Teaching Programming to Kids

Just the other day, it just popped into my head that perhaps I should teach Chloe, who is now 6 years and 7 months old, programming.

After looking around, I have finally decided to go with FMSLogo. It’s visual, interpreted and simple enough for kids. In addition, I also vaguely remember that I had also used Logo long ago when I started my association with programming as well.

It definitely helps that there are online resources that give additional guidance on how to make this work with kids. Given my lack of time, the availability of such material as the Logo Workshop Homepage really makes it so much easier.

Since my sister’s also has 2 kids in the same age range, I extended the offer to teach them together. Hope that works out and doesn’t become a nightmare!

Well, planning to start either next weekend or the following one and it should be a weekly session. Updates once we get going.

Additional resources for those interested in using Logo for teaching kids programming: MSWLogo Homepage and its links to many more resources.

Filed under: Family, Happenings, IT Architecture, Design and Programming, Notes

The difference between knowing and doing

Always back up all our precious data.

That’s one of the very first rules we learn, and one we keep delaying for one reason or another.

In my case, I did back up my data (more than 5 years worth of family photos). It was in my aging home PC and in my laptop, and I thought I burnt it into a CDROM too.

However, if you cannot find your backup, it is as good as not having done a backup. Similarly if you cannot access your backup which can happen.

In my case, I cannot locate the CDROM (now I am not even sure if I did burn it). And my laptop was returned to my previous employer when I changed jobs earlier this year so the photos were on my PC hard disk.

When my brother offered me his old PC (still newer than mine), I shut down my PC to do a re-installation and move my stuff over later when I find the time.

When I finally tried to start my PC 2 months later, it refused. My hard disks crashed and along with it went all my precious photos.

Refusing to panic, I moved the hard disks to my newer PC and tried to see if I can boot it up. It failed.

Next up, search the internet for hard disk data recovery services. I found quite a few and chose one. After a few days, the evaluation report came back – read/write head electrical damage and severe damage to the platter. All of which means it requires major surgery and major costs with no guarantee that all the data will be recovered. I am still agonizing over whether to proceed due to the costs involved.

And hoping that some contacts can provide a less costly alternative.

So, don’t wait to do your backups. In a way, backups are very similar to insurance policies, you don’t want to use it but you should at least have sufficient coverage.

BACK UP YOUR DATA TODAY!

If you can help me, please contact me NOW- you can do it while your data is being backed up.

Also share how you do your backup. I am setting up my backup solution soon.

Filed under: Family, Happenings, Hardware, Notes

Game for chess?

If you play International Chess, check out Gameknot.

Games on Gameknot typically take a while to complete as its focus is not on immediate/interactive games. Time controls defaults to 3 days a move. However, if both players are online at the same time, things can move much faster.

Gameknot has a nice interface and features, and usually is easy to join or start a game.

Paid membership subscription is available with extra features but non-paying members, like me, have lots of features available as well, I don’t even make use of all of them!

My user id there is zhiqian, challenge me to a game today!

Filed under: Games, Internet, Notes

Tracking finances

Some do it often for everything
Some do it sometimes for something
Some do it rarely for certain things
Some do it only when dreaming

Well, I am no financial guru and don’t intend to give out financial advice. But I played around with Microsoft Money a few years back and found it rather informative (after you fed it sufficient information, of course).

Tracking finances do take discipline but as the amount of information you capture increases, you will make interesting discoveries about your finances (and hopefully better manage it!).

There are a range of software available that can do the job: from the generic spreadsheet applications with custom macros and formulas (like Microsoft Excel etc) to specialized software (like Microsoft Money). But commercial software means forking out money every now and then to get upgrades.

A few days ago, I came across this software: GnuCash - an open source and free personal finance software package. As of 15th July 2007, GnuCash is now available on Microsoft Windows for the first time. And it still runs on GNU/Linux, BSD, Solaris and Mac OSX.

Here’s an extract from the help manual:

“It is versatile enough to keep track of all your financial information, from the simple to the very complex. It is one of the few financial software packages that supports global currencies, and it is the only open-source program of its kind. Best of all, GnuCash is easy to learn and use!

So, what can GnuCash do for you? It can keep track of your personal finances in as much detail as you prefer. If you are just starting out, use GnuCash to keep track of your checkbook. You may then decide to track cash as well as credit card purchases to better determine where your money is being spent. When you start investing, you can use GnuCash to help monitor your portfolio. Buying a vehicle or a home? GnuCash will help you plan the investment and track loan payments. If your financial records span the globe, GnuCash provides all the multiple-currency support you need”

So a perfect opportunity to start doing some financial tracking at no cost! I personally intend to start… sometime.

By the way, if you are comfortable with sending your financial information over the web and storing it online, there are also web sites (like Expensr and  Wesabe) that allow you to track your finances for free.

So how do you track your finances? And let me know how you find GnuCash if you try it.

You can download GnuCash here.

Filed under: Notes, Software

My Favourite White

I used to not like wine that much, and I still don’t like many.

Two years ago, one of my friends (Alan) recommended I start with the whites and introduced me to the Brown Brother’s Flora and Muscat. Ever since then, this has been my favourite – refreshingly light, fragrant, sweet and not overly cloying or dry.

There are a couple of others which I like but none that resonates with me so. Do you have any to recommend?

Filed under: Notes, Wine

Good company, ok food, lousy service

Where: Cafe Cartel at Raffles City
When: 19 Jun 2007 Lunchtime

I met up with some friends for lunch today, so what’s the deal?

Everything started fine as we were all chatting away, catching up with each other. But being lunchtime and with the food missing in action after having placed the order for more than half an hour, our stomachs started growling.

So we asked for a status check.

The manager then told us they ran out of chicken sausages for the mixed grill set lunch that 3 of my friends had ordered. He offered to give them another egg (already one in the set) or more fries or additional vegetables as replacement.

It felt kind of unfair so we asked them to give us other sausages instead. The manager flatly refused saying those other sausages are not meant for set meals.

Left with no other choice, we chose to make do with the replacement vegetables.It would probably have been fine if they had made the offer moments after we ordered instead of half an hour later.

Running out of sausages is solely the restaurant’s fault and offering up poor substitutes and options are really lousy ways to treat customers.

By the way, the service was rather slow too.

Luckily the company was good and my food was ok – my pasta set meal still came with its chicken sausage. Maybe different kind from those they are using for the mixed grill set!

But probably because my spicy chicken sausage pasta would become:

1. just spicy pasta or
2. spicy egg pasta or
3. spicy pasta with fries or
4. spicy vegetarian pasta

So what would you choose?!

Filed under: Food, Happenings, Notes

One more time…

Well… this isn’t the first blog or personal web page I’ve done, all of them sort of died off due to lack of time (excuses, excuses) and having other distractions like my 2 kids!! (more excuses again)

Hopefully this time round, it will last longer (that means more than a couple of months or so).

If you know me personally and are looking to catch up on what’s happening in my life, I suggest you try calling me instead.

I may occasionally do some of those updates here but I am mainly looking to share some of my thoughts on various things that catch my interest now and then.

Let’s hope you don’t need to wait too long before you start seeing something! (But don’t hold your breath!)

Filed under: Notes