Van diesel

Actually, it runs on unleaded petrol. I decided to be my own removalist and hired a 1 ton van for a day. If cars are too expensive, vans are a viable alternative! And if there's even a remote possibility that I get to own a car in my lifetime, it'll be a road bicycle, and a van will come in a close second, followed by a conventional car.Too bad this particular Mazda on...

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Meet the neighbours

I was just coming out of my bath and seconds later, someone was banging on the door. So I opened it, half expecting an Optus guy introducing their latest deals. Turned out there's a woman outside and she said through the grill, "Can I borrow a towel and use your phone? I'm locked out of my apartment." So I thought...hmm... that's a line I haven't heard before. If I opened...

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Pasta bottles

In my attempt to bring a little art to an otherwise empty dining table, here's my attempt at replicating Andy Warhol's Campbell Soup can paintings.The idea, I think, is to make the point that at first glance, it looks just like a collection of similar objects. But there are little things that differentiate each, and it can only be discerned when viewed carefully. Warhol...

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Emu!

The emu is the second largest bird in the world. It's also flightless. Emu Draft is from Swan Brewery, so everything's ornithological today. The beer's good... just right and not too strong for a Friday night...

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Optional reading: Political blog dailykos has an interesting subject for Science Friday on how all of us are potential abusers and torturers. There's stuff from Milgram and Fiske. Click he...

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Funny Aussie traffic lights

Some road traffic lights on Perth streets turn from red to flashing yellow then to green; and cars are supposed to start moving when it starts flashing yellow. I never understood why there was a need for this. What's the problem with just going straight to green? What's the inside joke?I was reading today the road rules because I'm driving next week, and found out that...

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Movie making

It's all coming together. I had originally wanted to make my flight simulator short film using Mary Chapin Carpenter's Why Walk When You Can Fly. Ms. May's Fly Away seems to be more apt, and the best thing is that there's already a screenplay embedded in the lyrics. The locations have been secured and it's gonna be in Canada; Calgary (Alberta) to Castlegar (British Columbia)...

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This Singaporean singer might just break your heart...

I'm just now listening to this singer called Corrinne May, never heard of her before. Never heard of this voice before. With shades of Eva Cassidy, Joni Mitchell and Beverly Craven; absolutely beautiful.For some strange reason, her website provides CD-quality, full length clips of the songs. But I'll get the CD soon enough...

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Seriously, it doesn't really matter who wins Australian Idol. Both of them will have no. 1 albums, so it's all good. What I especially liked was the totally interesting rendition of Waltzing Matilda. I hope it comes out as a single or something...Optional reading: I just happened to stumble across the weblog of this person called Elizabeth, and feel as if I've been punched...

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All aboard!

Crowd dynamics seen in public transportation like trains fascinate me. Like I was mentioning to Sharon the other day, in Singapore, one can see a very strange phenomenon when the train stops and people want to get out, and some want to get in. I'm sure this is not exclusive to the MRT, the trains in busy cities elsewhere probably are similar.The situation is like this....

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Rexed

Now this is an interesting dilemma. At 8.30, three interesting movies and a dog show will be showing at the same time on different channels. I don't think I've ever encounted this before. Strictly Ballroom should be superb because it's done by Mr. Luhrmann. And then there's Top Gun, nice plane (F-14 Tomcat) with nice actor Mr. Cruise in a b-grade movie. And then there's...

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Somewhere down the road...

I was clearing my backlog of aviation entries yesterday; I'm currently in the Middle East, going to Europe next. As I was reseaching for the Jerusalem entry, it strikes me as deeply ironic and saddening that a region of rich religious traditions can be the site for some much death and hatred. The bizarre thing is that everyone has roots in the same place, often at the...

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Press release from the Information Minister!

Only in Singapore (and a few other countries) can one find such funny statements such as these from the Information Minister. Reminds me of Iraq's MSS, hope he's doing OK:Singapore slams media watchdong for low ranking in press freedomSingapore on Wednesday slammed a media watchdog for ranking the island in the same league as authoritarian North Korea and Myanmar in press...

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Another day, another destiny...

The exams are over. An anticlimax is quite an understatement...May the good Lord bless you and keep you;May the good Lord make His face shine upon you,And be gracious to you;May the good Lord lift up His countenance upon you,And give you peace. (Numbers 6:...

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Someone wants to say sorry to you...

...actually, thousands of Americans want to apologise...http://www.sorryeverybody....

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Bad research topics

I was reading my Avantgo and there's this short review of the new movie on the author of The Kinsey Report. Coincidentally, the author's name is also Kinsey. He's a scientist who studies sexual behaviour. 50 years ago, he and his team wrote Sexual Behavior in the Human Male, and later, this, that make up the Report. When you do this sort of thing in the 1940s, really...

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Tipping the scales...

I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry when I saw this. I'm simply stunned silent. One guy asks...How can Iraqi deaths be made to matter? As bad as losing our own soldiers is, I believe the deaths of Iraqi civilians is truthfully our biggest problem. As you suggest, the impact of each Iraqi death is to create further generations of hatred towards us. Only a society that...

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Hua Mulan

Let's get down to business - to defeat the HunsDid they send me daughters when I asked for sons?You're the saddest bunch I ever metBut you can bet before we're throughMister, I'll make a man out of you~Officer Donny Osmondhaha, Hua Mulan is on channel 7 now... so many punny lines. The Emperor just said, 'A single grain of rice can tip the scale; one man may be the difference...

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A little fall of rain

Don't you fret, M'sieur MariusI don't feel any painA little fall of rainCan hardly hurt me nowYou're here, that's all I need to knowAnd you will keep me safeAnd you will keep me closeAnd rain will make the flowers grow.~Les MiserablesI passed by the cinema and decided to watch a movie just now called Wimbledon. Not too bad; I seldom watch movies that has Ms Dunst, but...

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Altruism exists

I've been reseaching for the 'altruism doesn't exist, discuss' exam question, and I think the answer I'd give is 'it exists, but the extent of it is mediated by certain factors', and then use the theories to elaborate on the conditions when altruism's more/less likely to be displayed. Interestingly, the Parable of the Good Samaritan is mentioned in the textbook.A lawyer...

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Exploding egg

Just finished some note-taking; 4 more days to the next exam, go go Gomez!On a lighter note, I was microwaving an egg this evening, started the stopwatch, but was distracted with cutting meat and forgot the time. And then suddenly, BOOM!!! The egg exploded, the hot air forced the egg holding apparatus to open up, and everything was a mess. It's actually quite a cool sound,...

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A soldier's eloquent opinion on election results

4 more years AmericaIf you voted for Bush, didn't vote, or voted no on gay marriage, I hope you get drafted.I hope they stick you in my unit, and you go with me to Iraq when my unit goes back in September. I will laugh when you see what soldiers in that country face on a daily basis.I hope you work with gay soldiers too. I did. One of them saved my life. Think he shouldn't...

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Nation States

I just came across this free online 'game' called Nation States. You can create your own country in 5 minutes during which you answer a few questions about your prefered political leanings, and then everyday, you'll receieve a couple of 'issues' so that you can vote on what position your governement prefers to take.Gradually, your country's profile will reflect your leadership....

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We shall fight on the beaches. We shall fight on the landing grounds. We shall fight in the fields, and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills...

John Kerry is in trouble as Mr Bush has got 51% of the popular vote! If the exit polls are to be believed, 2 things influenced the results: the war on terror, and moral values.If moral values are indeed something that over half of Americans think are important, and these moral values are a derivative of Bush's faith as he interprets it, then on this day, I'm ashamed to...

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John Kerry: One heck of a class act

The day of reckoning is upon us (or at least for the Americans). Governments, for better or for worse, are elected by the people. The reverse is also true. How the citizens of a nation think, feel and treat others is also very much influenced by how their leaders act. That's why I'm concerned about my own government. The position taken by the leaders of the US dictates...

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