Just The Wei I Am

Been wanting/needing to get a pair of in-ear earphones for some time, to listen to music, and also for video editing. It's essential that they are the in-ear type in order to obtain the sound quality. But then that's about all I knew. I also knew that 1) earphones come in many different quality levels 2) you get what you pay for generally.

Saw a nice-looking Philips on Sunday and was almost going to buy it. Thank God I didn't! I did the proper thing (that I usually do before buying things) - online research! This research led me to the Crossroads MylarOne X3 sold at Jaben Network, which is on the 4th floor of Adelphi which as you know, is the mecca of singapore audiophiles.. (I was commenting to KC, 'hey let's go and look at stuff we'll never be able to buy!', and 'I don't think we'll find Sony sold around here')

It's a guy thing, I guess, but the sight of all those gorgeous vacuum tubes does stirs something primal inside. You know what, maybe I'll try using my Pod XT Live to amp music playback... I think it might just work. I mean, guitar tube amps are tube amps. Everything is tube amp tube amp. And Line6's amp modelling is good right? So I can play music through my Pod instead of those $10,000 amplifiers and in theory, it should be pretty good too... heehee

Anyway, back to the earphones.. Yup I bought the Mylar X3. The owner Uncle Wilson is very nice, threw in another earphone (cheap but very good Sennheiser) as a gift. The Mylar is also cheap but very good, but in a higher league altogether.. It's been compared to 'branded' earphones priced more than 2x its price. Don't you love internet forums? Unbiased reviews from ordinary people like you and me..

I'm no audiophile, but I can tell these are better than anything I've used, headphones or earphones. It's funny because with the Mylar X3 I'm hearing things on my music tracks that I've never noticed before. It makes studio recordings sound less perfect, in a good way.

For example, listen to acoustic guitar playing, I can hear more fret noise, even some buzzing during fast passages. i.e. buzzing caused by the guitarist. It's all recorded but you can't hear these details if your phones aren't clear enough! Listening to a sax melody, I could notice the breathing dynamics. And I'm really happy with the bass end of the spectrum. Can hear bass runs clearly with distinct notes. The thing about bass is, it's not just about whether the phone/speaker in question can thump. It's about whether they can thump clearly!

The Mylar X3 really makes it sound like the musicians are nearby. Maybe I exaggerate or maybe it's placebo effect, but all in all, they sound good!

I have been looking for software vendors for my project.

Now, there are good vendors, bad vendors, and everything in between.

Bad vendors are the ones who over-promise, look good at first, then proceed to under-deliver and reveal their true colours. They mainly care about their bottomline, and desire only to meet the minimum requirement agreed upon.

Ah, a good vendor, on the other hand, is one who is honest in self-appraisal, and over-delivers. Proud of his competency, and humble in acknowledging his limitations. Tells you what can or cannot be done, honestly. A good vendor has heart - he is interested in adding value to your business through his service. He takes ownership of the project and is proactive as if it were his own business. He values the customer relationship more than the invoice.

I have always been impressed by business people who are generous. It really sets them apart from the majority when they demonstrate a willingness to reduce their short-term profit margin in preference for long-term customer goodwill. Isn't it more valuable to merely halve your profit in order to gain an indefinite number of return visits from your customers?

Win-win, as my secondary school principal has taught us, is really the best business strategy.

ST Forum: Is there a
shortage of school teachers?

The teacher issue comes up again in a ST Forum letter. (thanks Yeu Ann)

I am one of those who have started to think that the issue lies in a group of people - Principals. In my personal experience as both as student and relief teacher, I have come across a couple of them who have left me a bad impression. As pointed out by a number of teachers, factors like public-private sector renumeration aren't all that important. On the other hand, a bad principal can be quite a strong push factor. It's a pity to lose scores of dedicated teachers because of one individual.

Bad principals come across as career people. They look more like managers than educators. Yes, principals are managers, but what I mean is that these particular ones do not feel like educators-at-heart. Their concerns lie in school image, branding, exam statistics, academic and CCA achievements, KPIs, etc. There is no sense that they care about students' well-being or the grooming of young teachers.

Personal experiences:
The principal made my class of 13-year-olds spend the entire period out in the open, under the sun, just because they were 'noisy' while excitedly lining up to go to the library. I was also given a stern warning for failing to keep the noise level down. Teachers soon learn that noise level has a higher premium than the education process.

The principal's idea of detention is to make the offending student spend the entire schoolday sitting outside the general office. Some recalcitrants spend days away from the classroom because of this. Not only are they publicly humiliated thus, but they miss days' worth of lessons. How does this reform them, pray tell!

It was evident that the technical stream students were essentially forgotten when it came to matters of education, nurture, encouragement and everything good. Only attention they get is disciplinary. What is the purpose of discipline? Is it not supposed to be loving and for reformation? Here it feels merely punitive.

Express students, on the other hand, are feted, and only so because their achievements can be splashed across banners outside the school.

Teachers in this school are uninspired. They do not find a role model in the principal. There is no respect, only fear. No one would dare be a maverick. Just do what they are supposed to do. The students really are the main motivation for them. There are wonderful dedicated teachers who love their students dearly and who are dearly loved by students - they count down to the day when they are able to request for a transfer.

When I was a student, some of the best teachers in my school transferred out when a new principal took over. We students might never know what transpired at the staff meeting where one of them supposed stormed out halfway. The issue was apparently about whether the school's performance (i.e. ranking, statistics, honours) or the student's needs were more important. It was clear as time went by that the former was more important, at least to this principal.

So, even as we wonder how to hire and retain good teachers, let us also think about the quality of the principals in whose hands we entrust the cultivation of not just our students, but also that of our teachers.