Alphabet

• Burmese / Myanmar Alphabet (Ka, Kha …)
• English Alphabet (A to Z)
• Greek Alphabet (Alpha to Omega)
• Pali Alphabet
• Pyu Alphabet

Bhamaso Taya

• Metta : Loving Kindness, Unbounded Love
• Karuna : Compassion
• Mudita : Altruistic Joy, Sympathetic Joy
• Uppekkha : Equanimity

Buddhism

• Vinaya
  Monastic Rules of Conduct
  
• Sutta
  Discourses
  
• Abhidhamma
  Ultimate Reality
  
• Pali
  Canon
  Commentary
  Sub-commentary
  
• Buddhist Councils
  First, Second and Third : Oral tradition (held in India)
  Fourth : Written texts (compiled in Ceylon / Sri Lanka)
  Fifth : Mandalay (to celebrate 2400th Sasana Era)
  Sixth : Kaba Aye, Yangon (to celebrate 2500th Sasana Era)

• What the Buddha Taught
  by Dr. Rahula Walpole
  Translation by U Kelasa
  
• In His Own Words
  by Bikkhu Bodhi
  Course / book by U Silananda

Burmese

• Burmese Language
  Spoken Burmese
  Written Burmese
  
• Burmese Department
  In Myanmar
  Overseas
  
• Burmese Sayas
  U Pe Maung Tin
  U E Maung
  U Wun
  
• Khit San Sar Pay
  ICS U Sein Tin (Theikpan Maung Wa)
  U Thein Han (Zawgyi)
  U Wun (Minthuwun)
  
• Burmese Language Commission
  Bohmu Ba Thaung
  U San Lwin
  
• Text books
  Primary
  Middle School
  High School
  University
  
• References
  Dictionary (Abhidan)
  Encyclopedia (Swel Sone Kyan)
  Grammar (Thadda)
  Proverbs (Sagar Pone)
  Spelling (Thutt Pone)
  
• Publications
  Cartoons
  Comics
  Journals
  Magazines
  Newspapers
  Novels

Calendar

• Old Roman Calendar
  Ten “working” months (from March to December)
• Later Roman Calendars
  Twelve months
• Julian Calendar
• Gregorian Calendar

Child

• Khalay
• Khalay Ah Thinn
• Child Psychology
• Piaget

Fun

• Fun with Learning
  Facebook group
  Web site
  
• Fun with English
  Definitions
  Word Games (Crossword puzzle, Lexicon, Scrabble, Anagram, Jumbled phrase)
  
• Fun with Mathematics
  Paradox
  Puzzles
  
• Fun with Physics
  Online course

Mathematics

In 1950 – 52, Saya U Aung Hla was Dean of Arts. Saya was also Professor of Mathematics. Saya is an expert in music. He wrote notes for selected Burmese songs.His spouse Daw May Than is a famous vocalist. His son Ko Mya Than is a Band Leader, Guitarist and Pianist.

Later, Mathematics became a Department under the Faculty of Science.

Options (offered in different periods)

• Pure Maths
• Applied Maths
• Double Maths : Pure, Applied
• Triple Maths : Pure, Applied, Statistics

My Contributions

• Five decades as volunteer of various organizations / projects
• 20+ years as Founder / Editor of RIT Alumni International Newsletter 100 Videos (on selected topics)
• 2000+ Articles (in my web site)
• 30+ “Overview of RU Centennial Group Posts”
• 10+ “Countdown to RU Centennial”
• Memories (including interviews)

New Year

• Gregorian Calendar
  January 1
• Lunar New Year
  aka “Chinese New Year” and “Tet”
  January or February
• Persian New Year
  aka “First day of Spring”
  around March 21
• Myanmar New Year
  aka “Thingyan”
  Mid April
  cf : Songkran in Thailand
• Karen New Year
• Bringing in the New Year
  Celebrations of New Year’s Eve (December 31)
  e.g. Dropping the ball at Times Square in New York

Olympics

• Ancient Games (in Greece)
• Modern Games (proposed by Pierre de Coubertin)
  Early period : amateurs only
  Later : commercialized (sponsors, hosts, professional athletes …)
• 1936 Berlin
• 1948 London
• 1952 Helsinki
• 1956 Melbourne
• 1960 Rome
• 1964 Tokyo
• 1968 Montreal
• 1972 Munich
• 1976 Montreal
• 1980 Moscow
• 1984 Los Angeles
• 1988 Soeul
• 1992 Barcelona
• 1996 Atlanta
• 2000 Sydney
• 2004 Athens
• 2008 Beijing
• 2012 London
• 2016 Rio de Janerio
• 2020 Scheduled for Tokyo (Postponed due to pandemic)

Sleep

• Conventional : 8 hours
• Should vary with person
  e.g. my uncle slept 4 hours, but he had power naps in the day
• Rationale for sleep
  Rest
  “Clean up garbage” in the brain
  Activities by the Subconscious (e.g. problem solving)
• Sleep studies
  Dream
  Sleep Apnea (Breathing difficulties)
  Monitor brain (for a specified period)
  Effect of duration (too little, too much)
  Effect of rhythm (specified time to go to sleep)
• Miscellaneous
  Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise
  The story of Pauk Kyaing
  

Thet Kyee Sayas and Alumni

Sayagyi U Ba Toke

• Phwa Bet Taw of Rangoon University in December 1920
• Book about his life and achievements by Dr. Khin Maung Swe (Maung Thin Char, GBNF) Saya of our sayas
• Passed away on December 2, 2020 (the day after the RU Centennial Celebrations)

U Thein Han (91+ years)

• Worked as Systems Engineer for IBM Burma
• Active doing exercises and sharing memories / posts

U Tin U (91+ years)

• Joined RU in 1946 along with Dr. Pe Nyun (Pediatric Surgeon, GBNF), Dr. Pe Thein (Minister, Professor, GBNF) and U Sein Hlaing, Professor of Electrical Engineering, GBNF)
• Former part time Lecturer at Civil Engineering Department
• Most senior among Past Captains of Rangoon University Boat Club (RUBC) that are still alive. H.E U Maung Maung Than Tun is a few months older than U Tin U and is the oldest among Past Captains.
• Past Captain of Rangoon Golf Club (RGC)
• Lost his beloved spouse Dr. Daw Khin Nyunt, his eldest son Dr. Khin Tun (Peter, MRCP, Former Associate Dean of Oxford University) and his son-in-law U Tin Tun within a few months (late 2019 to May 2020)

U Ba Than (90+ years)

• Collegiate Scholarship in 1947
• Gold Medalist for highest score in Intermediate Examinations for 1948 and 1949
• Retired as Professor and Head of Mechanical Engineering
• Early supporter of HMEE-2012 (History of Myanmar Engineering Education)

Other Thet Kyees

Several of my sayas, sayamas, relatives and friends are 80+ years young.

Time

• Clock / Watch
• Calendar
• Time and Motion Study
• Time Management
• Five minute biographies
• One minute manager …
• Early responder (within 4 or 5 minutes)
• Gettysburg Address (less than 2 minutes)
• TED Talk (less than 18 minutes)
• Toastmaster Speech (typically 5 to 7 minutes)
• Sports
  

To Err Is Human

• “To err is human, but to make blunders use a computer indiscriminately.”
• Some software “auto-corrects” words incorrectly.
• In our younger days, there was a good Scrabble player named James Thet Wai (Proof Reader for the Guardian newspaper).
• Burmese publications have language experts (Burmese, English, Pali).
• Before the Internet, the production of a good book requires the expertise of editors and reviewers.
• Even then, some typos and discrepancies can appear.
  e.g A reference book described Rajiv Gandhi as the “younger” son of Indira Gandhi.
• Note that articles on the Internet / Social Media — with lax reviews — can have typos and errors.
• An entry on Dr. Ba Than lists Dr. Aung Than as his son.
• Another article claimed that Prof. U E Maung was “Bagyi Aung”.
• One author did not know the time line / order of Arzani Nay and the assassination of ICS U Tin Tut.
• “To err is human. To forgive divine.”
• However, it is important to check facts (especially historical dates and events) and provide feedback / correction.

YMBA

• Young Men’s Buddhist Association
  
• Illustrated History of Buddhism
  Mahagandayone Sayadaw Ashin Janakabhivamsa (Author)
  Saya U Ba Kyi (Artist)
  First edition : Myanmar text
  Supplement : English text

YMCA

• Young Men’s Christian Association
  
• N. Smith
  Invented Basketball
  
• Dale Carnegie
  How to win friends and influence people
  How to stop worrying and start living
  How to improve your diction
  
• Dr. Ralph Smedley
  Public Speaking and Leadership
  Precursor to Toastmasters International

Zero

Numerals

• Hindu-Arabic numeral : 0
• No such Roman numeral

Miscellaneous

• The Dawn of Nothing
• Positional number system
• 0-based numbering
• Nil
• Null
• Nothing
• Often used to represent “False” in two-valued logic.
• Absolute Zero (temperature)
• Ground Zero
• Zero in

Zoom

Lens

• Photographers and Videographers often use Zoom lens for special effect.
• The more we grow older the more we have to avoid “zoom camera” to our face.

Zoom In and Zoom Out

• We zoom in when we want to see things in detail.
• We zoom out when we need to see things in the bigger picture.

Teleconferencing

• Zoom is a system for teleconferencing.
• Usage grew dramatically during the pandemic
• Free version
• Deluxe version