Gah!

Uninstalling Dreamweaver 4 has deleted the directory where my homepage, among other things, is stored.

Gah! Evil!

Furthermore, sundry attempts at un-erasing the files are not working.

I think the only permanent damage is the loss of the last month's updates to my long essay. Hopefully He Who Will Not Be Named will still have a copy of the version I tried to make more lucid [Update: Happily a version from 4th May resides in my Yahoo Briefcase folder. Yeh!].

Oh well. *shrug* The truth can never be totally covered and illuminated all at once. Take it as the will of the gods, if you like :)


Hackers Put 'Bane' in Shadowbane

"The population of an entire Shadowbane town was forcibly moved to the bottom of the sea, where they drowned. City guards turned feral and attacked town residents. Mobs of never-before-seen superpowerful creatures, seemingly spontaneously spawned from the ether, began to prowl the streets unchecked, killing characters in the most painful way possible...

Experienced players looked on in horror as new players were slowly and gleefully dismembered by ax-wielding ogres. Others just laughed and looted the characters' bodies after the ogres were done."

Woah


The Dullest Blog In The World

The beauty business

Quantum History - 100 Things Evolutionists Hate - Something The Associate sent me. Though many of his arguments are bafflingly obtuse, some are actually worth considering, and a simple "we don't know" would answer many of them.

Oddly enough, there are only 93 things on this guy's list, many of which are repeated.

Happily, it's more well done than a more haphazard site which inspired it - Creationists Hate, though that one does also raise many pertinent questions (which are conveniently ignored by the former site in favour of mostly irrelevant sniping)


Microsoft Linux - the premier linux distro

3rd Annual Nigerian EMail Conference

"I am Mr. Laurent Mpeti Kabila, a senior assistant leader of the Revolutionary United Front of Sierra Leone.

I present to you an urgent and confidential request: I request your attendance at The 3rd Annual Nigerian EMail Conference. This is an excellent opportunity to meet your distinguished colleagues, learn new marketing techniques, and spend your hard-earned money. Attending this conference demands the highest trust, security and confidentiality between us.

Dates: November 7 - 9, 2003
Location: Abuja Sheraton Hotel & Casino
Registration Fee: $995 per person

Like most Nigerians, you're probably finding that it's increasingly difficult to earn a decent living from email. That's why you need to attend the 3rd Annual Nigerian EMail Conference."


SNE 85

- That in Singapore, it is possible to be sentenced beyond the maximum penalty allowed for an offence, especially if you are dumb enough to try appealing to the Chief Justice.

Some guy punched his former wife's lawyer in the Family Court in February last year. And for that, he was sentenced to six years' imprisonment. Seven years is the maximum you get for grievous hurt. . He appealed and the Chief Justice upped his sentence to 10 years, way beyond the max.

So say, you were sentenced to hang, and decided to appeal, in theory, you could be sentenced to hang twice.

Reminds me of a line from Hot Shots: "I will keel you until you die from it!"

Of course, this is just my uninformed, uneducated, man-on-the-street observation. I am sure all this is totally legit, justice for all, and so forth. Hey, I don't want to be accused of "usurping of the Judiciary's power derived from the Constitution of Singapore".

"Court of Appeal reserves judgement on Gilbert Louis case

By Asha Popatlal

The Court of Appeal on Monday reserved judgement to a later date on a case of a man who assaulted a lawyer in court.

The State Public Prosecutor argued that the Chief Justice did not act correctly when he raised the jail term of the man beyond the maximum for grievious hurt."

- That according to a recent Life article by Sumiko Tan, the midriff is the new cleavage.

I thought the Butt Crack was the new cleavage. But what do I know?

Oh, this was the same journalist who shared with us intimate details of her hemorrhoids.

Somehow, I haven't and don't feel like saying much, so this fortnightly post will be shorter than a usual weekly post.

I spent a whole week in camp without booking out. Not since SMM have I gone for so long without a bookout, yet oddly, I didn't feel anxious. NS must be getting to me.

I passed my Unarmed Combat G1 grading! My experience can be summed up by Shawn's quote Summing up the tragic tale of my mock grading:

'"Ian: "You won't believe what I'm looking at now. Gabriel Seah doing contact sparring."
Me: "Hahaha. Is he showing aggression?"
Ian: "Haha he just got thrashed by the other guy it was quite tragic."'

The heat these days is oppressive.

Nowadays we are -supposed- to wake at 5:45am. Assuming we come back from breakfast at 6:15am, and roll call is at 7:30am, are we supposed to spend 1 hour doing area cleaning? I think most have thought on this and come to a conclusion - which is why no one wakes up at 5:45am anymore.

Both sides of Boon Wei's glasses fell off, so he began wearing them like Morpheus does. Heh. I wonder how the latter gets them to stay on! Maybe that's why, once he gets them on, he never takes them off.

I saw 2 people who tattooed their IC numbers (and the barcode for the IC numbers) onto themselves - one onto his arm, and another onto the back of his neck. Weird. Maybe the Nameless One should have done that!

I sent a patient to Tengah, and he told me: "Medic, can you accompany me? I'm scared... I don't know what they'll do to me". I was befuddled. It's only reporting sick! Though he *did* get an injection and admitted to the sickbay.

All our food comes from one cookhouse now. The 42 people are happy, since 46 cooks better food than 42. The ATC people aren't. Aww. Oh well, so much for their experiments. I miss their experimental cooking - it's nice to get Roti Prata for breakfast on a Sunday!


Life imitating 'art': Dane acquitted in goldfish blender case - I believe the Flash of the goldfish in a blender was around many years ago


Quotes:

So do you choose the red pill, or the blue pill? [Brandishes 2 pills which are half red and half blue]

[On a fundamentalist] He's living in the Matrix

Armuor HQ (Armour)

He maintain a constant speed, constant acceleration (no)

[On a survey] 'I feel appreciated by my employer.' No.

[On a survey] 'I feel appreciated by society.' Do we get money from the Courage Fund? No.

[Someone from NJC: You actually went for your school prom?] Unlike your school, my school does not hold its prom in the school hall.

[On my scribbling] What did you write? Is it bad? It can't be anything good.

Gah!

Thanks to Channel i's deceptive scheduling, I've missed the first three episodes of Power Rangers Time Force - Force From The Future Pt. 1, Force From The Future Pt. 2 And Something To Fight For.

Luckily, synopses (with pictures) are available. Detailed episode transcripts used to be available, but damnit, the site's down.

At least Channel i has redeemed itself by showing *3* seasons of Power Rangers at once (Lost Galaxy, Lightspeed Rescue and Time Force) and by screening trailers for future episodes. I wish they'd re-run the older seasons, though.


After watching Episode 4, Ransik Lives, I'm actually rather impressed with Power Rangers Time Force. In part, the technology that Toei uses to film Sentai series has improved, making it look slightly more impressive. However, Saban has obviously been trying to pitch Power Rangers to a more mature audience - you even have a cursory discussion of the perils of genetic manipulation now:

"When Wes tells Ransik that those are innocent people out there, Ransik tells him his life story.

In the future, babies are born of test tubes and green goop.

Parents choose the characteristics for their own children.

But when a test tube falls down the sewer, the goop gives birth to Ransik, the first mutant.

Ransik is shunned by society, and gathers all other outcasts to form a criminal empire."

Went for an S05A class BBQ yesterday. Attendance was 18/28, not bad after 2 years, and only just under last year's 20 or so. Twas held at Qingru's place, which stunned me and several others who had not had the chance to step foot on the grounds.

Perhaps the address - Cornwall Gardens - should have alerted me. The place is like a richly decorated manor house, or a 5-star hotel suite. Now we know what opulent, decadent splendour Mr Li lives in :)

Chinx was, as usual, decked out in his customary black, including long pants. I wonder at his not burning to a crisp in the recent oppressive heat. And as with the last time, the Shuyu-Tong-Myo Li-etc clique convened a meeting of the Cult of the Banana. A quick count of 6 of the girls revealed that 4.5 of them had brown hair (ie 1 of them had hair subtly streaked brown). I suppose it's a natural expression of individualism, but I didn't know that they had secret A03 tendencies :) The choice if colour is perplexing, though. What's so good about brown? If you wanna dye your hair, why not go all the way? Green, platinum and blonde, ala the Japanese. For example, Chinx stridently proclaimed his intention to have white hair!

It was Changge's birthday, so following in the time-honoured tradition of physically expressing their friendship, most of the guys dunked him in the pool, and he managed to bring Sing Pou down with him. Sadly, it seems no one ever dunks girls.

After Luther, Katie and Kaimun left, the 2 cliques of girl talk exchanging girls and Pro Evolution (or whatever that PS2 football game is called) watching guys became more apparent, and Chinx and I were the only outcasts left. Damn. Not long after, the evening ended with some of us watching amusedly on as 1 guy and 4 girls squeezed into the back seat of a car going to Holland Village.

It was the first time I got to indulge the secret, hidden side of me that revels in the Compulsive Photo Taking Disorder, and between my shaky hands, attempts to take shots without using the flash and poor manipulation of the "exposure" setting, I emerged with a new motto - "In Auto We Trust". Oh well. Whenever people screw up their shots they just call them "artistic". Mmm. Time to read "Photography for Dummies" on my brother in law's bookshelf.

Tree That Give Meat Instead Of Fruit!

"Fruit from the new Meat Trees, developed by British scientists using gene-splicing technology, closely resembles ordinary grapefruit. But when you peel the large fruit open, inside is fresh beef."

Is this for real?


Buddhists "really are happier"

Dating a Blogger, Reading All About It

Courtesy of The Associate. Original source: http://www.mycen.com.my/duasen/080503_uncleho.html

Fed up of your current work.... hee hee try this!
This should be a good prospect job...esp for those who r coming back to ms'ia to look for job...we r looking forward to financing the deal...


UNCLE HO WANTS YOU!
===================

Uncle Ho Holdings,Malaysia's largest manufacturer, distributor and retailer of quality pirated and bootleg VCDs, DVDs, Audio CDs, CD-ROMS seeks suitable candidates for our rapidly expanding organisation.

From our humble beginnings inPetaling Street in 1998, we are currently operating more than 68,000 outlets in theKlang Valley & Johor Baru. We have managed to secure at least 4 stalls outside every convenience shop, 8 stalls outside every coffee shop and 50 stalls at every pasar malam. We're expanding into every housing and commercial areas, making us the biggest outdoor retailing company in the world with over 16 million discs sold daily.

Our high-tech multi million ringgit manufacturing facilities are now operated on ships anchored in international waters to circumvent local copyright laws. We are gearing for an IPO (Initial Public Offering) and are in the process of applying for MSC status asMalaysia's largest multimedia company.


Be a Franchisee
---------------
We offer exciting and profitable franchising opportunities for retrenched workers, unemployed individuals and ex-convicts.
- Set-up cost is a low RM500, including an inventory of 150 titles, portable iron stands, plywood and red table cloth.
- As the franchisor, we'll provide you with protection against local gangsters, unsatisfied customers, enforcement officers and post bail if required. All confiscated items are our responsibilty and will be returned to you within 2 working days.
- You will be rotated with other resellers from nearby areas to reduce the rate of return or exchange for defective copies.
- For an additional investment of RM1200, a battered 25-year-old car will be provided as a mobile store.
- As part of the Uncle Ho Network, you'll be provided with access to VIEWS(tm)(VCD Inspectors Early Warning System). By placing well trained informers in every enforcement agencies, we're able to eliminate the 'surprise element'.
- While we take every precaution to warn you of impending raids, we highly recommend the purchase of an unlicensed walkie talkie. You'll be able to network with other franchisees through the wireless system and receive additional news and warnings. As the largest purchaser of Motorola GP300 Walkie Talkies, we're also able to supply you units at very attractive prices.


Our Mission Statement
---------------------
- To provide Malaysian youths with employment and a stable source of income.
- To help promoteMalaysia as the top regional technology and multimedia hub in the true spirit of 'Malaysia Boleh'.
- To make available inMalaysia the latest blockbuster 30 days before its international release.
- To fight American hegemony by reducing the profits ofHollywood studios and Bill Gates.
- To place a stall every 25 feet on every five foot ways throughout Malaysia.
- To reduce the rate of defective discs to 25%.
- To send every VHS player into early retirement and to achieve total extinction of the format by by 2004.


Join Us Full Time (Vacancies Available KL/PJ/Cyberjaya)
=======================================================

Reseller (26,000 positions, Nationwide)
---------------------------------------
Job Description: Operate mobile five foot way stalls. Requirements: Preferably chinese males aged 16 - 22 with blond hair. Possession of own waist pouch to store X-Rated titles will be an added advantage.
Benefits: Flexi-hours and additional one 'day off' each year during major annual operasi.

Graphic Artist (3 positions, Cyberjaya)
---------------------------------------
Job Description: Design covers/inlays for movie titles. Copy latest movie listings from IMDB's website.
Requirements: Very rudimentary knowledge of Photoshop. Ability to design blockbuster-looking or porno-looking covers for mediocre movies will be an added advantage.
Benefits: Free 10 copies of (pirated) software programs every month.

Camera Operator (15 positions,KlangValley)
--------------------------------------------
Job Description: Capture movies being screened in cinemas without being noticed.
Requirements: Ability to operate camcorder. Good knowledge of seating positions in major cineplexes so as to capture entire screen without tilt or distortion. Ability to hold your cough for 90 minutes and munch popcorn silently is an added advantage.
Benefits: Free popcorn and movie passes every month.

Purchasing Officer (1 position, Cyberjaya)
------------------------------------------
Job Description: To buy back consficated items at a reasonable price.
Requirements: Preferably Malays. Good negotiation skills. Ex-employees of city and town councils are encouraged to apply.
Benefits: Easy settling of parking summons and other fines.


Please send your resume to:
The Group Human Resource Manager.
Syarikat Kumpulan Uncle Ho VCD, DVD, CD, CD-ROM
Holdings & Group Of Companies (Malaysia) (1998) Sdn Bhd.
E-Mail: carikerja_uncleho@mycen.com.my


Community Service / News / Promotions
=====================================
* As a responsible corporate citizen, we provide free Video-to-VCD conversion for all MAS cabin crew, subject to subject in video.
* We offer big discounts on (un-sellable) art house films and award-winning Iranian movies as a way of promoting quality films to the masses.
* Mother's Day Special - Special pack of 10 movies to watch with your mother non-stop this Sunday.
Guaranteed no sex scenes. Promotional price: RM 30
* New stalls opening in front of KLIA Main Terminal Building this June & in Taman Negara this July.

All thanks to Lin Yucheng, who refused to buy drinks at the movie snack stand, and insisted on going to Basement 1, only to find that Long John Silver's didn't have the spicy chicken combo anymore, following which we went to McDonalds, I missed the first few minutes of the Matrix Reloaded. Oh well, I can always catch it on Kazaa.

Much has been and will be said about it, but I have but one general comment - it's cryptic for the sake of being cryptic. In a way, it's just like literature, or rather, the study of it :) If you look hard enough, I wager you could find deeper meaning in Mickey Mouse cartoons (and many have already in Powerpuff Girls and Looney Tunes). A few minor comments - the Zion disco seems to be patronised by hippies on drugs, ergo the wild gyrations and middle eastern draping clothes. And something about the credits made the many schoolgirls in the audience squeal.

Later, we were walking around, and Yucheng walked into 77th Street, presumably to look at girls' clothes and accessories. Aww.

Yucheng is under the delusion that officers are in high demand among girls seeking to get attached, which is presumably why all his other officer friends are attahced. Hmmph.


Seen outisde a toilet: "The janitor serving you is ~ A/P ~". What does A/P stand for? I've seen s/o and d/o before, but I can't begin to guess what A/P is.

I have it on reliable sources that JC students will be visiting the Island of Doom on Wednesday. Good luck to the girls mounting and dismounting the 5 tonner in their school uniforms! [Addendum: HCJC sent students doing detention for it. And Mr Lim brought the RJ students there!]

Science in the right spirit

More people are seeking a spiritual anchor in these disruptive times.But they should not get themselves trapped in blind dogma. And religion should not distance itself from science

By Richard Lim

'I have often said that if science proves facts that contradict with Buddhist understanding, Buddhism must change accordingly. We should always adopt a view that accords with the facts.'
- The Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso

"Yet a faith should not trap the individual in blind dogma and old certainties which are no longer relevant. That is the surest path not to nirvana, but to superstition and stagnation. In extreme cases, that path leads to fear and loathing, and to crimes and atrocities committed in the name of religion.

Religions are, of course, about matters perennial and values that endure. But so much of religion today is about form, with little or no understanding on the part of the faithfuls of the substance.

Some religious leaders may take advantage of this lack of understanding among their flocks to exploit them for their own ends.

But the true religious leader knows that his paramount duty is to help his followers and those outside his faith, to understand more fully the teachings of his religion, and the context in which these teachings can serve the people, not him or his institution."


I wish the Creationists and their gang of fundamentalist ilk were this progressive.

The first order of business for the day is to thrash myself soundly with a big stick.

I was looking at my digital camera, and I suddenly noticed that, due to a design feature of the knob, what I'd thought was playback mode was actually camera mode, and vice versa. With a sinking feeling in the gut of my stomach, I tried connecting the camera to the laptop. And the Twain window popped up.

So that's $23 or so for the hub, $30 for the hardware repair fee and $180 for the new AMD Athlon XP 2000 CPU spent so far on this fiasco. Hallelujah. My wits had deserted me. Mayhap it was a hex.

Anyhow, trying to solve my dilemma, I resolved to try to think like a Rational Consumer and apply Cost-Benefit analysis. Now, we assume that all costs incurred till now are sunk costs. So getting a new CPU will cost $180. A new computer would cost at least $1000, and that's already an impossibly low quote, doubtless with many corners cut. Assuming it lasts for an unrealistic 36 months, a new CPU would be good value if it lasts for more than 6.48 months. Since the hardware warranty is 1 year, rational analysis leads me to conclude that I should get the CPU. Voila. The dismal science does have its uses.

Now that that is done, here follows a retelling of my misadventures for the night.


Today was RJ Evil Cult's (Chorale) concert, Vocal Exploits XV/XVI (I forget). For a myriad of reasons, some conventional, others less so, I had some measure of desire to go down, and less than a week ago, Screwed Up Girl assured me that she'd gotten tickets for all of us. Having the wonderful luck that she has, however, her tickets got sold off, so those of us trusting in her means were screwed. However, it was widely known that The Evil One (TBS), being generous and benevolent, did not mind crashers, so I decided to attempt a crashing for perhaps the first time in my life (which tells you how much of a guai kia I am in many areas). I wouldn't have minded paying $6 for the "Raffles Junior College Building Fund", you understand, but there were simply no tickets left.

Striding into the Concourse, I was met with a barricade, manned by faithful students (probably Councillors, but I didn't look at their badges). Filling up a SARS declaration form, I honestly (if stupidly) ticked yes under "Do you have a cough etc" - since I lie badly and my coughs would have attracted attention anyhow - and was thus turned away by David Liew and friends, as the school somehow did not have any thermometers on hand. Dammit, I am supposed to take my temperature twice daily in camp anyway. I should have brought my own. Anyhow, I was asked to leave, and offered a refund of my ticket, but not having paid anything, I felt compelled to turn down this offer (as I did again later, when I was offered a refund yet again).

Exiting the school and mulling over my options, David, Adela and a certain person who shall remain unnamed (and whose pimples have considerably decreased since the last time I saw him/her - good for him/her!) appeared from some vehicles and egged me on, pointing out that I'd gone all the way there already. And so, refusing to slink away ignominiously, my tail hanging between my legs, I drew upon the intimate knowledge of the RJC school compound I have, which only alumni possess, and secreted myself into the complex by means of a secret entrance (through the science labs), a dilapidated looking area which they'd neglected to barricade.

Skulking around in the shadows by the back gate, waiting for the concert to start and the wakeful vigilance of the ushers to lapse, I was accosted by this girl in beach wear, who called, "Mr Liew!" after me. Oh, the horror! Anyhow, after she realised I was not the person she thought I was, she and her friend stood at one end of the covered walkway and asked, "How is it?". Having no idea what in blazers they were referring to, I wagered a guess that they were waiting for people and wanted to make an impression, albeit the back gate was locked. I was wrong, and was enlightened that she was referring to the posters they'd affixed to the pillars. She then asked me what I thought they were for. Looking at the posters, I saw a vague representation of something, in modern art. I'd only an inkling of what the posters were for, so I cheated and peered closely at them, and saw "Raffles Players" at the top of them. I then replied, "Pretentious plays... Post-modernist pretentious plays" and walked off. I hope she wasn't too disheartened :)

After the concert started I tried, numerous times, to peek into LT1 and gauge the vigilance of the ushers. Amazingly, they remained watchful after the first few songs, and one even popped his head out and asked, "Do you have a ticket?", to which I replied, "No". Others loitered around the doors at various times, and were shouted at by David Liew - 'crashers not allowed' (directly contradicting the instructions of TBS himself!). I'm sure some did get in though, despite his proclamations of having checked all suspected gatecrashers and finding everything to be in order, which is a testament to my abyssal and teething crashing skills (as I said, this is the first time I have tried such a stunt) Hanging around the doors, I heard only snatches of music, so Huijun and Huimei will have to be disappointed (I am flattered that the former thinks that I am better than her in this field because I am more 'musically inclined'). I did see the new costumes, designed by the Boss himself, though. The female costume looks like Malay dress gone hideously wrong, and I will not torture my senses trying to recall its look. The male costume looks a smidgen better - mainly the green cravat has become maroon.

When the small groups came up with their items, I loitered around the LT1 area, and suddenly Shun Loong (in the Combat Medic course now!) and Zher Ee (with a nice mane now!) came running by to greet their juniors. Soon, though, the security force descended upon us three. The other two went up to talk to the choir teacher, and were accused of trying to use her to get in. We then fled to the canteen. We had nary a moment's peace, though, before David Liew came up to chase us three out. The other two proceeded to try to talk with Mr Liew, while I just smiled beatifically, if resignedly. In essence, though we were alumni, we were not even permitted to sit in the canteen, on pain of the calling of the police (even though none of us had a fever), to await the concert's end because we had 'no reason' to be in the school. In the end, we were quite disgusted. Rules are rules, but dumb rules are dumb rules, bureaucrats make a lot of silly ones, and nobody ever follows them. If David Liew wants to go by the book (as usual) though, i suppose that's his prerogative. Maybe it's just me, but RJC has become a lot more strict these days.

I was delayed a little by David Liew, who talked to me surprisingly jovially about various matters, and so lost sight of Zher Ee and Shun Loong. However, they were found, as I predicted, at the McDonalds-Soya Bean outlet in Ghim Moh - a favourite haunt of RJ students, where the former was complaining merrily away to his mother and where the soya bean I drank gave me tummy pain later. I wonder what will come of all this.

With the last hope of doing some of what I'd set out to do, I waited outside the gates. And saw Mengchuan, who proclaimed the concert to be "the best free concert ever" (Grr), and Kelvin, who had both a tulip and a rose ("I'm both a guy and a girl. Guys get tulips, girls get roses. So I'm both!")


I've been advised, on more than one occasion, that the reach of the SAF is far, and so it is not good or 'worth it' to do anything to offend it. Nonetheless, I proceed, with some measure of circumspection and level-headedness. I suppose that's the idealism of youth. Best to get things done before I get too serious-cynical and practical.

Argh.

As some might know, my CPU got fried by an errant USB hub.

I brought it to a shop (a neighbourhood type), and they charge $180 for an athlon xp 2000. However, it's about $140 on average at Sim Lim and supposedly they'll install it for free, and I can bring my motherboard manual down to ask if it's compatible with the chip.

Meanwhile my father's going on about how a new computer will break down less and have a 1 year on site, 2 year carry in warranty. He is also gloating about how he warned me not to upgrade 1 1/2 years ago, and how it was very expensive.

So far: the fan's fallen out last year, and the motherboard exploded when I installed a new power supply. So. Do I get a new one?

If I can get one with a tower unit only, without external peripherals I already have, it should be cheaper, but I'm not sure how many companies offer that service. I thought they only sell bundled systems. And then what happens to my old data? I suspect the warranty will be voided if I install an extra hard disk.


I'm leaning towards going to a shop and buying a new system, asking them to install my old hdds and selling off my old parts for a pittance. My sister brings up a good point - it might be worth the money just to forestall the bitching and nagging.

I don't know why I've run into so many problems with this custom built system. Everyone else seems to be having few or no problems with their DIY rigs. I think money wise I haven't been too short-changed, as compared to if I'd gotten a new computer. In terms of frustration, though...

Predators to Replace Nurses, Thermal Scanners at Changi

"In its effort to improve the detection of potential SARS spreaders, the Gahmen has replaced nurses and thermal scanners at Changi Airport with Predators, violent alien warriors that can detect body heat...."

Finally, something -halfway- decent for a change. I usually get really irritated by talkingcock.com's articles because they are so darn corny, lame, shallow, crass and ultimately - shitty. The basic concept is good, but the writing sucks, more often than not. And to think many lawyers, civil servants and doctors supposedly write for them. Maybe it's to cater to Singaporean's brand of toilet humour. Lucky Mr Brown has just come up with Singapore National Education 84!

"Our nurses and doctors are waging a war with Death itself! What can we do to show our support and concern? I know! We'll write them A National Song!" - Heh

"That even if you need a wheel chair to get around you do not qualify for a claim under Eldershield, so long as you can somehow lower yourself into the wheelchair. If you can somehow move one arm and bring food to your mouth you do not qualify. So long as one hand can clean your ass you are deemed not disabled. It does not matter if you need help to go to the toilet.

Only the truly Vegetable need apply." - Ooh, wicked. I love it.

"That DPM Lee was headhunted too.

"From the Straits Times on 04/10/2002

DPM head-hunted too

'I received an e-mail from a company called Migration Expert Australia. It asked me if I knew that Australia is currently looking for skilled and business migrants, and whether I was interested to become an Australian PR. It invited me to visit its website, and to try out a free virtual points test to see if I would qualify. If I was not interested, never mind, please help forward the e-mail to someone whom I think may be interested.' - Mr Lee, on the global contest to attract talent"

Hey, that looks like the same email my unemployed friend received in his inbox too! Small world, man. I also hear there is a global contest to attract investors in making good money by helping Nigerians get millions out of the country. I get these emails everyday so they must be true." - HAHA.


My 2 month old dry cough has morphed into a moist cough. Perhaps it will become a wet cough soon.

Meanwhile my parents still go on about how having a cough makes you more suscpetible to SARS. Bah.


The Associate would like to point out, and has been pestering me to do so for a while as he is too lazy to do so, that the Imperial Double Headed Eagle I'm using as my current blog head was only adopted by the Hapsburgs after the Holy Roman Empire was dissolved by Napoleon Bonaparte.

Wonderful. The following line will apparently crash IE.

"<input type crash>"

Insert anything else undefined you want in place of "crash" :)


Top 10 Things I Hate About Star Trek - So much for this grossly overrated social phenomenon

Badger rampage injures five

Suddenly, I have 5 people telling me, in the same day, about the RJ Alumni page, as if it's some new and wondrous thing.

Please, it's been around since the end of J2, when I went to have a look. Only now it has a new interface and you can choose avatars. Big deal. Been there, done that.

I did enter my nick as Agagooga, though. *shrug*

It seems that a good portion of my fellow medics go through a vegetarian phase. First Andrew, then Sinsiang, then Yiliang, then Jason for a short while and now Ban Xiong, who seems to have held out the longest. Perhaps this is because the normal cookhouse food sucks. Or perhaps they all have this masochistic streak which can only be satisfied by eating food which is even more lacking in variety than normal cookhouse food. In any case, they are all fair weather vegetarians, never eating the vegetarian breakfast. Hmmph.

Thinking of more unsavoury names for people who call me 'Jiabao', I came up with 'Booger' (For the unenlightened, a booger is the thing which comes out when you dig your nose). Unfortunately, I don't have anyone to call that yet, so I'll just have to wait. Maybe if Sinsiang becomes obnoxious enough, he can dump the 'Bob' and become 'Booger'! On a related note, Ban Xiong suggests 'Tom', 'Dick' and 'Harry' as additional names. Hehe.

I've gotten a Number 3 nametag that says 'AGAGOOGA', and it now takes pride of place on my black camp sling bag above the RJ and RV badges. Yeh! A fringe benefit of getting it is hearing people attempting to pronounce it, and mangling its pronunciation - aww. Some reactions: "what does agagooga mean anyway? sounds like a tribal orgasm", "omg you actually paid for such bo liao crap? You've spent far too long in the army I fear".

Piqued by the rats scuttling around the Medical Centre, I decided to set up an improvised rat trap. I remove the cover from a dustbin, put it beside a water cooler and placed a packet of the 'Black Meal' (where most of the dishes are black and unappealing) at the bottom. The next day, I found 3 small rats at the bottom of the dustbin. I was going to kill them, but had to go out on detail, and by the time I returned, someone else - Max, I'm told - had killed them by pouring Sudol in. I am rather delighted by my success, but Dennis tells me that he caught 6 rats this way before - and without baiting them with food too. More pertinently, the 2 giant rats are strong enough to leap out of the dustbin, so I will have to come up with a scheme to trap them.

For not a short while, I have been doing what few stay-in personnel do - washing my uniforms. I was going to resolve to wash them more often, so that I could wear a new set everyday, due to the curse that has been laid on me which makes me unable to be like others, who use 2 sets of uniforms a week, but I am demoralised, for apparently washing them in-camp does not get rid of the foul odour. Verily, I am vexed.

Our spanking new VCD player is being used to watch Initial D. So far it looks rather brainless, at least when the characters are driving, with beads of sweat running down their faces. I think I have come to a conclusion - Anime is either brainless or inexplicable! Argh. I wonder if I will ever get to use my fair share of it. Probably not, seeing as the TV is always in use when I am in the bunk. No matter, I will take it as my sacrifice for the sake of communal harmony.

Another disadvantage of senseless, overly-rigid and unthinking regimentation: It gets in the way of essential work, all in the pursuit of vague, undefined and unlikely rewards. Methinks it might even lead to degraded combat performance.

We now have to wash the toilet twice a day, at 1:00pm in addition to the morning's area cleaning. Not only is this unfair, it is unnecessary!


It's not fair. Females get all sorts of funky names. Apart from the traditional types of names (eg Agatha, Bernadette), they can be named after months (April, May), precious stones (eg Crystal, Ruby. Though I've yet to see a Lapis Lazuli), virtues or emotions (Joy, Faith, Love... Though oddly no one is called 'Chastity') and god knows what else. How come males get stuck with boring names? 'Frank' is perhaps the only acceptable male attribute-name, though I suspect that Franks are named after the Franks, and not the quality of frankness. I've yet to see a 'Justice' or 'Wisdom" (though we all know and love 'Just Wong'), and the odd exceptions like 'Noodle' are confined to Hong Kong. Perhaps the closest we can get is 'Sunny' - not very impressive next to the stable of girls' names.

More silliness: Project Islamic HOPE claims X-Men 2 is anti-Muslim, for William Stryker is shown wearing a ring with 'Allah' inscribed on it. "'It�s a major slap in the face to Muslims worldwide that this portrayal be made when the X-men in the comics and movies have always fought against prejudice in society', said the group�s director Najee Ali. 'It was done intentionally,' he said. 'It�s another case of Islamic phobia in Hollywood which has always demonized Arabs and Muslims, but after 9/11 we thought that American Jews and Muslims would work together for peace.'" Surely the ring said 'Allah'. How could it not, when the name of Allah occurs naturally in so many places? Why stop at this anyway? William Stryker has a beard and moustache - is Brian Singer trying to say that men with Vietnam Veterans with facial hair are evil, crazed xenophobes and plot for world domination? Also, Magneto is Jewish. Tada - irrefutable proof of anti-Semitism! Xavier is bald and disabled - surely a slap in the face for bald men and advocates for the handicapped. Hell, Nightcrawler and Beast are blue, so for people with rare mutations resulting in blue skin, this is eminently insulting.

I've been playing Little Fighter 2, but somehow I can't attain the proficiency level that others can. Argh.


My mother's idea of a good book seems to differ greatly from mine. Among other things, she likes inspirational titles (like a zillionth helping of Chicken Soup for the Castrated African Hermaphrodite's Soul) and biographies. Perhaps, too, when one ages, one favours books that evoke nostalgia and remind one of one's younger days. Recently, she highly recommended 'Frog Under A Coconut Shell' to me, a book of memoirs by Josephine Chia, a Peranakan (Nonya, to be specific). Now, as faithful readers might know, I am not a fan of local writing as much of it sucks. This is probably true of most types of writing, but somehow it seems to be more noticeable in local works, which all seem to be edited poorly - if at all.

Personally, I found the book immensely irritating. It is perhaps the most indulgent book I have ever read, surpassing, by far, the most horrific of my output. It is basically an extended, cringe-inducing soliloquy. The narrative is often broken for many paragraphs, while the author speculates, comments, reminisces, moralises and pontificates about something only peripherally related to what she was talking about previously. When that doesn't happen, the author jumps from topic to topic and thread to thread haphazardly, through not just time, but space also, with only the slightest amount of cohesion. The undisciplined ranting puts me in mind of Kenneth Tan at his worst.

Perhaps an extract will illustrate my points. Page 22: "As if it was a legacy she had handed me, I too hated the sight of the slaughtered chickens writhing on the ground or running around in a frenzy until they realised that they were supposed to be dead. The vision bothered me so much that I eventually gave up eating chicken or anything that had legs to run around with. Has this something to do with my mother or was this my own uninfluenced choice? Sometimes, I wonder where the Me who is my mother's daughter ends and the Me who is entirely myself begins." This theme is cringe-worthy enough the first time, but when it is repeated several times, it really becomes intolerable. I suspect that the repetition of this, among other themes, is the author's attempt to vindicate herself and assuage her guilt.

The author professes that this book is her mother's story, but bits of her life keep slipping past her guard and into her book, and she even half-apologises with the platitude, "but that is another story". Perhaps a lapse could be tolerated occasionally, but they occur with disturbing frequency and so are unforgivable.

Some parts are unconsciously ironic. Take, for example, this classic line: "He told me that my capacity to learn Arithmetic was minimal, which was true, and that I get all the English tenses mixed up, which was also true". A Freudian slip, perchance?


Quotes:

Have you paid for the VCD player? [Me: Yes!] Well it doesn't look as if you'll be able to use it.

Gabriel! Check it out. [Me: S.C. !] Suck Cock. My name is 'Suck Cock'

[To me] Don't roll up your sleeves, you look like an RGS girl.

All my medics don't have girlfriends. All gay, is it?

I'm setting up a business next time. Lak Sat Bar.

"I have seldom met an intelligent person whose views were not narrowed and distorted by religion." - James Buchanan

"Gods are fragile things; they may be killed by a whiff of science or a dose of common sense." - Chapman Cohen

"The universe displays no proof of an all-directing mind." - Auguste Comte

"I don't believe in God because I don't believe in Mother Goose." - Clarence Darrow

"Faith is the great cop-out, the great excuse to evade the need to think and evaluate evidence. Faith is belief in spite of, even perhaps because of, the lack of evidence." - Richard Dawkins

"I have never seen the slightest scientific proof of the religious theories of heaven and hell, of future life for individuals, or of a personal God." - Thomas Edison

"As men's prayers are a disease of the will, so are their creeds a disease of the intellect." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

"The way to see by faith is to shut the eye of reason." - Benjamin Franklin

"Lighthouses are more helpful than churches." - Benjamin Franklin

"The notion that faith in Christ is to be rewarded by an eternity of bliss, while a dependence upon reason, observation, and experience merits everlasting pain, is too absurd for refutation, and can be relieved only by that unhappy mixture of insanity and ignorance called 'faith.'" - Robert Ingersoll

If the Bible and my brain are both the work of the same Infinite God, whose fault is it that the book and my brain do not agree? Robert G. Ingersoll

"The invisible and the non-existent look very much alike." - Delos B. McKown

"We must question the story logic of having an all-knowing all-powerful God, who creates faulty Humans, and then blames them for his own mistakes." - Gene Roddenberry

"It is sad that while science moves ahead in exciting new areas of research, fine-tuning our knowledge of how life originated and evolved, creationists remain mired in medieval debates about angels on the head of a pin and animals in the belly of an Ark." - Michael Shermer

"It ain't the parts of the Bible that I can't understand that bother me, it is the parts that I do understand." - Mark Twain

I come here to combat the fraud and illusion of your conventional, institutionalized religion. As with all such religions, your institution moves toward cowardice, it moves toward mediocrity, inertia, and self-satisfaction.
-Frank Herbert, Children of Dune

I'm going to rub your faces in things you try to avoid. I don't find it strange that all you want to believe in is only that which comforts you. How else do humans invent the traps which betray us into mediocrity? How else do we define cowardice? -Frank Herbert, Children of Dune

....it is with God we must be most careful: for He makes such a powerful appeal to what is lowest in human nature -- our feeling of insufficiency, fear of the unknown, personal failings; above all our monstrous egotism which sees in the martyr's crown an athletic prize which is really hard to attain. Lawrence Durrell

If religion cannot restrain evil, it cannot claim effective power for good. Morris Cohen

It is usually when men are at their most religious that they behave with the least sense and the greatest cruelty. Ilka Chase

All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit. Thomas Paine

Say what you will about the sweet miracle of unquestioning faith, I consider a capacity for it terrifying and absolutely vile. Kurt Vonnegut

The masses have never thirsted after truth. They turn aside from evidence that is not to their taste, preferring to deify error if error seduces them. Whoever can supply them with illusions is easily their master.; whoever attempts to destroy their illusions is always their victim. Gustave Le Bon

"God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent--it says so right there on the label. If you have a mind capable of believing all three of these divine attributes simultaneously, I have a wonderful bargain for you. No checks, please. Cash and in small bills." Lazarus Long (Robert A Heinlein)

The beauty of religious mania is that it has the power to explain everything. Once God (or Satan) is accepted as the first cause of everything which happens in the mortal world, nothing is left to chance... logic can be happily tossed out the window. Stephen King

Man's best friend is his dogma. Timothy Leary

There is no place in a fantic's head where reason can enter. Napoleon Bonaparte

Only fraud and falsehood dread examination . Truth invites it . Thomas Cooper

Eternal damnation. What a cruel hoax your priests have inflicted on your people. Souls change. Only God is eternal-- and what kind of God would damn any created thing eternally? What sin could possibly be so great? -A. A. Attanasio, The Dragon and the Unicorn


1) If your neighbor's dog killed your child, and you had the power to chain this dog, blast him with blow torches, and the dog not die as a result, how long would you torture the dog for its terrible crime?

A) One Day

B) One Month

C) One Year

D) Eternity

2) As a loving parent, you give life to 5 children and give them free will to do as they see best. Each child goes his/her own way. One becomes a Buddhist, one becomes an Islam, one becomes a Christian, one becomes a Wicca, and one believes in no religion. Only one of your children believes as you do. What would you do regarding your 4 children who do not believe the same way you do?

A) I would kill them.

B) I would disown them.

C) I would torture them for eternity in hell.

D) I would love them and accept them as they are.

3) If you had a critical message and wanted to make sure as many people as possible would get it and understand it, how would you go about it?

A) I would send it in a time when there was no mass communications, or printing presses.

B) I would have my messenger not write anything down regarding my message, trusting others to listen and pass it on accurately and unchanged.

C) I would make sure what is written about my message was contradictory, and very confusing, so people would have a hard time understanding my message.

D) I would write down a clear, non contradictory, simple book and send it with my messenger in a time of mass communication and the printing press.

4) How would you deal with people who did not get your message, or didn't understand it, or didn't believe it was your message because it was so contradictory and confusing?

A) Kill them.

B) Torture them.

C) Damn them to eternity in hell.

D) Understand, Love them and forgive them.

5) If you were omnipotent but invisible, and you wanted to make sure that people knew you were real and wanted them to believe in you, what would you do to make this happen?

A) I would write my name on the face of the moon so all could see and have no doubt of my existence.

B) I would do things that could not be explained in any other way. Like stopping terrible things from happening, like the 911 event, or feeding all the hungry children on earth.

C) I would protect and reward those who believed in me and ignore the plight of those who do not.

D) I would do nothing at all and stay as invisible and undetectable as possible, letting everyone fend for themselves, those who believe in me and those who don't, showing no favoritism.


"It is a counterfeit love that is contingent upon authority punishment or reward. In a nutshell, God had to kill Himself to appease Himself so that He would not have to roast us, His beloved creations, in HELL forever. He loves us more than we can ever comprehend, but if we don't return His affections, He will make us regret it for eternity. Now that is AMAZING GRACE!"

Courtesy of Hell's Kitchen:

Thanks to animal research, they'll be able to protest 20.8 years longer.

According
to the US Department of Health and Human Services, animal research has
helped extend our life expectancy by 20.8 years. Of course, how you
choose to spend those extra years is up to you.

Foundation for Biomedical Research

These people make reservist training sound so fun. No wonder they look forward to it.

Perhaps the best:

"Most important things to put inside full pack is T shirt, shorts, slipper and shower foam ... the rest dont have never mind .. Garters can use rubber band ...

All other important stores that are supposed to be in full pack ?, just say You don't have , not issued to you ... lost ... dog ate it , wife throw away .. all valid excuse ...

I'll never forget my first In Camp ... that time still Xin Jiao ... When they say Relvary at 7:30 ... breakfast to be taken at cookhouse at 7:45... draw stores at 8:30am ... move out by 9:15am ... I thought the timing was very serious like when NSF time ...

For reservists, it translates to ... Wake up at 8:30... 8:45 smoke break, go canteen for breakfast... sit down and talk cock .... 9:30am go back bunk toilet break ..... 10:00am go to look for storeman ... 10:30 go for morning break at canteen .... 11am draw stores .... 12 pm get ready for lunch ... 1pm at the earliest Move out .... look for hawker center for lunch .... throw Combat rations away or leave it in bunk for Bangala worker to take home ...

Got to give it to the Lao Jiaos .. respect them .. "


Tripping De-Light Fantastic - Are psychedelic drugs good for you?

I must be cursed.

So I go to Jurong Point to buy my USB hub. With the help of Ban Xiong, who is going to meet an unspecified friend for dinner, I pick out a small USB hub which needs no external adapter. I go home, boot, and plug in my hub. Everything freezes. Then when I reboot, my monitor refuses to get the signal from my CPU, and it sounds as if it isn't booting properly.

*buries head in hands* The feng shui in my computer room must be very bad.

Crash your IE

Celebrate No Pants Day in Singapore and get arrested.

Rob's Amazing Poem Generator

A new type of Boss Button - Worried about getting fired for reading blogs when you should be working?

Dano looks interesting. Finally - a new version of Blogger without all those problems! They won't let me migrate though :( SO I had to create a new blog to try it out. Not much new, but hopefully it gets rid of all the screw ups in the old Blogger code!

Wired Loo!


I'll sucuumb just this once:

The Dante's Inferno Test has banished you to the Sixth Level of Hell - The City of Dis!
Here is how you matched up against all the levels:

Level	Score
Purgatory (Repenting Believers)	Very Low
Level 1 - Limbo (Virtuous Non-Believers)	High
Level 2 (Lustful)	High
Level 3 (Gluttonous)	Moderate
Level 4 (Prodigal and Avaricious)	Very Low
Level 5 (Wrathful and Gloomy)	Moderate
Level 6 - The City of Dis (Heretics)	Very High
Level 7 (Violent)	Moderate
Level 8- the Malebolge (Fraudulent, Malicious, Panderers)	Moderate
Level 9 - Cocytus (Treacherous)	Low

Take the Dante's Inferno Hell Test

Ooh, I'm a heretic!

Cute cartoon on blogging

Found via SUPER fast COMPUTER

I've noticed that Beniah is becoming more and more like the recently ORD-ed Tse Ling, so I've taken to calling him 'Beniah Tan Tse Ling', a term which evidently induces great displeasure in him, as can be seen from his renewed attempts to poke me vigorously. Among other things, he wears Long 4 more often now (where Tse Ling wore Half 4 - with the sleeves stretching to his elbow), sleeps a lot in the Dispensary Chair (TM), has a lot of stubble and gained some weight and looks shagged all the time. He even has a slight drawl to his words now!

Our CSM got upset when he came one day at 6:30am, after not having done so for a while, and caught many people still sleeping in the bunks. Now, we have to fall in at 6:15am in uniform to go to breakfast all together. This leads to queues not seen since BMT! Among other things.

I bought some lavender potpourri for my cupboard in bunk. Maybe it will get rid of the musty smell.

2 of our former AC kids are very disappointing. Jonathan has hair which is uncombed and is sprawled across his head, resembling Big Bird's hairdo, which is why some call him that. Wang, on the other hand, had this cock hairstyle which could be described as a "roundhead" cut - his hair is cut in an arc from somewhere on the middle of his head across to his fringe, and is short enough to be prickly, but still somewhat soft. To think they come from the proud AC line! Tut tut. I don't expect spiky hair, but this is really letting down the ghost of Old Ham. Or whatever his name was.

My 'give people who call me "Jiabao" names campaign' has kicked off. First up is dear Guoquan, who gets the prize of 'Cesspit'. Sinsiang is next, with the new name of 'Bob' and rounding up the list is Derrick, who has earned the name of 'George'. Damn. Now I need new names.


More Army recruitment posters!

"Who causes mental atrophy?" - This will be accompanied by a picture of the awful sign which came up near ATC last year. "ATC celebrates Sinagapore 37th birthday"

"Who causes injuries in the pursuit of nebulous, unnecessary goals?" - Above this will be a picture of a guy with a number tag (ala IPPT), with his ankle twisted at an unnatural angle, and a look of indescribable agony on his face.

"Who wastes your time?" - Below will be a shot of Temporary Support Staff (or other suitable minions) doing the most mindless sort of Saikang or Area Cleaning. Swarming grassed slopes and sweeping dead leaves from them, from example. Or doing rubbish (literally, even, like Yours Truly) for NDP. Or painting signs.


We were recently shipped some copies of a book: "The SAF Medical Corps... Our Heritage, Our Pride, Our Commitment". The disclaimer is very amusing: "The opinions expressed in this book are solely those of the authors and editors and does (sic) not reflect the view of the Singapore Armed Forces Medical Corps and/or the Singapore Armed Forces". This despite it being published by the SAF MC, and being authored/edited by some senior officers, including a Colonel (if my memory serves me well) Hah, maybe I should adopt that disclaimer for my blog. It goes on to read: "Any resemblance, however remote, to any mannerisms, personalities or fictitious characters described in this book is purely coincidential", which is a most odd disclaimer not only in phrasing but also in language and content (this oddness in language is visible in other parts of the book too), especially since the events described all seem to be true.

Interesting facts:
- The new SAF MC building took almost 10 years to build. This is said to show the hard work put in. Strangely enough, most people would see that as inefficiency...
- The opening day of the new building was "cooled by 2 short episodes of passing showers". Read: "the event was ruined by 2 miserable downpours"

One part of the book tells of how the Medic song came to be. I prefer the original lyrics, composed in the 60s. Dumbing down is evil!

Original Lyrics of "Medics of the Field":

"The nation called as need arose for stations in the field
To treat the wounded and the ill, the brave and imperilled
First seasoned stalwarts pioneered, then hundreds joined this band
Ere long a new cry could be heard a-ringing through the land

We are they who joined, the medics of the field
We serve the wounded, sick and maimed, the brave who will not yield
Our sword the scalpel, staff - our shield, and these with skill we wield
No matter when, we're battle-ready, Medics of the Field!"


I was at Khatib Camp on Saturday to cover a rehearsal for NDP 2003. Basically, all the RSMs and CSMs were training the civilians and kiddies up in their drill, but unfortunately, they weren't allowed to shout too loudly or knock them down, so I think some of them felt frustrated.

Perhaps it was too early in the rehearsal schedule, so only one song was available for the people to march to - a most jingoistic song, part of the lyrics to which went "We're the pride of our nation... In the SAF we're proud to be. It's our duty. It's our honour to serve..." Ugh.

Under the tentage, it was both hot and humid after a downpour, and mental slowdown ensued while many of us became sluggish or fell asleep.

There was one man in the PAP contingent wearing an NDP 2002 Polo Shirt - apparently he was unlucky enough to be chosen to participate again this year!

The PAP, NTUC and Singtel groups all talked and fidgeted less than the Girls Brigade group. Some uniform group. Humph!

At the end, I was roped in to take the temperatures of the participants with ear thermometers. Now, as we all know, ear thermometers tend to give abnormally low temperature readings. I attribute this to several factors:

- Some people have small years (especially the Secondary School girls)
- Some people cringe when their temperature is taken (especially the younger females, read: Secondary school girls, some of whom look as if they're going to cry)
- The alcohol used to clean the sheath does not have a chance to dry. But then with a queue stretching as far as the eye can see, one is pressured to work faster
- The probe is not shoved deep enough into the people's ears (but then this will cause discomfort, and many already fear their temperatures being taken this way)
- Singaporeans are all lazy to clean their ears (I saw not a few ears with gunk encrusted on them - luckily I was wearing gloves), so the ear wax prevents the correct temperature from being read!

Strangely enough, I got the highest readings from the tudung-clad Malay women. Perhaps they keep their ears abnormally clean. Or the tudungs are just very hot.


Quotes:

[On winning the Best Unit Competition and the Armour Road Relay] Even if you're a regular: You rely on this sort of thing to give you meaning in life...

[On Psychiatric Patients] They should send them all to IMH, then close down [the] SAF ward, then I don't have to do duty. Yeh.

[On a surgical gown] Unless you can put on a bra yourself, then you put on your gown yourself (Ed: Aren't bras worn by the wearer unaided?]

All the RI GEPs don't have girlfriends, because they don't have a life

Lin Yucheng: 'I repeat everything twice. I repeat everything twice. I repeat everything twice.'... I miss him so much I'm making up things he would say. [Gabriel: Then why don't you call him?]

[On Guoquan] When you conjure up images of a cesspit, you see his face


Song of the moment:

Saint-Saens - Le Carnaval des animaux - Kangourous

'Miss Beautiful Legs 2003' competition at Tiong Bahru Plaza has slimming and spa vouchers for prizes. Bah. Like the winners need them.

I had 'plum wine jelly' at Restaurant J in M Hotel. It was... invigorating. It's the most unique dessert I've ever tasted, and it was so acrid that it made me jerk upright in my chair and my prostate twitch. And you wonder why the dessert buffet only had sliced fresh fruit and French pastries, and no other Japanese desserts.

One irritating thing about Windows XP - the multiple user concept means that settings get mixed up. Gah.

I seem to be getting only 4X writing speed from my CDRW but I'm sick of wrestling with USB for one week.

After my recent expenditure, I feel impoverished. I take some comfort in the fact that many of my fellow combat corporals have a great deal less in the bank than I. "Where does all my money go to? I also want to know."


Malaysia, taking a leaf from Singapore's book, was considering reprisals against the Economist for [unspecified] "baseless" accusations in its recent survey on them (Incidentally, I thought it was fine). Thankfully, cooler heads have prevailed and they are going to submit a list of "errors" in the survey to said publication, which will presumably publish it.

Other people, organisations and countries have been criticised before, have written in and had their letters published, so I don't see what the big fuss in Malaysia was, what with some burning copies of the magazine. Maybe it had never occured to them that they could actually -write- in to correct the alleged factual errors.

Supposedly, this behaviour is modelled on Singapore's. Perhaps this is why it is rare for Singapore to be featured in a less than neutral light (if at all) in the major media. Well - 'Silence Speaks Volumes'. From what I remember, though, Singapore has taken action mostly only when the offending publication has refused to publish its reply letter, thus denying it the right of reply. *shrug*


Short notes on X-Men 2:

Jean Gray looks better with long hair

The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants has shrunk further, from an anemic 4 to a pathetic 2.

Magneto still doesn't have the armour he has in the comic and the cartoon, but only the measly helmet

Spandex looks better than black rubberised suits

More weird stuff from Melvin:

Weird Xylophone

Hello little people~! Andrew's making an appearance again ... requesting you to look at pretty pretty earrings (and possibly consider purchasing them) at:
batsEATspiders

http://www.geocities.com/batseatspiders/

before he forgets.
And so you don't look like an *ignoramus. it's bats- eat - spiders (they do, they do!) ... not back-street spiders or bat-sy-spiders.

Argh they're showing Lost Galaxy on Channel i.

When will they bring in Time Force, if ever?

I crave my MMPR fix!

This is an unusual paragraph. How quickly you can find out what is so unusual about it? It looks so plain you would think nothing was wrong with it! In fact, nothing is wrong with it! It is unusual though. Study it, and think about it, but you still may not find anything odd. But if you work at it a bit, you might find out! Try to do so without any coaching!


Bah.

Blogger was just down for an ungodly amount of time.

I swear - it's become infinitely worse since Google bought it.


I went down to Canon Technical Support today, and my A70 miraculously worked there. Grr.

It was suggested to me that I try a USB hub, or settle for a CompactFlash card reader. Gah. More outlay.


This one's a killer:



"Professor X's Bald Head" - LOL

I've finally managed to install the wretched WinXP. Everything's looking good.

I've been missing out on all this for the last year and a half!

Do you know your ABCs? - Memorable and, erm, fun way to learn your alphabet.

"well after F it got a bit gross"


Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson and Usama bin Laden have a lot in common. Take the quiz and see if you can identify statements by each of these "leaders."

Falwell-Robertson-Bin Laden Quiz


Fun tales of subversion

Yeh.

I just burnt a CD.

I feel empowered.