Glorifying MJ

I'm amazed at the amount of glorifying Micheal Jackson enjoyed after his death. All of a sudden, everyone has seemed to forget/forgive him for his misdeeds (suspected pedophile and the such).

My Facebook homepage right after his death was like - 20 links to misc MJ videos, 35 comments on how great MJ was, 10 new quizzes with MJ involved (like which MJ song are you?) and 250 other misc stuff with him involved.

Remember that it was only a few years ago when people were lambasting him relentlessly. Perhaps it is easier to forgive the dead than the living. Lol?

Wonder of the World: Great Firewall of China

The newest wonder of the world? The Great Firewall of China? It's actually very interesting how China is more concerned about the minor (at least to me) pornography inflows from the web and not the least about homosexuality.

For a society as conservative as China (or so it seems), one would usually expect laws against homosexuals and the such. But the reality seems to the China society is much tolerant of homosexuals - Wikipedia says that about 50% of a survey done in 2000 were in favor of them. Amazing.

The Slave Mill

I was thinking... if we could possibly generate energy from running rodents, why can't we start installing whatever that generates energy into treadmills as well?

On one hand, the treadmill might become a slave mill. -_-

But on the other hand, you might get people to keep themselves fit while powering their home at the same time.

Ingenious? No?

BOB: Animal Style

Barrage of bookmarks - animal style: acts ranging from giant pandas doing handstands to back-flipping poodles.

If this doesn't get you riled up, I think I'll need to scrap BOB soon. Hurray.

Without further ado:

The Back-Flipping Poodle: A poodle doing about 5 back flips in succession. Serious.

Monkey Flossing: Monkeys teaching flossing to their young. Okay, maybe not that surprising.

Chimpanzees with Tools: Digging for honey and hunting with spears. So, if you ever see a chimpanzee show up at your doorsteps with a spear, beware.

All these are ingenious acts, but nothing beats the next one.

Chimpanzees Exchanging Meat for Sex: Hmm, meat for sex. Perhaps that is why people say that prostitution is the oldest profession in the history of humankind perhaps.

Actually I wasn't that surprised when I first saw this article because a friend had previously told me that some other monkeys of sorts were observed to have done this before too. It did however got me thinking about the valuation of sex within the animal kingdom though.

The chimp giving up the meat for sex must mean that it values sex highly (assuming that the meat is not that of far excess). What could had led to that high valuation? That the chimp enjoys sex? It enjoys the possibility of having children? Or that it consciously wants to ensure the survival of the race? Or just genetically inbred?

Psychoactive Toad: Nope, the toad is not psychotic nor is it going to torture any flies soon. But, if you actually want to get 'high', it seems that you can milk the toads in this grouping for its psychoactive venom. Amazing. -_-

And I even managed to find a video on milking a particular species, Bufo Alvarius. Double -_-

Panda Doing Handstand: And last but not least, the panda doing the handstand. And the whole purpose of it all? Just to pee as high on the plant as they can. Faaaaantastic.

High Five

The Economy Yardstick

An extract from Today via SMU:

The next 50 years – Will Singaporeans be judged by a different yardstick?

It has been fifty years since that momentous day when the first Singaporean Cabinet was sworn in. SMU law academic Eugene Tan felt that “to have national pride and success that stems primarily from economic prosperity would mean that we run the risk of our self-worth as a nation measured in economic terms as well.” As Singaporeans look back on the last 50 years with pride, there is a clamour for a different yardstick.

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Personally, I think that's much true. Come on, even our ministers want good pay. Not that I'm totally against it. Top dollars do attract top talents. However, doesn't that also proves that Nationalism is absent within the country? If you had Nationalistic talented people, they should want to take up the ministerial positions even at a pay cut.

But on the bright side, the fact that we live and die by our economy seems to make us work stronger. It's like going to battle with only a sword instead of an assortment of weapons. Obviously, if you had only a sword and nothing to fall back on, you would sharpen it to whatever extent you could.

(You can get the full article here)

I Don't Remember That Name

I didn't knew that closets went to school too.

Don't Rush

I realize I work better on websites when there isn't someone to nudge or rush me every other hour. Don't people ever realize that sometimes, rushing someone can be counterproductive? -_-

Yes and for those people who rush their workers or co-workers: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you".

Anyway, the website I've been working on can be found either here or here depending on when you visit the site.

Area of Effect

Bigger area for H1N1 screening

A new wing opened last night to screen patients suspected of having Influenza A (H1N1), even as two more people arriving from abroad were confirmed to have the virus, bringing the number of cases to seven. The sixth case is a 36-year-old Singaporean who was in Manila, while the seventh is an Australian tourist, 30, who was in Chicago, Detroit and New York.

Also, two Singapore Management University students who were on the same trip as Singapore's first case have tested positive for the virus at a hospital in Montreal, Canada. An MOH spokesman said they are recovering and had been told to remain symptom-free for at least 24 hours before flying back.

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On the gloomy side, looks like a widespread H1N1 is inevitable. On the bright side, it doesn't seems that deadly (just yet).