HlaMin

Tag: Notes

  • Notes 5

    Notes 5

    by Hla Min

    Updated : Aug 2025

    Jubilees

    • Silver Jubilee (25th Anniversary)
    • Golden Jubilee (50th Anniversary)
    • Diamond Jubilee (75th Anniversary, 60th for Coronation)
    • Centennial (100th Anniversary)
    • Sesquicentennial (150th Anniversary)
    • Bicentennial (200th Anniversary)
    • Tricentennial (300th Anniversary)
    Golden Jubilee Present from KMZ

    Rangoon Institute of Technology (RIT)

    • The Faculty of Engineering was briefly known as Burma Institute of Technology (BIT) after moving to the Gyogone Campus.
    • In 1964, under the then new Education System, BIT was renamed as RIT.
    • RIT became an autonomous institute with its own Rector.

    SPZP and Alumni Activities

    • Saya Pu Zaw Pwe is a noble tradition.
    • I am honored to be a core organizer of the First RIT Grand Reunion and SPZP in San Francisco, California, USA in October 2000.
    • I have supported the subsequent SPZPs and several RIT-related projects and activities.

    Last Journeys

    • I am honored to have been a Master of Ceremonies for the Last Journeys of Dr. Htay Lwin Nyo and Sayadaw U Silanandabhivamsa.
    • I was also requested to give eulogies.

    Jubilees

    Rangoon University

    • It was established in December 1920 with two constituent colleges : Rangoon College and Judson College.
    • Saya U Pe Maung Tin served as the first native Principal of Rangoon College.
    • Saya Dr. Htin Aung served as the first native Rector of Rangoon University.

    RU Golden Jubilee

    • The RU Golden Jubilee was celebrated in 1970.
    • Saya Dr. Aung Gyi and Saya U Thet Lwin are among the core organizers of the RU GJ Celebrations.
    • I had a minor role as a volunteer for the “Zay Committee”.
    • RIT Ah Nu Pyinnyashins took part in the Entertainment Program. The “Htee Yein” and “Swel Daw Yeik Ah Nyeint” were attractions. The term “Swel Daw Yiek” became synonymous with RIT and the engineering schools which preceded RIT.
    • The Commemorative Magazine reprinted Bogyoke Aung San’s translation of “Invictus”. The Magazine also had an account of U Hla Maung, who graduated with B.Sc. (Engg) degree in 1928.

    RU Centennial

    • It was celebrated in 2020.
    • Saya U Moe Aung (Tekkatho Moe War) and fellow authors (e.g. Shwe Ku May Hnin) have published “Collections of Poems and Articles” to commemorate RU Centennial.

    Myanmar Engineering Education

    • Engineering Education in Burma started in 1924.
    • The History of Myanmar Engineering Education Project compiled and published HMEE-2012 in time for SPZP-2012. Saya U Aung Hla Tun was the Team Leader.
      U Ohn Khine (M70) and I compiled the CD Supplement for the book.
    • HMEE-2018 is a follow up Project to revise the HMEE-2012 book and publish new material (e.g. History of the Engineering Departments). However, after Saya’s demise, the project is in limbo.
    • The 90th Anniversary was celebrated in 2014.
    • The Centennial was celebrated in 2024.

    Rangoon Institute of Technology

    • The New Education System which made RIT an autonomous Institute with was established in November 1964.
    • Saya U Yone Moe served as the first Rector of RIT. He was succeeded by Saya Dr. Aung Gyi in 1971.
    • In 1964, there were eight Engineering Departments : (1) Architecture (2) Chemical (3) Civil (4) Electrical (5) Mechanical (6) Metallurgy (7) Mining (8) Textile.
    • Supporting Departments were established at RIT. They include (1) Burmese (2) Chemistry (3) English (4) Geology (5) Physics.
    • For some time, there were Visiting Lecturers from USSR and selected Departments of other Universities and Institutes.
    • RIT was renamed as YIT (Yangon Institute of Technology). YIT in turn became YTU (Yangon Technological University).
    • The Golden Jubilee was celebrated in 2014.
    • The 60th Annivrrsary was celebrated in 2024.

    RIT Spirit

    • The sayas and alumni are known for the “RIT Spirit” which survived the brutal crushing in the Adhamma Era.
    • RIT was considered a Dying Breed. The school was branded as “Thabone Kyaung”. The Swel Daw Bins were banished from the Gyongone Campus. Several equipment were taken away to set up a Military Engineering school at DSA.
    • The alumni wanted to pay back the metta and cetana of their mentors.
    • The First RIT Grand Reunion and Saya Pu Zaw Pwe was held in California, USA in October 2000. I wrote the “SAYA PU ZAW PWE” poem. It has been reprinted in several RIT-related publications.
    • The subsequent World Wide SPZPs were held in Singapore (in December 2002, April 2007 and December) and in Yangon (in December 2004, December 2012 and December 2016).
    • Swel Daw Yeik Foundation was established in 2013.
    • The Shwe YaDu Celebrations were held in 2014.
    • RITAA is helping YTU in several ways. It is helping to raise the fund for YTU Library Modernization Project (which is a requirement to get YTU accredited at the Regional level and beyond).

    Stories to illustrate the RIT Spirit

    • I am an amateur historian and a folklorist.
    • I have a dream to compile stories to illustrate the friendly and indomitable RIT Spirit.
    • I will use the articles that were contributed to the RIT Alumni Newsletter and Updates.
    • Sayas and alumni could provide new and old stories (e.g. published in the various Magazines, Sar Saungs, Thadin Zin, Wall Posters, Cartoon Box, Exhibitions).
    • While we have reasonably good health and memory, we plan to pay back to our alma mater.

    My Facebook Pages and Web sites

    I have three kinds of Facebook Pages :

    • One for my acquaintances
    • One for family members, relatives and close friends
    • One for knowledge sharing (e.g. Life Long Learning) and/or archiving my posts

    Not all postings are of equal importance. They can be grouped as follows:

    • News & Updates
    • SPZP-2012 : Count down and Event
    • Shwe YaDu Golden Jubilee Celebrations
    • SPZP-2016
    • Swel Daw Yeik Foundation
    • Alumni Associations in Myanmar & California
    • History of Myanmar Engineering Education
    • Memoirs (e.g by U Zaw Min Nawaday (EP70) & U Ohn Khine (M70))
    • Golden Jubilee (GJ) Magazine published by the Class of 70 & 71
    • 69ers
    • Class Photos
    • Brief History of the RIT Departments by Sayagyis
    • Excerpts from the archives of SPZP-2000
    • Successors of RIT (e.g. YIT, YTU)
    • Where are they now?
    • GBNF : Sayas and alums

    Hope the postings will be of interest to historians — professional or amateurs.

    I have two web sites.

    SPZP and Alumni Activities

    Paying respect to Sayas for their metta and cetana is a tradition that is unique to Burma/Myanmar.

    The tradition is alive and well.

    There have been SEVEN world wide SPZPs :

    • SPZP-2000 (US)
    • SPZP-2002, SPZP-2007, SPZP-2010 (Singapore)
    • SPZP-2004, SPZP-2012, SPZP-2016 (Yangon)
    • SPZP-2020 (scheduled for December 26, 2020 in Yangon) was canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic

    Many alumni are active in the following:

    • SDYF (Swel Daw Yeik Foundation)
    • RITAA (RIT-YIT-YTU Alumni Association)
    • MES (Myanmar Engineering Society)
    • MEC (Myanmar Engineering Council)

    HMEE Projects

    • “History of Myanmar Engineering Education” was published in time for SPZP-2012.
    • The project’s initiators included Saya U Soe Paing, Sayagyi U Ba Than and several sayas and alumni. See Acknowledgement in the Book.
    • Saya U Aung Hla Tun (GBNF) and team (including me) compiled the book.
    • The draft for the first two sections were prepared by Saya U Soe Paing & team.
    • U Ohn Khine (M70) translated Section 1 and summarized Section 2. His work have been revised by Saya U Soe Paing.

    Saya U Aung Hla Tun suggested that the Book should be revised/updated (e.g. every five years or so).

    YTU Library Modernization Project

    • The project was established as a requirement for the Accreditation of YTU.
    • Donations — large and small — came in. An alumnus had made monthly donation of One Lakh kyats for over two years.
    • U Khin Maung Tun (T78), Daw Myint Myint (C69), Saya Dr. Myo Khin (C70) and Daw Mya Nwe (Winsome, C73) and Saya U Tin Htut (M60) donated K100 Lakhs (or more) for the Project.
    • Thanks to Ma Nan Khin Nwe (83 Intake) and the fund raising team. The team had periodically published the list of donors.

    Health Care

    • There were several HCF (Health Care Funds).
    • The balance of “Steeve and Helen Kay Health Care Fund for RIT sayas and sayamas” has been handed over to Swel Daw Yeik Foundation.
    • The balance of “U Khin Maung Tun’s family for providing Vision Care to eligible sayas and sayamas” have been handed over to Swel Daw Yeik Foundation.
    • SDYF provides limited financial assistance to eligible RIT sayas & sayamas for health care (e.g. hospitalization, frequent visits to clinics).
    • SDYF also provides Annual Medical and Vision Checkup for eligible sayas & sayamas.

    RIT related Facebook pages and web sites

    • RIT Updates
    • Swel Daw Yeik Foundation
    • RIT-YIT-YTU Alumni Association
    • Google Group for Combined 1st BE Intake of 64 and 65
    • Google Group for RIT Updates
    • hlamin.com
    • lmyanmar2021.wordpress.com
    This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is spz-01.jpg
    SPZ 1
    This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is spz-02.jpg
    SPZ 2

    Last Journeys

    • I had the opportunity to serve as Master of Ceremonies at two last journeys.
    • The first was for Dr. Htay Lwin Nyo (EP 74), part time Professor at San Jose State University. Ko Khin Maung Zaw (EC76) set up the commemorative web pages on http://www.ex-rit.org. I have excerpted some in my Trivia posts.
    • The second was for Sayadaw U Silanandbhivamsa, Rector of the International Theravada Buddhist University.
    • I volunteered as Book Committee member and Contributing Editor for “Paying Homage to Saya U Silanananda.
    • There is a 2-set DVD of Saydaw’s last journey and can be found as a supplement for the Commemorative book.

    Simple Joys of Living and Paying Back

    • We are deeply honored to the sponsors, donors,volunteers, and well-wishers for the soon kyway on August 20, 2016 at Half Moon Bay monastery.
    • Special thanks to sayas and alumni near and far who took special time to express their appreciation to the messenger turned amateur historian.
    • We are simply following the practice of our beloved philanthropic ancestors who donated for the construction and maintenance of hospitals, schools, pagodas, zayats, free dispensaries.
    • I have donated thousands of hours trying to get the sayas and alumni get connected electronically and physically, and also share my experience as a Life Long Learner.
    • Ko Thaung Sein (Steeve Kay, EC70, Multiple Golden Sponsor of SPZPs) said, “Do not retire. Re-tire.” He mentioned that if we can serve the sayas and alums for two decades, we should be satisfied since RIT is a dying breed.
    • I have completed 26 years as a founder and editor of RIT Alumni International Newsletter.
  • Notes — August

    Notes — August

    by Hla Min

    Updated : Aug 2025

    • 6th month of the old Roman calendar had 30 days. It was renamed August in honor of Emperor Augustus Caesar and was given an extra day.
    • August is the 8th month of the Gregorian Calendar. It has 31 days.

    Special Days

    August 8

    • 8-8-88
      Start of a long struggle to restore Democracy in Myanmar
    • 8-8-08
      Beijing Olympics

    August 13

    • Sayadaw U Silananda (Rector, IMBTU) passed away on August 13, 2005
    • My father-in-law passed away five decades ago.

    GBNF in August

    • My spouse lost four of her family members in August.
    • Her father passed away in his mid-50s.
    • Her mother passed away in her late-80s.
    • Her elder brother passed away in his early 50s.
    • Her nephew passed away in his mid-30s.

    Sayadaw U Silananda

    • Rector, IMBTU
      Chief Resident Sayadaw of Dhammananda Vihara, Half Moon Bay, California
    • Sayadaw passed away in his late-70s on August 13, 2005
    • I was Master of Ceremonies at Sayadaw’s Memorial Service.
    • I was Committee Member and Contributing Editor for “Paying Homage to Sayadaw U Silananda” Book.
    • Accompanied Saya U Myat Htoo (C68, President, TBSA) carrying the box of Sayadaw’s ashes to be scattered from a yacht into the waters near Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
    TBSA

    Birthdays in August

    • Several birthdays in my extended family.
    • Eldest sister
    • Younger sister
    • Grand daughter
    • Me
    • Several cousins

    Birthday Soon Kwyay in 2016

    • In August 2016, U Maurice Chee (M75) organized a birthday soon kwyay for me at the Dhammananda Vihara in Half Moon Bay, California.
    • The sayas and alumni presented me an Appreciation award.

    Friends

    • Daw Mu Mu Khin (spouse of Saya Allen Htay)
    • U Myint Swe (EP74, NorCal RITAA)
    • U Thein Naing (Patrick, La Phet Yay Waing member)
    • They are August-born and also hosted Birthday Parties.

    Lunch Gathering in 2018

    • In August 2018, U Patrick (Thein Naing) and Daw Mie Mie hosted a lunch gathering for the August born at Moss Beach Distillery.
    • They gave me a best-seller book “The Greater Journey (Americans in Paris)” as birthday present.
    • Daw Mie Mie translated several short stories of Ah Myothar Pyinnya Wun U Po Kyar. She plans to publish them as a book.
    This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is book-3.jpg

    Is 8 lucky or unlucky?

    • 8-8-88 (August 8, 1988) and the following days mark the hope and then despair of the people longing for the end of the Adhamma Era.
    • Grapevine says that the event was inspired in part by numerologists who remembered the historic event (about Mingyi Yan Naung) in 888 Burmese Era. They extrapolated the magic of No. 8 from three 8’s to four 8’s.
    • Most Chinese think that the number 8 is lucky.
    • For example, Beijing Olympics was opened on 8-8-08 (August 8, 2008).
    At the beach following the August born Pary
  • Notes (8)

    Notes (8)

    by Hla Min

    Updated : Aug 2025

    February

    • 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 means “male student”
    • Almuna means “female student”
    • Alumni means “male students”
    • Alumnae means “female students”.
    • In modern usage, the term “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).

    Homonym

    • Homonyms are words which sound the same.
    • Examples
      rain, rein, reign
      air, heir
      throne, thrown
    • 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.
  • K – O

    K – O

    by Hla Min

    Updated : Aug 2025

    Kha Lay

    In Burmese, it means child.

    Kha Lay Ba Wa means childhood. The days of the innocent childhood became a theme of the song composed by Sai Kham Leik and sung by Sai Htee Saing.

    We had a Kha Lay Ah Thinn (Children’s Club).

    Kindness

    Random acts of kindness may be reciprocated even by seemingly bad people.
    My father volunteered at a “Bain Phut Ah Thin” for rehabilitating opium addicts. He gave a rehabilitated addict some money to pay for the fare back home. It was an act of random kindness.
    During the Second World War, my parents and his siblings decided to take refuge at Neikbeinda Hills in Prome. My father sent his assistant ahead of him. Unfortunately, the assistant encountered a group of bandits. He pleaded the bandits not to take away his saya’s possessions. When the bandit leader learned that the saya was my father, he decided to guard the assistant on the way to the Neikbeinda Hills.
    The leader also offered a surprise gift — a box of condensed milk — for my father.

    Language

    • Burmese language
      Spoken language : Myanmar Sagar
      Written language : Myanmar Sar
      Burmese language processing
    • Chomsky hierarchy of languages
    • Classification
    • Computer language
    • Dictionary
    • Font — Zawgyi (not Unicode compliant); Pyidaungsu & others (which are Unicode compliant)
    • Grammar — Myanmar Thadda by U Pe Maung Tin
    • Idiom
    • Keyboard
    • Language processing
    • Natural language
    • Natural language processing
    • Programming language
    • Proverb
    • Syntax
      Abstract syntax
      Concrete syntax
    • Semantics
      Axiomatic semantics
      Denotational semantics
      Operational semantics
    • Pragmatics
    • Spelling
      Spelling checker
    • Thesaurus
    • Typewriter
    • Word processor

    Leader

    • Do not repeat the same mistake
    • Ego-less leader
    • Lead by example
    • Make as many mistakes as possible (to gain experience)
    • Pull (instead of Push)
    • Servant leader

    Learning

    • Fun with Learning
    • Life Long Learning
    • Tips

    Level

    • Advanced : High
    • A-level (GCE) : Advanced Level
    • AP : Advanced Placement
    • Basic : Beginner : Introduction : Low : Primary
    • General Honors
    • Intermediate : Medium : Middle
    • O-Level (GCE) : Ordinary Level
    • Special Honors

    Library

    • Private
    • Public
    • University
    • National

    Like

    • Before Facebook introduced emojis, some users overused the “Like” button.
    • I was puzzled to see Likes in an Obituary posting.
      Shouldn’t one be sad?
    • Are some users clicking “Like” without reading if the posting is current or old, and if the contents are really likeable.

    Literary Talks

    • Myanmar
    • Irrawaddy Literary Festival

    Logic

    • 2VL : Two Valued Logic
    • 3VL : Three Valued Logic
    • ALU : Arithmetic Logical Unit
    • Fuzzy Logic
    • Logic Theorist
    • Logical constant
    • Logical expression
    • Logical variable
    • Predicate : Predicate Calculus
    • Proposition : Propositional Calculus

    Lokathana, Venerable

    U Lokanatha
    • U Lokanatha (1897 – 1966) was an Italian Chemist in USA.
    • He received a book (containing Dhammapada) from his supervisor for Christmas present.
    • After reading the Dhammapada, he decided to quit his job and become a Buddhist monk in Asia.
    • He spent his life practicing and preaching in Burma & going on Dhamma Duta missions to neighboring countries.
    • My grandmother donated a monastery in Bawdigone, Rangoon.

    Loss

    • Loss of manuscripts
      Daw Khin Mya Mu
    • Lossless compression
    • Lossy comprehension
    • Win-Lose
    • Win-Tie-Lose
    • Agony of some second place finishers
      Buzz Aldrin
      Post-doc in Physics at the University of Iowa

    Malware

    • Malicious software industry is responsible for losses (in down time, data corruption, identity theft) in the billions.
    • According to one report, the industry is more profitable and safer than the drug dealing.
    • The penalty of offenders for malicious software is “peanuts” (e.g. little or no jail time) compared to drug dealers (e.g. life imprisonment and death penalty) in most countries.

    Mathematics

    • Discipline
    • Curriculum
    • Development (Concrete Mathematics, Computational Mathematics)

    Mechanical Engineering

    • Discipline
    • U Aung Khin
    • U Ba Than
    • U Kyin Soe
    • U San Tun
    • U Tin Hlaing

    Medical Pioneers

    • U Ko Gyi
    • U Maung Maung Gyi
    • U Ba Than

    Memory

    • Short term memory
    • Long term memory
    • Associative memory
    • Memory Feats (Tipitaka Sayadaw)

    Metallurgy

    • Discipline
    • U Thit
    • Dr. Saw Pru
    • Dr. Khin Maung Win

    Mining Engineering

    • Discipline
    • U Soe Khaw
    • U Soon Sein
    • U Win Kyaing

    Models

    • Physical model
    • Mathematical model
    • Computational model

    Movies

    • Myanmar
    • Foreign
    • Myanmar Movies Centennial in 2020

    Music

    • Discipline
    • Musical Instruments
    • Computer applications

    My Dreams

    • Dream big; Others can fulfill
    • RIT Alumni International
    • Saya Pu Zaw Pwe / SPZP
    • Oral and Written History

    Myanmar

    • Myanmar Sagar : Spoken Burmese
    • Myanmar Sar : Written Burmese
    • Word Processing
    • Unicode compliance

    National Foreign Language Center

    • Projects
    • Burmese Language Project (Reading, Listening)

    News

    • Breaking news — Stop Press in early newspapers
    • Censorship
    • Current news
    • Does not stand for “North, East. West, South” or “Notable Events, Weather, Sports”
    • Facts
      Fact checking
    • Fake news
      Biased report
      Rumor
    • Internet
    • News Agency
      AFP
      Reuters
      UPI
    • News Agency Burma (NAB)
      Burmese section
      English section
    • News Media
    • Newspapers
      Burmese Newspapers
      English Newspapers
    • Noun (not plural of “New”, which is an adjective)
    • Online
    • Radio
    • Reliability
    • Television

    Number

    • Binary number
    • Complex number
    • Decimal number
    • Exponent
    • Fermat
    • Hexadecimal number
    • Hindu-Arabic numeral
    • Imaginary number
    • Index
    • Integer
    • Irrational number
    • Logarithm
    • Mantissa
    • Negative number
    • Non-negative number
    • Notation
    • Number Systems
    • Number Theory
    • Numbered lists
    • Octal number
    • Positive number
    • Power
    • Prime number
    • Quotient
    • Ramanujan
    • Rational number
    • Real number
    • Remainder
    • Roman numeral
    • Signed
    • Symbol
    • Ternary number
    • Unsigned
    • Value
    • Zero

    NorCal RITAA

    • The EC and BOD of Northern California RIT Alumni Association met (at least) quarterly for face-to-face meetings.
    • The photo is taken together with spouses and supporters.
    • The background vinyl displays our alma mater.

    November

    • Background
    • Events

    Obsolescence

    • Technical Obsolescence

    October

    • Calendars
    • World Teachers’ Day
    • Saya U Ba Than’s birthday
    • Halloween and Pumpkin Festival
    • Ockoberfest
    • Occasional (Thadinkyut and Deepavali)

    Option

    • One should be aware of “opt-in” versus “opt-out” options.
    • Many do not read “fine print”.