According to “Ripley’s Believe it or not”, a graveyard inscription had February 30th.
Julius Caesar’s followers took a day from February to make July (named in his honor) have 31 days instead of 30.
Augustus Caesar’s followers took a day from February to make August (named in his honor) to have 31 days instead of 30.
February became the shortest month of the calendar year with 28 days. It was given back an extra day on a leap year.
The earth takes about 365.2422 days to revolve round the sun, so the discrepancy between a solar year and the calendar year became 0.9688 day every four years (or 97 days in 4 centuries). The first correction was to designate a year divisible by 4 as a Leap Year.
In Gregorian calendar, a leap year is defined as a non-century year that is divisible by 4, and a century year that is divisible by 400. This is more accurate than the first correction.
Latin terms for student
Alumnus : male student
Almuna : female student
Alumni : male students
Alumnae : female students
In modern usage, “alumni” applies to all students.
We sometimes use alum as a short form for alumni.
Synonym
Synonyms are words which have almost the same meaning for the given context.
Since some words have multiple meanings, one must specify the meaning associated with a synonym.
For example, Dictionary, Thesaurus, Lexicon and Vocabulary are synonyms. Their usage depends on the context. In general, Lexicon is a body of knowledge (or dictionary) of Latin and Greek. At one time, Lexicon is a card game where players create words and score points. It was superseded by Scrabble.
Antonym
Antonyms are words which have almost the opposite meaning for the given context.
Since some words have multiple meanings, one must specify the meaning associated with an antonym.
For example, Love and Hate are antonyms.
In Pali, the antonyms of Lobha (Greed), Dosa (Anger or Hatred) and Moha (Ignorance of Delusion) are Alobha (Non-greed), Adosa (Non-hatred) and Amoha (Non-ignorance or Wisdom).
A puzzle based on homonyms : “What is the difference between the Prince of Wales and a cricket ball?” The Prince of Wales is HEIR to the THRONE. A cricket ball is THROWN to the AIR.
Publications – Cartoons Comics Journals Magazines Newspapers Novels Sar Saungs
Calendar
Old Roman Calendar Ten “working” months (from March to December)
Later Roman Calendars Twelve months (from January to December)
Julian Calendar
Gregorian Calendar
Child
Khalay
Khalay Ah Thinn (Association)
Child Psychology
Piaget
Fun
Fun with Learning Facebook group
Fun with English Definitions Palindrome Tongue Twister Word Games (Crossword puzzle, Lexicon, Scrabble, Anagram, Jumbled phrase)
Fun with Mathematics Paradox Puzzles
Fun with Physics Online course
Maths
Saya U Aung Hla In 1950 – 52, Saya U Aung Hla was Dean of Arts. He was also Professor of Maths. He is an expert in music, and wrote notes for selected Burmese songs. His spouse Daw May Than is a vocalist. His son U Mya Than is a Guitarist and Pianist.
Maths Department In the early days, the Maths Department was under the Faculty of Arts. Later, Maths Department was under the Faculty of Science.
Options (offered in different periods) at Rangoon University Pure Maths Applied Maths Double Maths : Pure & Applied Triple Maths : Pure, Applied & Statistics
My Contributions
Five decades as Volunteer of various organizations and projects
26 years as Founder & Chief Editor of RIT Alumni International Newsletter Silver Jubilee in 2024
Member, HMEE (History of Myanmar Engineering Education). U Ohn Khine and I compiled the CD Supplement for the HMEE Book in 2012
220+ Videos (on selected topics) : Broadcast in 2019 and 2020
3000+ Articles in my web site hlamin.com
Former Moderator of RU Centennial Facebook Group Overview of RU Centennial Group (Posts) Countdown to RU Centennial (Posts) Photo Essays and Photo Albums
Memories Memories of PPBRS (Private Primary Boundary Road School) Memories of SPHS (St. Paul’s High School) Memories of RIT (Rangoon Institute of Technology) Memories of UCC (Universities’ Computer Center)
Contributor Encyclopedia of Asian American Folklore and Folklife
Language Expert Burmese Language Project, NFLC, University of Maryland at College Park
Contributing Editor, Dhammanda Newsletter
Contributing Editor, “Homage to U Silananda”
Contributing Editor, Souvenir Magazine for RUBC 90th Anniversary
Contributing Editor, BAPS Newsletter
Bilingual Author
Wrote and translated Poems and Articles
Interpreter, Meditation Retreats
Edited books of Sayadaws and colleagues
New Year
Gregorian Calendar January 1st
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 Mount Olympus, Greece
Modern Olympic Games proposed by Pierre de Coubertin Early period : amateurs only Later : commercialized (sponsors, hosts, professional athletes …)
Summer Olympics Breaks during the World War Postponed during the Pandemic
1936 Berlin
1948 London
1952 Helsinki
1956 Melbourne
1960 Rome
1964 Tokyo
1968 Montreal
1972 Munich
1976 Montreal
1980 Moscow
1984 Los Angeles
1988 Seoul
1992 Barcelona
1996 Atlanta
2000 Sydney
2004 Athens
2008 Beijing
2012 London
2016 Rio de Janerio
2020 Scheduled for Tokyo Postponed to 2021 due to pandemic
2024 Paris
Winter Olympics
Sleep
Conventional 8 hours (for adults) more (for infants)
Could/ 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) but a few days short of his Centennial on December 26.
U Ba Toke
U Thein Han (96 years) Worked as Systems Engineer for IBM Burma Active doing exercises and sharing memories / posts
U Thein Han
U Tin U (96 years) Joined Rangoon University in 1946 along with Dr. Pe Nyun, Dr. Pe Thein and U Sein Hlaing. Former part time Lecturer at Civil Engineering Department; Oldest and Most senior among Past Captains of Rangoon University Boat Club that are still alive; Opened the RUBC Centennial Ceremony in December 2023, Past Captain of Rangoon Golf Club; 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 Tin U
U Ba Than (94 years) Won 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) Now GBNF
U Ba Than
Other Thet Kyees Several of my sayas, sayamas, relatives and friends are 90+ years young.
Time and Motion Study Kenneth and Lillian Gilbraith
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 Timing Records
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.
It is important to check facts (especially historical dates & events) and provide 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 Reprint: Theravada Buddhist Society of America
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.
Attended regular and monastic schools while serving as an Assistant Teacher.
Completed a Teachers Training Certificate.
Worked as a Tally Clerk, but his intense desire to have higher education led him to become a “Kyaung Tha Gyi” at Judson College in his late 20s.
On November 30, 1920 there were two meetings. At one meeting, Mr. Matthew Hunter, Principal of Rangoon College, announced that the Rangoon University Act of 1920 will be implemented the following day (on December 1, 1920). At another meeting at the Jubilee Hall, College students proposed to protest the Act. The “Kyaung Tha Gyis” tried to soften the stand of their young energetic colleagues, but they finally gave in and lead the protests. The Strike was scheduled for December 7, 1920, but the news leaked out to the higher authorities. So, the Strike was rescheduled for December 5, 1920. U Po Kya was not only a member of the strike, but he went on to support the National Schools and serve as “Amyotha Pyinnya Wun“.
During his College days, he studied under the outstanding Burmese and Pali Scholars. Received his BA degree in 1922. Wrote several books including “Myanmar Gon Yi” and a collection of short stories (e.g. Volunteer Coolie for a Kyaung Tha). Some were prescribed as text book for schools.
Sad to learn that he passed away at the tender age of 51 due to malaria.
Many years ago, I met U Zaw Win Kya (son of U Po Kya) at Ava House where he was in charge of text books and publications.
Amyotha Aung Pwe Nay (National Day) uses the Burmese date (10th waning day of Tazaungmon).
A marble stone on Shwe Dagon Pagoda has the names of the 11 students who led the First RU Students’ Strike.
1920s and 1930s
Dr. Saw Mra Aung’s account of “Rangoon University in the 1920s” can be Googled on the Internet.
The early hostels were not inside the Campus. Took time and money to transform the “Nar Nat Taw” and its vicinity into hostels and additional class rooms. Hostel students had to guard themselves against mosquitoes and intruders (from nearby quarters).
Students in the early days include “Chit Dukkha” U Ba Nyunt (later Professor of History, father of Win Oo), U Thein Han (Zawgyi) and U Wun (Minthuwun).
U Nyo (Chauk Htutt Kyee Phaya Daga) was a philanthropist. His donations funded the Rangoon University Student Union Building and several buildings in the RU Estate. He also helped build the Club House for RUBC (Rangoon University Boat Club, which was founded by Law Professor Sir Arthur Eggar).
Chan Mah Phee and Daw Aye Mya were philanthropists. Their donations include a hospital (Chan Mah Phee Say Yone in Ahlone), Hwa Kyone school, and a Tazaung in Shwe Dagon. Their second son, Chan Chor Khine served as a member of the RU Council, and helped build the RU Gymnasium in memory of his beloved parents.
In 1936, U Nu was elected as President of Ta Ka Ta (Tekkatho Kyaung Tha Thumagga), M.A. Raschid (father of Saya Bilal) as Vice President and Bogyoke Aung San as Secretary.
Aung SanTranslation of Invictus
In 1936, the Second RU Student Strike took place. The post has a photo showing U Saw Ba Hein (father of Dr. Daisy and Dr. Edwin), Ludu Daw Amar (Ah Mar), MA Daw Ohn and several more carrying the Banner.
In 1937, M.A. Raschid became President of Ta Ka Tha and also Ba Ka Tha. He would later serve as Minister in the Cabinets led by Prime Minister U Nu.
In 1938, Bogyoke Aung San (Editor of Oway) was expelled, because he refused to disclose the identity of the author of “Hell Hound at large”. The Third RU Student Strike took place. Ko Aung Kyaw was struck by a baton and perished. He was named Bo Aung Kyaw and the Sparks Street was renamed as Bo Aung Kyaw Street.
The Student Union nurtured many students to lead the Independence Movement and to run the democratic Union of Burma.
Dark Moments
There were many Dark Moments during the Adhamma regime starting with indiscriminate shooting on July 7, 1962 and the demolition of the RU Student Union Building on July 8, 1962.
The anniversary of July 7 (in 1963) saw posters and publications condemning the atrocities.
The authorities decided to close the universities (with the exception of Medicine and Engineering).
A new Education System was established in November 1964.
The Universities and Institutes were closed several times citing Security Concerns. Several students lost their lives in U Thant Ah Yay Ah Khin and 8-8-88
It took only a few years (if not a few months) to transform the “Rice Bowl of Asia” into LDC (Least Developed Country) and a highly revered Education System into one that promotes rote learning instead of rational and creative thinking (as implied by the term Tekkatho (Tekkathila or Tekka Sila).
Students were dispersed (some to remote places without proper facilities). Some teachers and students had to commute daily for two hours (or so). Many have to arrange for their transportation.
Resilience
RU and its children are resilient.
They survived to usher in the “Pwint Linn” Era.
Untold stories and hitherto unseen photos can now be seen in the posts.
Many can forgive but not forget the dark moments in history.
Khun Sai (founding member of the RU Centennial Group) was a medical student during the “U Thant Ah Yay Ah Khin”. For his involvement, he was debarred. He has posted memories of the Ah Yay Ah Khin.
For three years (1988 – 1990), RU and the Institutes were closed. There were no Convocations after 1987 and before 1991.
Saya Pu Zaw Pwe
Saya Pu Zaw Pwe (SPZP) is a noble tradition.
In October 2000, I was honored to be an organizer for a SPZP (in a land far away).
I wrote “SAYA PUZAW PWE”.
Each line starts with corresponding letter from “SAYA PUZAW PWE”.
I am following the noble tradition of honoring pioneers and outstanding people. I am trying my best to present their achievements and contributions. I an privileged to have known many seniors, contemporaries and juniors.
Who’s Who, Twentieth Century Impressions of Burma, Five Minute Biographies တွေ ကို နည်းယူပြီး ကျွန်တော် က Old Burma တုန်းက ထူးချွန်သူ တွေ ကို မှတ်တမ်းတင် ဂုဏ်ပြု နေတဲ့ ရှေ့မှီ နောက်မှီ (ဘေးမှီ) သူတယောက်ပါ။
I volunteered as a Docent at the Computer History Museum (CHM) for two years. CHM’s programs include Hardware & Software Artifacts, Exhibits, Oral History, Lectures, Panels and Award Ceremonies.
The Old Burma Group has posts about History, Notable (Famous as well as Notorious) people. I appreciate the invaluable posts as a reader and contributor.
Old Burma Group ဟာလည်း သမိုင်း နဲ့ ထူးချွန် / ဆိုးသွမ်း (Famous as well as Notorious) ကို မှတ်တမ်း တင် နေ တဲ့ အဖွဲ့ မို့ Contributor တယောက် အနေ နဲ့ ဝမ်းသာ ကြည်နူး မိပါတယ်။
I request the Group Administrator and Moderators to approve my posts.
ကျွန်တော် ရဲ့ posts တွေကို တင်ပြခွင့်ပြုပါ Admin နဲ့ Moderator များ ခင်ဗျာ။
ကျွန်တော် က I am
Founder & Chief Editor of RIT Alumni Newsletter
Owner & Admin of RIT Updates FB Group
Member of HMEE (History of Myanmar Engineering Education) : အဖွဲ့ဝင်၊
ကံ့ကော်မြေ (တက္ကသိုလ်ရာပြည့်) Former Moderator of RU Centennial Group : Moderator ငြိမ်း၊
U Myo Myint (Retired Deputy General Manager of Burma Railways) is an accomplished Painter, Cover Designer and Cartoonist. He drew Pon Tu’s of selected RIT Sayas, Sayamas, and colleagues. I am honored to receive his present.
ပန်းချီ မြတ်မျိုးမြင့် ရဲ့ လက်ဆောင် မွန် Pon Tu gift from Bagyee Myat Myo Myint / U Myo Myint (M)
Pon Tu
1964 – 65 Rangoon Institute of Technology (RIT)
I was admitted to 2nd BE (Bachelor of Engineering) in November 1964.
The photo was taken at the Gyogone campus.
2nd BE student
1964 – 65 ရန်ကုန်စက်မှုတက္ကသိုလ် ဒုတိယနှစ် သင်တန်းသား 2nd BE Student at Rangoon Institute of Technology
1965 Summer Inlay Luyechun Camp
I was selected as Luyechun (Outstanding Student).
The photo was taken at the Welcome Ceremony by the Head of Shan States.
LYC
1965 နွေရာသီ အင်းလေး ခေါင်တိုင် လူရည်ချွန် စခန်း တက္ကသိုလ် နဲ့ အထက်တန်း လူရည်ချွန်များ Inlay Khaung Daing Luyechun Camp in the Summer of 1965
1969 December Poem for 5th SEAP Games
Burma hosted the 2nd SEAP Games in 1961, and the 5th SEAP Games in 1969.
The photo shows a page from the Forward Magazine. Maung Thaw Ka (Bohmu Ba Thaw, GBNF) was Chief Editor of the magazine.
Forward
Forward မဂ္ဂဇင်း — ဒီဇင်ဘာ 1969 ပဥ္စမ အကြိမ် အရှေ့တောင်အာရှ ကျွန်းဆွယ်ပွဲ အတွက် ကဗျာ စပ်ဆို ခဲ့ Poem about the 5th SEAP Games
Mid 1970s Universities’ Computer Center (UCC), Rangoon
The photo was taken with the Teachers and Students of CPC (Computer Programming Course).
Dr. Tin Maung (GBNF) succeeded Dr. Chit Swe (UCC Founder, GBNF) as Director of UCC.
UCC
တက္ကသိုလ်များ ကွန်ပျူတာ ဌာန က ပို့ချတဲ့ သင်တန်း တခု Computer Course at Universities’ Computer Center (UCC), Thamaing College Campus
1999 Aprilto 2025 Chief Editor of RIT Alumni International Newsletter
2005++ Paying Homage to Sayadaw U Silanandabhivamsa
U Silananda
ဆရာတော် ဦးသီလာနန္ဒာဘိဝံသ (ပါချုပ်ဆရာတော်) အထိမ်းအမှတ် မော်ကွန်းစာစောင်အတွက် အဖွဲ့ဝင် & စာတည်း Contributing Editor for the Book published in memory of Sayadaw U Silanandabhivamsa
2010 December Saya Pu Zaw Pwe in Singapore
SDY Sar Saung
2010 စင်ကာပူ မှာ ကျင်းပတဲ့ စက်မှုတက္ကသိုလ် ဆရာပူဇော်ပွဲ အထိမ်း အမှတ် စွယ်တော်ရိပ်စာစောင် Wrote an article “A Sad and Short Clip: EE Sayas” for the Commemorative Issue of Swel Daw Yeik Sar Saung for SPZP-2010 in Singapore
HMEE (History of Myanmar Engineering Project) HMEE Book published in 2012
HMEE
မြန်မာနိုင်ငံ အင်ဂျင်နီယာ ပညာရေး သမိုင်း ပြုစု တဲ့ အဖွဲ့ Member of HMEE (History of Myanmar Engineering Education) U Ohn Khine (M70) and I compiled the CD Supplement for the HMEE Book published in 2012 Copies of the Book were donated to Libraries
CD
2012 နှစ် မှာ ထုတ်ဝေခဲ့တဲ့ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံ အင်ဂျင်နီယာပညာရေး သမိုင်း စာအုပ် ရဲ့ နောက်ဆက်တွဲ စီဒီ CD Supplement for the HMEE Book Photos and articles (in English) to supplement the articles (in Burmese) in the HMEE Book
ရန်ကုန်စက်မှုတက္ကသိုလ် ရွှေရတု အထိမ်းအမှတ်စွယ်တော်ရိပ် မဂ္ဂဇင်း (2014) Wrote an article “Memories of a 69er” for the Commemorative Issue of Swel Daw Yeik Magazine for Shwe YaDu 2014
2016 September Alumni Appreciation Award
Award
2019 December RUBC 96th Anniversary Regatta
Regatta
RUBC 96th Anniversary & Regatta (2019) U Tin Myint (GBNF), U Sein Htoon, U Khin Maung Latt, U Hla Min
2019 December Golden Jubilee of Graduation of RIT 69ers
GJ
2019 — 1969 နှစ် ဘွဲ့ရ အင်ဂျင်နီယာများ ရဲ့ ရွှေရတု မနက်ပိုင်း — ကြို့ကုန်း မှာ ဆရာပူဇော်ပွဲ 2019 — Golden Jubilee of Graduation for RIT 69ers Reunion and Saya Pu Zaw Pwe at Gyogone Campus
Father’s Day is celebrated on the 3rd Sunday in June.
Three Generation of Fathers
My beloved fatherMy beloved parents
First Generation
My beloved father
He had NDE (Near Death Experience) in his teens. The doctors said that he had three months to live, but thanks to Kadok Sayagyi (ကတုတ်ဆရာကြီး၊ Indigenous Medicine Expert) he lived to be a father of seven and grandfather of eleven.
He was a Jack of all Trades and Master of Some. He was not an Architect, but he built pagodas and houses (for him and his younger brothers).
He passed away in his 80s.
He would be 109 in July 2025.
Three Generations
Second Generation
Yours truly
I am a Lifelong Learner.
I am a former academic and Software Engineer.
I have two sons and two grandchildren.
My family 1
Third Generation
My elder son
He is an Industrial Engineer.
He has a daughter & a son. Both are excellent in studies and extra-curricular activities.
My family 2
Old Poem
Be kind to your father For when you were young Who loved you as fondly as he He caught the first accent that fell from your tongue And joined in the heavenly glee
Be kind to your father For now he is old His hair intermingled with grey His footsteps are feeble — Once fearless and bold Your father is passing away
Morals & Manners
We had to study “Morals & Manners” at St. Paul’s High School. Brother Austin rewarded those who could recite poems in the book.
There is a saying, “Speech is silver. Silence golden.”
It does not mean that we should stay silent all the time.
If one does not have meaningful things to say, it is better to remain silent rather than rambling or engaging in frivolous talk.
Duration of speech
The length of a speech varies.
President Abraham Lincoln was requested to give a “few appropriate remarks” at Gettysburg. His address consisted of ten sentences. It was delivered in less than two minutes (which was not long enough for the official photographer to record the historic moment).
Typically, Elevator speeches last 30 – 45 seconds, Impromptu Speech (e.g. Table Topics) last 1 – 2 minutes, Prepared Speeches last 5 – 7 minutes, TED talks lastless than 18 minutes), Keynote speeches last 45 – 60 minutes with Q&A.
Message
It is usually more important than the messenger.
The speaker should provide a “take away” or an “action item”.
Training / Aids
I had a book of the 40+ speeches given by notable people (e.g. Winston Churchill).
Rotary Club, Kiwani’s Club and Toastmasters International provide guidance and training for communication (Public Speaking and Leadership).
I am a Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM).
Hla Min (DTM) 2Toastmaster 1 Toastmaster 2
Speeches
Inaugural address by Abraham Lincoln
John F Kennedy’s speech about Moon Mission
Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is known for “The Last Lecture”, where a Professor presents to an audience (e.g. those present for his forthcoming Retirement). Randy Pausch, who was diagnosed with Cancer, gave an up-lifting “The Last Lecture”. It can be viewed on You Tube. It has also been made into a book.
Steve Jobs gave a Commencement Speech at Stanford University. It can be viewed on the Internet. In three parts, he connected the dots (e.g. taking a Calligraphy course to the aesthetic Font designs on Apple Computers.
In July 2015, Ivan Lee (M69) invited us to stay at his home in New Jersey. Sayagyi Dr. Aung Gyi & Daw Emma were also invited to spend a few days before going back to Canada.
Conversation with Sayagyi and Ivan was interesting. Ivan had an expensive hearing aid, but he did not use it. So, several questions and answers had to be repeated.
Ivan took us to selected places in New Jersey & New York. We saw a victory parade of the victorious US women soccer team.
Ivan hosted the RIT-UCC gathering at his house.
Ivan asked Fred to join us in the whirl wind tour of Canada and US East Coast.
Ivan provided his car (Mercedes) & gas for the trip. Fred drove most of the trip.
Stopped at Buffalo & Niagara Falls before heading to Windsor.
Visit to Canada
Windsor
Windsor 1Windsor 2
We arrived at the house of Sayagyi U Aung Khin a few hours late. Sayagyi was calm and smiling. We had a brief conversation before Ivan and Fred left for a nearby hotel. Sayagyi graciously let my spouse and I spend the night in his guest room.
Sayagyi prepared Mohinga and Ah Kyaw for breakfast for all of us.
We paid respect to Sayagyi.
He asked us to choose a souvenir from Windsor.
Ottawa
We went to Ontario, but did not have the time to visit Saya Des.
We drove around and headed to Napean (in Ottawa Province) to visit Sayagyi Dr. Aung Gyi & Daw Emma.
DAG 1
Sayagyi shared his memories and jokes.
We all stayed at Sayagyi’s house.
Sayagyi showed us around Ottawa.
DAG 2
He then took us to a Thousand Islands for a boat trip.
Massachusetts
TAG 1
On the way back, we visited Dr. Tun Aung Gyaw (EC69) and Daw Khin Maw Maw in Massachusetts.
They live about 50 miles from Boston.
Since they were renovating their house, they put us up at a hotel.
TAG 2
We visited MIT, Harvard and selected places in the area.
Connecticut
Toung 1
The next leg took us to Trumbull, Connecticut. U Toung (EC69) and Daw Khin Myint hosted us.
Toung 2
They took us to see Yale and a restaurant where Bill Clinton used to hang out.
Rest of the Stay
Then, it was “Home Sweet Home” for Ivan.
Side Trip
Fred later took us to see his second sister in Philadelphia. Sad to note that Ma Kathleen passed away recently in November, 2021.
We stayed at Fred’s house.
He showed us around. We bought souvenir coins from Liberty Bell.
He drove us to Maryland to see my lone remaining uncle.
Dreams Jules Verne was a dreamer. Many of his dreams became reality.
Oral & Written History Several sayas have passed away. A few have memory loss. We should at least have Oral History.
Encyclopedia of Asian American Folklore and Folklife After submitting sample articles, I was accepted as a contributing author.
Blog It stands for a web log. There are platforms for posting blogs.
Contributors Several sayas, alumni & friends submitted news, photos and articles for my Newsletter and Website.
Dreams
Jules Verne
He dreamed of traveling
to the Moon and back
in a hot air balloon
in a submarine 20000 leagues under the sea
to the center of the earth
around the world in 80 days (a remarkable feat for his time)
He inspired people to transform most of his dreams into reality.
Book
Apollo
In his book, Jules Verne sent three men from a Cape in Florida to orbit the moon, return safely to earth. He used a powerful cannon to achieve the velocity to escape the earth’s atmosphere.
A century later — in December 1968 — Apollo 8 with Frank Borman, James Lovell and Bill Anders made Verne’s dream a reality. The space ship was launched from Cape Canaveral (later renamed Cape Kennedy), which is within striking distance of the spot chosen by Jules Verne.
In July 1969, Apollo 11 with Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin landed in Tranquility Bay on the Moon.
When President John F. Kennedy proclaimed, “Before this decade is out, we will send men to the moon and then bring them back safely to earth”, there was no substantial plan to support his dream.
Verner von Braun, a German rocket scientist (who was captured by the Allied Forces as a Prisoner of War), and his team were given a “level of trust” to work on the NASA project.
It would need baby steps : Mercury, Gemini and Apollo projects to have one, two and three astronauts to man the space ships.
For the Apollo project, it was not clear how to implement the important phase of bringing the astronauts safely back to the earth. e.g. How can a direct hit to the moon cause a safe return to earth?
Folklore said that one engineer scribbled on his lunch bag a “spider” landing on the moon and returning. His dream resulted in the design of the “Lunar Module”. The rest is history.
Take away
If you can dream, others can fulfill [your dream].
My dream two decades ago
I dreamed that I would be able to get the sayas and alumni get reconnected electronically and physically.
In 1999, we established the RIT Alumni Newsletter and the RIT web site (with the expertise of U Khin Maung Zaw (KMZ, EC76, web master)).
In October 2000, with the help of sponsors and volunteers, the First RIT Grand Reunion and Saya Pu Zaw Pwe was held in San Francisco, California, USA.
SPZP-2000 Organizers
Seven SPZPs (Saya Pu Zaw Pwe’s) have been held : SPZP-2000 (in the US), SPZP-2002 (in Singapore), SPZP-2004 (in Yangon), SPZP-2007 and SPZP-2010 (in Singapore), SPZP-2012 and SPZP-2016 (in Yangon). Due to pandemic, SPZP-2000 was canceled.
My recent dream
My recent dream was to get as many contributors and volunteers to compile an informal story of
Our beloved land
Our ancestors
Our mentors
Pioneers and prime movers (e.g. those who helped build the “Rice Bowl of Asia”)
Laggards and culprits (e.g. those who dragged Burma into the Least Developing Country status)
Unsung heroes (e.g. who tried to overcome the “Adhamma Era” and rebuild the nation into former glory)
U Khin Maung Zaw (KMZ, EC76) wrote :
Dreaming and creating inspiration for others to be able to fulfill your dreams are two different animals, if you will, by themselves.
I, like many others, have dreams but we do not have your dedication. perseverance and drive to inspire others.
As I have said many times here, my hats off to you, I am very proud to be considered your friend, and informal pupil.
And to your significant other to take care of you/look after you and your sons while you would be deep into these projects. Please convey my regards to Ma Sein Yie.
Oral and Written History
There were some Sayas that were over 90. H Num Kok (C), U Soe Khaw (Mining), U Ba Toke (Maths), U Min Wun (C) and U Ba Than (M) have passed away.
The leading Thet Kyee sayas include U Tin U (C), U Aung Khin (M), Dr. Aung Gyi (Rector, C) and U Myo Myint Sein (A).
Many of our sayas are in their 80s.
While they still have high energy and keen memory, we need volunteers to either formally interview them or to record the conversations.
They can become the artifacts of the Oral History section of an engineering library (preferably the YTU Library).
There can also be a section to archive the Written History.
H Num Kok (GBNF)
Saya H Num Kok
He taught Engineering Drawing to Dr. Aung Gyi and U Min Wun.
He taught Soil Mechanics to the younger Sayas.
He served as President of the RIT Track & Field Association with U Khin Maung Lay (Henry, T68) as Secretary and U Myo Nyunt (C69) as Joint Secretary.
He served as Line Judge at the RUBC Regattas along with Saya U Sein Win (GBNF) and Saya Dr. San Hla Aung.
He was loved by his former students. They showed up at the Welcome Party in Yangon for Saya a few years ago. Saya took home the banner of the event to his home in Portland, Oregon, USA.
He worked full-time until he turned 80.
He was reasonably healthy in his early 90s.
He passed away at the age of 98.
U Soe Khaw (GBNF)
U Soe Khaw
He was Part-time Lecturer & Head of Mining Engineering at BOC College.
U Soon Sein succeeded him as full-time saya and Head of the Department.
He worked for the Ministry of Mining before heading out for overseas assignment.
After retirement from the United Nations, he migrated to the USA.
He was actively involved in selected monasteries in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Saya Allen Htay (C58, GBNF), Saya Dr. San Lin (C62) and I had a Lunch gathering with him. The gathering ended near to a Dinner gathering. The three sayas shared their memories.
He was healthy physically and mentally before his beloved spouse’s demise.
A few years later, he passed away.
He is a cousin of Dr. Htut Saing (Harry, Past Captain and Gold of RUBC, GBNF).
U Ba Toke (GBNF)
U Ba Toke
He is a Phwa Bet Taw of the University of Rangoon and the First RU Students’ Strike in December 1920.
Book
His life journey had been recorded and published by his former student Saya Dr. Khin Maung Swe (Maung Thin Char) with the help of Sayama Daw Myint Myint Khine (daughter of Arzani Mahn Ba Khine).
During my visits to Yangon, I paid respect to Saya. He gave me autographed copy of the book.
He was an athlete. He played soccer in his younger days. He headed the Burmese team to Tokyo Olympics.
He used to walk every weekend with his younger Dhamma friends to Shwe Dagon Pagoda.
At the subsequent visits, I found the decline of his health but not his mental acumen.
Saya passed away on December 2, 2020 the day after the RU Centennial, and several days short of his birthday on December 26.
U Tin U
U Tin U
He gave an interview for HMEE-2012 Project.
When the Rangoon University reopened in 1946 (after the war), he attended RU along with Dr. Pe Nyun & Dr. Pe Thein.
Most of his former classmates are GBNF.
He is the Oldest & Most Senior Past Captain of RUBC.
He represented RUBC in the 1948 Independence Day Regatta at Kandawgyi along with Dr. Pe Nyun, Dr. Pe Thein & U Khin Maung Wint.
He opened the RUBC Centennial Celebrations in December 2023.
He is Past Captain of Rangoon Golf Club. He played golf until his early 80s.
He still enjoys the evenings sitting in the lawn and enjoying Scotch Whiskey.
U Ba Than (GBNF)
U Ba Than
He passed away in early 2024.
His elder brother Saya U Tin U (96 years) is still strong and active.
Some thought that their longevity is due to their genes. Sadly, their father passed away in his 60s after raising nine successful sons and daughters.
Until a period before his demise, Saya remembered most of his former students well.
Several students have seen his photo albums. Many photos were given to MES for display and to HMEE (History of Myanmar Engineering Education) for display in the book and the supplemental CD.
He is a proud sponsor of the History project along with U Soe Paing (EE, UCC) and U Thaw Kaung (former Chief Librarian of the Rangoon University Central Library).
He donated almost all of the Garawa money that he received from the SPZPs and his former students.
U Aung Khin
U Aung Khin 1U Aung Khin 2
After retirement as Professor & Head of Mechanical Engineering, he moved to Canada.
He still plays Tennis & Golf.
He does not want to fly long distances.
He is spending quality time with his children and grand children.
Ivan Lee (M69) organized two trips to visit Windsor, Canada and pay respect to Saya.
Dr. Aung Gyi, U Min Wun & U Maung Maung Than
Saya U Min Wun & Saya Dr. Aung Gyi
Dr. Aung Gyi is healthy except for some hearing loss. He attended most SPZPs and Reunions held in the USA, Singapore and Myanmar. He wrote several articles for the RIT Alumni International Newsletter.
Dr. Aung Gyi, U Min Wun (GBNF) and U Maung Maung Than (GBNF) were the initial group of Engineering students sent to study at the prestigious Universities in the USA under the “Twinning Program”.
For some time, U Min Wun (GBNF) could not travel far as he has to take care of his beloved spouse with some health problems. His former students from Myanmar paid respect to Saya in Los Angeles. They also brought Garawa money from the various Civil gatherings in Myanmar. Sadly, he passed away a year ago.
U Maung Maung Than (GBNF) served as Chair of the RIT Sports Council during our days. He played Chinlon. He is also a musician.
HMEE Projects
For the HMEE-2012 Project, we requested the former Heads of the Engineering Departments to write about the history of their departments. The book was published in December 2012.
HMEE 1HMEE 2
The HMEE-2018 Project was established to revise the book published by HMEE-2012 and to provide additional material for the planned two-volume book. However, it did not run into completion partly because of the demise of Saya U Aung Hla Tun and partly because of the calamities.
Sense of urgency
Several sayas have passed away and some sayas have declining physical and mental heath.
We sense that the window for having a comprehensive Written History and Oral History is shrinking.
There is still some time to learn from our sayas and their contemporaries about the different facets of Myanmar Engineering Education.
Their stories can become gems for the Archives.
MEC, MES and RIT Alumni Association can help with the project.
Written History
Several sayas wrote articles and/or notes for
“RIT Alumni International Newsletter” & updates
Swel Daw Yeik Sar Sarsaung for SPZP-2002, SPZP-2007 & SPZP-2010
The articles can become artifacts of the Written History section of an engineering library (preferably the YTU Library).
Encyclopedia of Asian American Folklore and Folklife
Encyclopedia
Nine of my articles appear in the Encyclopedia.
The three-volume book was published by ABC-CLIO in 2011. The book was sold for $275.
I received a book for completing eight articles according to the agreement and $10 (for the additional article).
Burmese Americans are covered in Pages 127 to 178 of Volume One.
The Editors decided to merge two of my articles with other authors. Unfortunately, an error introduced by my co-author. On page 150, he mentioned July 22 (instead of July 19) as Martyrs’ Day. The merged article unfortunately was not sent to me for review. The Editors promise to correct the error in subsequent editions.
Folk tales (as told by Saya Dr. Htin Aung and Ludu U Hla) are part of the Folklore.
To read my articles on-line, you should go to “Google Books” and then search “Hla Min“.
Blog
Diary, journal, log, and blog (web log) are ways and means to record one’s experience and thoughts.
Blogging is fun. One can just write down one’s thoughts without caring for academic integrity or historical precision. One does not have to write comprehensive reports. Several readers (mostly SMEs or Subject Matter Experts) point out errors (typos, discrepancies).
Not all media and social media are created equal. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. For example, Facebook is a great way to get connected and reconnected (with long lost friends), but it requires time and energy to navigate the “rolling” and “revolving” posts.
I blog in my Facebook page and then share it with one or more FB pages (mainly “RIT Update”). As time and energy permit, I archive the posts along with the relevant feedback to
hlamin.com (my paid web site)
One does not need an account to read my posts on the web sites.
If you search “Hla Min” on the web, it will return (a) a former colonel (b) a former minister (c) an educator (d) some medical tests & results on HLA (e) some of my works
If you specify “RIT” or “TBSA”, the search engine will return my writings in the Newsletters.
If you go to “Google Books”, then you can find my articles for “Encyclopedia of Asian American Folklore and Folklife”.
On the long run, I hope to post “more complete treatment” of topics. As Dr. Nyunt Wai commented, it is a necessary, important and time consuming step to transform my raw materials into a form presentable as an e-book or printed book. I need volunteers to realize my dream and wishes (of an amateur historian, story teller and life long learner) before my reasonably good memory starts to fade away.
