Wth. What's this doing in my mailbox?

NB: Personal particulars have been blocked out to protect the sender's privacy

"Subject: The Uncertainty Principle Is Untenable

please reply to ***@***.***
thank you.


THE UNCERTAINTY PRINCIPLE IS UNTENABLE


By re-analysing Heisenberg's Gamma-Ray Microscope experiment and the ideal experiment from which the uncertainty principle is derived, it is actually found that the uncertainty principle can not be obtained from them. It is therefore found to be untenable.

Key words:
uncertainty principle; Heisenberg's Gamma-Ray Microscope Experiment; ideal experiment

Ideal Experiment 1

Heisenberg's Gamma-Ray Microscope Experiment


A free electron sits directly beneath the center of the microscope's lens (please see AIP page http://www.aip.org/history/heisenberg/p08b.htm or diagram below) . The circular lens forms a cone of angle 2A from the electron. The electron is then illuminated from the left by gamma rays--high energy light which has the shortest wavelength. These yield the highest resolution, for according to a principle of wave optics, the microscope can resolve (that is, "see" or distinguish) objects to a size of dx, which is related to and to the wavelength L of the gamma ray, by the expression:

dx = L/(2sinA) (1)

However, in quantum mechanics, where a light wave can act like a particle, a gamma ray striking an electron gives it a kick. At the moment the light is diffracted by the electron into the microscope lens, the electron is thrust to the right. To be observed by the microscope, the gamma ray must be scattered into any angle within the cone of angle 2A. In quantum mechanics, the gamma ray carries momentum as if it were a particle. The total momentum p is related to the wavelength by the formula,

p = h / L, where h is Planck's constant. (2)

In the extreme case of diffraction of the gamma ray to the right edge of the lens, the total momentum would be the sum of the electron's momentum P'x in the x direction and the gamma ray's momentum in the x direction:

P' x + (h sinA) / L', where L' is the wavelength of the deflected gamma ray.

In the other extreme, the observed gamma ray recoils backward, just hitting the left edge of the lens. In this case, the total momentum in the x direction is:

P''x - (h sinA) / L''.

The final x momentum in each case must equal the initial x momentum, since momentum is conserved. Therefore, the final x momenta are equal to each other:

P'x + (h sinA) / L' = P''x - (h sinA) / L'' (3)

If A is small, then the wavelengths are approximately the same,

L' ~ L" ~ L. So we have

P''x - P'x = dPx ~ 2h sinA / L (4)

Since dx = L/(2 sinA), we obtain a reciprocal relationship between the minimum uncertainty in the measured position, dx, of the electron along the x axis and the uncertainty in its momentum, dPx, in the x direction:

dPx ~ h / dx or dPx dx ~ h. (5)

For more than minimum uncertainty, the "greater than" sign may added.

Except for the factor of 4pi and an equal sign, this is Heisenberg's uncertainty relation for the simultaneous measurement of the position and momentum of an object.

Re-analysis

To be seen by the microscope, the gamma ray must be scattered into any angle within the cone of angle 2A.

The microscope can resolve (that is, "see" or distinguish) objects to a size of dx, which is related to and to the wavelength L of the gamma ray, by the expression:

dx = L/(2sinA) (1)

This is the resolving limit of the microscope and it is the uncertain quantity of the object's position.

The microscope can not see the object whose size is smaller than its resolving limit, dx. Therefore, to be seen by the microscope, the size of the electron must be larger than or equal to the resolving limit.

But if the size of the electron is larger than or equal to the resolving limit dx, the electron will not be in the range dx. Therefore, dx can not be deemed to be the uncertain quantity of the electron's position which can be seen by the microscope, but deemed to be the uncertain quantity of the electron's position which can not be seen by the microscope. To repeat, dx is uncertainty in the electron's position which can not be seen by the microscope.

To be seen by the microscope, the gamma ray must be scattered into any angle within the cone of angle 2A, so we can measure the momentum of the electron.

dPx is the uncertainty in the electron's momentum which can be seen by microscope.

What relates to dx is the electron where the size is smaller than the resolving limit. When the electron is in the range dx, it can not be seen by the microscope, so its position is uncertain.

What relates to dPx is the electron where the size is larger than or equal to the resolving limit .The electron is not in the range dx, so it can be seen by the microscope and its position is certain.

Therefore, the electron which relates to dx and dPx respectively is not the same. What we can see is the electron where the size is larger than or equal to the resolving limit dx and has a certain position, dx = 0.

Quantum mechanics does not rely on the size of the object, but on Heisenberg's Gamma-Ray Microscope experiment. The use of the microscope must relate to the size of the object. The size of the object which can be seen by the microscope must be larger than or equal to the resolving limit dx of the microscope, thus the uncertain quantity of the electron's position does not exist. The gamma ray which is diffracted by the electron can be scattered into any angle within the cone of angle 2A, where we can measure the momentum of the electron.

What we can see is the electron which has a certain position, dx = 0, so that in no other position can we measure the momentum of the electron. In Quantum mechanics, the momentum of the electron can be measured accurately when we measure the momentum of the electron only, therefore, we have gained dPx = 0.

And,

dPx dx =0. (6)

Ideal experiment 2

Single Slit Diffraction Experiment


Suppose a particle moves in the Y direction originally and then passes a slit with width dx(Please see diagram below) . The uncertain quantity of the particle's position in the X direction is dx, and interference occurs at the back slit . According to Wave Optics , the angle where No.1 min of interference pattern is can be calculated by following formula:

sinA=L/2dx (1)

and L=h/p where h is Planck's constant. (2)

So the uncertainty principle can be obtained

dPx dx ~ h (5)

Re-analysis

According to Newton first law , if an external force in the X direction does not affect the particle, it will move in a uniform straight line, ( Motion State or Static State) , and the motion in the Y direction is unchanged .Therefore , we can learn its position in the slit from its starting point.

The particle can have a certain position in the slit and the uncertain quantity of the position is dx =0. According to Newton first law , if the external force at the X direction does not affect particle, and the original motion in the Y direction is not changed , the momentum of the particle int the X direction will be Px=0 and the uncertain quantity of the momentum will be dPx =0.

This gives:

dPx dx =0. (6)

No experiment negates NEWTON FIRST LAW. Whether in quantum mechanics or classical mechanics, it applies to the microcosmic world and is of the form of the Energy-Momentum conservation laws. If an external force does not affect the particle and it does not remain static or in uniform motion, it has disobeyed the Energy-Momentum conservation laws. Under the above ideal experiment , it is considered that the width of the slit is the uncertain quantity of the particle's position. But there is certainly no reason for us to consider that the particle in the above experiment has an uncertain position, and no reason for us to consider that the slit's width is the uncertain quantity of the particle. Therefore, the uncertainty principle,

dPx dx ~ h (5)

which is derived from the above experiment is unreasonable.

Concluson


>From the above re-analysis , it is realized that the ideal experiment demonstration for the uncertainty principle is untenable. Therefore, the uncertainty principle is untenable.



Reference:
1. Max Jammer. (1974) The philosophy of quantum mechanics (John wiley & sons , Inc New York ) Page 65
2. Ibid, Page 67
3. http://www.aip.org/history/heisenberg/p08b.htm



Author : **** *******
Postal address : P.O.Box ***** ****** ****** ****** *****
GuangZhou 510800 P.R.China

E-mail: ****@***.***
Tel: **---**---******"


Hrm.

GainRWeb
The site for Guys and their Guts

"Q: How can I get fat ... NOW? ...OR... I have too high a metabolism. I can't gain, can I?
A: The answer can be given in one word: EAT! Your body makes fat to store up the energy from any extra calories you may consume. So, since it takes 3,500-3,600 calories in excess of the amount your body requires to gain each and every pound ... you must EAT. Eat more than what is required for your body. Eat it every day! If you live a lifestyle that requires that you consume 3,000 calories per day to maintain your current weight - then you must eat at least 700 extra calories each and every day to put on a pound per week.

Now, although that sounds simple, remember, even the very act of eating and digesting those 700 extra calories will cause you to burn more calories.

Your body requires more calories when it is cold than when it is warm - stay warm after each meal.

Your body will use the food in your digestive track first, then go to your fat reserves for the calories it needs. Don't exercise right after eating. The digesting food will be used by the body instead of your fat reserves. That sounds backwards....but the body is more efficient when it uses stored fat, than when it uses digesting food. You want all the calories in your digestive system to turn to fat and then get used. In the long run, you'll get fatter this way."

?!

Back from Sabah.

Tim was right. The retreat actually *was* very good. It forced me to examine many issues and questions that I'd been ignoring (conveniently) for a long time, being a semi-skeptical non-denominational Christian, and to reflect. I still need some time to meditate on everything, though, but for now, I'd classify myself as a hopeful skeptic.

Naturally, I took copious volumes of notes (about 4 A4-sized sides, in my usual spidery handwriting). Look for the essay to come up in 1-2 weeks.

No offense intended!

Oh i just had to put this down! At the OCF free bbq yesterday, PL and i were at the welcome table commenting on the quality of RY's hair, and she asked him what shampoo he used.

RY said "All you have to do is pray for salvation for yr hair, and it will get re-born!"

Just had a talk with Timothy's father about the Sabah retreat. He seems awfully enthusiastic for me :) My mother, on the other hand, is anxious and unsure.

Oh well, I guess there's only one way to find out :)


For obvious reasons, I won't be able to blog when I'm there, so my next post will probably be on the 10th of March.

Toodles.

"What's Opera, Doc?"

Featuring Bugs Bunny (Mel Blanc), and Elmer Fudd (Arthur Q Bryant)

Elmer: Be vewy quiet. I'm hunting wabbits.
(spoken) WABBIT TWACKS!! WABBIT HOLE!!
(thrusting spear) KILL THE WABBIT! KILL THE WABBIT! KILL THE WABBIT!

Bugs: (spoken): Kill the wabbit?

Elmer: YO HO HO! YO HO HO! YO HO...

Bugs: Oh mighty warrior of great fighting stock
Might I inquire to ask eh... what's up doc?

Elmer: I'm going to kill the wabbit!

Bugs: O mighty warrior, 'twill be quite a task
How will you do it, might I inquire to ask?

E: I will do it with my spear and magic hewmet.

B: Spear and magic hewmet?

E: Spear and magic hewmet.

B: Magic hewmet?

E: Magic hewmet!

B (spoken, disparagingly): Magic hewmet.

E: Yes, magic hewmet, and I give you a sample!
(exit Bugs at warp speed)

E (spoken): That was the wabbit!

(Then a chase, followed by:)

E: Oh, Bwoonhilda, you're so wovely.

B: Yes, I know it, I can't help it.

E: Oh, Bwoonhilda, be my wove...
(A dance, then... )

E: Weturn, my wove... a fire burning inside me...

B: Return my luv, I want you always bee-side me.

E: Wove wike ours must be...

B: Made fer you and fer me...

E & B : Return, won't you return my love... for my love is yours.

(While singing, they embrace. Bug's helm falls to the ground... revealing his ears)

Elmer (spoken, outraged): I'll KILL the wabbit!!

E (spoken): North winds bwow, south winds bwow. Typhoons, Hurricanes... Earthquakes!! SMOG!!!!!!

E (spoken): Thunder, wigtning, stwike the wabbit!!

(Lightning flashes, striking in the distance -- now moving in, we see the limp and lifeless form of Bugs -- a drop of water clings to a crushed flower)

E: What have I done?.... I've killed the wabbit... Poor wittle bunny... (sob)

(Bugs is carried off in Elmer's arms... )

B (spoken): Well, what did you expect from an opera, a happy ending?

------------------- The End... That's all Folks -------------

On Straits Times' misquoting (or in this case, totally fabricating quotes):

"Top RI boy, Benedict Eoon, 16, who took art on top of nine other subjects, noted that government bodies and statutory boards which give out scholarships ask for the O-level results as well.

He said: 'For the best scholarships, you are competing with the best, who will all have perfect 10 A1s. Why would I want any less?'"

wth. i sound so arrogant here. esp since i didn't say a thing to the friggin interviewer. she asked me my family background, siblings, subjects. and then asked me about some art stuff. since when did i talk bout scholarship??? ... oh well the media is really crappy. they love putting words into your mouth.

They better not try that with members of The Party.

I proudly state that all the quotes *I* have are true... if not I can rename Improve Your English "Improve My Hearing".


Damn. The stimulating part of Blue Bear's right paw has gotten out of position again. I'm not dexterous or skilled enough to sew it back into position, and my sister isn't around to do it for me. My mother probably could, but I don't want to set her off again. No matter, I still love him :)

SAFISAM 2003 has ended, and with it my glorious, wonderful attachment there. The char-broiled skin and Malay food (though curry is remarkably agreeable once you get used to it. At least when the burnign sensation subsides) notwithstanding, I think I have grown used to the stayout life, the early fallouts, the chance to read and sleep (albeit on rough and dity surfaces) and the lack of anything remotely strenuous, mentally or physically, to do. I've become nua!

One guy was complaining, during SAFISAM at Nee Soon range, about his nymphomaniac girlfriend, who pestered him for her fix everyday. In the end he grew exhausted and had to trick her by saying he had to go outfield the next day. Hah!

Recently there was a blood donation drive. All those who donated one day off and got to go for a night off everyday for a week, and my department gets to go for one everyday in the month of March. Somehow, this is just plain wrong. Bribing people to donate blood? I don't even want to consider the ethics of that.

Our new MO is often vivacious and jovial. And he's very professional and meticulous too. Yeh.

A few sightings of friends and acquaintances this period too, but they're too trivial to blog here, and I'll feel silly doing so.


Hearing Geraldine's imitation of the revolting singing unicorn wasn't enough for me, so being the masochist that I am, I asked her to let me listen to it over the phone. It was horrible. It was bone chilling. It was spine shattering. It was perhaps the most gruesome sound that I have ever heard, and on hearing it, I suffered apoplexy and began to go into a seizure.

After a long hiatus, Tym is back. Hurrah!

Why do all Chinese Dictionaries have the same names? All of them are proclaimed to be, in big bold letters on the cover, "Zhui4 Xin1 Han4 Yu3 Ci2 Dian3" (Newest Chinese Dictionary), and you have to scrutinise the fine print to look for the company's name. Maybe it's a reminder of the roots of Communist China. Anyhow, since they all have the same name, you never know which is the newest of the dictionaries. I remember, when I was with my first Chinese tuition teacher in the 90s, this dictionary (with pictures of things and their chinese names at the back) which proclaimed itself to be "Zhui4 Xin1" (the Newest), when actually it had been published in the 80s. So much for being "Zhui4 Xin1"

I was at Boon Lay station again, one station I'm starting to dread due to the unbearable MRT announcements (which is one of the many factors weighing in on the side of taking the MRT home from Choa Chu Kang instead), and they only played the dreaded long announcement about not boarding the train (which I've spelt out in its full horror before) 5 times, and thankfully didn't play the even longer one. In tandem with the noise pollution, the staff had dispatched this Indian man in a tie to run down the cabins chasing people out, and from my vantage point, it appeared that all those who were chased out were Bangladeshi construction workers, most of whom probably don't understand English anyway. I guess they've finally figured out that bombarding commuters with irritating messages relentlessly won't work. Perhaps they should just let the idiots who choose to enter the train carriages be carted off to an unnamed depot, and fine them $10 each. The idea behind this is actually pretty similar to that of clamping car wheels, so why not?


David asked me to go to the Harmony Awards 2003 Semi-Finals at Scotts, and as usual I had nothing to do so I followed. Not unpredictably, I saw not a few familiar faces, though why Jason ran off to eat at Marche (one MRT stop down the road!) instead of watching the show with his friend I don't quite comprehend.

Imponderable imponderables:

- Why is it always the guys who make the sleazy percussion / mouth-drumming noises? The girls never rise to the challenge. Except for Yunxin :)
- Where do they get such cringe-worthy group names? Do they randomise them out of a computer, or draw them out of a hat? Perhaps a quote can explain better. "We were sitting outside the school toilet and we saw the hosereel. So we decided to call ourselves 'hosereel'" *wince*
- Why were there so many groups of kiddos? I applaud the effort, but many of them were really unbearable.
- Do you even need an audition to get to the Semi-Finals?
- Why did Bach's Menuet in G (the famous one used as a handphone ringtone) appear suddenly in a medley of Chinese songs?
- How come Edmund got to appear in both the Resonance subgroups? I thought you aren't allowed to moonlight. He changed his shirt for his second appearance, but naturally that didn't fool eagle eyed me! Anyhow he really got into his element the second time he was onstage. I think he's the best person I know at making sleazy percussion noises
- Why does almost all A Capella include sleazy percussion noises? Upping the sleaze factor isn't always good!
- Why did the judges - Neri Per Caso, some Italian A Capella group performing in Singapore sometime soon - consent to even judge this? Must have been in the small print
- Why did Neri Per Caso sing some songs at the end of the whole thing, putting most of the groups that had performed to shame by showing how measly they were?
- Why does David think I give all my friends nicknames?

To keep it all in perspective, some comments about last year's from someone who may prefer to remain anonymous:

"i went for it last year.. the finals. it was atrocious. they couldn't bloody even sing in pitch. simple third apart harmony.. like shit. different key.. both singers.

a few kids who can't think of a name for nuts, and can't sing to save their lives.. in contention for the HARMONY awards.. the standard has really dropped to shit... i remember in 2000 the grps were all of such standard, the judges had a difficult decision

imagine.. a grp named popcorn. i still remember "we [the grp] popped like popcorn because we shared a love for singing.. and so we popped into a grp!"
............

i felt so ashamed that these fantastic foreign grps were coming to singapore to judge such shit stuff comin' from kids.. they must think that our acappella scene is so sad... but there are pretty good grps around just that they seemed to have boycotted the harmony awards...

i was a judge recently at my own vjc's music fest
even the grps i heard were so much better than the harmony award finalists... which is like a NATIONAL competition. goodness. even the "laymen" in vj sing better than them."

About halfway through the groups' performances, I noticed something vaguely familiar about 3 of the people sitting in front of me, and after a while, seeing more clues, I got it. They were none other than members of the group which won the titles: All Female A Cappella Group of the Year Award (2001) [Ed: For which they were the only nominee] and All Female A Cappella Group of the Year Award (2000) - Vis-a-vis! I was rather disappointed that I took so long to recognise Culottes Girl and Blank Faced Girl's Understudy [Ed: If word of this gets around, as it surely will, I'd like to reiterate that no stigma at all is attached to these monikers]. Must be the stress of the As - look what they do to people! I wonder if they recognised me as "that weird, freaky RJ J4 guy" ('Weird' pops up a lot when people describe me, I have noticed :) Apparently that's how Peggy described me when she was relief teaching in RJ last year) I was actually considering going rabid and professing to be a great fan and pressing them for an autograph :)


Geraldine had a dinner to celebrate her birthday. She's now 18 and can drink herself silly and do many other stupid things. Whee. Anyhow, somehow I was the only one at dinner *not* born in 1985. Gah.

Yechao was telling me about 10 or so boys in his class who are bored and lonely, like us. Maybe we can form a club. Hah!

Later, Geraldine *had* to goad Yujia into asking me what I call her Secondary School. Gah. So of course she fumbled some manner of defence, that you needed to "know how to wear the uniform properly". But anyway my theory was further vindicated when the other ex-SC girl, Jiawen, said that she always preferred to go out in the PE Shirt and skirt.

Later, at an aracde, someone accidentally hit Geraldine and she started whining and sulking to Kenneth for a ludicrously long period of time. So I got fed up and cuffed her lightly with the back of my hand, and she started sulking even more. Apparently it wasn't as light as it was supposed to be. Or her threshold of pain is even lower than mine, pathetic as that already is.

The dinner was free, but what made it more rewarding was that, just before I left, she gave the first proper hug in more than a year.


Quotes:

[On marginally sensitive information] If I see it anywhere on the Internet, I'm going to kill you.

What's your nickname for me? Idiot? Specky?... Or Screwed Up Boy? No that's Yechao.

[On the 2003 Harmony Awards Semi Finals] Yeh! The end! We can all go home now... I'm exhausted. [Me: I'm exhausted from listening to bad music]

[Me: Medical Appointment] Wow. [Me: I've 2 Medical Appointments today] Wow. Can you give me one?

GAH

I just realised the music they used at SAFISAM is from Battlestar Galactica. (Though I've no idea what that is)

!@#$%^&*()

Cheapskate SAF people.


Haha.

Reality Show Parody

I think that the story is bad, especially for a Gaiman one.

Collection of Right Wing Essays - The logic is often appalling and blatantly obvious points are conveniently ignored or skimmed over. The wonders of partisan writing.

Disturbing Neil Gaiman story Geraldine just read me - Babycakes. Why do people like to read his work? If all of it is similarly disturbing... *shudder*

The Associate returns, finally clambering out the hole that he has been cowering in all these weeks. Hurrah.


http://www.publishingnews.co.uk/pn/pno_news6.asp

Wizard plans big ad campaign for Fantasy series

THE FIGHTING FANTASY series of adventure game books popular in the 1980s, is to be brought to a new generation of adolescent boys by its new publisher, Wizard Books, the children�s imprint of Icon Books which plans a major ad campaign for next Christmas. Andrew Furlow, Marketing Manager at Icon, says: �This is a major campaign, and we want to get everyone involved in it early on, because it�s all about big head office orders and, as we know, head offices in large companies have to order things months ahead.�
Publishing Manager Simon Flynn brought the series to Wizard in June last year after contacting the co-authors and co-creators of the Fighting Fantasy books, Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone. Originally published by Puffin, the rights had reverted to Jackson and Livingstone. Flynn and Peter Pugh, MD of Icon, met them and �hammered out a deal�.
Since then, Wizard has sold over 200,000 copies worldwide, and now aims to improve on that. �Of course, it�s been very successful for us, but we feel the potential is exponentially greater than this,� says Furlow.
Wizard�s new �250,000 campaign will be spearheaded by a 30-second TV advertisement to be shown over five weeks, starting in November. Furlow says: �The premise is that Fighting Fantasy takes you away from the world of school and homework into a world of excitement and fantasy. The underlying idea being that even in this world of computer games and television, it�s books that really fire the imagination.� Wizard will also be setting up a Fighting Fantasy website, as well as a fan club which will be advertised in the books.
Wizard plans to make thorough preparations for the demand that is expected to result from the campaign. �We�re putting together lots of packs, gift sets, boxed sets, and all sorts of add-ons that fans can get hold of. We�re very much promoting the series as a brand.� Livingstone, currently Creative Director at computer games company Eidos, commented: �It�s fantastic that Fighting Fantasy has been relaunched. It�s a very bold move that Wizard has made. Steve and I are very enthusiastic.� Jackson agreed: �Icon has really brought the look of the books into the 21st century. I think it�s important to bring the covers up to date, and that�s been done.�

Something He Who Must Not Be Named insisted I post ; I don't understand Malay, so you can have fun puzzling this out. Assuming my OCR added no errors. He says it's something along the lines of: "Headline: Proposal to use Kongming Lanterns as anti-aircraft weapons. (Kongming Lanterns are those glowing hot air balloon/lanterns they raise during..erm..some festival.... yeah, i'm culturally ignorant too...)"


Syor Iraq guna tanglung Kongming halang serangan AS

Saudara Pengarang, SAYA mencadangkan supaya rakyat Iraq meng-gunakan tanglung Kong-ming sebagai senjata bagi menghalang jet-jet peju-ang Amerika Syarikat (AS) daripada menyerang negara mereka.

Sekiranya besar tang-lung Kongming holeh naik tinggi ke udara dan meng-akibatkan kemalangan pe-sawat jet, bolehlah Iraq mengggunakan alat yang mudah ini untuk menang-kis serangan AS.

Saya pasti dengan cara ini sahaja jet jet pejuang AS akan lakut dan boleh dihalang daripada melan-carkan serangan udara se-cara besar-besaran seba-gaimana yang dilakukan ke atas bumi Afghanistan dulu.

Saya percaya dengan kuasa jet-jet pejuang yang mempunyai daya sedutan udara yang lebih kuat akan menyedut tanglung Kongming ke dalam enjin.

Tenaga jurulatih boleh dihantar dari Pulau Pi-nang ke Iraq bagi menga-jar rakynt negara itu mele-paskan seberapa banyak tanglung ke ruang udara-nya apabila tiba ketika yang sesuai. Rakyat Iraq boleh membuat tanglung yang lebih besar supaya naik lebih tinggi dan terapung lebih lama.

Kos membuat tanglung ini amat murah jika diban-dingkan dengan lain-lain senjata penangkis serang-an udara. Lagipun senjata tanglung ini tidak akan dibantah oleh Majlis Kese-lamatan PBB.

Saya juga menge-syorkan namanya diubah daripada tanglung Kong-ming kepada tanglung Saddam Hussein. - AH-MAD ADAM. Jasin, Me-laka.

Ties, dress codes and sexual discrimination

A blow for Men's Lib!


Sex row over tie rule

A man who was ordered to wear a shirt and tie at work is a victim of sexual discrimination, an employment tribunal has been told.

A dress code brought in by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) stipulated that men working in Jobcentre Plus offices had to wear a collar and tie to work - but set no similar stipulation for women.

Now Matthew Thompson, an administrative assistant at Jobcentre Plus in Stockport, Greater Manchester, has taken a test case against the DWP complaining of sexual discrimination.

Women in his office were allowed to wear T-shirts and on one occasion, one of his female colleagues even wore a football shirt without facing disciplinary action, Mr Thompson told the tribunal in Manchester.

"It may not be the convention for women to wear a collar and tie but the point I am making is that a similar standard of business dress is not applied to women as it is to myself," he said.

"Women are allowed to wear T-shirts, they have logos on the T-shirts, and on at least one occasion they have worn football tops," he added.

Before the hearing, Mr Thompson said he seldom came into contact with the public.

He added: "My duties are post sorting, distributing computer printouts, photocopying and issuing documents internally and through the post to customers.

"Women are not required to wear any specified items of clothing. The dress standard makes no sense.

"Why should I be threatened with the sack if I do not wear a tie?"

Mr Thompson's case is being backed by the Public and Commercial Services union, which has another 39 cases ready to be followed up.

National officer David Burke said Jobcentre Plus workers faced fines of up to 10% of their salary as well as dismissal for refusing to conform to the dress code.

He said: "The code is draconian and unreasonable."

A spokeswoman for the Department for Work and Pensions said the dress code was part of a drive to provide improved services to the public.

"It puts us on a level with banks and building societies," she added.

The hearing continues.


Mr Thompson's case is being heard by an employment tribunal

"Why should I be threatened with the sack if I do not wear a tie?" - Matthew Thompson

Probably the most insightful reader comment (a testament to the sad society we live in):

The shirt-and-tie rule for men certainly is sexist but because it's not women who are being discriminated against, nothing will change.
Russ, Wales


Ed: Additional keywords - kilt (for some reason I thought he wore a kilt to protest - I must be mixing this up with another case), "football jersey" (they are not called that in this article for some reason)

Freedom is a hairy body

February 24 2003


What is it, do you suppose, that marks out modern women from our 19th-century sisters who were trussed up in bodices and Sunday bonnets?

You may respond that we have the vote, or perhaps equal rights and pay. You may say that we are free to chair the board or wear the trousers. Yet you would probably overlook a key difference between us: that we, 21st-century women, spend a hellish amount of time, money and effort on depilation. And they? They walked the planet with unmown shins and bushy armpits, strangers to their husbands' cut-throat razor.

I know this because the producers of the recent British TV drama Sons and Lovers took such pains to achieve period authenticity that actresses were forbidden to remove any body hair in preparation for their roles. Women didn't depilate in late-Victorian England. In one hour of Sons and Lovers, there were nine explicit sex scenes involving full-frontal nudity - and all of it filmed without recourse to hair remover. If this sends a shudder down your spine, you're not alone. After all, it has somehow become accepted that women should be bald from the forehead down, save for a mild eruption at pubic level - and only then if it's kept as trim as a well-groomed box hedge.

The problem is, that's not how we are built. Whisper it softly, but most of us have bristling knees, armpits and shins. Some of us even have moustaches. You wouldn't know it, though, for we spend great amounts of time perpetuating the myth that we're as smooth as eggs. And why? You might hate the bitter truth, but it has everything to do with the fact that men prefer us that way. If that's the case, surely this is something we should have overcome by now - in the same way that we have ditched eyelash fluttering and corsetry.

While women have won many battles since D.H. Lawrence penned his opus, depilation is the battle that liberation lost. To my shame, I am among the worst serial depilators. By recent calculation, I have spent on $7000 waxing in the past decade. I'm a junkie for the well-marketed arsenal of hair-nixing weapons, each one more ludicrous and time-consuming than the last.


My favourite is the Epilady - a hand-held device that rips out hair, follicle by follicle. If you haven't tried it, it's similar to poking yourself in the eye with a toothpick. Then there's electrolysis. This uses a current to electrocute the buggers, eliciting packets of vicious pain.

Even the mild depilatory options are obnoxious: what woman doesn't abhor the eggy smell of depilatory cream, the searing of a blunt razor dragged up her shin bone, the embarrassment of opening the door to the postman with creme bleach still clinging to her upper lip?

Perversely, the most up-to-date methods of depilation are the most torturous, involving the kind of pain once lavished on the village witch.

Chief among these is the Brazilian bikini wax, which was surely developed in Hades, but (get this) has actually received good press from the world's ditzy beauty editors. Not only is it a humbling and hideous experience, during which you proffer your undercarriage to an unknown shop girl, it also hurts like bejaysus.

Its sole benefit is that it allows you to look nice in a thong, especially when bending over to lace up your espadrilles. To all Brazilian devotees, three questions: how much time do you spend gazing at your own perineum? Does it need to be bald? Are you mad as a frog?

So why do we do it? Men wouldn't. Men generally don't. And that, in part, is the answer. In her study on the relationship between a woman's politics and sexual orientation and the shaving of her legs and underarms, Dr Susan Basow, professor of psychology at Pennsylvania's Lafayette College, found thatmost women who did not shave their legs were identified as "very strong feminists and/or as not exclusively heterosexual", and the major reason they did not shave was for political reasons.

However, 81 per cent of the women surveyed shaved their legs and/or underarms on a regular basis. They identified strongly with their own heterosexuality, suggesting that the hairless norm serves to exaggerate the differences between men and women. "The implication of the hairless norm," she writes, "is that women's bodies are not attractive when natural and must be modified."

Great. If you don't depilate, you're either a man or a dyke. It's yet another branch of beauty's pernicious directive to conform. And at its heart is fear - fear of looking too masculine, of deviating from the established aesthetic that dictates women be hipless, breastless and, above all, hairless.

Instead of letting it all hang out, we're trapped in an endless, Sisyphean cycle of tweezing, waxing and plucking in some vain attempt to quell the beast within. But perhaps it's time to break the stranglehold that hair has on our lives.

Cardinal rules - such as the classic "once shaven, always stubbly" - could be taught in school, alongside how to fit a condom on a banana and how to make pastry using the rubbing-in method. Or perhaps coming out would work. They could do a Sex and the City special and make body hair hot.

In time, it might even be perceived as a thing of beauty. Some years ago, I glimpsed a woman on the banks of a river in British Columbia, Canada. She was beautiful, with a heavy rope of plaited hair down her back - the kind of woman who carries a dagger and makes her own bolero jackets from the skins of small mammals. Sandwiched between knee and sock, she had the legs of a yeti. The hair was so abundant that I could see it from the opposite bank. I was filled with awe and admiration. Here was a wilderness woman who owned little more than a tepee, but she had greater authority over her body than I did over mine, perched in a kayak with a lipgloss in my pocket and a Philips Ladyshave in my rucksack.

If we were all to let it grow rife, like the shrubs in the Lost Gardens of Heligan, I'm convinced we would soon find that hair in all the usual places isn't quite a turnoff after all. Give us more Julia Roberts' armpit fur, more European tennis champs. Put it on the cover of Vogue.

After all, it is incredible that the subject is still taboo. We freely discuss anal sex, female sexual dysfunction, paedophilia and boob jobs. But still body hair in the wrong place is off limits. Isn't it time to ditch the depilation, storm the shelves of chemists, burn the bleach and spike the tweezers? Of course it is. But, hey sister, you first.

-Guardian



This story was found at: http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/02/23/1045935277714.html

I shall be indulgent today and rant without much discipline or focus.

I had duck noodles for breakfast today. It was pretty good. Unfortunately, in my morning daze I forgot to ask them not to put chili :( Later, at 11 am, the people at the range got us, the butt party, wanton noodles. Not bad too, though it also had chili. Roti Prata was starting to get tiring :) Less than 2 hours later was lunch. It seems the Muslim cookhouse's cook came back from leave - I'd not seen all the dishes served for lunch before. Well, the curry tasted the same, but at least it was a different colour! And they also gave us the fish that Malays are so fond of - the one with grey flesh and lots of bones: ikan kembong or mackerel, I think.

The SCV repair man gave us a new modem today since the old one was found to be spoilt. A new white Surfboad SB4100. No more disconnection problems! But on the flipside I might have to start paying for broadband and my fixed mobile phone charges. Unlike Xephyris, my schedule is not fixed enough to moonlight ; why is everyone into tutoring??? Or maybe I'm just lazy.


Sometimes, I feel like ranting about some subjects that I have touched on in the past, but keep coming back to again and again, probably because I am still bothered by them (or rather, -people- bother me with them). However, that is in very bad taste, so I won't indulge in it here.

Oh my goodness.



Goh-Lee -- childhood heroes

Today was only my fourth time at the Nee Soon range, but all the non-vegetable items at lunch had been repeated at least twice. Ugh! These cooks have no imagination. Maybe it's because they're Chinese/Indian so they don't know much about Malay food.

While switching to the 855 at Upper Thomson, I tried the DIY Root Beer float at 7-11. Not bad indeed, except that the Root Beer isn't cold.. And only $1 too. While finishing my Root Beer float, I saw some examples of the new Raffles Guys pinafore. Its colour isn't actually as vile as I'd been led to believe - a little darker than the one on here. Why can't schools with disgusting uniforms change them to nicer ones, instead of the other way round? River Valley, Bukit Panjang, Marymount Convent, THE Chinese High (red PE shorts!), Catholic High and the other Chinese schools with ugly metal buttons could all use a fresh design.


RJC went for the S-Cube seminar today. Whee. Praise is fulsome from all quarters:

"oh someone talked about dropping fertility rates due to NS.
or the usefulness of a seminar in the firstplace when so much is classified."

"it was excellently conducted, with most of the Q&A questions avoided and a light touch of propaganda, not to mention the entertaining and highly misleading skit put up! they put up a little skit, although there was not much interest to be paid to it except by the brainless..."

"SUCKS BIG TIME
'coz it was NS propaganda
now it's TWO idiots there [not one]
two idiots who can't speak or understand english"

"'do you think that NS has contributed to falling fertility rates' which ellicited alot of hullabaloo in the audience and shocked the speakers who had to admit that actually their wives/gfs conceived their children while they were still in NS! (wah, and they were old boys of raffles too)"

"I believe S3 seminars would be more useful if the guest speakers were more forthcoming in their answers, were of higher rank and didn't worry so much about preserving their higher-than-MP pay.

And I really couldn't stand that stupid bitch who declared, "I realised your answers were rather diplomatic and tactful, and many details are hidden from our ears. So What really is the relevance of the S3 seminar then?" Sheesh. such answers just deserve a "well, if my answers weren't diplomatic and tactful I'd have called you a f**king bitch first" reply. I'm sure she could've answered her own question.

And the suspicions about whether Singapore's Armed Forces are really combat-ready, i.e. will they actually dare to shoot a living breathing person if they had to? Well if someoen shot/tried to shoot anyone I know I'll sure as hell try to kill him/her first. Or so I think. Hopefully future reality would prove me right."


The Breakfast From Hell - Swanson's new Hungry-Man All Day Breakfast is... smashing. 1 pound of food, giving you 1030 calories, 104% your RDA of saturated fat and 231% your RDA of cholesterol.

Some 16 year old girl won a prize in Mediacorp's Hamtaro contest. Argh. People aged 16 actually *watch* this? Oh yes, it's a female. Figures.

It seems Marc, my favourite Australian cousin, is resisting peer (and other) pressure to learn driving too. Yeh!

Word of the day: "fait accompli"

Quote of the day: "In life, you make some wrong assumptions, then you get married. - History 6 Lecturer"

While I was on duty in the sickbay, Weida was playing his CD of techno music. It had probably the most beng songs I've ever heard. Luckily, he didn't play it in the afternoon, so I got some peace. Later, the AETC medic whom some claim looks like me (he does not!) was wheeling himself around in the wheelchair. In my younger days, I just might have done that, but now the novelty has worn out. What a pity :)

The ATC cookhouse always has interesting food. Albeit a third of the time they give Malay food for lunch or dinner, which is declaimed as being sucky across the board. This time, we got Roti Prata for breakfast, and 3 slices too, thanks to the nice man. It wasn't bad - too flaky and papery, but otherwise comparable to outside shops. Also, I swear the watermelon slices there are twice the size - nay, more! - of the ones at the 42 cookhouse. And yet the reservists don't all take them. When we have watermelon, it's usually gone by 11:45am.

Since HQ4SAB moved out, we at the Medical Centre no longer have Henry, with his sexy dark ringed eyes, to, erm, "play" with. Consequently, people have moved on to a wider range of targets. It seems that the current favourite is Gollum, probably because of his small stature. Beniah was experimenting with assorted positions, mostly involving a fireman's lift, with some perfunctory assistance from me. He doesn't squeal as much as Henry did, though. Henry is more fun *wistful* I wonder if the Kranji Medics are having fun with him now.

This brings to mind that time in bunk, when "I was trying to doze in the dark bunk, lit only by the flicker of the TV screen, when I heard tell-tale giggling and the sound of slippers on the floor. Suddenly, I was hit smack in the face by a pillow. Looking up, I saw Yiliang chasing people around the table, just like in Indian movies", or that time when "I walked into the bunk one day, only to find Boon Huat, Yiliang and Yong Siang on one bed, sprawled on top of each other and giggling softly like demure schoolgirls. After a while, they began grabbing at each other's clothes and trying to pin each other down. And after I wrote that paragraph, I was attacked by Yiliang and fled the bunk yelping, slamming the door after me (and spoiling the door handle in the process)". Ah, the good old days.

I think that this sort of behavior is due to most of us being repressed. That's why you get the same sort of behavior (stripping and molesting people, chasing them around, doing assorted things to their genitals et al) in boys' schools. Though my sources do tell me that "getting lampposted is a phenomenon that occurs with (alarmingly) increasing frequency in various JCs, most notably RJ and ACJ. It involves any object resembling a lamppost meeting the point of intersection of your legs at high relative velocity, resulting in an action-reaction force pair that has pretty bad implications for your excretory system." Oh dear.


I caught the name of the artiste who sings the desecrated Chinese version of On My Own - "ling2 yi4 lian2". Grr.

I'm used to seeing males wearing the SAF New Balance PT Shoes, because it's a credit item, and most people have more credit than they know what to do with (Me? I'm going to buy Kiwi and Toilet Paper and spread the Kiwi on the Toilet Paper and construct man-high letters saying 'National Service is National Slavery' and set it aflame outside the Istana), but on the way home from The Middle Of Nowhere (TM), I saw this Fairfield Methodist Secondary School girl wearing the current model of SAF New Balance shoes. Goodness.

Apparently repressed Saudis drink eau-de-cologne to get high since alcohol is banned in Saudi Arabia, home of the Wahhabis. Ugh.

The problem of asymmetric information held my attention for a while this week. Now, while lots of people read this blog, I know nothing at all about them (except that some come from my small but loyal following, and the rest search for assorted weird things like "transsexual zaogeng" and "tudung sex"). Over a period of time, I wager someone could construct a profile of me. That's somewhat disturbing.


Quotes:

Sleevia (Sylvia)

You were from choir meh? No wonder you laugh in a high pitch.

I prepared for Sunday duty by sleeping at 5 [am]

[On my soft toy] Next time I hug you then you hug me (...)

Apparently New Looney Tunes shorts are being made. Yeh!

The First Eight (SOME TITLES NOT FINAL)

WIZARD OF OW
Wile E. Coyote finds an old magic book, which proves not to be very helpful.

HARE AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS
Bugs can't seem to lose at Sam's casino. Then Sam realizes that Bugs has been cheating -- he has rabbit's feet.

DUCK DODGERS in ATTACK OF THE DRONES
Duck Dodgers creates a group of robot replicas to destroy a space menace; then he lets the hero robots loose. Bad things happen.

COCK-A-DOODLE DUEL
A genetically engineered superchicken threatens to take over Foghorn Leghorn's roost.

MY GENERATION G-G-G-AP
Porky drops his daughter off at a rock concert and then discovers it's inappropriate for a y-y-young lady.

MUSEUM SCREUM (Definitely tentative title)
Sylvester breaks into a children's museum to eat the prize exhibit: a Tweety Bird.

THE PIG STAYS IN THE PICTURE
Porky takes his family to a megaplex, hoping to find a movie "the whole family can enjoy." It doesn't work out that way.

A VERY DAFFY CHRISTMAS
Flying south for the winter, Daffy hits the North Pole. He's taken in by two of Santa's elves, not knowing they have very special Christmas Eve dinner plans.

SOME OF THE SHORTS IN DEVELOPMENT (These may or may not be done; most of these titles are just production placeholders)

EXECUTIVE TWEET
Sylvester breaks into the White House to get the president's bird, and is aided by ghosts of the presidential dogs Checkers, Liberty and Buddy.

WHAT'S HIP, DOC?
Bugs is saved from Elmer by a supermodel (voiced by Jenna Elfman) whose anti-fur stance is not set in stone.

FULL METAL JACKASS
Coyote is accidentally sent ACME's military catalog.

BADA BUGS
Two mobsters stuff Daffy down the wrong rabbit hole.

SLACKER QUACKER
Porky is tortured by his cubicle mate, Daffy.

SCHEME PARK
Porky takes his family to a very odd American History amusement park.

BEACH BUNNY
Bugs is harassed by a beach dude (voiced by Brendan Fraser).

MEAT ME IN CHICAGO
A cow comes to 1930s Chicago to make it big in this singing, dancing Merry Melody, featuring a celebrity voice so secret I don't even know it yet.

DEEP SEA BUGS
500 years ago, a pirate Bugs and Sam sank a galleon full of treasure while fighting over it. Their ancestors have returned, determined to cooperate in order to retrieve the treasure.

BASEBALL TAZ
A minor league baseball team imports a new mascot to compete with the other team's popular monkey mascot.

DANCING PEPE
A chipmunk with a bad cold falls for Pepe on the dance floor, then one of her girlfriends gives her some Claritan.

DAFFY CONTRACTOR
Porky hires Daffy to fix a leaky sink, which, as you might imagine, is a bad idea.

REAPER MADNESS
Granny goes shopping, followed by a tall gentleman with a black cloak.

DUCK SUPED
Daffy gets superpowers, wants to be good, but evil pays better.

GUESS WHO'S COMING TO MEET THE PARENTS
Bugs brings a squirrel home to dinner. His mother disapproves.

Ironing pants with many pockets is tiresome. Gah.

On dietary restrictions:

"Are you so dull?" he asked, "Don't you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him unclean? For it doesn't go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body." He went on: "What comes out of a man is what makes him 'unclean.' For from within, out of men's hearts come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance, and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man 'unclean'."

Oh this is too good


How Republican Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Annoying Mozilla bug that the people who control the tree won't fix:

Bugzilla Bug 25537
alt text is not displayed as a tooltip

The principle behind marking it VERIFIED WONTFIX is correct, but cruel reality intrudes.

Sigh.

No matter. Two people included workarounds using The Proxomitron! Number 2 seems to work better for me.

Workaround filter 1:
Name = "Tooltip fix - disregard tag with correct attribute"
Bounds="<img\s*>"
Match = "\1 title=\w\2"
Replace = "\1 title=\w\2"

Name = "Tooltip fix - add correct title attribute"
Bounds="<img\s*>"
Match = "\1 alt=(\w)\2\3"
Replace = "\1 alt=\2 title=\2\3"

Workaround filter 2:
Name = "Tooltip fix (change lone alts to titles)"
Bounds = "<img\s*>"
Match = "(^*title=*)"
"&"
"\1 alt="\2"\3"
Replace = "\1 alt="\2" title="\2"\3"

Or you can install an XPI which might or might not work: http://white.sakura.ne.jp/~piro/xul/_popupalt.html.en

Re:

"SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT my blog turns out on google as I found out via some referral tracking system! What is a semi-private blogger with a sense of freshing honesty to do? At least I never mention my name on here.

PS. the referral was "gabriel hwachong", btw, gabriel. Thanks A LOT for your notoriety! I wish you wouldn't revel quite so much in it!"

Now children, gather around the campfire while you learn a trick or two.

Try inserting this into the <head> of your template:

<meta name="robots" content="noindex">
<META NAME="ROBOTS" CONTENT="NOARCHIVE">

Peace in Middle Earth in our time

MINAS TIRITH (Gondor News Network) - Thousands of peace activists took to the streets of Minas Tirith and other cities of Middle Earth today to protest what they termed a rush to war with Mordor.

“We need more time for diplomacy,” said a key member of the Middle-Earth Security Council, Saruman the White. “I am not convinced by the evidence presented by my esteemed colleague, Gandalf the Grey, or that the Dark Lord Sauron presents an imminent danger to the peoples of the West.”

Many of the people protesting war in Mordor agreed with Saruman’s remarks. “Sauron says he’s destroyed his Rings of Mass Destruction (RMD) and that’s good enough for me,” said one fellow carrying a sign that said “Elrond is a Balrog.” Another demonstrator urged, “Give the RMD inspectors more time. There’s no reason to rush to any judgment just because Mount Doom is belching lava, the Dark Tower is rebuilt, and Osgiliath has been decimated.” A third protester piped up, “I haven’t heard a single bit of convincing evidence connecting the Nazgul with Sauron. I think they destroyed Osgiliath on their own initiative without any support from Sauron. Besides, it’s understandable they’re angry with Gondor. We haven’t done nearly as much for the Orcs and Goblins and Easterlings as the Nazgul and Sauron have. It’s understandable they throw their support to them. It’s our own fault really.”

As the protesters continued their march through the city, they chanted, “No blood for Mount Doom,” voicing a common sentiment that the leaders of the Western peoples are really seeking to get their hands on the powerful Mount Doom, where the One Ring of Power was allegedly forged.

Gandalf the Grey was unavailable for comment. A spokesman said he was in an undisclosed underground location, which sources have revealed is codenamed: Moria.


Caring for your introvert.

eBay "bends over backwards to provide data to law enforcement officials

A British doctor says "Medicine in my country is so advanced that we can take a brain out of one man, put it in another and have him looking for work in six weeks."

A German doctor says, "That's nothing, we can take a brain out of one person, put it in another and have him preparing for war in four weeks.

The American doctor, not to be outdone, says, "You guys are way behind, we just took a man with no brain
out of Texas, put him in the White House, and now half the country is looking for work, and the other half preparing for war!!!"


Amusing SMS from dear Kelvin, whose course ends tomorrow:


Remember when u need a FUCK

I will always b there 4 U

bcos

FUCK stands 4 "Friend U Can Keep"

So promise ME

We Will FUCK Forever!!!


Yeah we're all male. So? :)

I've been taking turns with Sinsiang to do fatigue at the Nee Soon 500m range this week. It is really quite good to be attached there - you get stayout the night before, it's brainless, easy and not too tiring work, you can spend the time reading, they buy Roti Prata for us sometimes, every weekend is a long weekend, you may get off days here and there and barring any unforseen circumstances, you can fall out before 5 pm. However, you have to report at 7:30am (at least on paper), and it is a good 20 min walk in from the bus stop, it is boring, dreary work and worst of all, you only get the wretched Malay food, which has copious amounts of chili in it and which is similar everyday. I've always maintained that chili is used to disguise food that is bad - in both senses of the word: un-fresh and un-palatable - by overwhelming and destroying your tastebuds.

I was asked by the range RSM to hop on to his 1 1/2 tonner while he was ferrying supplies. Heh, I must hitch a ride from passing Army vehicles in the future to save time.


Andrew, Mark, Frank and I were outside McDonalds, and Frank was sitting on the seat of one of the Kiddie Ride Machines - those that start moving and playing a song when you insert some coins. While he was busy chattering away, I took out 2 20 cent coins and inserted them into the slot... whereupon the machine came to life, blaring - horror - English versions of Chinese New Year songs, and Frank jumped out of the seat. Despite the cajoling of Andrew and I, he refused to sit on the seat. Luckily, Mark rose to the challenge, but when he sat on the seat, the seat refused to continue in its circular motion.

Incidentally, McDonalds' breakfast sucks. It's overpriced, tastes underwhelming, is not filling and has very little variety.

I've got some camp mates hooked on Pringles Salt And Vinegar crisps. Heh heh. In other news, my department just noticed that I roll my socks down, and someone claimed that only Primary School and RJC girls did that, whereupon I corrected him - RJ girls wear Hot Socks!

As everyone knows, entrance to the Island of Doom is procured by letting the barrier machines at the ferry terminal scan the barcode on your Identity Card. However, these machines apparently are too stupid to distinguish between a proper IC number and a normal barcode - I hear someone scanned a Snickers bar, and the gate opened!

My electric toothbrush ran out of juice because the power switch had accidentally been switched on due to a bump, and I hadn't noticed in time, so I was reduced to using my backup manual toothbrush for one night. It's been so long since I last used a manual toothbrush!

Dead Poets' Society was screened at the last Movie Night :) Though I wasn't there to view it, I applaud the change from the usual War Movies (bleah).


I met Kai Leung at the 172 bus stop one night. He's at Lim Chu Kang camp 1. Yet another soul lost in the wilderness :)

My 855 was passing by MacRitchie, and there was a Cross-Country event going on. A few were running, but most were walking lazily :) Some boys were in their school uniform, and one had the front of his unbuttoned :0

Later, while I was taking the lift back to my unit, there was a boy of about Upper Primary level asking his maid what the outfit I was wearing was called. His maid suggested that he ask me, and ask me he did, and I replied that it was an Army Uniform. After exiting the lift, he was querying his maid further on details about the Army, no doubt having been well indoctrinated during Moral Education classes about "dulce et decorum est pro patria mori" [Ed: Yes, this phrase is grossly over-used. So sue me.], and I was inclined to tell him, mournfully, that his turn would come in 10 years or so when he would be enslaved for the putative Greater Good of the Fatherland [Ed: There is a reason why I didn't use "Motherland". Ahem], but I decided to be nice and let him enjoy his childhood without being tormented in his restless sleep by nightmares ending in his waking up with a jolt in cold sweat, screaming his lungs out for fear for his life, his freedom, his dignity and his sanity.


Amusing Economist table on who in the United Kingdom is against the War on Iraq, and why. The two funniest rows:

What?
Anti-Zionism

Why?
Attack Ariel Sharon instead

For Example?
Muslims

What?
Anti-Americanism

Why?
America too brutal and Bush too stupid

For Example?
The BBC


Thoughts on Books:

A Life Worth Reliving by Victor Seah Tiong Hin

Like most writers reminiscing nostalgically, the author falls into the trap of romanticising Old Singapore and some of the time, especially in recounting his childhood, he presents a sanitised image of the Old Singapore. As I always maintain, it's all very well and good to have a bowl of noodles costing a cent, but not when you earn 10 cents a month and the noodles have cockroaches floating around in them.

More pedantically, the language used is rather stilted and halting. Sentence connectors aren't used very much, with the result being that sentences are very short and end abruptly. Also, the amount of errors in the manuscript seems to be above the average for published books, perhaps a sign of inadequate editing. In various places, the author inserts odd interjections - praise for the PAP Government's various social engineering projects, tiresome and puzzling moralising and choice National Education ideas and concepts.

Nevertheless, I learnt quite a few things. Like why Jesudason was the Headmaster of Raffles Institution for such a short time - something Wijeysingha doesn't write about in The Eagle Breeds A Gryphon. Or maybe I missed that part because the book was too boring. (Aside: I wonder if they're still making hapless Sec 1 students buy it, and how much in royalties he's earnt so far)

Ray Bradbury - The Illustrated Man

This book was first published in 1952, and it shows. Most of the short stories in the book are rather pessimistic, and their themes and content are very much a reflection of that era - censorship, space, faith, nuclear holocaust, extra-terrestrial life, technology, its running amok, over-reliance on it, its unintended consequences and the like.

I'm rather upset with the whole premise of the "Illustrated Man". It's all nothing more than a cheapskate framework for Bradbury to tell his short stories. Hell - he could do away with the whole Illustrated Man jazz and do an equally good, if not better job. If he'd developed the whole idea of the Illustrated Man further, there would've been a lot of potential, but as it is it is an unresolved element in the book.

Excerpt from the blurb on the back of the Heinemann New Mindmills edition: "But the illustrated man would like to burn off his illustrations. For in the dark each illustration quivers and comes to life. And each illustration gives us a chilling picture of the future and a disturbing glimpse into the minds of those who live there..."


I actually got pissed off enough by the incessantly annoying announcements at MRT stations that I sketched a draft of a letter to be submitted to the Straits Times Forum, which actively encourages a Civil Society by publishing mostly letters "dedicated to trivial chicken shit issues", rejecting potentially contentious ones of more import (See Example) and censoring and editing some letters that do get through (Example from Streats). However, with the passage of time, my apathy has overcome me, and so I shall withold sending in the letter, which would (rightly) make me look like one of those idiots who complain about relatively inconsequential things with an unearthly fervour. At least until I am unfortunate to face the barrage of announcements at Boon Lay MRT Station that prompted my original decision.

For my easy reference (and possibly, the amusement of some of you), here are some of the points of my putative letter:

- I was subjected to the message, "May we have your attention please. The train that is approaching Platform A is not for passenger service. Please do not board it. Thank you" 6 times, and as if that wasn't enough, I had to endure the message, "May we have your attention please. The train that is approaching Platform A is not for passenger service. Please do not board it. Please wait for the next available train. Thank you" 4 times. By the time the last message played, I was contemplating the relative merits of hurling myself onto the track to be electrocuted to a crisp or jumping in front of the train to be smashed to a pulp
- The woman featured in the recorded announcements manages to find a most ingratiating and unctous tone of voice to make them in
- Even with the wealth of LCD displays, SMRT feels compelled to play a message telling us which station the trains at Platform A on the East-West line are heading to. Other countries get by with massively more complex train systems and noticeably fewer announcements
- Sometimes, less is more. Fewer announcements = happier passengers. If, after the announcement is played 2-3 times, the person still boards the wrong train, he deserves it and playing the announcements isn't likely to make a difference
- Some platitudes and praise to make my letter fairer, and to soften its impact

I was also thinking of complaining about the "Circle" line's name and the confusion of the Red line going both North and South, but I think that would be too tiresome and would make the letter unfocused.


Quotes:

Oh yah hor. There's no 'Q' in Hercules. H-E-R-C-U-L-E-S

[On my rolling my socks down] What, like that more fun, like that more kinky? (It's more fun and kinky that way?)

[On Dead Poets' Society at Movie Night] Alright, all get seated. The movie is going to start soon. Remember that there's going to be a test after this, on the story.

To He Who Must Not Be Named:

I think almost all sane people (I don't know about you) would consider North Korea to be a country with more paradoxes and contradictions than, say, the USA. North Korea is supposed to be a Communist state, where there is the dictatorship of the proletariat. However, individual people have almost NO say over the running of the country, and the proletariat is oppressed and is reduced to scavenging for bark to boil into bitter and possibly poisonous soups while soldiers and The Dear Leader (did I get his title correct?) eat Premium Buckwheat Noodles.

However, across the Pacific Ocean, we find a country which espouses free trade, but has an elaborate and Byzantine system of anti-dumping and "fair trade" laws, coupled with the practice of generously doling out lots of pork for constituents. Incumbents stay in office, by and large, thanks to bizzare gerrymandering. And so on.

With apologies to you, I can say that, "In each state, we can find numerous, shitloads of inconsistencie and absurdities and cruelties. To the point where it's impossible to quantify which has 'more'."

I trust that this example will be enough for you to comprehend my point. So, I ask, wherefore argue anything if nothing can be quantified? Most people can be said to refuse even to debate on "obvious" issues because they (to paraphrase), "feel that, intuitively, (let's face it, it's pure intuition, that their way of life, their way of doing things, their beliefs al, are superior to others'."

Latest batch of referrals:

raffles girls school fuck
nude raffles girls
"rgs nude"
rgs sluts - Raffles Guys' School finally comes into its own, not content to be defeated by CHIJ and SCGS. Bleah.

PJC + BANGKOK + POTATO
Depressing Suicidal Cynical Satanic Poetry Unhappy
males in togas Roman shorts
obscene smilies for icq
nanyang girl rifle
poetic reviews about Jurong Bird Park
mmm melbourne marching boys
sexy kosovo gurls - Wha?

pictures of anna nicole smith gaining weight - Someone is jealous.

nutella haram, ketchup song haram - Isn't the former vegetarian? And the latter is just a song with nonsensical lyrics. Screw it, everything is haram. Go live on astronaut pills.

NS smm medic, smm medics - Medics of the Field and Medics of the Medical Centre. Ho ho. There are a few pages on this - almost all of which complain about the 16g needles :( Perhaps I'll quote one: "Well, I probably shouldn't talk too much about this because of all the secrecy and confidentiality etc. The annoying thing, though, is that you are told this and that is 'secret', and then you find out that not only is it commonly/publicly known... sometimes it is even published in the newspapers." (NB: SMM has a spanking new page now, made with Macromedia Flash.) Anyhow, I've lost interest in writing about most army stuff now. I scribble much less on my ubiquitous piece of paper. Perhaps it's a subconscious aversion. Once bitten, twice shy indeed. In other news, it seems more and more people from my unit are visiting my humble cyber-abode. Hell, half my unit has probably been here by now. Maybe next month my CO will give me his comments on this site.

hermione hentai - Erm. Harry Potter is British. And it isn't a cartoon.

+"mao zedong" +"pc game" - ?! So Mao Zedong appears in Tropico. So?

girls singapore "fbt" - Everyone knows about Hot Shorts, it seems.

pantyhose tudung - I didn't know it could be used for that purpose.

fluffy bunny killer animations - Ironic sadism!

pictures of singaporeans having sex - Haven't they heard of Sammyboy? Shoo!

girls uncircumcised guys filthy - girls circumcised guys mutilated

"shut up. you try to confuse" - Just because I am paki doesn't mean I stink!

NSmen propaganda - I think Reservists should be immune from the debilitating and mind numbing effects of National Propaganda

ng_boon_kiat - Apparently he's in Dunman High now.

does having handphone turn singapore into a better society - For the life of me, I cannot see WHY anyone would, in his right mind, think up such a proposition.

"herodotus" lecture notes "Book 5" - I'm still stuck somewhere in the middle of Book 4.

transformers yaoi pictures - Dammit. They're robots. I'm not sure there's even a word for inter-robot carnal relations.

Singapore CTE congestion picture - This guy didn't seriously expect people to have pictures of this, did he?

kwek mean luck - He's famous!


halal meat unethical - My sister showed me an extreme right wing publication that accused the Blair government of being hypocritical for trying to ban fox hunting because animals slaughtered the Halal way aren't stunned before having their throats cut, being hung upside down and bleeding to death. To put it another, way, "A chap says some kind prayer and then the cow's throat is slit, while fully conscious, and it bleeds to death. It may be a full three minutes before the heart pumps its last." Some research is actually rather enlightening:

http://www.warmwell.com/dec23bryn.html

"In a 22-page booklet on farm animal welfare, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals described shechitah, the kosher method of slaughter -- as well as halal, the Islamic code of animal slaughter -- as painful and distressing to animals. "It is a fundamental right of religious groups to practice their beliefs without hindrance," the booklet stated. "But where those beliefs are directly responsible for animal suffering, that right has to be challenged." "Surely it is not unreasonable to suggest that, in the light of new scientific knowledge and society's more caring attitudes to animals, religious traditions might be changed," it added. "

On the other hand, Muslim sources claim that the Halal butchers slit the veins in a way such that they bleed to death quickly. They don't say anything about stunning the animal, though. I'm not an authority on this issue, but I still think it would be more humane to stun the animal first or even just behead it. And the reason why Sikhs don't eat Halal meat: "Mind you some cultures/ religion do not eat meat that is halal e.g. Sikhism they believe in "Jhatka" cut meat, i.e. straight cut with minimal torture to the animal e.g. not slow release bleeding to death and some Sikhs I have seen refuse halal meat even in Malaysia.". Yet another reason to try to eat non-Halal meat, then.

To end off, a thought offered by someone: "Arguing over which methods of killing are more humane seems a bit pointless since the only ones who could tell you are dead." Heh.

The Problem With Paypal

On racial profiling:

Security researcher Robert Ferrell:

"Applying the most stringent security measures without regard to the likelihood of criminal intent is both ludicrous and monstrously inefficient. 80-year-old women from Dubuque do not hijack aircraft. 20-year-old Pakistani males with questionable passports do hijack aircraft. It's really not a complex equation to factor."

Lifted from the Melody for Tomorrow:

Just got this email from an acquaintance at church.

A prominent American's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her "How could God let something like this happen?"
(Regarding the attacks on September 11)

Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said, "I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is,I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?"

In light of recent events...terrorists attack, school shootings, etc, I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found recently) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school...the Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself.
And we said OK.

Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about.
And we said OK.

Then someone said teachers and principals better not discipline our children when they misbehave. The school administrators said no faculty member in this school better touch a student when they misbehave because we don't want any bad publicity, and we surely don't want to be sued (there's a big difference between disciplining, touching, beating, smacking, humiliating, kicking, etc.)
And we said OK.

Then someone said, let's let our daughters have abortions if they want, and they won't even have to tell their parents. And we said OK.

Then some wise school board member said, since boys will be boys and they're going to do it anyway, let's give our sons all the condoms they want so they can have all the fun they desire, and we won't have to tell their parents they got them at school.
And we said OK.

Then some of our top elected officials said it doesn't matter what we do in private as long as we do our jobs. Agreeing with them, we said it doesn't matter to me what anyone, including the President, does in private as long as I have a job and the economy is good.

Then someone said let's print magazines with pictures of nude women and call it wholesome, down-to-earth appreciation for the beauty of the female body.
And we said OK.

And then someone else took that appreciation a step further and published pictures of nude children and then further again by making them available on the Internet.
And we said OK, they're entitled to free speech.

Then the entertainment industry said, let's make TV shows and movies that promote profanity, violence, and illicit sex. Let's record music that encourages rape, drugs, murder, suicide, and satanic themes. And we said it's just entertainment, it has no adverse effect, nobody takes it seriously anyway, so go right ahead.

Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.

yaddah yaddah yaddah why is discussion of God suppressed in the workplace, but crude jokes pass through so freely etcetcetc...are you thinking? [end of email]

Yes, that got me thinking. The first thing that popped into my mind was "What does this have to do with September 11? America didn't bomb herself...[relevance: 0 marks]". Sorry about the cynical attitude, but it happened, and I couldn't do anything about it.

And then I asked, "what does God have to do with all of this? Terrorists bombed the US, the epitome of democracy, and Jane Clayson blames it on God? The non-Christians out there would probably laugh this off." But the email is right. If you removed all the religious undertones America probably doesn't deserve the September 11 event, but it certainly deserves the moral degradation it is facing today.

Though the way Anne Graham describes it is totally out of whack. She makes it sound like we're all rejecting God. In fact American democracy is just trying to ensure that the non-Christians don't get their right to freedom from preaching trampled upon. And also a rather lame attempt to impose religious equality - i.e. to show that they're not favouring any one religion.

And the part about spanking just made me laugh really really hard. People don't spank their kids not because this Dr. Spock (get Star Trek out of your mind please) said it's not good, they don't do it because it is now possible for one to be sued for child abuse. Dr. Spock probably had nuts to play in such a development.

I could go on, but I think I'd better just summarise the rest of what I'd say. America's moral values are degenerating, not because they rejected God (is Anne Graham claiming that the Muslims and other religions/cultures are inferior because they reject God too?), but because this new craze about democracy has made people uphold their newfound rights to do everything imaginable (and unimaginable) under the sun, just be cause they can. And in the process, trample all over the values their ancestors worked so hard to build up.

The Christian point of view would be so much more credible if they wouldn't use that "God stepped aside because we asked him to so it's our fault" line to justify everything they preach or to explain all the disasters that happen. Because in doing so they are in fact blaming these disasters on God - September 11 happened because God didn't prevent it from happening. Oh pul-leez. God doesn't kill people, terrorists kill people.

Don't get me wrong. I do believe in the existence of a God. It's just that at a certain phase on my life something happened that made me wake up and realise that linking everything to God is just plain stupid, because there is stuff that is a direct consequence of our own actions.

How would you feel if someone claimed you caused the death of your 2 fighting fish because they were in the same water tank and you did nothing to prevent them from fighting? And thus witness the logically flawed reasoning of the Christian faith. (yes, yes, the "your ways/thoughts are not those of God, but those of Man" argument. I know that too) If they'll actually bother to inject some form of logic into their preaching I think they'll be more successful in their evangelising.


I see the flaws in the logic too. Following this logic, before the Americans "asked him... to get out of [their] lives", they had his blessing and protection. Anne Graham hearkens back to the halcyon days of the 50s, I assume. However, even in those times, America wasn't spared the depredations of world and domestic events.

I admit some people are over-zealous in separating Church from State in the USA, but equally, many are keen to integrate the two. Freedom of Religion also means Freedom -from- Religion. I just read a story in This Is True (Premium) that really pissed me off. A student in Union, Tennessee, India Tracy, has just filed a lawsuit against her school because, among other things:

- She was repeatedly called "Satan worshipper," "witch" and other derogatory names. She was accused of eating babies and of being a lesbian because she wasn't a Christian
- She was forced to attend regular Bible study classes during the school day, and urged to lead the school and her class in prayer.
- Derogatory names were written on her locker in permanent ink and the school refused to paint over the graffiti or move her locker.
- She was repeatedly attacked as she knelt in front of her bottom-row locker. Her head was bashed at least 10 times, cutting her lip, above her eyes and bloodying her nose.
- A teacher told her to "keep quiet because you'll get in trouble" after she wrote a paper about religious freedom.

Like Kureshi, I don't see what Dr Spock, parenting and a lot of other things Anne Graham mentioned have to do with God too. I don't agree with many of her points too, but that's another story for another day.

Was just talking with Yechao about Screwed Up Girl.

Rather enlightening. I see more parallels between the current and past situation now :) And we both feel the same about certain points, too.

Google buys Blogger

At least Blog*Spot is now hosted on Google computers so it's faster

Up to 10 million people around the world marched in protest of a war against Iraq today.

Meanwhile, in Singapore, 6 people protested in front of the American Embassy in Napier Road but were stopped by the police before they could even wave their placards, and taken to Tanglin Police Station for questioning.

Evidently they had no permit. Maybe they'll be charged for Unlawful Assembly. Whee.

'I feel embarrassed that while people around the world are making a statement about peace, Singaporeans are sitting back and munching peanuts in front of their TV sets.' - Mr Latiff, an Engineer, 33

Maybe it's because protests (without a permit, of course) are illegal here, no?


The whole thing about the war on Saddam is that while it is good in principle, realpolitik butts in (as always), to complicate matters.

I think most people would agree that Saddam is bad. Most Iraqis hate him, and definitely all Kurds. Hell, even his fellow Arabs dislike him. Maybe only Osama gives him moral support (thus providing solid 'evidence' of a link between Saddam and Al-Qaeda).

Saddam is evil. He's the bully of Baghdad. - Yortsin.

But then, where do you draw the line? Let's invade Ma-laysia because PAS will one day invade Singapore! Oh gee.

This issue has been discussed endless to death. Isn't everyone sick and tired of hearing the same old points dragged out again and again? Neither faction is going to convince the other side, now that both sides have become so polarised.


Dubya Speak!

This is dedicated to Yaoi Girl. The picture is cute btw.


Most people don't like yaoi. I guess this is
normal.


Are you a yaoi fangirl?
brought to you by Quizilla

I left my computer on overnight to let Spinrite work its magic on one of my hard disks, and put a Channel NewsAsia Post-it note on the main power switch reminding my mother not to turn it off, and she did so anyway. I hope no damage was done. Maybe I should plaster notes all over the room next time. After so long, she still can't get it into her head that whenever I leave it on, it's on for a purpose.

On a larger scale, it's just part of her compulsive obsessive disorder, which also involves her turning off all heaters when she sees them (even if they've only been on for 2 minutes), and yelling that the water is boiling when it's not even tepid, opening all doors when there's a reason why they are shut, and then securing them open with bicycle hooks or reused underwear bands and sweeping/mopping floors 5 times a day, locking the main door with 2 separate locks and many more which my sister could probably expound on at length much more fluently than I could.

Being attached to Nee Soon range to do fatigue for SAFISAM (Singapore Armed Forces Individual
Small Arms Meet) was fun. For one, it was stayout. Also, taking the 855 in the morning with all the schoolgoers was refreshing - something I haven't done since the first half of 2000. In addition, doing saikang once in a while - carpentry, hammering nails, doing decor and the like - breaks the monotony of my routine. Though I'm not very good at it.

One OOC from Guards was complaining to me and the other 42SAR attached personnel that he had been there for a week and was bored already, but was attached till November. :0 Good luck to him.


The RJ bears are very soft, but they shed fur horribly. Argh!

Why do people like to throw bottles of (cheap) mineral water in bathtubs? I saw this being done at Marche, but I'm quite sure I remember other places doing the same.

I saw a picture of one of those classes conducted by the Thais to help women enhance their busts naturally. In it, the women are, erm, squeezing their breasts. It looks damn funny.

---------------------------



Giving push-ups a new meaning, volunteers follow their instructor in an effort aimed at doing away with unnecessary cosmetic surgery. -- AP

Thai push to beat breast jobs

BANGKOK - Thai public health officials are pushing bust exercises as an alternative to silicone implants and cosmetic surgery for women.

The Health Ministry is training a team to perform the workouts - a combination of aerobic moves and traditional Thai exercise - which will be taught to the public, the Bangkok Post reported.

During the two-day course, the women practise the moves, have a traditional Thai massage and end with a bracing splash of cold water on their chests.

Dr Pennapha Subcharoen, Deputy Director General of the Institute for Development of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine, which is conducting the training, said the women also learn how to detect signs of breast cancer.

'We're trying to promote this exercise so that Thai women who have small and floppy breasts do not have to undergo unnecessary treatment,' he said.

Here's to edging all those bust enhancement companies out of business!

---------------------------


Quotes:

[On convent girls] They're sluts (Ed: People seem either to have unreasoning bias for or prejudice against them. They incite strong reactions.)

Bah.

My father reads my blog. Government agents read my blog. Islamic fundamentalists, zaogeng and Queen Rania nude picture lovers and people with weird fetishes who look pictures visit me.

Probably Lee Kuan Yew himself visits quarterly to see if I write anything bad about him.

"but isn't goh chok tong watching you good?
he may mention you in his next pm speech..:)"
Yeah then Blogspot will crash.

The whole world visits me. !@#$%^&*()

Retreat that Tim recommends highly and which I will probably go for in March. Perhaps it will answer some questions, resolve some doubts and address some issues I have.

I have a feeling that I won't be wholly converted to his point of view even then (perhaps the most contentious of my various liberally, religiously incorrect beliefs being that homosexuality is not proscribed).

I can just imagine what he will come up with to explain how I am wrong *then*.

Nice stuff from Daypop(why am I highlighting popular stuff?)

A whole new spin on 404 pages.

Google Watch
A look at how Google's monopoly, algorithms, and privacy policies are undermining the Web.

The Muslim World - An Average American's View


Terror alert status!

And to round it off, a well-written speech from Robert Byrd, a US Senator who soundly opposes war.

93.3 FM keeps playing a desecrated Chinese version of "On My Own". Ack. At least it's not as bad as the Chinese version of the Ketchup Song...


Learning from the Europeans, the folks at Channel 5 have started their version of Interactive TV. During American Idol, there was this service by which you could SMS them messages about the show and it'd appear at the bottom of the screen... Except that most people were sending Valentine's Day greetings. I was reading them rather indulgently on TV Mobile on the 65, and would've sent something about Wo-Hen Nankan, like "Tuan Anh rulez!!!" but by the time I composed a message, I'd reached my stop.

I had the misfortune of standing behind 3 SRJC girls on the MRT today. They smelt worse than the PJ girls of yesteryear, and to make matters worse, their inane and senseless giggling and nothing in particular (a gender defect, I maintain) would've put Zixuan to shame.

Melvin somehow got Dengue Fever - must be an allergic reaction to 1SIR - so some of us went to visit him. He was a little weak, but still robust enough to unleash his usual double entendres. Meanwhile 'Chew' was feeling touchy, exploding at the mention of the word "Valentine's" or the sight of flowers and chocolates. Well, Andrew and I don't have dates either, so. :)


Quotes:

[To me] Why're you folding your sleeves? You're an RGS girl?

Can I touch your belly? Yeh... Now I've good luck

I think we should compose our own song. Call it the haram song.

[On a man in a bathroom] There's a man in there. He's washing his cock. [To his mother: There's a man in there. He's rather long.]


And more praise, this time from Gail:

"i always suspected you were insane but i just found the proof in balderdash. which reads a bit like an incoherent mindmap. the kind you might get if you gave the brain (of pinky etc fame) a lobotomy.

why would *anyone* be boh liao enough to scan in a few years' worth in rg yearbooks? (and incidentally... do you have the air rifle one for 1999/8? :))"

I identify more with Asian Prince, than Pinky, really :)


Benjy sent me this Psychic Mind Reader. Can you figure out how it works? :)

Happy Valentine's Day!


16 months left!

The Speak Good English Movement (SGEM) - Speak well. Be misunderstood, see blur faces, get labelled pretentious, "jiak gentang" and having "powderful england"


How can hawkers manage to crack eggs with such ease and not have any eggshell in their cooking?

Re: Class of 1999 GEPpers Gathering centred around Rosie Smith - Why is it when people who, at a point in the past shared some denominator meet up, they tend to spend most of their time reminiscing about the past? Most of the time was spent talking about adventures in the Age of Innocence. Right.


Quotes:

You know what Nanyang Girls need? A shaver. Each and every frickin' one of them.

LOL

Praise, of sorts, from a senior whom I know (of):

call4fire

"people who i vaguely know and know me not, making me qualified to pass judgment on.

gabriel: person with strange and scary page to read at 2 am in the morning."

I feel vindicated :) If you think that's bad, try Balderdash!


Senseless giggling at nothing in particular is a gender defect. (Re: Screwed Up Girl, Yaoi Girl and friends before Play - RJC Band Concert - 2003)


Xephyris has defected from Phoenix to Opera! Tut tut. Boo hoo.


New Blogger link button courtesy of http://www.1greeneye.net/free/logbuttons/

The Other News

It seems someone has been cataloguing and posting all the weird stories that come out in the Straits Times and the New Paper which relate to sex (well, most of them) and Singapore. How cute. We can rival Ma-laysia now!

Among them:

- the 15 year old boy who, in 2000, died from auto-erotic asphyxiation while clad in shorts and his sister's sports bra (a search for that, after discussing with someone the possibility of accidentally commiting suicide by playing with a gun) was what led me to find the page in the first place)
- the police finding 1,200 blue tapes... in the police quarters at Pearl's Hill Terrace
- A US doctor advocating male genital mutilation for all male babies
- Parents sending Private Investigators to spy on their children


George Bush unmasked!

A Singaporean Personal Blog makes the top 40 of Daypop!

Australians bare all in anti-war protest - More than 700 women have posed nude in Australia in a mass protest against their country's support for possible military action against Iraq.

Hahaha - Gulf War 2: The Reckoning - ROFL.




A poem a senior of mine wrote:

"The second poem is the distillation of my love of my national service experience."

Soldier

And if I ever go to war
I'll kill my bloody enemies
My bloody fucking enemies
Are those that try to get me killed

And first and foremost in their rank
Are those that send me out to die
And first and foremost of that scum are those above me high in rank

The men of bars, the men of stars
The old men ruling by the vote
For love of country scream for death
My death my death my death my death

I'll rend their guts and flay their bones
No matter which side they are on
My bloody fucking enemies
Are those that try to get me killed

Word of the day: "voluptuary" (see also: sybarite)

It's been a while, but I got stomach cramps again - this time from doing 150 crunches after a morning run (well, it was a walk for me). And they lasted 3 days. Ouch. I think even Mr Poon isn't quite so brutal!

Sometimes, I wonder what went wrong between me and one of my colleagues. I'm sure he's a nice person in his own way, but what event(s) caused him to dislike me so much? Maybe he doesn't like to see people "slacking" when he sees himself working so hard. Well, I am not as slack as I appear, though I *do* admit my job is rather easier than some's *g* It's probably a summation of many small things. The straw that breaks the camel's back. As always. Now, where have we heard that before? :) I also wonder occasionally who else dislikes me but is less open about their loathing. Hmm.

I finally went to confront the barber, and he wasn't happy. He admitted, in a roundabout way, that we didn't have to pay him another $2 when we actually got out hair cut, but dismissed his ongoing con job with the words (in chinese), "Some people who want to give me more, so I let them. Sit down!" and proceeded to cut my hair extremely quickly and shoddily, taking 1/3 the time he took on the person before me (though oddly it was, actually, better than the second time I'd gone to him and had paid him $2, when Jason remarked that I looked like a Dragonball Z character.)

As he predicted, Qingru has been posted to my unit. And he's been forced to cut his hair to a ridiculous length. Heh heh heh. Apparently he also hasn't applied overseas, though he intends to. At my rate, I think in the end I just won't bother.

There was a stray dog running around when we were running at East Coast (I love my battalion - we rarely stay in camp on Saturdays. I can probably count on 4 fingers the number of Saturdays I've spent in camp since late June) - well, it wasn't really a stray dog. It was tame, well groomed, didn't bite and had a collar. Anyway, a "captain" security guard was trying to slip a noose around its neck (too lowly a job for the "generals" I suppose) but it kept eluding him, even up till the time I left. I wonder why stray dogs are frowned upon, but people let stray cats wander with abandon? :(

I'm at the History section of Fast Food Nation at this point in time. I finally get to find out about the stupid "Colonel" Harland Sanders! Alas, he *was* a real person, though somewhat of a kook.


http://eatmejusteatme.50g.com/117.htm

"This kind of reminds me of the time back in Primary 6, when we looked at the black gunk and pus oozing out of our newly-formed BCG scar, and we offered some of it to Peggy and made her cry. Sometimes I don't see how I've changed at all in the last 8 years."

Yuck! Eww! Gross! Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh.

Charmian on law: and if this is encouragement, there are really very many chio bus in law...
and save they're more assertive and demanding than arts gals, i think it's a better deal for a guy coz the ratio of gals to guys in law higher than gals to guys in arts ha!

Wah lao.


Quotes:
[Nametag in McDonalds] Uncle Chan

[On the commissioning of officers] All of them say, "level up"... Add one point to Yucheng. Intelligence - 4... [Me: It should be 'Wisdom'] Actually I wanted to say 'Charisma' but he has some kind of idiot charm.

[On me losing weight] You stuffed yourself during Chinese New Year? (starved)

[On why guys do not rather read unabashedly pornographic magazines like Playboy, Hustler and Penthouse instead of those with a veneer of social acceptability like Stuff, FHM and Maxim] Sometimes you think, ah, things that cannot be seen is more beautiful


Exchanges:

kimberly: oh don't be silly
you're spouting nonsense again

crystal: what since when since when!

kimberly: gah
I should deal with you so forcefully your curly hair will straighten :P

crystal: that sounds so kinky!

kimberly: gah
why you little...

Deja vu, the unipolar world - All that talk about the US being the first hyperpower isn't totally correct.

When morality is lethal - A blow against mindless moralists.


Report human rights violations online!