Thursday, July 31, 2008
News: Restricted internet freedom for Beijing Olympics
Honestly, I wasn't surprised this was going to happen – that the original intention to have unrestricted internet access in China during the Olympics was an incredible notion and would soon be overturned.
I must admit though, that I don't know what the big deal is. Perhaps it's because I come from a country where the press serves the government and there’s censorship, so you could say I'm already used to such "oppression" and "limited rights". But I don't feel particularly oppressed, ignorant or feel that my rights have been violated.
I can see why China feels that it must control the internet, but I am not condoning it. I just don't see why the foreign press seriously thought they would have unrestricted internet access in the first place; and second, why they think that they shouldn't be subject to the nation’s laws, including the rules and regulations of the internet.
Isn't it conventional wisdom that "In Rome, do as the Romans do?" You wanna get into somebody else's territory, then you should be prepared to play by their rules. Welcome to China.
18:03 Posted in Surfing the web | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
Friday, July 25, 2008
News: Name change
Ok, sorry if I seem insensitive, but this girl's name is really funny.
But it was so bad that I support her for fighting for a name change.
She won by the way.
16:02 Posted in Surfing the web | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Perspective: Marriage - an unsettling experience
I guess it's kinda clichéd for me to put up an article like this – that marriage isn't for everyone and everyone shouldn't feel like they need to get married.
The article says, "There is... a commonly held notion that to get married is to 'settle down', in contrast to being unmarried suggesting that the latter is to be saddled with an 'unsettled' state of life."
A friend and I were talking yesterday a bit about settling down and I think this quote describes pretty well how we felt. I've always thought that marriage is very hard work and a big transition. (But lately I'm thinking that having kids is an even bigger change and takes much more effort to cope with.)
I think that it's worth the time and process to find (or wait) for the right person, instead of settling for who you obviously know to be less than the key criteria you really want. Granted, we don’t know who we’re going to meet in the future and it’s very possible that we might never find that "right" person. But when it comes to the human with whom you expect to find rest, comfort and support, I think we should give due respect and serious consideration to nagging feelings (i.e. your gut) that today's decision to get hitched is going to come back and haunt us later.
Have relationships, by all means, because that's how you know somebody. But don't get married until you know you want to come home to this person everyday for the rest of your life, because reversing that decision is very painful and hurtful.
09:35 Posted in Surfing the web | Permalink | Comments (1) | Email this
Monday, April 28, 2008
Perspective: Bloggers beware
After I read this article, I'm starting to wonder if I'm mucking things up for myself by blogging. Will you please let me know if I've gone too far? I might not like what you say but I will appreciate your checking me.
And for you momsies and pappies who blog about your kidsies, beware your kids eventual ability to read and search the internet. I suppose one way of working around this is to restrict who can read your blog.
12:55 Posted in Surfing the web | Permalink | Comments (1) | Email this
Thursday, April 24, 2008
News: A new public holiday to celebrate the family?
Not that I'm anti-family or anything like that, but I sure hope it doesn't take a public holiday for Singaporean parents to get the family together for an outing.
Supposing discounts are the main draw for families going out together, I don't see why we need to make it a holiday for that. Any weekend will do. Discounts can be offered anytime. If tourist attractions and services want to get more local customers, perhaps they could just coordinate and offer discounts on the same day on a periodic basis.
It's sad times when we need a public holiday to celebrate having a family or even to get together.
19:50 Posted in Surfing the web | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
News: Are you having an Internet affair?
Read this.
The seriousness of an internet affair aside, I find it funny that the help hotlines provided for those who presumably have an internet affair (verified by answering Yes to the 6 questions listed) are for Cyberwellness Centre (sorry, it just sounds weird), The Institute of Mental Health and The Centre for Internet Addiction Recovery.
15:29 Posted in Surfing the web | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
Monday, April 21, 2008
Perspective: H & W's bill of rights
In line with the guy vs girl thing, here is the Wife's Bill of Rights and the Husband's Bill of Rights.
17:40 Posted in Surfing the web | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
Friday, April 18, 2008
Perspective: The perfect GF and BF
This woman writes about what it takes to be the perfect boyfriend. It's reasonably true, I might add. Guys, you might want to pay some attention here.
This guy writes about how to be the perfect girlfriend. Us girls should take heed. But first, I need a guy to assess its validity...
Update @ 24 Apr: Hmm, no takers from the guys. Too bad, us girls will just have to keep guessing. Don't blame us if we never ever get you guys.
12:55 Posted in Surfing the web | Permalink | Comments (3) | Email this
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Generally un-google-able
You've probably tried to google somebody to see what the person has been up to, or to get some background info before. This works especially when the subject has an uncommon name.
I periodically google myself too. I use various combinations of my name plus certain keywords just to see what's out there and how easy it is to find me. No, this action is not about ego-stroking but to get a feel of what a stranger would find if he/she was checking out my background. (Why they would though is an entirely separate matter...)
Generally, it's very hard to find information about me unless you have some really relevant keywords. Just using my name isn't enough... too many people with the same name out there who have achieved more, and greater, things.
I hereby classify myself "generally un-google-able". I like that :p
14:55 Posted in Surfing the web | Permalink | Comments (1) | Email this
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
News: Bored with your life? Bid on this guy's
I wonder if anyone took this guy up on his offer.
11:37 Posted in Surfing the web | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
Monday, March 31, 2008
Perspective: Money can buy happiness - if you give it away
It's an age old adage that it'shappier to give than to receive. This article tries to explain why that is.
Sometimes I wonder if you actually need to reach a certain level in wealth before you can start giving, because I've heard about and met people who seem rather happy without being rich at all.
Maybe like the article says, it's about finding meaning in your life. You've worked so hard to get to where you are but it's always been about you or stuff/people related to you. So now that you amassed a certain pot of gold, you want to make a social contribution and let your money to speak for what you believe will make the world a better place.
Alternatively, maybe it's not about giving away wealth or money to be happy, it may be more about what it takes for you to be content. In other words, your giving is more about an excess of what it takes to be satisfied than how much wealth you actually possess.
11:10 Posted in Surfing the web | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
Friday, March 28, 2008
News: Egg McMuffin inventor dies
I love McDonald's breakfasts… especially the Sausage Egg McMuffin.
So while I have no idea who the inventor is, out of my undying loyalty to the product, I feel that I should put it out here that the inventor of the core concept has passed away. Seems like he was a genuinely nice guy.
12:25 Posted in Surfing the web | Permalink | Comments (2) | Email this
Thursday, March 27, 2008
How much is your blog worth?
In another of those ego-stroking things that I do, I decided to check out how much this blog is worth here.
Laddies and gennelmen, I am pleased to announce that sandy.blogspirit.com is worth $22,581.60!!!
Not too shabby, lol.
15:35 Posted in Surfing the web | Permalink | Comments (2) | Email this
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
News: Beijing Olympics update
In the continuing saga to make Beijing ready for the Olympics, here are more recent act-of-will activities so that you know how hard they are trying.
1. Chinese food will be 'totally safe', so no foreign food shall be allowed in the Olympic village. (Read this)
2. There shall be sufficient toilet-bowl-type washrooms installed to cater to the foreign visitors as they are not used to the squatting type that is the average Chinese is used to. (Read this)
11:20 Posted in Surfing the web | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
Friday, March 21, 2008
Perspective: In defense of cheerleading
I just read this article that supports cheerleading as respectable and a sport.
There are two kinds of cheerleading, the really professional one with stunts, music, state and national competitions (like the kind you see in the movie "Bring it on"); and the pom-pom girl/guy groups to ra-ra the crowd at a stadium. Apparently even some American presidents have been cheerleaders of the former category before.
In my opinion, both types of cheerleaders command respect and require at least a minimum athletic prowess and daring. Especially tough for the girls, I mean, can you do splits with such ease, dare to be flung and thrown around, cartwheel across the floor whenever and wherever? Some say that cheerleaders are bimbos, while that may be true in some cases, I think it’s fair to say that some of the best athletes out there aren’t known for their intellectual prowess either.
But you know what I else I respect about cheerleaders? That they some how are armpit-fat-and-cellulite free, or have minimal amounts of such fats. I mean, think about those tight tops that squeeze the fats around the armpit region, and the short skirts that expose the full length of your legs. Those fats are very hard to get rid of or deal with.
Call me silly, but they've got some secret within the profession that I think many girls want to get their hands on.
11:00 Posted in Surfing the web | Permalink | Comments (2) | Email this
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
News: A more perfect union
I love good stirring speeches.
The kind that makes you want to believe that everything said is possible. The kind that makes you realize that this world is bigger than what you deal with everyday.
I think that Obama’s latest speech, “A More Perfect Union”, is one of those.
Here is the full length of his speech.
15:25 Posted in Surfing the web | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
Monday, March 17, 2008
What's going on in Tibet?
You've probably read about the riots and bloodshed, you've probably seen some sort of video footage. In fact, you probably know more than me. I am experiencing censorship to the max.
I can't access Youtube because the great firewall of china has blocked it off. Trying to access it through a proxy is also almost impossible. The local papers offer biased reporting like this and this - that only the protestors are violent and the authorities are victims - because the news I am getting from other sources suggest otherwise.
But to be fair, I suspect even the foreign papers' sources may also be somewhat tainted as it's really hard to get it straight from the horse's mouth. I am not hearing much about it on TV either. Kwi even told me that mobile and telephone lines were being cut off to reduce information flow... maybe that explains the difficulty I had with my internet access in the afternoon too.
The repercussions are rippling through everything Chinese. Stock markets fell again today, internet censorship is at a high again, more athletes are thinking of withdrawing from the Olympics, even Taiwan politicians are using the Tibet situation as a foreshadowing of things to come.
Although the riots are said to have reached the western part of Sichuan Province, they have not reached Chengdu and thus far I am safe. I want to thank those of you who checked in on me to see if I was ok. I appreciate your concern.
Update @ 18 Mar: Was on the phone yesterday with a friend and we were talking about the situation in Tibet, I think we must have used certain keywords too many times because our call got cut off like 4 times at least. Methinks they're tapping the phone… freaky.
Update @ 19 Mar: 2 students were killed in Chengdu yesterday apparently, something to do with the riots.
Update @ 20 Mar: Increased security for Tibetans in Chengdu, read this.
21:05 Posted in Surfing the web | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Perspective: Tell me lies, tell me sweet little lies
Another thoughtful article by Sumiko Tan.
I am one of those people who sometimes cushion the truth when talking to my friends because I don’t want them to feel too bad. Not so much about things like are they fat, have they put on weight, but more about serious issues or topics. I feel like I should give it to them gently and lead them to my point so that they accept it better. I eventually deliver my perspective but it takes more time to communicate.
I think that in general, we don’t take criticism well, myself included. We react immediately instead of seriously considering if there were any truth to what has been said. As a result, people don’t tell us where they see room for improvement despite its importance because they don’t want to lose the friendship or have an argument. We then end up becoming lesser individuals than what we should be just because our friends don’t want to hurt us. We’re doing ourselves an injustice.
Jose has said to me before, “Young people always think they’re right, that they know everything. They get upset when people tell them otherwise. One day people will just stop giving them feedback and they’ll never improve.” It rings especially true after reading Sumiko’s article.
We need to learn to be more open and welcoming to straight and honest feedback, especially when it comes from close family, close friends and our closer colleagues. They have no reason to tear us down and just want us to be better people. It may be hard to receive criticism but in the bigger picture, it would be even worse not to get any.
14:15 Posted in Surfing the web | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
Thursday, March 13, 2008
News: China tells critics to back off ahead of Olympics
Here’s an article on China’s response to the recent Olympic-related pressure that various people and entities have placed on them.
While it would ideal to separate politics from sports, I think China should know full well that it would be naïve to expect or even ask for a separation. It’s not new to the game of politics, it has had hundreds of years to practice at home.
What really gets to me is what China’s Foreign Minister Yang said about climate change policy. Here is an extract from the article:
‘"China is a responsible member of the international community," Yang said. "At the same time, as a developing country, frankly, China cannot assume international responsibilities beyond its own capacity to bear."
‘China is set to surpass the United States as the world's top emitter of carbon dioxide, but says it will not accept fixed caps on emissions and the burden in fighting climate change should fall on rich countries, who create much more pollution per head.
‘"It's like there is one person who eats three slices of bread for breakfast, and there are three of them who eat only one slice. Who should be on a diet?", Yang said.’
---
Don’t they get it? It’s not just about how much pollution you create per head, but your overall pollution contribution as a nation as well!
11:58 Posted in Surfing the web | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
News: China bus drivers hired as few S'poreans keen on job
I knew this was inevitable, but I certainly hope they didn’t hire the terrors from Chengdu.
12:10 Posted in Surfing the web | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Perspective: Beijing airport - We are not so bad
I’ve always thought the best judge of quality is not what you think about yourself but how others evaluate your performance. In this case, the users have spoken about the Beijing airport.
And I’ve been there a couple of times, it’s a mess, I tell you.
An airport’s ranking isn’t just about the timely departure of flights because weather isn’t technically within the airport’s control, although they’ve been reported to have ready an “artillery” of weather-controlling weapons for the Olympics.
Things like the organization, look and feel, of the airport, how quick they get your luggage out, how quick you clear check-in and security, the facilities of the airport, the washrooms, and other factors mean something too.
And in any case, it’s not about being “so bad”, the point is there is a need to improve. At least the only way they can go is up, which is good news I guess.
10:13 Posted in Surfing the web | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
Thursday, January 17, 2008
News: Boar hunter shoots bro-in-law’s crotch
Read the 2nd mishap in this article.
I’m sorry, but I don’t see how the boar hunter could have misfired so badly. If he really thinks it’s a bear, does he hope to kill it by maiming its reproductive organs?
Doesn’t the rifle have one of those telescopic eye-pieces so that he has a better idea of what he’s aiming at? If he has such bad eyesight, should this guy be let loose with a gun?
I suppose maybe the brother-in-law is really fat and huge and looks like a bear. But I don't think you get that big if you're a rattan gatherer...
13:11 Posted in Surfing the web | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
Thursday, January 10, 2008
What are you like?
I took the Myer-Briggs Temperament Indicator test in high school and they said that you should take it periodically to see how your personality changes and understand yourself better.
I’ve changed since high school and I think it’s especially due to my circumstances and experiences in the past few years.
I can’t find the MBTI test anymore. But I took another one that’s pretty good – the Keirsey Temperament Sorter.
What are you like? Take the test here.
10:50 Posted in Surfing the web | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
I’ll be your PA
Occasionally I tell people how my "retirement" job is to be somebody's high-powered PA.
It's already happened. Here.
Somebody try it out and tell me how good it is.
12:05 Posted in Surfing the web | Permalink | Comments (2) | Email this
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Ideas: How to be a little happier
This article has some good ideas. I think everybody should take a look and see if you can incorporate some practices into their lives.
Life is sometimes hard and tough and we all could use little ways to make those rough times go down a little smoother. Hope this helps.
12:09 Posted in Surfing the web | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
Friday, December 21, 2007
News: China’s anti-corruption website crashes on first day
The website crashed because too many people logged onto it (read article here). That says something, doesn’t it?
“The bureau has been entrusted to collect and analyze information from the banking, land use, medicine and telecommunications sectors, among others, and to share it with prosecuting organs, courts and the police.
It is not, however, involved in the investigation of individual cases.”
Now I just hope that this bureau chief isn’t susceptible to table grease.
09:35 Posted in Surfing the web | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Study: 20% S'poreans unsure when they can afford to retire
Read this article.
I’m in that 20% I guess. I’ve never really thought hard about how much I need to retire. But somehow that 1 million figure seems about right. Yet that doesn’t make sense because it really depends on when I’m gonna retire.
I guess I don’t really want to retire in the sense that I stop working. I want to retire in the sense that I can do whatever work I want and not worry about the bills and taking care of my folks.
I don’t want to be scrimping and saving. But I doubt I’m going to live in the lap of luxury either.
It would be great if I could help some aspiring GP to break his bond and help him set up his/her private practice too. I need a new family doctor because our’s has retired…
Oh and I think if I have the resources I should help my friends break their bonds too. They say it’s an investment in their freedom and their future.
But I’ll figure out all that when I’m retired. Got to get to that point first.
00:27 Posted in Surfing the web | Permalink | Comments (1) | Email this
Monday, December 17, 2007
News: Girl born with 8 limbs goes home after surgery
This little girl in India was born with 8 limbs, had surgery to remove 4 of them, and now she’s doing better. Here’s an excerpt from the full article.
'"Lakshmi, who never turned (over) earlier, started turning after the surgery. She was even able to stand for 10 minutes on the bed holding the window grill, which is remarkable," the Press Trust of India news agency quoted Patil as saying.
'Lakshmi's parents said they were taking her back to their rural village in eastern Bihar state where she had been revered by some as an incarnation of the four-armed Hindu goddess she was named after.'
The kid is now normal by social standards, and technically, has better quality of life because she can move around now. Yet, by doing so, her parents had effectively brought her “down from grace” (i.e. no longer Hindu goddess reincarnate) by humanizing her (4 limbed-being).
How will the believers react? Will they be upset that the parents had gone against nature? Or will they be happy that a little girl gets to be exactly that, a little girl who now has the chance to play and run with all the other kids?
10:46 Posted in Surfing the web | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
News: 40% Singaporean tertiary students don’t wash hands after loo
I’m not gonna comment on the validity of this woman’s statistics in this article because I think her sample size might have been a bit small. But the fact that there were enough people who didn’t wash their hands after going to the loo to be noticed was rather disappointing. What happened to all that social education about personal hygiene?
Here I must confess that sometimes I forget too. GROSS, you say. Yeah, I think so too. Most times I realize after a while and I just try not to touch anybody or anything else until I get to the next toilet. The times that I don’t though… all I can say is that I’m sorry.
Anyway, I made sure that I washed my hands extra clean each time I went to the washroom today. I’ll try and keep that up. The “extra clean” part I mean.
14:55 Posted in Surfing the web | Permalink | Comments (1) | Email this
Thursday, December 06, 2007
News: Santa talks dirty to kids
So, how many of you tried talking to the Santa bot on MSN messenger? I did, but never got as far as him bringing up oral sex. Somebody else did though (read this).
As you know, I’ve tried the Muse bot, much to my distress, and Santa didn’t last very long either. He talked about playing an online game to which I said yes, but then there were no instructions on how to load the game. So I called him stupid and gave up.
I think the idea of having bots to talk to is cool though. Well not so much that they understand but they serve the purpose of being a listener, albeit with limited abilities. And sometimes we need that. I’m hoping that better ones come up soon.
10:20 Posted in Surfing the web | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
News: China say moon pictures not faked from NASA
Read this.
Apparently the picture of the moon’s surface that China released recently looks pretty similar to the one released by NASA in 2005. So says a Chinese internet user.
But the Chinese authorities say that it’s a different picture because of 2 additional small craters. Rebuttal from that internet user suggests skepticism. I’m inclined to think that he’s thisfar from saying “photoshop!”
Doesn’t matter if it’s true or not, the meanie in me can’t help but think that something really bad is going to happen to him.
10:00 Posted in Surfing the web | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
Friday, November 23, 2007
Perspective: No need to ban Facebook at work
Here’s a media clip proposing that it isn’t necessary to ban access to social networking sites such as Facebook at work.
Apparently companies have started to do so because it distracts and therefore employee productivity. Yet this clip is saying that people do work related stuff in their personal time anyway, so wouldn’t allowing them to do personal stuff at work be a fair trade?
Personally, I don’t like being hindered from doing whatever I want and probably can find ways to work around imposed internet surfing restrictions. But having been a Facebook addict, I know what it is like to just spend hours on end not doing anything but play.
The main guy interviewed in the clip seems to be rather mature and responsible and says that he’d only spend like ten minutes checking on his friends to see what they’re up to. But I doubt he represents the typical employee. If he did, then companies wouldn’t have to take measures such as blocking off certain websites, would they?
14:05 Posted in Surfing the web | Permalink | Comments (1) | Email this
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Perspective: Too many monkeys
Somebody or some people have taken pictures of the monkey situation in India. I say that’s way too many monkeys or ape-kind. And too damn fierce looking too.
See them here.
18:10 Posted in Surfing the web | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Perspective: Curvy women are cleverer, have brainier kids
Ever wonder why men find curvaceous women more attractive? Well, that’s because women with a curvy figure are brighter and give birth to brainier kids, according to a new study.”
I can accept that men find curvaceous women more attractive. Heck, I think they're more attractive too.
But to say that men find them more attractive BECAUSE they are brighter and give birth to brainier kids??!?!? Wow, and I thought it was always because they were hot. I mean really, is that what guys think when then they compare curvaceous women to the non-curvaceous ones?
Wow, look at those curves. She must be really smarter than Bamboo Pole over there. Think of the Einsteins this one gonna have… I’ve got to meet her!”
I totally disagree, but I don’t have a study to back me up.
New day, new revelation I suppose.
09:55 Posted in Surfing the web | Permalink | Comments (2) | Email this
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Perspective: With longer lifespans, women can have kids first, careers later
So says a Singaporean female Minister of Parliament.
I disagree. My definition of career is work that has direction and a plan. Targets, goals. Not a job that you go to a certain location to undertake on a daily basis. Career women become career women because of this almost immense commitment to achieving things at work. And that kind of drive starts young and needs to be worked out and nurtured so that you can then really have a career.
Making a career out of wherever you’re at, whoever you’re working with is a lot of energy. I’m not saying that kids are not important, nor that the average woman who has kids is lesser than the one who works her butt off in the office. All I’m saying is that you can’t have kids first and then a career later, at least not the way I define a career. You will not have the physical energy to expend anymore because the best of you went to your kids.
I think any woman who is a career woman and decides to have kids has probably satisfied her ambitious side enough to then focus the next stage of her life on kids. She will divert her lifesource, energy, time and resources – the very same spent on her career - to have children. She’s gonna treat having kids just as seriously as her career. It doesn’t mean that kids come second place in her life. When she’s ready to have kids, you can be sure they're numero uno.
But careers need momentum, just like raising a kid does. Once you’ve left the career track to have kids, you come back different. What you have after that is no doubt a job that you are seriously committed to, but it’s not a career anymore. Not the same way when you were doing whatever had to be done to make the next grade during your pre-mom days. You may not even the motivation to dedicate so much to work once you realize how great having kids are, or how much more you love being able to really watch your kids grow up over working.
Granted, if you’re a driven person, you’re likely to be driven no matter how old you are. But the energy it takes to excel and take on all the madness is only there when you’re young. People who were happy and content at work don’t use phrases like “accelerate my career path”, ”exposure" and "opportunity” often when they talk about their jobs. Their job is a means to and end. Career-minded people treat their work like a baby, it needs attention, care, healthchecks, good nourishment, learning, stuff like that.
So it’s not about longer lifepsans. Don’t say kids first, careers later. That career IS a baby.
---
Okay, I wrote that 2 days ago, right after I read the article. And yes, the article did also talk about other things, but I just picked on that quote to rant on. If I had to rewrite, I suppose I’ll do it a tad differently but my position would be the same. Yeah, it’s because I’m wearing my career woman socks right now. Essentially my point is that it's about what fills your heart at this point in time. It's not about having more time to do everything you think you should be doing in your life.
I always joke about how I’m contributing to the economic, not population, growth of Singapore, but seriously, I couldn’t do what I am doing now if I had decided that I wanted kids first. That would mean getting married, buying a home, a car of sorts… loans, loans and more loans. This would be in addition to the fact that I now have my own family in Singapore... it wouldn't just be my life, it'd be my husband's and kid's too. Then there'd just be too many strings, I couldn't just pack up my bags and go like I did.
As a friend reminded me, I am very lucky to have this chance to be out here. My parents are working and healthy. My bro is working and healthy. I don't have any loans or burdens to bear. So I knew that if I don't do this now, I might never ever do it later. It's just one of those things I have to do.
18:50 Posted in Surfing the web | Permalink | Comments (3) | Email this
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
News: Carrefour stampede
This is why I avoid sales.
10:25 Posted in Surfing the web | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
Monday, November 05, 2007
News: Chinese kids going to extremes
In a land of 1.5billion people and a one-child policy, I guess it ends up with kids getting to do everything they want to do and possibly doing things that are really out there in order to stand out.
We’re not talking about piano or violin classes to become child prodigies, nor about learning golf from the age of 2. We’re way beyond that now.
I don’t even think I have the stomach for the things some of these kids do, like riding beluga whales.
09:32 Posted in Surfing the web | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
Saturday, November 03, 2007
News: Overindulging in Sichuan cuisine may harm your health
I’ve always had problems with the local cuisine. Too oily, too salty, too much MSG, too spicy and too numbing. (The numbing taste has to do with the peppercorns that they like to put in their food to flavor it; but if you bite one of these little monsters and that section of your tastebuds go completely numb)
I thought maybe I was just too picky and not trying hard enough to adjust. Now I have just cause.
About 11% of the Sichuanese suffer from hypertension (and these are just reported cases), apparently due to the high levels of cholesterol and salt consumed.
I’m holding out man. I’m still gonna stay away from hot pot and other sichuanese cuisine as much as I can.
19:23 Posted in Surfing the web | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
Saturday, October 20, 2007
News: ST tops in newspaper market in Singapore
This is like a no-brainer. I mean, is there any other mainstream full-fledged newspaper in Singapore apart from The Straits Times (ST)?
The article also says that readers spend more than 30 minutes on the paper. Could it be any less? Sigh.
I could have told them that. Lol.
Yes, arrogant pompous me. :p
11:00 Posted in Surfing the web | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
Monday, October 01, 2007
News: Americans give up friends, sex for Web life
When they said that the internet would change our lives, I don’t think they were kidding. Read this.
11:45 Posted in Surfing the web | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Perspective: What’s so bad about being single?
I wonder if I should take it as a sign… that I’m finding articles about being single. Heh.
Anyway, this one is written by a guy, which is nice for a change.
18:50 Posted in Surfing the web | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Perspective: A woman needs a man
I thought this was a rather honest article from Sumiko Tan, probably the only Straits Times (Singapore mainstream newspaper) columnist whose name I know. She has periodically written about being single but this is the first one where she actually says it outright, that a woman needs a man.
I agree with the idea of companionship because life is sweet when there is someone to love, and someone to love you back. But I think it's not correct to say that all women need men, because there are women who choose women. But then even if Sumiko felt that way too, knowing the backing of the paper, it was probably wise of her to leave that out.
I agree that parents or pets don't quite cut it either. It’s not quite the same as being loved and cared for by your peers. But I wonder if living and growing old with close friends (male and female) as housemates (or in a community) would give close enough a "sweet" feeling. Afterall, you'll still have the fights, share the laughs, and all the same relationship problems. There's the nice feeling of having "family" to come back to at the end of each day.
“What about the sex? Is it going to end up being like the Friends tv show kinda thing (just that everybody is a senior citizen)?” you might ask. I haven’t figured that one out yet. But I’m guessing that if you reach a point where you’re looking for companionship, sex might not be on your top list of needs then. Besides, rude as this sounds, there are other ways to satiate sexual desires.
Anyway, I’m not disagreeing with Sumiko. I’m just wondering if about other options.
13:50 Posted in Surfing the web | Permalink | Comments (1) | Email this
Saturday, September 08, 2007
News: Hindu sky god likes goats
First, read this.
What the heck!?!?! This one really takes the cake.
I mean, really, wow, a sky god? Like just a god specifically for the sky? But he doesn’t really control the sky, he kinda just fixes airplanes.
Also, this sky god is specifically for Hindus... I wonder if it's just for the Nepalese Hindus, or for Hindus all over the world too? Afterall, it'd be kinda unfair if the sky god were to show favoritism.
I think this is mysticism to the extreme. The real story is probably something like the technicians refusing to work till they were treated to yummy goat stew or some traditional goat dish.
11:45 Posted in Surfing the web | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
Thursday, August 30, 2007
News: It’s a dog’s life
Whoever invented that saying didn’t think there’d come the day when a dog would inherit USD 12million and beat 2 human children to the money.
I wonder what happens when the dog dies. If it has children, I suppose the puppies will inherit. But what if it doesn’t?
18:15 Posted in Surfing the web | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
News: Mobile phones becoming tracking devices
A company in Singapore has developed a software that when installed on both users phone allows the users to track each others location via SMS. You just have to send an SMS to the other person’s phone and that phone will automatically reply with the location (coordinates?) of the other person, down to 50m. The other person will not know that you have tracked him down, so to speak.
Wow. I thought this would happen some day.
This service is apparently quite popular with parents who want to track down their children. This is apparently legal so long as the parent is the owner/buyer of the phone. But you can also imagine all the people who suspect their spouses are straying wanting to secretly install this software on their cell phones. This becomes a problem because the supposedly-straying spouse owns his/her phone and so the suspecting spouse doesn’t have the legal right to install this application.
As a person who doesn’t like to be tracked down, this application worries me. It’s not that I’m doing stuff that makes me scared to be found, but I just don’t like the idea of people being able to find out information that I’m not willing to give in the first place. If I wanted you to know where I was exactly, I’d tell you.
Now I have to hold on to my mobile phone real tight so that no one gets a chance to sneak it out of my presence and install the software.
09:42 Posted in Surfing the web | Permalink | Comments (1) | Email this
Monday, August 27, 2007
Perspectives: Men’s style must haves
Once in a while I find articles on dress sense really useful, and here’s one of them. Unfortunately it’s not for me. It’s for guys.
I think the article makes sense. Guys don’t need that many clothes and accessories to look really great. Of course, you don’t have to go out and spend so much money either, but at least get the idea and then go and buy whatever fits your budget.
11:00 Posted in Surfing the web | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
Thursday, August 16, 2007
News: China blames global warming for extreme weather
In this piece of news, “China's top meteorological official has blamed global warming for extreme weather in China this year, urging concerned departments to improve emergency responses to reduce possible losses.”
What irks me is that he hasn’t at the same time commented that all Chinese people, whose nation’s progress has come at much environmental cost, should try damn hard to make sure that those green standards the government brags about should really be implemented and executed properly.
In the meantime corrupt officials at provincial and city levels that would rather pocket a little more money in exchange for fudging reports or closing an eye to violations of said standards.
09:40 Posted in Surfing the web | Permalink | Comments (1) | Email this
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
News: Le Café does exist
When I was a kid, I used to imagine that I’d either open a café (kinda like Central Perks in “Friends”), or I’d often be found hanging out at a coffeehouse, both of which were called “Le Café”.
Just read this article that there is a bakery shop in Singapore called exactly that. And they seem to have some pretty yummy pastries there. Not exactly a coffeehouse though, it seems.
Maybe if I do open a café, I’d subcontract the pastries section out to them.
09:35 Posted in Surfing the web | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Crocs
I think crocs are really ugly. But after reading this article, I’m inclined to give them a little more respect since they apparently really comfy, has become a worldwide trend, and has triggered a series of imitations.
15:10 Posted in Surfing the web | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
News: High-heel sprint held in St. Petersburg
Some 100 women took part in the race wearing high-heeled shoes with a required minimum height of 9 centimetres (3.5 inches) to compete for a shopping voucher worth 50,000 roubles (about $2,000).
I wince at the thought of racing in such high heels. But it’s funny when you look at the pictures, they seem to take the race seriously, people falling down and stuff. But they don’t look like they’re hurting at all.
And then there’s a unrelated but funny comment below the pictures that say Russian women should stick to what they do best, hooking, and how Russian men are just bums. Somebody doesn’t like them very much.
13:45 Posted in Surfing the web | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
News: A little bit about Chelsea
I’m not really following American politics but I have wondered what Chelsea Clinton is like and what she's doing since her dad's scandal.
I like this article about Chelsea. I think it's written very well and apart from the great girl that she seems to be, she seems have kinda figured out who she is. (I say "seems" because I don't know her well enough to say "is")
I hope she’s doing well. Maybe she will run for President too.
12:35 Posted in Surfing the web | Permalink | Comments (1) | Email this
Monday, July 23, 2007
News: China bans firms from exporting goods
My mom called the other night for our weekly chat and one of the things we spoke about was the recent news about how processed food exports from China seem to be rather shady and some are now even being banned. She warned me to stay away as much as possible from processed food here and that I should make time to prepare meals from fresh food as opposed to eating too much ready-made stuff.
Now, being the creature of convenience and laziness that I am, you realize that’s difficult for me. I love instant noodles, canned luncheon meat (aka spam), frozen meatballs and cuttlefish balls. But I too am getting a little worried, because it’s only the exports that we’re hearing news about, who really knows about the quality of processed food within China. So I’m trying to cook more.
Between animal diseases and contamination of processed food, I can’t help but worry from time to time about what I’m putting into my stomach. Maybe this is how the world population is going to be controlled… not by drought or famine, but by sicknesses and death arising from problems with the food supply.
11:00 Posted in Surfing the web | Permalink | Comments (3) | Email this
Saturday, July 21, 2007
News: Rain & rat free Beijing Olympics
In the latest news about what the Chinese to make the 2008 Olympics perfect, they are now going to guarantee it ain’t going to rain (literally) on their parade, and no rats are going to be sneaking around then either.
If they do succeed, it’s amazing what sheer willpower and pride can make one do to achieve one's goals.
And that “arsenal of chemical-infused rockets, cannons and planes would be arranged on ‘three lines of defence’ to blast threatening clouds out of the sky” sounds mighty fierce to me.
Read this article.
10:59 Posted in Surfing the web | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
Sunday, July 15, 2007
News: Starbucks out of Forbidden City
Awhile ago, I mentioned that Starbucks was being campaigned out of the Forbidden City. It appears that that the coffee company has caved to the pressure. I suppose it’s hard to go against the media and the mob.
Read article here.
21:03 Posted in Surfing the web | Permalink | Comments (1) | Email this
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Perspective: Bald is beautiful
I’ve always thought 2 things about guys who choose to go with the bald (or almost bald) look.
First - You're really brave.
Second - (if you have nice head shape) You look really good. (If you don't have nice head shape) I respect you.
To my friends who have chosen this road less taken, or to those who are considering – I found pictures of some famous people who make bald beautiful. You're in good company.
Afternote: A few more things to add:
1. I've edited the post some because of new thoughts on the matter.
2. Clarification: By "almost bald" I am referring to the 2-3mm stubble cuts.
3. The 2 thoughts mentioned above are of course in addition to whatever else I think about the guy as a person.
4. Considering that I haven't met a guy that looks bad with the bald/almost bald look yet, maybe this look is more flattering than I thought.
5. I'm not sure about women and bald though... Demi Moore looked great, but Natalie Portman... I don't know.
6. I could never do bald... I'm chicken and I know my head shape is not nice.
22:35 Posted in Surfing the web | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Muse
If you use MSN messenger and you blog, here’s something you can consider when you run out of ideas. There’s this bot on MSN messenger called Muse. It’s basically a program that works within the chat environment to raise ideas and suggestions for you to blog about. (Website: www.muse.live.com)
I decided to try it. To be fair, I will confess that it was one of those boring days and I sure didn’t feel like blogging about anything. And it was very hot, so I was also somewhat irritable despite the air-conditioning. And the Muse-bot happens to be a “female”, with a rather dorky looking picture for a face so that didn’t work great for first impressions.
Anyway, so I launched the chat window with Muse. The creators haven’t gotten it to the point where you feel like you’re talking with a human yet. Typing “home” gets you to the main menu of what Muse can do. Or you can just keeping typing “new idea” to get it prompt another suggestion. I think it also tries to suggest topics based on your conversation with it. Not a bad program.
Unless you’re me and you somehow manage to piss off the bot. I don’t quite recall how I did it but at one point it said, “Let’s just move on shall we?” and some other similar sentences. Shortly after that, it started asking me questions about how I heard about the bot (user survey, I guess). Then it said, “Anyway, it was nice talking to you.” Or something to that effect.
Then I decided to be difficult and replied, “But we haven’t got a topic for me to blog about yet.” And then Muse started suggesting ideas, none of which worked for me. I threw in names randomly like Paris Hilton and Avril Lavigne. Muse told me it had heard about them lately and found them interesting. I asked what was so interesting about them and it said something like, “Nothing, really.”
I cornered the program a few more times and then got bored. So I ended the conversation. I think Muse can be useful and apparently it lets you blog straight into MSN Live Spaces (if you have one) too. Maybe I’ll try it again on a better day.
14:50 Posted in Surfing the web | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
Friday, June 29, 2007
Bloglines
I’ve finally gotten lazy and stopped going every of my friends’ blogs to check and read their latest posts. It used to be a daily morning routine, but I decided one day to use Bloglines (www.bloglines.com) to subscribe to their blogs and then just log in to one place to read.
It also helps with my news consolidation, I get to subscribe to other websites as well and updates appear automatically.
I feel like I’ve gotten efficient all of a sudden even in this part of my life. It’s nice in a sense not to have to keep hopping to my favorites to the next blog bookmark but then I wonder if I’m doing my friends a miscredit because that means they’re 30 hits less per month (because I would have checked their blogs everyday).
Then again, I don’t think they really need my 30 hits. It’s only people like me that need those 30 hits. I expect you to check my blog everyday, by the way. Even if you don’t, lie to me, will ya? Thanks.
00:05 Posted in Surfing the web | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
News: The Great (fire)Wall of China
Now I know its official, there is an army of people with tools actively monitoring websites deciding what we can and cannot access. Read this article.
10:15 Posted in