, I must commended that the vet and her team did a good job in treating Hilux. The infection slowly subsided and Hilux's nails have gone from black to pink. There are less scratching of her ears and shaking her head violently. I have better send her for a follow up check-up to ensure she is completely infection free.

Films of 2000s

2010-05-03T02:17:00.003+08:00

Someone did a cool compilation of movies of the 2000s. Some I have seen, but many I have yet to do so.

And here are the movies, also compiled by some of the commenters at youtube.

1:22-Inglorious Basterds
1:25-The Hills have eyes
1:27-walk the line
1:28-znaki
1:30-snatch
1:31-no country for old men
1:32-piraci z Karaibów
1:32-dark knight
2:12-ocean's 11
2:13-shaun of the dead
2:16- Big Fish
2:21- cooler
2:23-Prairie Home Companion
2:26- Huckabees
2:28- Ocean's 11
2:30-jackass the movie
2:31-amelia
2:35-american psycho
2:38-the departed
2:42- Best in show
2:47-Secretary
2:47- Bracie gdzie jestes
2:52- Grindhouse: Planet Terror
2:54- spread
2:56-cast away
3:03- Spun
3:07-vanilla sky
3:10-40yrs old virgin
3:16-burn after reading
3:17- the Royal Tenenbaums - genialny klan
3:19- Ghost World
3:21-punch-drunk love
3:25- Dancer in the Dark
3:28-Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
3:30- Aali
3:31-Świt żywych trupów
3:35- Little Miss Sunshine - mała miss
3:38-chicago
3:43-jarhead
3:53-lost in translation
4:05- Birth
4:16-kill bill
4:21-the curious case of b.button
4:24-mystic river
4:27- Fish Tank
4:29-monster ball
4:32- The Brown Bunny
4:35- And your mother too
4:38- Mulholland Drive
4:40-traffic
4:46-star wars
4:49-memento
4:54-the man who wasn't there
4:58-the others lub virginia wolfs

And the last song of the video was by Gary Jules: Mad World.

Absolute Morality

2010-05-03T01:27:00.001+08:00

A good and concise response by Prof. Richard Dawkins on why morality doesn't need to be hinged upon religion.

Man is capable to determine his values and moralities, through logical, rational and critical thinking that does make sense.

The full video of this interview can be downloaded here: http://richarddawkins.net/articles/5213

The Indoctrination of Children with Religion

2010-05-03T01:14:00.004+08:00

Despite ample scientific evidences and countless sound Theories, many still rejects Science and instead choose the word of God as the easy way to help them in their understanding of the Universe.

One main reason why so many have strong faith in God is due to the indoctrination of children. At that age, the developing mind is easily swayed into believing something that is both omnipotent and almighty. Children are less capable and also less willing in questioning their parents and adults. As a result, their mind is most easily influenced at that tender age.

Creationism propaganda for children caught on camera

The Internet: Where religions come to die

Science is

2010-05-03T00:33:00.002+08:00

Science is:

1. the study of Nature

From daily observations of natural phenomena, we can try to draw possible logical explanations (hypotheses). Questions that start with What, How, When, Where, and Who often circle around our curious mind.

A good hypothesis is one that can be rigorously tested using scientific methods, in order to derive evidence that either supports or rejects our hypothesis. This is also known as the Falsification Method, when scientists always subject their hypotheses to various empirical testing. An accepted hypothesis is one that stands such rigorous scrutiny. Even if there is a shred of evidence/data/observation that goes against our hypothesis, the whole thing falls apart (the hypothesis is rejected).

Hypotheses that are well accepted will eventually become a new Theory or Law (more commonly applied in Physics and Mathematics). However, this is not a permanent situation, as advances in Science open new opportunities to conduct new, more elaborate, and more accurate experiments.

This means that Science is never static nor dogmatic. Theories and Laws are being updated in light of new evidences and understandings (a Paradigm Shift).

2. predictable, reliable, and repeatable.

We can build upon present Theories and Laws, a working model to predict an outcome of related experiments and even other hypotheses. The outcome must be reliable, in the sense that results concur with the model. Else, again the Theories/Laws will be modified.

Last but not least, the outcome must be repeatable. Science is not any mumbo-jumbo that gives a whole lot of excuses in case the outcome is not as predicted.

The Pope Song (Warning - Possibly Offensive)

2010-05-02T23:57:00.005+08:00

This youtube was created by Tim Michin, in response to the current and on-going sex scandal in the Catholic world, or for the lack of action taken by the Pontiff. This song very much reminds me of songs from the cartoon South Park.

Beware, the tune can be quite addictive.

The Pope Song
by Tim Minchin

Fuck the motherfucker, fuck the motherfucker
Fuck the motherfucker, he's a fucking motherfucker
Fuck the motherfucker, fuck the fucking fucker
Fuck the motherfucker, he's a total fucking fucker
Fuck the motherfucker, fuck the motherfucker
Fuck the motherfucker, fucking fuck the motherfucker
Fuck the motherfucker, fuck the motherfucking Pope
Fuck the motherfucker, and fuck you, motherfucker
If you think that motherfucker is sacred
If you cover for another motherfucker who's a kiddie fucker
Fuck you, you're no better than the motherfucking rapist
And if you don't like the swearing that this motherfucker forced from me
And reckon it shows moral or intellectual paucity
Then fuck you, motherfucker, this is language one employs
When one is fucking cross about fuckers fucking boys
I don't give a fuck if calling the pope a motherfucker
Means you unthinkingly brand me an unthinking apostate
And this has nowt to do with other fucking godly motherfuckers
I'm not interested right now in fucking scriptural debate
There are other fucking songs and there are other fucking ways
I'll be a religious apologist on other fucking days
And the fact remains, if you protect a single kiddie fucker
Then Pope or prince or plumber, you're a fucking motherfucker
You see, I don't give a fuck what any other motherfucker
Believes about Jesus and his motherfucking mother
I've no problem with the spiritual beliefs of all these fuckers
While those beliefs don't hit back on the happiness of others
But if you build your church on claims of fucking moral authority
And with threats of Hell impose it on others in society
Then you, you motherfuckers, can expect some fucking wrath
When it turns out you've been fucking us in our motherfucking asses
So fuck you motherfucker, and fuck you, motherfucker
If you're still a motherfucking papist
If he covered for a single motherfucker who's a kiddie fucker
Fuck the motherfucker, he's as evil as the rapist
And if you look into your motherfucking heart and tell me true
If this motherfucking stupid fucking song offended you
With its filthy fucking language and its fucking disrespect
If it made you feel angry, go ahead and write a letter
But if you find me more offensive than the fucking possibility
The Pope protected priests while they getting fucking fiddly
Then listen to me, motherfucker, this here is a fact
You are just as morally misguided as that motherfucking
Power-hungry self-aggrandized bigot in the stupid fucking hat
(Fuck the motherfucker, fuck the motherfucker...)

Photography Forums - Overseas and Local (Malaysia)

2010-04-28T16:19:00.006+08:00

As entry-level dSLRs have become more affordable, everyone seems to be getting on into the field of photography, sort of jumping into the bandwagon. For newbies (including me), other than attending photography workshops and joining outings, another invaluable learning resource is the Internet itself.

There are various online photography forums, that specifically cater for the respective camera brands (Nikon, Canon, Olympus, Sony, etc), photography techniques (strobist, film, etc), locality (local or overseas), and even photo-editing.

When I first started photography with my Nikon D40, I joined a local forum: LensaMalaysia.com (currently defunct). Everything was rosy in the beginning. Had a wonderful time getting to know new friends with similar passion/hobby and had lots of fun during the frequent outing trips. The forum also organised many free talks by established/professional photographers, and there were many invaluable pointers/tips to be gained.

However, somewhere along the line, things began to fell apart. As a forum that had prided itself to encompass the online community, the moderators began to ignore the contribution of its members. Hero-worshipping towards certain individuals was tolerated, they could do no wrong in the eyes of the moderators. Active members soon realised such double standard treatment, and began to leave. In a few months after our last fiery posts, forum progressed to a slow death.

Things are quite similar to the second forum that I had joined, ShutterAsia.com. The forum moderators have recently decided to regulate the postings of model photography workshops as to safeguard members from scams and pointless workshops, and at the same time to uphold the standards of portraiture (rather than shooting anything sexy, bikini, nudity aka flesh/meat session). :D

With such regulation, there has to be clear guidelines on the rules of the forum. Failure to do so will only invite questioning by fellow members. What astounded me was when one moderator replied that fairness is subjective and as such they reserve the right to solely allow a particular group member to continue their workshop postings while at the same time deleting postings by others. Yes, you can do that, but not arbitrarily.

Till today (after a month and after we have given countless suggestions), there is still no clear guidelines announced. Not wanting to be associated with such mentality, I requested to be removed from being as a member of the Shutter Council.

I have better experience surfing and participating in overseas forum such as dpreview and NikonCafe. The participants there are much more civilised and tacit, even though tempers do flare on and off. As for local photography forums, I currently only lurk at PhotoMalaysia.

I truly believe that an only community can only work out successfully when there is synergy and mutual respect+appreciation between the forum moderators and their fellow members.

Student's chatters

2009-08-30T00:29:00.002+08:00

A-B-C-D-E-F-G

H1N1 selesama babi

Happy Birthday to you

Your father kills you

Your mother cooks you

Your family eats you

The three major branches of Science

2009-08-11T14:49:00.002+08:00

If it smells, it's Chemistry.
If it squirms, it's Biology.
If it doesn't work, it's Physics.

Of dessicant and silica gel

2009-08-08T23:27:00.007+08:00

As most anhydrous salts are hygroscopic, they can be used to absorb moisture. Especially useful to prevent fungi growth on photographic equipments.

Here are some examples:

1. Calcium chloride
CaCl2 + 2 H2O → CaCl2·2H2O

2. Silica gel (sodium silicate)
It's high surface area enables it to absorb water in copious quantity.

Indicators are often added to indicate moisture content.

Recently I was involved in an argument whereby a so-called "synthesis chemist" argued with me that silica gel changes colour due to oxidation with water. What a great joke!

a. The change in colours is due to presence of indicators. One example is cobalt (II) chloride (CoCl2). In the presence of water, this particular salt changes colour from blue to pink.

b. Anyone with basic understanding of chemistry will know that colours are usually imparted by transition metals. In this particular, cobalt ion forms complexes with water molecules.

c. Solid sodium salts are boringly white in colour.

The best part was when he had the audacity to ask me to backup my claims with journal citations. I doubt he even knows how to search scientific literature efficiently.

The story behind.

Sheesh!

Cows with resealable stomach

2009-06-22T22:52:00.009+08:00

Another post on cows, this time with some surgical operations done to open a window into their special stomachs.

As a ruminant, a cow's stomach is very different from most mammals. It consists of 4 chambers: the rumen, reticulum, omasum, and the obamasum (true stomach).

Although the surgical operation to have a resealable window in the cow's stomach seems cruel, this treatment is vital for us to understand better on the digestion of cellulose. The stomach content can be analysed from time to time to mark the progression of cellulose digestion.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Meet the Super Cow

2009-06-14T11:05:00.003+08:00

This is the result of selective breeding, for cows which naturally have a gene mutation for unregulated muscle growth. Pure lean meat = high protein productivity = better profits!

As there is no manipulation of genetic materials, the technique cannot be described as genetic engineering, but as a form of selective breeding.

The mating between the cows have to be regulated and done artificially (artificial insemination), in order to maintain the trait within the line of cows.

More info: Belgian Blue

Nidji of Indonesia

2009-04-10T22:21:00.011+08:00

Ever since I heard their performance at the recent 2009 Sunburst Kuala Lumpur, I have become a huge fan of them.

These are a few songs that I managed to find on youtube.

1. Laskar Pelangi

2. Hapus Aku

3. Biarlah

4. Jangan lupakan

Some photos of the band when they were performing at the recent KL Sunburst 2009: link

80s cartoon

2009-03-29T20:42:00.004+08:00

Let's see how many you could remember:

1. Silverhawk

2. Saber Rider and the Star Sherrifs

3. Thundercats

4. He-man

5. Dangermouse

6. The Snorks

7. Ducktales

8. The Real Ghostbusters

9. Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers

10. The Transformers

11. Freakazoid

12. Pinky and the Brain

13. Pink Panther

14.

Louis Armstrong

2009-02-25T22:57:00.006+08:00

1. When The Saints Go Marching In

2. Dream a Little Dream

Another version by Ella Fitzgerald

3. What a Wonderful World