Summer schedule

Dear 7AB1 students,

The summer vacation is almost over. I thought you all have made good use of your time. We'll meet next monday. Here's the schedule:

8:15 - 9:15 UE
9:30 - 10:30 Bio
10:45 - 11:45 CL&C
12:00 - 1:00 Chem

See you all next monday.

Regards,

Mr. Fu

Ancient Ocean Cooling Sparked a Biodiversity Boom

Ancient Ocean Cooling Sparked a Biodiversity Boom
More than 400 million years ago, Earth's dramatically warmer sea temperatures plummeted to almost present-day levels, opening the door for a boom in biodiversity, new research shows.

The cooler seas-which occurred during the Ordovician period-created a more hospitable

environment for a range of species, researchers say.

The find might also foreshadow a biodiversity crisis if the planet continues to warm due to climate change.
"It's a warning of what happens to life on Earth when global temperatures get extremely high," said study co-author Chris Barnes, a paleontologist at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, Canada.
"Life can exist, but it is not as diverse."

Biodiversity Boom
Sea-surface temperatures hovered at about 108 degrees Fahrenheit (42 degrees Celsius) near the beginning of the Ordovician, 490 million years ago, researchers found.

The temperature fell dramatically to modern-day tropical climes by 470 million years ago, then cooled further during a brief glacial period to about 73 degrees Fahrenheit (23 degrees Celsius) around 443 million years ago. As oceans cooled to modern levels, life bloomed. At the beginning of the period, the sea averaged about 350 to 400 species, but those numbers soon spiked to more than 1,700, Barnes explained.
"What we can show in this is that this sudden expansion in the evolution of life occurred only over about five to ten million years. Thats really quite astonishing," Barnes said.

New Technique
Traditionally scientists have used oxygen isotopes-versions of an element with different masses-to measure ancient ocean temperatures. That's because ratios of these isotopes change based on sea temperatures.

Kimberly Johnson for National Geographic News
July 28, 2008

HK flight terror as hole opens in jumbo mid-air

HK flight terror as hole opens in jumbo mid-air
Nearly 350 passengers had a terrifying experience soon after taking off from Hong Kong yesterday when a chunk of fuselage of the Melbourne-bound jet they were travelling in blew off in mid-air.

Oxygen masks dropped as the pilot took the Qantas Airways Boeing 747 down 5,800 metres in seconds to depressurise the cabin, before making an emergency landing in Manila.

Despite what some passengers described as a "terrifying ordeal", no one was injured in the incident, which left the aircraft with a hole about 2 metres by 4 metres in its underbelly. Some passengers vomited after landing.

The hole went completely through the fuselage and caused what the pilot called "explosive decompression".

A video taped by a passenger of the panel on the back of a passenger seat showed a sudden change in altitude from 8,800 metres to 3,000 metres within seconds.

One passenger heard a loud bang before the plane made its sudden descent.
"There was a terrific boom, and bits of wood and debris just flew forward into the first [class], and the oxygen masks dropped down ... it was absolutely terrifying, but I have to say everyone was very calm."

Another passenger, Marina Scaffidi, said the hole extended from the cargo hold into the passenger cabin, and there was wind swirling around the plane and some condensation, but no one was "too hysterical".

Flight QF30 landed at Manila's international airport just after 11am.The 346 passengers - including 70 who boarded in Hong Kong - and 19 crew were put up in hotels. Qantas arranged for the passengers to board another plane just after 11pm. They were due to arrive in Melbourne this morning.

A Qantas spokeswoman said the cause of the incident was under investigation.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau said the descent, "in accordance with established procedures", was necessary in face of the rapid decompression of the cabin.

Anita Lam and Associated Press Jul 26, 2008

SCMP

HK’s hotel industry remains strong

HK’s hotel industry remains strong
Hong Kong’s hotel industry is expected to remain strong – despite tough competition from hotels elsewhere in Asia – including Macau, a vice-president of a hotel investment consultancy said.

Chee Hok-yean, the executive vice president of Jones Lang Lasalle – a company specialising in real estate investment services – said the accessibility of Hong Kong appealed to visitors. This was an advantage to the Hong Kong hotel industry.

"People will still come to Hong Kong to get to Macau because basically, the accessibility to Macau directly is not able to meet with the number of arrivals," Ms Chee said during an interview on RTHK’s Radio 3.

Recent industry statistics show large numbers of visitor arrivals and business demand in Hong Kong.

According to the Hong Kong Tourism board, Hong Kong saw a 6.3 per cent year-on-year rise in number of the number of visitors to the city. Some 12 million visitors came to Hong Kong during the first five months of the year. That is a 9.5 per cent increase compared with a year before.

The demand for hotel services is increasing. In May, 58.4 per cent of visitors stayed in the city for at least one night.

Ms Chee said although there were more internationally branded hotels established in Macau this year, Hong Kong still has its attraction because it has a wider range of hardware and facilities – which appeal to different types of visitors with a variety of needs.

What they have on offer “in Macau is mainly entertainment and gambling, whereas for Hong Kong, it is lot more varied for businesses and Hong Kong has other attractions like Disneyland and Ocean Park”, she said.

She also expected the room rates in Hong Kong would increase on average by 5 per cent next year.

The latest research on the Hong Kong and Macau hotel sector conducted by Jones Lang Lasalle, revealed that until April 2008, room rates of five-star hotels in Hong Kong continued to soar relative to the same period last year.

It also pointed out that despite the total net addition of around 8,000 rooms and strong double-digit growth in room rates over the past two years, hotels in Hong Kong consistently achieved high average occupancy levels in excess of 80 per cent in 2005 and 2006.

Meanwhile, the hotel industry in Macau is growing as many international investors invest in the Macau market. These include the establishment of the Sands Hotel in 2004, Wynn Hotel in 2006 and Venetian Hotel in 2007.

SCMP

Hilda Wong 7:08pm, Jul 24, 2008

Batman - The Dark Knight Trailer

My victorious day in Hong Kong

Don't press the button that you're really sure if you wanna be like ....(you know),
I was taking a bus in HK. The problem is, people in HK have to press a button before they get off a bus. I know that people will not stare at me if I press the button, I yelled from my seat at the back to the bus driver to tell him to stop at the next corner and I literally quiet the whole bus. People just stared at me. Anyway, it was a good experience.

My victorious day in Zagreb

Don't press any button unless you're absolutely sure. I was taking a tram in Zagreb. The problem is, people in HK have to press a button before they get off a bus. I did the same by pressing a red button. It turned out to be an emergency stop button and I literally stopped the whole tram. People just stared at me. Anyway, it was a good experience.

Vacation

Dear students,

I'm going on my trip to Europe today and the daily update for this blog will be suspended. During my leave, if I can have access to Internet, I'll update this blog to tell you things of interest.

Anyway, enjoy your summer vacation.

Regards,

Mr. Fu

A letter to the coming 7AB1 students

Dear students,

You've just received your final academic results. Not many of you actually care too much. You've accepted the fact that it is quite impossible for you to pass your AL subjects. Think about it. What can you do if you get 2 passes in the two languages and nothing else. What can you do? What will happen if you can only get one pass? In an even worse scenario, you'll just get "F" and "U" only. Don't forget why you are at NMC. You told yourself that you were a bit lazy and you will not be the same in AL. Well, after one year, things haven't changed much. You still get the same bad results. Can you give yourself a better explanation?

Maybe I was naive. I thought that I could change you and made you better "NMC" students. But I think I have failed, at least for now. If you want to escape the fate of becoming another "NMC" student, please, please don't waste this summer. DO SOMETHING NOW! I hope I can see a better AB1 after the summer vacation.

Make better use of your vacation.

Mr. Fu

[A+] Legco passes race discrimination bill

The Legislative Council on Thursday passed the Race Discrimination Bill after lawmakers succeeded in striking out a controversial clause exempting language discrimination.

The bill had been controversial -€“ with conservative critics arguing it was unnecessary -€“ but with supporters saying such a law was long overdue to protect minority groups and bring Hong Kong's anti-discrimination laws into line with other countries and United Nations requirements.

A number of minority groups -€“ including Indians, Pakistanis and Filipinos in the past have complained about unfair treatment at work or from government departments. Some mainland Chinese have also claimed to be victims of discrimination.

But Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Stephen Lam Sui-lung stressed on Thursday that different ethnic groups would benefit from the bill.

“We will have a new situation in Hong Kong whereby different ethnic groups will feel that they are being better served,” he said.

He said the new law was needed to make Hong Kong a modern, international city.

“The government has every intention of creating an environment in which both Chinese and other ethnic groups will feel very much that they are part of the international community of Hong Kong -€“ Asia's world city,” he said.

Asked if the outcome was a surprise for the government, Mr Lam said: “The passage marks a major milestone in the provision of services and statutory provisions regarding anti-discrimination protection for ethnic minorities in Hong Kong.”

However, Mr Lam, did not elaborate when asked whether the bill would be passed into law in its current form, local radio reported.

Recent debates on the bill in the Legislative Council have focused on language discrimination. Amendments raised by the Bills Committee chairwoman Margaret Ng Ngoi-yee addressed these concerns — but this week, Ms Ng's amendments were voted down, amid impassioned debate.

But Ms Ng's amendment on language did garnet the support of the unionists. During a debate over an amendment which had aimed to remove an exemption on language discrimination, lawmaker Wong Kwok-hing, of the Federation of Trade Unions, said: “Ensuring ethnic minorities are given fair treatment with regards to their language is a fundamental requirement of a racial discrimination law. I support Ms Ng's amendment.”

While the amendments were rejected, enough legislators voted for the bill without the controversial exemptions allowing the bill to be passed. But Ms Ng was still unhappy that other clauses that allow the government in certain situations not to be sued for discriminatory behaviour, were still going through in the passed bill.

She said it was still an inadequate bill and the government would need to do more to help provide services for people in ethnic minorities. Census figures shows that about 95 per cent of Hong Kong's population is of Chinese descent — the majority of which are Cantonese.

The remaining five per cent is made up of South Asians. This includes Sindhis, Indians, Pakistanis and Nepalese. Some Vietnamese refugees have also become permanent residents.

There are also approximately 140,000 Filipinos working in the territory, mainly as domestic helpers. Some domestic helpers are also from Indonesia.

There are also Europeans, Americans, Australians, Canadians, Japanese, and Koreans working in various sectors, mainly in commerce, finance and education.

SCMP. Jul. 10, 2008.