[Wordless Wednesday] Metallic Corner

Metallic Corner, originally uploaded by ihsankhairir.

Via Flickr:
Looking up a corner of the metallic arch of Perbadanan Putrajaya

[Photos] Super GT Race Cars

Last weekend I received a favor in the form of free grandstand tickets to Sepang International Super GT, given to me out of the blue by my students Justin and Hariz.

So I packed my dear old Nikon D60 and a Nikon D7000 borrowed from another student of mine Ee Fen, and hopped onto three public transport vehicles before arrived at Sepang International Circuit.

The grandstand is a good place to start practicing at those racecar panning shots, although in my case, the results are nothing more than amateurish and ordinary. But I'd like to share some of them here nonetheless, for they are still in fact, my photography work.

Lexus Team LeMans ENEOS

Autobacs Racing Team Aguri

The ARTA HSV-010 in the pit

Team IMPUL's Calsonic IMPUL GT-R

The Lexus ADVAN SC430 from Lexus Team WedsSport Bandoh

Nissan MOTUL AUTECH GT-R from Team NISMO

Nissan ADVAN KONDO GT-R from Team KONDO Racing going into the pits

Lexus D'STATION KeePer SC430 from Lexus Team KRAFT

Lexus ZENT CERUMO SC430

Lexus DENSO SARD SC430

JIMGAINER's Ferrari 458 ITALIA

Ferrari 458 pitting

VEMAC RD350R

Porsche 911 GT3 R from Team TAISAN CINECITTA

The 'ikamusume' Ferrari F430 from Team LMP Motorsport

HASEPRO MA IWASAKI aprCOROLLA Axio

HANKOOK Porsche 911 GT3 RSR

triple a Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT2

ThunderAsia Mosler MT900M

JLOC Lamborghini Gallardo RG-3

I shot about 1000 photos that day and these are some of the decent shareable ones.

Thanks to Justin and Hariz for the free tickets, and Ee Fen for lending me her camera and her lens.

Do comment on the photos, feedback about my photography is very much appreciated!

-ihsankhairir-

[For My Students] Additional Mathematics Mid Year Exam Papers (with Working and Answers)

Dear students,

Now that I have finished distributing all your papers back, you can now refer to the links below for the complete answers and working for both Additional Mathematics Mid Year Exam papers.

Click here for Paper 1 answers and working.

Click here for Paper 2 answers and working.

You can use the above documents to help you do corrections for your exam papers.

All the best in your studying!

-ihsankhairir-

[Snapshots] Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, Lotus in My Garage!

Went snap happy in my garage the other day, thought you wanna see what occupies the space in there...

Ferrari

Peugeot

Lamborghini

Lotus

Porsche

Mazda

BMW

Subaru

Austin-Healey

Bufori

Haha nah, these are snapped during my visit to Sepang International Circuit this past weekend... More pictures to come!

[For My Students] Additional Mathematics Mid Year Exam Paper 1 - with Working and Answers

For my students who took the Mid Year Exam, click on this link here to access a copy of the Additional Mathematics Paper 1 complete with working and answers.

I hope this will help you to do the corrections for the mistakes you made while answering the questions in Paper 1. I will ready a digital copy for Paper 2, and I shall release that one as soon as you get your Paper 2 back.

All the best in your studying!

-ihsankhairir-

[Closeup] Pewter Statuette of Guan Yu

Closeup of a 2-ft tall statuette of Guan Yu (also known as Guan Gong), a Chinese army general who served under the warlord and eventual first Emperor of the Kingdom of Shu, one of the Three Kingdoms.

This statuette is made of pewter and is on display at Royal Selangor in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

[Macro] Angry Red Weaver Ant

Red Weaver Ant, originally uploaded by ihsankhairir.

Via Flickr:
Reverse lens macro of a Malaysian weaver ant on an asphalt road surface

Macro shots of the red weaver ant (oecophylla smaragdina) is relatively easy because when they feel threatened, they stay still, lift up their abdomens and open up their pincers. This is part of their effort to look bigger and more threatening, and to scare off predators or competitors.

The only thing I had to worry about was the potential of a swarm of these ants coming to attack me. The red weaver ants bite strongly into your skin or clothes and almost never let go, even if it kills them. So strong are their bites, sometimes when you try to remove them by pulling their bodies, their heads might come off but still attached to your skin.

For this macro shot I did not use a macro lens, but instead I reversed an 18-55mm f/3.5 - 5.6 lens to achieve the magnification and shallow depth of field.

Kellie's Castle

Kellie's Castle, originally uploaded by ihsankhairir.

Another shot of the ruins of Kellie's Castle in Batu Gajah, Perak.

Most of the architectural design of the castle are of Moorish origins. The castle was never finished because the owner died of a disease during its construction, and so it was abandoned.

Wordless Wednesdays - Malaysian Flag, Arched Window, Kellie's Castle

Malaysian flag Jalur Gemilang seen thru an arched window of the ruins of Kellie's Castle

Thank You, for Being My Students

I find it very touching that some students, including those that I don't really teach, actually make an effort to prepare gifts and give them to me for Teacher's Day. Here are some that I managed to take photos of:

Homemade non-alcoholic tiramisu in a glass, by Sarah Nathan of 1 Dickens

Sarah is not officially my student. I first got to know her from the time when I was relieving a Math period in her class. Since then, she made it a point to come and visit me in the staffroom almost every day. Most of the time she was actually seeing another teacher, but since my cubicle is closest to the staffroom entrance, she would stop by to say hi and maybe have some small talk, or complain about her brother.

Thank you, Sarah, for the wonderful tiramisu. It was quite delicious and very nicely prepared.

Acar buah by Maria Adibah Zaini

Maria is another students whom I don't officially teach. I know of her because she's a talented long jumper, and she also accompanies Sarah to visit me sometimes.

Thank you, Maria, for giving me a Malay-wedding-door-gift-like present to remind me that I am still an unmarried twenty-something man.

Chocolate chip cookies by Yau Yen Hui of 4 Columbus

Yen Hui is a student from one of my Additional Mathematics classes. She occasionally misses some of my classes, and sometimes comes in late because of her prefect duties. Despite that, she is a very hardworking student. She is also a talented singer and writer, and sings in a choir at the international level. She also regularly visits me at the staffroom during breaks or after school.

Thank you, Yen Hui, for your cookies, and for the pleasant and open conversations we often have.

Ferrero Rocher from Nicole Joy Sim of 4 Columbus

Nicole Joy is also one of my Add Maths students. She is quite quiet in class, and seldom asks me any questions, probably preferring to consult her friends instead whenever she needs assistance in completing a math assignment. For this reason, I do not know much of her. I kind of wish I do, because I find it very thoughtful (and not to mention pleasantly surprising) that she gave me this Ferrero Rocher fashioned in the shape of a flower, even though I seldom talk to her. She did not manage to give the gift to me personally --- I found it on my table after I came back to the staffroom from a game of football.

Thank you, Nicole, for the sweet gift, and even though we almost never talk, I want you to know that I am grateful that you are my student, and that I will always be there for my students whenever they need me.

Fairy cupcake from Nicholas Teh of 5 Dickens

Nicholas Teh is a student I will forever remember as the noisy hyperactive boy in a songkok that disrupted my class during my first day of work. Nevertheless he is quite smart and almost never hesitant to speak his mind. Because of this he can easily make conversation with any teacher in the school. Too bad I no longer teach him because he is Form 5 this year, and I only teach Form 4 students.

Thank you, Nicholas, for the wonderful cupcake, for making classes much less of a deathly boring routine, and for your incessant unrelated enquiries during my lessons.

...

To all my students --- regardless of whether I formally teach you or not --- I feel very honored to have you guys as my students. Always remember that whatever I do, I always have my students in mind, and all the work and assignments I give you are for your own good and never mine.


I always try to encourage self-learning and self-discovery by just providing some guidance and not spoonfeeding you with what you may already find in your books. I know this may result in some of you not performing well in the exams, but know this --- when you are climbing the uphill road to greatness, sometimes it takes a few tumbles and falls before you can realize what you need to do in order to reach the top. I took quite a number of these falls myself, learnt from them and took necessary steps to avoid falling again.


I hope your climbs and falls teach you better than I may ever be able to, and that you reach a peak higher than I have ever reached. As a teacher, my hopes would always be for the best for all my students, and that you become a better person than I am in every possible way.


Thank you for being such wonderful students. I hope you are having a wonderful break, and I look forward to seeing you again soon.


-ihsankhairir-


Dedicated to students of classes 4 Mozart, 4 Dickens, 4 Edison, and 4 Columbus; to my former students of 2010 classes of 4 Aristotle, 4 Mozart, 4 Dickens, 4 Wordsworth and 4 Galileo; and to all Sri KDU students who make my hours in school something to look forward to every day. I LOVE YOU ALL :)