An old joke : “Which one keeps time better : a stopped clock or one that runs fast or slow?”
RIT-YIT-YTU has both types of clocks. One type shows the correct time twice a day. The other type shows the correct time (in different parts of the world) every instant.
Grapevine says that many machinery and laboratory equipment were magically transported during the Adhamma Era.
With the Swel Daw Bins razed, the old Clocks were the last standing symbols of the Thabon Kyaung.
New clocks could be installed, but the rebellious spirit of alumni preferred to restore and/or repair the old clocks.
Thanks to Beik (Mergui) Soe Myint (M72) and his team, most clocks are running and keeping correct time.
U Khin Maung Zaw (EC76) wrote :
The joke is true, an old fashioned dead clock shows the correct time twice a day. It may not be true if a modern-day dead clock using military time.
Just a coincidence that I have been looking for a small atomic wall clock for my bed room. As the reviews go, many of them on Amazon, the most common failure of these clocks is that it failed to sync up with the Atomic Clock at the DST (Daylight Savings Time) switch. I still have a big atomic wall clock in my living room, which took couple of weeks to show the correct time at the DST switch. [The Atomic Clock is located in Boulder, Colorado, US, under NIST, National Institute of Standards and Technology, a government department under Department of Commerce. It emits radio signals and the atomic clocks supposed to synchronize the time using this signals.]
Just a little anecdote with regards to Computer Time synchronization. The early Windows OSes had a hard time synchronizing the time between them due to lack of coordination between themselves. One very early authentication/authorization package used time-based schematic where it challenged a person, under the wraps, to specify a token – a feature known as handshake which sets an expiration time. This scheme occasionally failed because the return handshake went on to different server with slightly different system time. The tolerance was a fraction of a second. One Engineer came up with a small script running on each and every servers in the cluster, several thousands in those days, calling this Atomic Clock’s website, and have the time synchronized on every servers. I personally gone through this scenario, it’s a nightmare to locate, diagnose and correct this recurring problem. Thank God! Due to this problem. Windows team – and other OS vendors came up with a Time Server/Service, where only handful of servers in a big organization sync up with the Atomic Clock and all servers/desktops etc in the organization in turn sync up its own Time Server.
Most have Cataracts removed from one or both eyes. A few had Full or Partial transplant of the Cornea. Some had Retina Tear repaired. Glaucoma and several other factors can cause impaired Vision.
Saya U Ba Toke played soccer and was active in the RU Sports Council. In his 70s and early 80s, Saya took weekly walks from his house to the Shwe Dagon pagoda. Aging gradually restricted Saya’s mobility, hearing and eye sight. Saya passed away on December 2, 2020 (the day following the RU Centennial), but a few days short of his Centennial Birthday.
When Saya U Moe Aung encountered problem with his knee during a trip to Upper Burma to attend Ah Hlu of a Khamee Khamet, he composed a poem on “Stationary & Movement” with philosophical musings about Life, Illness and Death. A surgery relieved Saya from the use of wheel chair, but as a high school goalkeeper he values Mobility, Agility & Strength.
Sayagadaw appreciated Saya U Moe Aung’s “Poem Gift” on her birthday.
Bagyee Myat Myo Myint gave “Pon Tu” of the then Marla Hall Thu as a birthday present for his beloved spouse.
Ko Aung Min (M69) used the term Vitamin F in an invitation to the 69er Annual Dinner and Entertainment.
Saya U Moe Aung wrote :
Actually, before suffering from knee pain, I had cataract removed from my left eye some 30 or so years back (couldn’t recall which year) and then from my right eye after a lapse of about 10 years. But, I was lucky, so to speak, that up till the present, haven’t yet encountered any problem whatsoever except the need to change the power lens for a better viewing focus.
U Aung Min (M69) wrote :
I had right eye cornea transplantation 19 years ago, but unsuccessful . Again cataract removal on left eye It’s OK up to now.
I was first introduced to U Sein Win by my friend and colleague Dr Win Thein when I got back to Yangon after my graduate studies in the U.S. and resumed my teaching job. U Sein Win got his M.S. in E.E. from the University of Michigan and had joined R.I.T. while I was away, after first working at UBARI (Union of Burma Applied Research Institute) upon his return to Myanmar. He was a brilliant student also specializing in Nuclear Power Engineering and worked for sometime at the internationally known ORNL (Oak Ridge National Lab.)
There was good chemistry among the three of us and we became very close friends in no time. U Sein Win and I also came to be famously known among our crowd to be always pulling each other’s legs and arguing about any given topic whenever we get together socially. As he always said, “we agree to disagree on everything.” Everyone enjoyed watching and hearing us gently rib each other about our chosen fields of engineering. I used to tell him A.I.E.E.E. (American Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) of which he was a member, should be renamed A.I.E.E.E.E. (American Institute of Electrical, Electronic, and Eccentric Engineers) and he retorted by saying how how dull and backward Civil (especially Structural) Engineering is. He even once brought an electrical engineering book along where he had underlined a remark in the foreword that said how retarded structural engineers are and showed it around. The author certainly must have had a very disagreeable civil engineer friend!!
One of U Sein Win’s hobbies was to tinker with and repair electrical and mechanical equipment and I served as his ‘assistant’ very often. For one thing, I was pretty good at taking things apart and he was very impressed by it. Putting things back together is quite another matter though, and that was the subject of some of his jokes about civil engineers!!
Please let me add a few things about his love of rowing and swimming. He and I used to go to RUBC (Rangoon University Boat Club) and row coxless pairs frequently. He was taking German classes at that time offered by the Goethe Institute through the German Embassy and got friendly with the language Professor and embassy first secretary, so we sometimes went out with them to row shell fours, coxed by club caretaker U Par Oo.
Now about swimming. We also used to swim regularly at the the university swimming pool and U Sein Win was a great fan of Jacques Cousteau, the famous French undersea explorer and scientist, and one day talked to me about going to Ngapali and do snorkel diving. I agreed and we planned to do the trip.
We managed to buy snorkel, mask, and flippers from Chopra Brothers Sports Store and practiced diving at the swimming pool and finally flew to Ngapali together with Dr Win Thein and a friend of his U Myint U, I think in 1964 during the summer holidays. The beach was not crowded at the time and The Strand was the only hotel there. We rented a bungalow not very far from the airport for about a week and went out everyday snorkeling at low tide. U Myint U joined U Sein Win and me, but Dr Win Thein stayed in a row boat towing 3 inflated tires for us to hang on to when we surfaced to rest. We did not have to go out far, the water was crystal clear with plenty of colorful fish around us down there. We were so happy with the experience, but U Sein Win was the most thrilled (he somehow got hold of a spear gun before we left Yangon, but it was a rather unwieldy piece of equipment for us even to practice on the ground and I managed to persuade him against bringing it along.)
U Sein Win also loved reading and western classical music, and we used to share recordings and books, some things we seemed to agree to agree on!!
U Sein Win and I remained close friends even after we got married and had our own families. The last time I met with him after I migrated to the U.S. was when I visited Yangon with my son and daughter in 2002. Not very long after that, Dr Win Thein gave me the sad news of his passing away. He was a very fine human being, always friendly, unassuming, and never talking ill about anybody. I will always remember him with a very warm heart and am sure that he reached a very happy and noble abode in his next existence.
A generalist is a person who knows less and less about more and more until he/she practically knows nothing about everything. A specialist is a person who knows more and more about less and less until he/she practically knows everything about nothing.
Optimist, Pessimist and Realist
An optimist sees a glass as “Half full”. A pessimist sees the same glass as “Half empty”. A realist tries to figure the direction (of the water) before commenting as either “Half Full” or “Half Empty”.
RIT Jokes
Set Hmu [Maung] Thein Aung
U Thein Aung (M72) presents the differentiation with U Thein Aung (Met72). I am Set Hmu — Maung Thein Aung. I am Maung Thein Aung studying Set Hmu (Mechanical Engineering). He is Set Hmu Maung — Thein Aung. He is Thein Aung, who won Set Hmu Maung (Mr. RIT with Sa Lwei Thaing) in 1968.
Ba La Gyi vs. Ba Lar Gyi
During his RIT days, U Thein Aung (Met72) was “Ba La Gyi” (full of strength and prowess). Lately, he has become “Ba Lar Gyi” (nothing notable left).
Kar Ku La Thin Char
Saya U Aung Myint (Pet69, Kyant Ba Hone) drew a cartoon:
“Ah Ba, Kar Ku La Thin Char (Calculus) is fascinating. If you differentiate a La Da, you get a Sargalay. If you integrate a Sargalay, you get back a La Da“.
At a 69er gathering, Daw Saw Yu Tint (T69) greeted U Khin Maung Win (EP69) as Sargalay. He replied, “I am no longer Sargalay. I have became a La Da.”
Saya U Sein Win
He is an alumnus of the University of Michigan, USA. He retired as Professor of Electrical Power Department at YTU. He was Technical Advisor for the UCC Project.
Saya left his brand new spouse at Hledan Zay and had a hair cut. He went back to RIT, and had a long discussion with his students. The students asked, “How is Sayagadaw?” Saya’s reply : “Let’s end the discussion. It’s past time I should have picked her up at the Zay”.
Einstein
In our younger days, there were jokes about Sir Isaac Newton.
Later, there were jokes about Albert Einstein.
It is possible that someone made or modified a joke about an absent minded professor and then attributed to a famous person.
Einstein (1)
It was raining. Einstein took off his hat and hid it in his coat. A student asked “Why?” Einstein’s reply : “My hat is new and can be damaged. But my head cannot be damaged by the rain.”
Einstein (2)
A ticket inspector boarded a train. Einstein searched for his pockets. The inspector said, “You need not show me the ticket. You are Einstein.” Einstein’s reply : “I do not know which stop I should get down.”
Einstein (3)
Einstein was carrying a stack of books. He collided with a beautiful student. The books fell down. The student collected the books and returned them to Einstein. Einstein asked, “Which way was I going?” The student replied, “You were going towards the school.” Einstein felt relieved. “Then, I must had my lunch at home.”
Work experience (in reverse chronological order) :
Clinical Reviewer and Senior Medical Officer at U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Assistant Professor and Physician at Johns Hopkins University
Associate Professor, Physician at Hahnemann University Hospital
Head, Clinical Research Division at Department of Medical Research, Ministry of Health
Clinical demonstrator at Institute of Medicine 1, Yangon (Rangoon), Myanmar (Burma)
Demonstrator, Dept. of Pharmacology at Institute of Medicine 1, Yangon (Rangoon), Myanmar (Burma)
He stood first in 1963 with 100 marks in Maths & Chemistry and 99 points (after a point deduction in review) in Physics. He had Distinction in English in HSF, Matric and I.Sc.(A).
Due to policy changes for sending State Scholars, he had to do M.Sc. (Med Sc). Later, he completed Fellowships and MD from UNSW.
He still writes KMU Medical Research Reports.
Earlier, he wrote and translated articles on Dhamma and acted as an interpreter at the Dhamma Talks and Meditation Retreat.
His spouse Dr. Nyunt Nyunt Wai (Amy) did DCH.
They have a son and two daughters. Nilar (eldest) is a medical doctor in the USA.
Feedback
Dr. Nyan Taw wrote : Our batch Khin Maung U (SPHS 63) to be proud of !
Eddie Shein wrote : Proud of you, Dr. Khin Maung U. I always remember your very good signs of ambitions and success lines on your palms.
Wai Aung wrote : I am proud of you Ko Khin Maung U. You are a genius. Glad you made it to the top.
Ye Htut wrote : Sayar U is my teacher- mentor who was just like a swan who laid a golden egg daily for me when I worked under him at RGH and DMR in 1970s. I never had a day that I did not learn a new lesson or knowledge from him when we were together.
Dr. Khin Maung U wrote : Thank you Johnny (U Hla Min) for your kind portrayal, and to all who commented with support and friendship. I am so fortunate to have good friends throughout St. Paul’s HS and Medical School and also during post-graduate clinical work, and to have good students during my teaching years in IM (1), all of whom helped and supported me in many ways. With some time available in my retirement, I came upon an idea. As a service to medical education in Myanmar, I would post recently published medical articles (not readily available in Myanmar) that friends and colleagues in the medical profession may find useful or applicable to medical care or public health of people in Myanmar. In all these medical posts, I preceded with a simplified summary of the medical journal article so that non-medical persons who read these posts can also understand and be able to apply for their own health care. I hope this activity will provide useful medical or educational information to all who read my medical posts.
Mayrose Wong wrote : Wonderful and Genius Doctor, truly and caring classmate, doing meritorious deeds for Dhamma and Sanghas. He is Awesome.
Eiei Tan wrote : Could not agree more, my dear friend May Rose. We are all extremely proud to be his classmates. He certainly is awesome & ingenious !!!
Kyaw Myint Malia wrote : You make all of us Burmese proud. I was fortunate to meet you again while you were preparing for your MD at the University of NSW where I was an Anatomy tutor. You are my kalyana-mitra truly. Regards to Amy.
Tin Tin Hla wrote : Proud of you and your family.
Kyi Maung wrote: How genius you are ko kmu. I’m always proud of u. I used to tell others that I’m from ko Khin Maung U ‘s batch.
Tin Myint wrote : Proud of you Ko U. You stood Whole of Burma 1st in Matriculation from St Pauls High School.
Ngwe Tun wrote : On behalf of old Paulians, l am proud of you Ko Khin Maung U.
Based in part on the compilation of Sayagyi Minthuwun (Eminent Scholar & Laureate Poet)
မြန်မာ့ ပထမဆုံး စံပြ ပုဂ္ဂိုလ်ကျော်များ•
Outstanding Burmese noted for being First in their field
၁။ ပထမဆုံးသမ္မတ=စဝ်ရွှေသိုက် ။
Sao Shwe Thaik served as the first President of the Union of Burma. He was succeeded by Dr. Ba U and Mahn Win Maung. Coup D’etat took place in March 1962 before Sama Duwa Sinwa Naung could take office.
၂။ ပထမဆုံး၀န်ကြီးချုပ်=ဦးနု ။
U Nu served as the first Prime Minister of the Union of Burma. He was also the last Prime Minister before the fateful Coup D’etat on March 2, 1962.
၃။ ပထမဆုံး အနောက်တိုင်း ဆေးဒေါက်တာ=ရှောလူး ။
Dr. Shaw Loo was the first doctor to study medicine in the West.
Saygyi U Razak (Arzani) was one of the first to graduate from Ah Myo Tha College (National College). He served as Principal of the National School in Mandalay. He was Minister of Education in Bogyoke Aung San’s Cabinet.
၇။ ပထမဆုံးအင်ဂျင်နီယာ=ဖန်ချက်၀န် ဦးရွှေအိုး ။
Phan Chet Wun U Shwe Oh was the first Burmese engineer.
Phwa Oo Zun (Mandalay native) was the first Burmese female to provide Social Service for the public. She established the Home for the Aged. Details can be found in Ludu Daw Ah Mar’s book “Mandalay Thar & Mandalay Thu”.
၁၀။ ပထမဆုံး ရုပ်ရှင်သရုပ်ဆောင်=ဦးညီပု ။
U Nyi Pu (brother of A1 U Tin Nwe, U Maung Maung Soe / U Tin Pe & A1 U Tin Maung) was the first leading male actor in a Burmese movie. He founded Maha Weikzahto Film. The four brothers and their extended families founded several film companies.
Professor U Pe Maung Tin was the first Principal of the University of Rangoon.
Note: He was Professor of Oriental Studies (including Pali). He proposed to have a separate Department for Burmese. The early graduates ICS U Sein Tin (Theikpan Maung Wa), U Thein Han (Zawgyi) and U Wun (Minthuwun) founded the “Khit San Sar Pay” movement.
Dr. Tin Maung served as the first Rector of ICST (Institute of Computer Science and Technology).
Note: Dr Chit Swe founded UCC (Universities’ Computer Center) with the help of Saya U Soe Paing, Saya U Myo Min and Saya U Ko Ko Lay (GBNF) and served as the Founding Director of UCC. Dr. Chit Swe, who retired as Rector of Rangoon Arts and Science University, was succeeded by Dr. Tin Maung. During Dr. Tin Maung’s tenure, DCS (Department of Computer Science) and IST were established.
Hajeema Pyinmana Daw Pu was the first female to win Lu Hmu Htoo Chun Su Pathama Sint (First Class for Distinguished Social Service).
Note: She donated for the founding of some hospitals. She is the mother-in-law of Saya U Ba Than Haq (Retired Professor of Geology & Pro-Rector of RASU)
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was the first Burmese to receive the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize.
ဆရာ မင်းသု၀ဏ်စီစဉ်သည်
Compiled by Saya Minthuwun (U Wun, Retired Professor of Burmese; Head of the Translation Department; Compiler of the Myanmar Abhidan; Co-compiler of the Japanese-Burmese Dictionary; Visiting Professor of Burma at Osaka University at the invitation of Professor Harada (“Chit Mann Nwe”); Laureate Poet …). Saya is the father of U Htin Kyaw (former President of Myanmar).
ဗဟုသုတ မှတ်စု
————————————————
*** Some more interesting facts about the pioneers and/or record holders:
Sayagyi Dr. Chit Swe founded UCC (Universities’ Computer Center) with the help of Saya U Soe Paing, Saya U Myo Min, and Saya U Ko Ko Lay (GBNF). They also led TOSS (Team Of System Specialists), which helped with the computerization of various government departments and organizations,
Sayagyi was succeeded by Saya Dr. Tin Maung (GBNF) as Director of UCC. During Saya Dr. Tin Maung’s tenure, DCS (Department of Computer Science) and ICST (Institute of Computer Science and Technology) were opened. Saya served as the Rector of ICST.
*** Some more interesting facts about the pioneers and/or record holders:
Sayagyi Dr. Chit Swe founded UCC (Universities’ Computer Center) with the help of Saya U Soe Paing, Saya U Myo Min, and Saya U Ko Ko Lay (GBNF). They also led TOSS (Team Of System Specialists), which helped with the computerization of various government departments and organizations,
Sayagyi was succeeded by Saya Dr. Tin Maung (GBNF) as Director of UCC. During Saya Dr. Tin Maung’s tenure, DCS (Department of Computer Science) and ICST (Institute of Computer Science and Technology) were opened. Saya served as the Rector of ICST.
Saya U Soe Paing wrote “Computer Ah Sa UCC Ga” in a computer magazine in Myanmar. It was re-posed in “Mandalay Gazette”, a publication based in Los Angeles.
m Mee Bone Byan U Kyaw Yin is the father of “Ka Sa” (Cartoonist U Kyaw San). We learned about U Kyaw Yin in a middle school text book.
U Nyi Pu founded his own film company called “Weikkzado Films”. His elder brother U Tin Nwe and his youngest brother U Tin Maung founded “A1 Film”. His younger brother U Maung Maung Soe founded “Maung Maung Soe Film”.
British Burma U Nay Win and U Kyaw Zaw were some of the scholars who studied cinematography in US.
Dr. Tun Naung (DDS, Luyechun) often played the mandolin placed on his back. Other Stereo musicians included Accordion Ohn Kyaw, Min Min Latt, and former BBS “Local Talent” stars.
Sayagyi U Pe Maung Tin served as the first Principal of Rangoon University. Sayagyi earlier proposed the founding of “Burmese Department” at Rangoon University. He served as the first Professor. Three of his students : Sayagyi U Thein Han (“Zawgyi”), Sayagyi U Wun (“Minthuwun”), and ICS U Sein Tin (“Theikpan Maung Wa”) founded the “Khit San Sar Pay” movement.
Sayadaw U Vicittacara is the first Burmese to appear in the “Guiness Book of World Records” for his phenomenal memory. Sayadaw recited 8000+ pages of Tipitaka : Vinaya (Monastic rules of conduct), Sutta (Discourses), and Abhidhamma (Ultimate Reality) atthe Sixth Buddhist Council held at KabaAye in the 50’s.
Lexicographers include (1) Judson and his team (2) U Tun Nyein (3) Dr. Ba Han (4) U Hoke Sein (Pali, English, Burmese).
Sao Shwe Thaik (Yawnshwe Saophalong/Sawbwa) is the first President of the “Union of Burma”. He was succeeded by Dr. Ba U and Mahn Win Maung. Sama Duwa Sinawa Naung was to be the 4th President, but a 17-man Revolutionary Council staged a coup d’etat on March 2, 1962. Sao Shwe Thaik lost his son in the [supposedly] bloodless coup.
BMRI (Burma Medical Research Institute) was founded by Dr. Mya Tu. His successors include Dr. Aung Than Ba Tu, Dr. Khin Maung Tin, Dr. Daw May May Yi, Dr. Myint Lwin …
Details of the early and/or prominent doctors/educators can be added by Saya Dr. Thane Oke Kyaw Myint.
Dr. Freddie Ba Hli (Sc.D) was the first Director General of UBARI (Union of Burma Applied Research Institute). Saya also taught part-time at the Electrical Engineering Department. Saya later served as a Board Member for UCC.
Sayagyi U Ba Hli was the first native Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Rangoon University. He also taught Civil Engineering courses. Sayagyi proposed the “Twinning Program” with prestigious universities in US and UK.
Before becoming the 3rd Secretary General of United Nations, U Thant was the Permanent Representative of the Burmese Mission to the UN. He was preceded and succeeded by Mr. James Barrington.
U Thant was the unanimous choice following the Soviet Union’s veto of Dr. Ralph Bunche (prominent Black diplomat) and the USA’s veto of the “Trioka” proposed by USSR.
U Nu was the first, third and last Prime Minister of the “Union of Burma”. Dawei U Ba Swe was Prime Minister for some time after U Nu’s first term. There was also a soft Coup in 1958.
Saya Dr. Maung Maung Kha (Physics), Saya Dr. Hla Myint (Economics), Saya Dr. Tha Hla (Geology), … replaced the non-Burmese [mostly British and some Indian] professors from Rangoon University.
Prominent cartoonists include U Ba Gyan, U Heng Soon, U Pe Thein, U Aung Shein, U Kyaw San, U Sein, U Ba Htwe, …
Cartoons are displayed along U Ba Gyan Street during the Tazaungdaing Festival.
There have been adaptations as well as “direct translation” of works from English to Burmese.
Saya Shwe Oo Daung’s U San Shar & U Thein Maung are the [Burmanized] counterparts of Sherlock Holmes & Dr. Watson.
U Zaw Weik was the first Burmese to compete in Olympics. He was a member of the British India team.
U Aung Gyi (flyweight) was the first Burmese weight lifter to set/break an Olympic record.
Ko Tun Mra won 100 meters relay Gold); Ko Kyaw Mra won 110 meter hurdles Silver and Ko Soe Mra won Pole vault Gold) at the 2nd SEAP Games held in Rangoon, Burma. Their younger brothers Ko Win Mra, Ko Maung Maung Mra and Ko Aung Mra also won medals for Pole Vault.
Ko Kyaw Mra became National Coach for Track & Field.
Young alumni (including U Wynn Htain Oo (M72) and U Tin Latt (M85) founded RIT-YIT-YTU Alumni Association (also known as RITAA). Since there was a length limitation for naming, BIT (which was technically a renaming of the “Faculty of Engineering” of the University of Rangoon) was left out of the name. Under the then New Education System, RIT became an autonomous Institute in 1964.
HlaMin 