OznAsia

Sam Shield

13 November 1940
19 October 2011

Once there were seven.
Now there are five.

Labels: death, family, Sam

I know that email must have almost done the post office out of business but it seems that if you need the services of the post office you still need to queue.

In my ageing family I am fortunate to have two sisters. The older of the two is quite computer literate and easy to contact by email (except when her computer was down recently). The younger chooses to not use the internet. If we want to stay in touch while I'm off in Asia we have to use snail mail. This has not been proving too easy since I've been staying in Malaysia.

I managed to get one letter off to her advising of my new address and soon after there was a reply in my mailbox. I was pleased. It is good to know that my mailbox actually works for things other than junkmail and electricity bills.

Posting the reply is not an easy matter. My local shopping centre is about 1 kilometre from my unit—a hilly kilometre. I don't mind the walk occasionally. Coming back up the hill gets my heart pumping. I'm sure that's good for me. Last time I went to the supermarket I asked where the nearest post office is. It's another couple of kilometres towards town. I prefer to not walk that. I could take the bus. Actually, I think that might be simpler. My friend rang me the other day. She had to go to that same post office. I needed to post the warranty forms for my two new cameras. She said she'd pick me up. When we got there we drove around all the nearby blocks and there was no parking. Outside the post office there is a clamp zone but there are cars parked there. So she parked and I stayed in the car while she went into the PO. Not sure what I could do as I have neither an international nor Malaysian license at the moment. I think she was gone for 20 minutes or more. There were cops on the other side of the road but they didn't come over our side. Eventually she returned and we hadn't been clamped or booked. : ) It cost 60 cents Malaysian (Australian 20 cents) to post the letter. But soooooo much trouble. Puts me off writing letters.

Fortunately my computer literate sister has come to the rescue. Now I email my letter to her, she prints it and mails it to our sister. Fortunately it's easier to use an Australian post office than a Malaysian one. Problem solved.

Labels: Asia, communication, family, Malaysia, travel

Two recent incidents in the news in Thailand have been getting a few comments in online forums.

First a teacher was charged for caning students. A student filmed the act on his mobile-phone camera. The film showed the teacher, who really looked like he was enjoying it, swinging the cane wildly before bringing it down on each boy's bottom. There were also shots showing the bruises left by the caning. The students' crime? Their dormitory rooms were untidy.

In a separate incident, a nine-year-old boy was shot dead while leaving a Bangkok bus on his way to school. There was apparently a gang war between students from two different schools and this unfortunate kid got in the way.

Some of the forum posters suggested that the reason there are gang wars is that there is not enough discipline and that kids should be caned more to make them behave themselves. I disagree strongly and would like to explain why.

I believe that one of the most powerful teaching tools is demonstration, ie kids learn from what is demonstrated to them at home and in the world at large. This has been shown, for example, with literacy. There has been much research to show that children who come from homes where parents are seen to read and write regularly are more likely to do well at reading and writing tasks at school.

I believe that if we want to stop this gang warfare that occurs in Australia, perhaps as much as in Thailand, we need to ask what we demonstrate to our children about the use of violence.

If we demonstrate that when we have a problem with someone, we smack them or beat them then the child grows up believing that violence is a way to solve problems.

If we demonstrate that we can exert our power over another who is smaller than us, the child grows up looking for smaller or weaker people to bully.

If we demonstrate that we are more powerful because we have a weapon, the child who wants to be powerful will be looking to acquire weapons.

If we sit at home with our children watching movies where violence is seen as a solution to a problem, the children are learning that violence is the best solution to problems.

If our children watch the news every night and see people with shirts of one colour or another challenging authority with violence then they may grow up believing that they have a right to use violence to get their needs met.

On the other hand, if we demonstrate that we can have rational discussions with our children; that we can set clear boundaries so they know what they should and shouldn't do; that there are rewards and punishments that are fair and understood and administered fairly and consistently then there is some hope that our children will inherit a peaceful society where one can catch a bus without the fear of being shot.

Labels: Asia, children, family, fear, karma, kids, love, teaching, thailand, violence

There is a young woman who lives in the building where I'm staying in Bangkok named Roxanne. No, Roxanne is not a Thai name. Roxy, as she is known, is Philippinno. She was staying here when I lived here two years ago so she's been here a while. She teaches English at a primary school nearby.

Yesterday when I went downstairs to fill up my water bottles at the ionised water machine she and Titee were sitting having a chat so I joined them. At one point we got talking about names and their meanings and Roxy said that her name meant 'sexy girl'. This didn't make sense to me. Would a parent give such a name to a little baby knowing that is what it meant?

I checked online to find the meaning and I have to say that the site I found disagrees with Roxy. According to this site it has two optional meanings 'graceful rose' and 'dawn'. Nothing there about sexy girl.

I noticed that the site also gives meanings of last names so I decided to check 'Shield'. Here it says that our name means 'dweller at Shields (shepherd's summer hut)', guess that makes us shepherds or 'one who made armour'. (Is that armour or amor?) On the same page it shows a small family crest which links to a page that offers to sell you a larger version. Personally, I wouldn't bother but I notice that as well as suggesting we had something to do with pigeons the crest gives a family motto 'Vincit qui patitur'.

Isn't the internet wonderful. A few years ago that would have stumped me but it doesn't take long to do a search and I discovered that it means 'He who endures will conquer/succeed.' So, to all family members reading this who might be having a tough time now or in the future just remember, hang in there, you'll get on top of it in the end.

Labels: family

Hazel Shield nee Costin
Born 20 June 1913
Died 23 March 2010

Labels: death, family, Hazel

Noah Ouedraogo, my seventh, grandchild was born on November 1 to my daughter, Melanie. That's Mel's third boy and my sixth grandson.

Labels: Australia, birthday, family

My mother who is 96 recently went into hospital because she was having difficulty breathing. Here is a report I have received.

'...the upper chambers of the heart, the heart beat is irregular. She has not had a heart attack. This problem with the heart only started a few weeks ago. Because of the difficulty of her breathing it is putting extra stress on the heart. If she was to go home she would be back in again in about 4 to 6 weeks and then it would be the end.'

The report went on to say she has been hiding her pills and they think this means she wants to end it. I disagree strongly.

I think my mother and I are very similar on this one. We both believe that drugs don't make you better, they make you sick. When I was diagnosed with prostate troubles, the drug the urologist scared me into taking caused symptoms ten times worse than the ones I had. I only took one. That was several years ago. And my prostate condition is still manageable without drugs. I think my mother believes the drugs are, if not actually killing her, at least making her much sicker. I don't blame her for hiding them.

Perhaps in thirty years time I'll be in a similar situation. When my time comes I hope to die naturally, not because of the drugs someone makes me take. However, I hope to be a little different from my mother. Instead of hiding them, I trust I'll be able to just say 'no'.

Labels: family, Hazel

Hi Dad,
Am thinking that you brought up a few valid points and I figure that I don't really need an SLR. So down to that do you have any advice? What size zoom would you think is useful to have? Basically want good snapshots at the end of the day but a camera that can play around with to get better shots. Sometimes we want to take pictures to use for a poster or flyers for things, otherwise something I can use to take nice photo's.
Love Mel

Hi Mel

First I'll give you two links to my blogs where I wrote about my cameras. This will give you an idea about why I have what I have:

Why two cameras?

Camera comparison

What size zoom depends on what you want to photograph. 3 x zoom is very common and for everyday photography it's usually fine. Sometimes I like to photograph wildlife. If you get too close then it moves away so my 12 x zoom on the fz20 is good. When there was a monkey on the roof of the house next door at Kompong Chhnang I could get a pic of just the monkey. (BTW, I have not cropped this pic.) With 3 x I would get the whole roof and would hardly see the monkey. If you want to take a pic of Iz or Hamad on the other side of the soccer field, you'll need a good zoom to take that pic. However you'll also need a camera good for action pics if you want to get them while they're moving. It can be a challenge to do that especially with full zoom. 5 x to 10 x is somewhere in between. That might suit you depends on how important those soccer shots are to you. You can also get more powerful zooms these days. Panasonic have one that does 18 x. I asked a guy who had one about it and he was pretty happy. Other manufacturers are bringing out cameras to compete with this. Not sure how good they are. The Panasonic Lumix lens has a good reputation. Read the reviews before you make a decision.


Here's an example of the sort of long-distance action you can get with an fz20. I took this at Scarborough back when I was last in Oz. BTW, someone once said to me that to get a lens on an SLR that does what I can do with my fz20, it would have to be about 45cm long. Another BTW, if you click on these pics you'll see a larger version.

OK. Some general info. If you go to my flickr page and take a look at my pics, see if you can see the difference between the pics done on the fx3 and fz20 and which do you prefer. I put that info into the tags at the side of each pic. You have to click on the pic to see it. You might think the fx3 is just as good but consider that in relation to what I have written in the blog—fx3 has its limitations. They may or may not be important to you. But if you want to take better shots you will probably want a camera with more features. BTW, fx3 and fz20 will have been superseded several times. The current models will have different names. Last time I checked the latest version of the fz20 was fz50. Not sure if it still is. It has a few more features and other improvements over mine. I like the way the LCD screen tilts so you don't always have to hold the camera up to your face. You can hold it at waist level or hold it over your head—and still see the LCD.

If somehow I lost both of my cameras I wonder what I would buy now. Rather than buy two cameras I could get a compromise, a camera that is fairly compact but has a lot of features. Canon have one called the G10. The Canon G series have a good reputation but these days other manufacturers are bringing out good cameras like it. Read some reviews and see if it does what you want. Some of the reviews will also mention other cameras to compare it with. Check out their reviews too.

There are two websites that have good reviews that I recommend:

dpreview

Steves Digicams

Read a few reviews and see if you can get more idea of what you want from that. Also on these sites are user forums. I followed the Panasonic forums for about 18 months on Steves before I bought the fz20. People tell you what they like and don't like about their cameras. It is a good way to discover which camera to not buy. You can also join and ask questions yourself. If you have narrowed it down and you are not sure, you can ask people who use the camera, eg. 'Is this a good action camera? Is it good for night shots?'. They'll tell you.

One other thing to remember is that you can have the best camera in the world but if you don't have an artistic eye you'll still take lousy shots. You need to learn a bit about framing your shots. It could be worth visiting the library and borrowing a few photography 'how to' books.

OK, that's it for now. Feel free to send more questions.

BTW, I'll expect to see lots of pics of the new baby on facebook.

love

Dad

Labels: camera, family, flickr, fx3, fz20, Kompong Chhnang, Lumix, Panasonic, photography

My daughter, Melanie, is buying a camera back in Oz. We've been having an email dialog over the past few weeks. I decided to post it here, a bit at a time, as it may be useful for other camera buyers.

Hey Dad,
I'm looking for a new camera, for about $500. Am thinking maybe a Sony A230. Other thought was a canon EOS XS. Got any opinions?
Love Mel

Hi Mel

Just having a quick look at the cameras on your short list. Have you decided on an SLR for any reason? An SLR is for serious photography. Is that the direction you want to go? It doesn't make you a better photographer. It gives a good photographer more options provided they are prepared to spend more money. Had a quick look at the review of the Sony A230. If you buy the cheapest version, the lens you get is 18-55 mm. That gives you good wide-angle but do you ever need it? (I rarely do.) It doesn't give you much zoom. If you want to get zoom, then you also need to buy the 55-200 mm lens or you can get a kit with the two. (Maybe $200 more.) And that still doesn't give you as much zoom as I have with my Panasonic fz20. If you want still more flexibility and better photos you buy more lenses such as a portrait lens or macro lens. (another few hundred $ more) This is the way of SLRs. You keep adding to them. You end up with lots to carry around and you can spend quite a lot. It's a good way to go if you are serious. But not the best way if you just want quick snaps.

Not sure if you actually get a built-in flash in the A230 from the review. (Surely you must) They are recommending an external flash which is better than built-in anyway but more expense and more to carry. The A230 is a cheaper version of the A330 and A380. They have more features such as a fold-out LCD screen which I'd be prepared to pay more for.

That's some quick thoughts on that one. Haven't seen the camera of course, just going on the (brief) review. Haven't checked on the Canon. Maybe tomorrow.

BTW, I finally have internet at home. You can catch me on skype from time to time if you want.

And how's the baby in the belly?

love

Dad

Labels: camera, family, Panasonic, photography

On my first visit to Cambodia some years back I met a few young people and as we were chatting some made some disparaging remarks about Thai people. 'How many Thai people do you know?' I asked.

'None,' came the answer.

'So, tell me—How many fingers do you have?'

'Ten.'

'Mmmm. Same as Thai people. And what about toes? How many toes do Cambodian people have?'

'Ten.'

'Just like Thais. How many eyes do you have?'

'Two.'

'So do all the Thais I've met. And ears—How many ears do you have?'

'Two.'

'The same as all the Thai people I know. You know,' I said. 'Thai people are even more like Cambodian people than I am. You can be friendly with me, why not Thai people?'

I don't want to put these people down. I don't want my Thai readers to think any less of them. They simply didn't know better. They'd never met any Thais but they'd been taught to dislike them. They perceived differences but I pointed out how much Thais and Cambodians have in common. How different their attitudes might have been if they were taught this as children instead of being told lies.

Mem Fox is an Australian storyteller and children's writer. I know that Mem and I share similar attitudes on this issue and others. It seems that Mem has undertaken to write a book to teach the same concept that I was talking about. It goes...

'There was one little baby who was born far away.

'And another who was born on the very next day.

'And both of these babies, as everyone knows,

'had ten little fingers and ten little toes...'

The text of the book does not mention any differences at all but Helen Oxenbury's illustrations show babies from many different races and the book subtly and beautifully suggests that we all have more in common than we are different.

I've bought copies of this book for my grandchildren. Maybe I should buy a few for my friends in Cambodia.

Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes
Mem Fox, Helen Oxenbury
Penguin / Viking, 2008
Mem Fox's website

Labels: book review, Cambodia, children, children's books, family, fear, Mem Fox, prejudice, storytelling, thailand, tolerance, trust

Today is my mother's 95th birthday. I've talked to her, courtesy of Skype, a couple of times in the last month or so. She was in good spirits. Imagine the changes in technology she's seen in her lifetime. I think that telephones of any kind would not have been common during her childhood. When I was a kid the idea of seeing someone live while you talked to them in another country was the stuff of science fiction. And now here she is actually doing it.

While we were chatting I took this screen shot—maybe not a great pic but not so bad considering we are over 7,000 kilometres apart. As a kid, it probably never occurred to me that it would one day be possible to take a photo of someone 7,000 kilometres away.

Happy birthday Mum.

Labels: birthday, family, Hazel

To all mothers who read my blog

Labels: family

My son, David, has been experimenting with digital art. I've never tried this myself so I don't know how difficult it is. I gather to some extent it is a random process but as with conventional art, one of the secrets is knowing when to stop. I decided to put just one of his pictures here for your enjoyment. It was hard for me to choose one that I like more than the others. So, if you like this perhaps you would also like his gallery. Enjoy

Labels: art, family

Friends often ask how my Mum is going. Recently I received this picture which was taken by my nephew's wife, Donna Shield. A picture is worth a thousand words, I think you'll agree my Mum looks pretty good for 94. Hope I look half that good in 34 years time.

Labels: appearance, family