1 May 2020 - Creating a Music Video (时间都去哪了)

Today is Labour Day and I decided to sing a song and compile it into a music video.  This is one of my favourite songs which touches me every time I listen to it.  Hopefully after watching this MV, we will all treasure and spend more time with our family.  I would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone to stay safe, stay healthy and stay home for the sake of our family members and for our nation.  Together we can get through this.
Happy Labour Day to all!
祝大家五一劳动节快乐！

#SGUnited
#stayhomeforSG
#singtogetherSG

30 April 2020 - Karaoke Singing App getting Popular

As people are now spending most of their time staying at home, they started going for entertainment that can be done at home such as watching Netflix, video gaming, cooking etc.  In the meantime, some of the singing mobile apps (as seen below) are also getting popular during this period where friends and relatives can come together and have a KTV party.  I had tried it out with some of my friends and it's really fun.  Do ping me if you are interested and we can organize a singing session together.  :-)

#singtogether
#stayhomeforSG
#SGUnited

28 Apr 2020 - Coronavirus ~ A Platformer (Mobile Friendly)

As promised few weeks back, Javier had finally re-coded his Coronavirus game on Scratch platform to be mobile friendly.  You may try it here.  Great work, Javier!

25 Apr 2020 - Sing Together Singapore!

Tonight at precisely 7.55pm, people from all corners of our nation came together for a singalong event, Sing Together Singapore.  Together with local celebrities, all at home were encouraged to take to our balconies and windows to sing the ever-popular NDP favourite, Home.  Following is the lyrics of the song.

This massive "karaoke" session is intended to rally Singaporeans to show our support and appreciation for our healthcare and migrant workers.  It also aims to encourage all Singaporeans to keep their spirits high and to stay united as everyone remains at home during the extended circuit breaker period.  I too played my part in this meaningful event.  :-)
#singtogetherSG
#SingaporeTogether
#stayhomeforSG
#SGUnited

21 Apr 2020 - Home-Based Learning (HBL)

Since 8 Apr 2020, all primary schools, secondary schools and junior colleges started implementing Home-Based Learning (HBL) for all their students as part of "Circuit Breaker" measures to "fight" against the ongoing Covid-19 situation.  One good thing about HBL is that we do not have to wake up as early as 6am like during normal school days.  Most of the lessons will only start at about 8am.  However, for HBL to be effective, the students need to be very discipline and not get distracted by other online stuffs.

Ministry of Education (MOE) also provides a set of Parent Kit for parents to develop positive school-home partnerships.  Let's work together to get through this challenging period.  #SGUnited

18 Apr 2020 - Ballet Practice goes Virtual

With the current COVID-19 situation and ongoing "Circuit Breaker" measures in place, many activities now have to be done virtually through online channels.  Since a week ago, Jerlene's ballet practice has started to go virtual as well.  She has to record her ballet routines at home and send them to her teacher for comments.  Following shows one of her teacher's comment in ClassDojo app.

Following is one of her ballet routines.
Actually her ballet exam has already been postponed as the examiners are not able to fly here from Australia due to all the border closures.  So according to her teacher, they are now considering holding the exams through online channel.

11 Apr 2020 - Let's defeat the Coronavirus - A Scratch game created by Javier (aka JJJwong)

Javier had started creating a new Scratch game project about 2 weeks ago.  He finally completed it today and was very eager to share it with me.  It's a game called "Coronavirus ~ A Platformer".  This game is about embarking on an adventure to "Virusity" and defeating the Coronavirus Leader.  I find the game quite educational and suitable for kids to learn about how we can protect ourselves and others against Covid-19.  As such, I've decided to create a video of myself playing the game and at the same time, spread the message to all who watch the video.  As this is my first time recording myself in the video, hopefully I do not look or sound funny.....lol.  Anyway, just focus on the game.  :-)
Below is the video.
If you like the video, feel free to share it with your friends.  And if you would like to try out the game yourself, click HERE to play.  The game is currently not mobile friendly and you need to play it on PC.  Javier told me that the mobile version will be out in another 2-3 weeks time.  So stay tune.

After watching my video above, Javier decided to create his own version.  Following is what he had recorded.
So which videos above do you think is better?  Haha..... :-P

The game itself is fun to me but what I am really impressed are the messages that Javier tried to convey behind it.  A lot of people are currently going through a very difficult time.  Let's do our part to "fight" against Covid-19 and hopefully things can go back to the norm soon.  Remember,
1)  Wash your hands regularly for 20 seconds, with soap and water or use a hand sanitizer.
2)  Try to avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth.
3)  When you feel unwell, wear a mask and seek medical attention.
4)  If you are going out to buy food or daily essentials, please wear a mask and practice social distancing.  Avoid close contact (at least one metre) with people.
5)  Last but not the least, and the most important message, #StayHome!

Let's do this together and I'm sure we will get through this in no time.  You can do your part by doing the above and helping to spread the message.  C'mon, #SGUnited!  We can do it!

8 Apr 2020 - "Super Pink Moon"

The full moon tonight was beautiful.  It was dubbed the "Super Pink Moon", the biggest "supermoon" of the year.  This full moon appeared larger and brighter than usual because the moon was at perigee, or the closest point to Earth in its elliptical orbit.  This closer proximity of the supermoon makes it appear about 7% larger and 15% brighter than the average full moon.  It seems to me that the sky appears much clearer recently, probably due to lesser cars on the road and factories stopping works.  At least this is something positive amidst all the negative news around during this difficult time.

While admiring the beautiful full moon, I sincerely hope that everything can get back to the norm soon.  Will need everyone to do their part and together we can get through this.  C'mon, #SGUnited!

6 Apr 2020 - Night before Circuit Breaker Measures Kick In

As the COVID-19 confirmed cases are on the rise and there is evidence that it's spreading in the community, the government had decided to implement a series of "Circuit Breaker" measures starting tomorrow in the hope of containing the conoravirus.  All non-essential businesses must be closed from tomorrow for a month till 4th of May.  Tuition centres are considered non-essential.  As such, they have to conduct their lessons using virtual classroom for next one month.  In the meantime, they were busy printing out worksheets so that parents or students themselves can collect them before centre closure.  I walked over to the centre at about 9pm and OMG, the queue was terrible.  Looking at the queue at that time, it'll probably take me at least 2 hours before I am able to collect the worksheets for Javier.  I did not bother to queue as there is no way I'm going to crowd there with all the other parents/students for a few hours.  There was also a risk of forming a new cluster as not everyone practiced social distancing.  I immediately left the place to see if there was other means to get the worksheets.

Later that night, I went to the Tuition Centre's Facebook page and saw many parents did not manage to get the worksheets in the end despite queuing for a few hours.  I am so glad that I gave up queuing immediately when I saw the crowd.  The centre then put up a message of their Facebook page that for those who did not get the worksheets, they will send them through courier service.  I'm sure many parents, who had queued for hours, will be very angry after seeing the message........