Environment: Tetra Pak Carton Recycling

Okay, since I think you will need some time to try out the homework I have assigned to you last week, so I will postpone my blog entry on writing till Friday. Till then, we will look at some simpler things and hopefully I can raise your awareness in this.

When you buy some packet drinks from a supermarket, you actually buy the carton as well. You drink the liquid and throw away the carton. But do you know that the carton is actually designed to be recyclable?

Image from ecosherpa.com

Now, don't start throwing your milk carton into the recycle bins if you are in Hong Kong, because nope, Hong Kong doesn't help with the recycling of milk carton. In UK, they do. From the Local Government Channel,

"Tetra Pak
Tetra Pak is committed to boosting carton recycling rates in the UK. In this year alone, they have announced a £300,000 fund available for local authorities wanting to establish carton collection schemes in their area and have hired a national recycling officer dedicated to making sure it happens."


Exactly, how they do this? Here is a not-so-interesting but informative video to watch:

What is really inside a Tetra Pak container?

Image from Wikipedia

That means, it contain lots of plastics, paper and aluminium, which theoretically speaking, can all be recycled.

And here is a video of a recycle factory of Tetra Pak in action:

So, what has the Hong Kong government do about this carton recycling? They wanted more land for rubbish dumping, of course!


Homework:
How come I used  "theoretically speaking" when I wrote "That means, it contain lots of plastics, paper and aluminium, which theoretically speaking, can all be recycled"?

Resources:
Local Government Channel in UK

http://www.localgovernmentchannel.com/news/v/carton_recycling_let_s_make_it_happen_/to/recycling_waste/

Recycling Tetra Pak Milk Cartons on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJt9J0jtl6s

Tetra Pak on Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetra_Pak#Criticism

Tetra Pak USA Environmental Video on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niHuji9d_mI&feature=related

Video and Slang: US-Sino Currency Rap Battle

Something extra for your weekend, found a new and funny animation on YouTube, with a few slang terms we have gone through in the class (for those of you who have completed level 3 with me).

Sounds like something for the G20 in Korea. Have a nice weekend!

Vocabulary:

frenemy -- (n) (humorous) Someone who pretends to be your friend, but is really your enemy.
manipulator --  [C] mainlydisapproving a person who controls people to their own advantage, often unfairly or dishonestly

wag sb's finger -- A motion done with the finger, usually done to scold someone. See The Other F-words
Smörgåsbord -- (n) s a type of Scandinavian meal served buffet-style with multiple dishes of various foods on a 
table, originating in Sweden.^[1] In Norway it is called koldtbord and in Denmark it is called kolde bord. 
recession -- [C or U] a period when the economy of a country is not successful and conditions for business are bad
concession -- (n) [C or U] something which is allowed or given up, often in order to end a disagreement, or the act of allowing or giving this
discombobulated -- (adj) confused, embarrassed, upset
denominate -- (vb) To specify a monetary unit
kibble -- (n) something that has been kibbled -- to grind something coarsely, especially grain for use as animal feed
smack -- (n) [C] a hit from someone's flat hand as a punishment




Resources:
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/frenemy
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/manipulator
http://lockyep.blogspot.com/2010/06/vocabulary-other-f-words.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sm%C3%B6rg%C3%A5sbord
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/recession
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/concession_1
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/discombobulated
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/denominate
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/kibble
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/smack_2

Business Writing: How to write like a pro? -- Part 1

Image from i.dailymail.co.uk

I am glad that 3 of you did try to do the homework I put up on Wednesday.

Before we look into the examples, let me through you a term in computational linguistics -- Lexical Density,    meaning how packed a piece of written work is with content words. In simple words, lexical density is how many important words / keywords are there in one sentence compared with unimportant words/non-keywords.

The Learning and Teaching Unit of The University of South Australia has a website on Readability, meaning how easy or difficult is a piece of written work to read or understand. Under the page of content words and lexical density you can find a detail description (with examples) regarding the topic, and you are highly recommended to read it. But maybe before you read it, you can first read my simpler version,

Image from Wikipedia

eg 1 . Armadillo is an animal which has an armour shell and it is similar to leather.
Content words: 7
Total words: 15
Lexical density = 46.7%

eg 2 . Armadillo is an animal with leathery armour shell.

Content words: 5

Total words: 8

Lexical density = 62.5%

eg 3. A leathery armour-shelled armadillo ...

Content words: 4

Total words: 5

Lexical density = 80%

From the above examples, you can see that the higher the lexical density, the more compact the sentence / expression is and the richer the information is. A point to note is that eg 3 isn't even a complete sentence, which means you can still pack more information in it.

Now going back to our example in the previous article:
***********************************************
Version 1:
Yesterday in Hung Hom at the international Mail Centre, a parcel caught on fire. There were cell phone batteries in the parcel. 510 people were cleared from the scene as some people feared that it was a terrorist attack.

Content words: 22 including number

Total words: 39

Lexical density = 56.4%

***********************************************
Version 2:
A parcel containing cell phone batteries burst into flames at the International Mail Centre in Hung Hom, sparking fears of a terrorist attack and forcing the evacuation of 510 people yesterday. 

Content words: 21 including number

Total words: 31

Lexical density = 67.7%

***********************************************

So now, it should be easy to see which one will sound more professional in terms of lexical density. But exactly,

1. how can we write using sentence structures that has higher lexical density? 
2. does "higher lexical density" = "better writing" in ALL CASES?

If you want to know, do follow my Monday posting.

For now, here's a homework for your practice:
Try to increase the lexical density of this paragraph taken from theStandard.com.hk:

Poor show by MTRC I think MTR Corp did not handle the situation well. It did not give enough information to commuters. There was a chaotic situation because passengers could not find their way easily to other transport modes. Perhaps the MTRC should send more staff and call the police for help in future situations.

Resources:
http://lockyep.blogspot.com/2010/11/business-writing-how-to-write-like-pro.html#comments

Lexical Density on Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexical_density

The Learning and Teaching Unit of The University of South Australia
http://www.unisanet.unisa.edu.au/learn/LearningConnection/?PATH=/Resources/la/Readability/&default=Welcome.htm

Content Words and Lexical Density
http://www.unisanet.unisa.edu.au/Resources/la/Readability/Content%20words%20and%20lexical%20density.htm

Original email from The Standard
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?we_cat=9&art_id=104379&sid=30124276&con_type=1&d_str=20101101&fc=8

Business Writing: How to write like a pro? -- Part 0

Found something interesting from the Google News under Hong Kong headlines. It was interesting because it was just a resume, but it went to the headline. It partially goes:

***********************************************

I’m a very experienced investment banker and I really want a managerial job: REVIEW MY RESUME

10 November 2010

“I am a seasoned banker in treasury and FX, and I used to be the top dealer at a major US Bank. I have been in a management role (mainly treasury) for more than 10 years. I’m now looking for a managerial role in a medium to small-sized bank because I know that, given my age, it won’t be easy for me to find work at a major firm. I am especially interested in banks (perhaps PRC banks) which want to open new offices in Hong Kong or Singapore. I am good at running branches and global markets teams.”

Can he achieve his aims? Review his CV and leave your comments below.

***********************************************

As a brief description of a resume, it looks fine to me. As the introduction of his cover letter? No way.

Luckily, he put a summary right below this paragraph:

***********************************************
SUMMARY
Goal and result-oriented seasoned banker with good experience and knowledge in treasury, capital, FX markets and banking operation. Good at leadership, team building, portfolio management, strategic planning and interpersonal skills.

***********************************************

Question for you guys, which one sounds better?

I guess you will agree with me that the summary sounded more professional, but why exactly is it more professional?

Before you give me your answers as the homework, let's look at another example.

***********************************************
Version 1:
Yesterday in Hung Hom at the international Mail Centre, a parcel caught on fire. There were cell phone batteries in the parcel. 510 people were cleared from the scene as some people feared that it was a terrorist attack.
***********************************************
Version 2:
A parcel containing cell phone batteries burst into flames at the International Mail Centre in Hung Hom, sparking fears of a terrorist attack and forcing the evacuation of 510 people yesterday. 
***********************************************

The Version 2 was from the Standard.

Homework:
Which version do you think is more professional? And why? Think about it. Give you answers on Friday.

Resources:
http://news.efinancialcareers.hk/newsandviews_item/newsItemId-29370
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?we_cat=11&art_id=104736&sid=30222594&con_type=3&d_str=20101109&fc=2

Movie: Ghostbusters

Let's start with a song of sweet and exciting remembrances:

For better and more trailers, please visit: http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi984219929/

Yeah! Before Tropic Thunder, who you gonna call? Ghostbuster, of course! I watched until the VHS tape was all scratched when I was a little boy in London!

Image from gordtep.com

And my favourite ghost, sorry, not Slimer, but the Mr. Stay Puft Mashmallow Man!!!

Slimer

Image from Nerdage

What was Stay Puft really?

Quoting from Wikipedia, " According to Sam Delaney of The Guardian, "Stay Puft's familiar mascot combined elements of real life brand ambassadors the Pillsbury Dough Boy and Bibendum (aka the Michelin tyre man)"

Pillsbury Doughboy

Image from Wikipedia

Michelin tyre man

Image from Wikipedia

Is that all? Not just yet! It is also "the world's first caffeinated marshmallows"!!

Image from staypuftmarshmallows.com

I can't remember Ghostbusters II that well, but I will be looking forward to Ghostbuster III (2012), which is reported to be in the process of scriptwriting, so Ghostbusters fans, we may just be lucky enough to see it in 3D one day! Or even 4D!!!

Image from fusedfilm.com

By the way, have you played the Ghostbusters game on PS3 or Xbox yet?

Vocabulary:

remembrance -- (n) formal [C usually plural] a memory of something that happened in the past

mascot -- (n)[C]  a person, animal or object which is believed to bring good luck, or which represents an organization
caffeinated -- (adj) with caffeine added

Resources:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCHFVTQKqdQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyRqR56aCKc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-sALU_hveA&feature=related

Ghostbusters @ IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087332/
Ghostbusters III @ IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1289401/

Slimer @ Youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMF1Id2ePQA

Stay Puft Marshmallow Man @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stay_Puft_Marshmallow_Man

Stay Puft Marshmallows
http://www.staypuftmarshmallows.com/

Ghostbusters 3 Update with Casting, Director and Story News
http://www.fusedfilm.com/2009/05/ghostbusters-3-update-with-casting-director-and-story-news/

Ghostbusters @ PS3 and Xbox article
http://www.infoaddict.com/tag/ghostbusters

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/remembrance
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/mascot

Technology: My First Micro Four Third Camera -- Olympus PEN E-PL1

Oops, so I haven't talked about the camera I eventually bought and I've just realised that! You think I bought the Canon S90 like I said before? Then you are wrong. I didn't. Which one did I get? Well, this one, the Olympus PEN E-PL1 Micro Four Third camera!!

My very own Olympus

How good is this camera? Let's see what Kai has to say.

Words and expressions you should be able to hear from the video:

1. Guinness World Record 
2. highest population density
3. it's like sardine in a tin (simile)
4. art filters
5. stealthy
6. grannies
7. succession of shoots
8. a tad slow
9. like a beautiful who likes picking her nose
10. compact dimension
11. pop-up flash
12. street photography
13. paedophile
14. terrorist
15. shuttle sound is next to silent
16. DSLR
17. handy HD movie mode
18. magnifying

Test yourself to see how many words these words you can hear! Shouldn't be that difficult.

I got it in Broadway store for less than $5000 and I love it! Everything is good about this camera, especially the image quality, it is definitely something I have been long waited for. But the only problem it has is I can't use auto mode in dark dark night, and maybe I haven't memorised the whole instruction booklet, but I can't even force flash when I can't focus, which means I can only use flash when I can focus, but the problem is, I can't focus because it was too dark! And this happened on the Halloween Bash night. Looks like I have to read the instructions again. 

Other than that, it was great, at a great price!

Vocabulary:

stealthy -- (adj) of movement which is quiet and careful in order not to be seen or heard, or secret action
paedophile (US pedophile) -- (n)[C] a person, especially a man, who is sexually interested in children
terrorist -- (n) [C] someone who uses violent action, or threats of violent action, for political purposes

Resources:
http://lockyep.blogspot.com/2010/06/website-digitalrev-camera-reviews.html

Olympus PEN E-PL1Official Website
http://www.olympus.com.hk/tc/pen/home.html

Olympus PEN E-PL1 on Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympus_PEN_E-PL1

Digitalrev Hands-on Review
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOVXlGVhqUQ

Full Review
http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/EPL1/EPL1A.HTM

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/stealth
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/paedophile
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/terrorist