NSFs - our very own Banglas, if much weaker and grossly less efficient
We just had our third bunk/furniture moving in 8 months. The second was totally pointless, and the first and this only slightly less so. The abbreviated story is as follows: For BMT, the companies didn't have enough furniture, so HQ moved its furniture down, and got double decker beds and new cupboards. After BMT, some people got posted out and though some were posted in, not enough were posted to make up for the shortfall, so there were extra beds and cupboards. Now, we're having a fourth company, so our double decker beds and cupboards are being sent there, and we are getting our old cupboards and beds back. Now, what we did is the most obvious thing to do in the situations we were faced with, but it is hardly the most elegant solution and some of its many faults will be detailed shortly. I am sure that a better solution could have been conceived, for after all, the SAF is famed for its efficiency, ingenuity and logistical expertise.
I think that, if we'd all contributed $3-5 of our own money to a common pot, we'd have been able to hire maybe 30 banglas [Ed: Affectionate term for Bangladeshi Workers] - our modern day Stakhanovites, and pillars of the modern Singapore economy - to do the bunk shifting, instead of using over 100 of us. This would be possible since they are so much better at doing what they do than we are - it takes 6 of us to move a cupboard up one flight of stairs, but 2 banglas can carry the same cupboard up 3 flights without even breaking a sweat. We would even be able to throw in free breakfast and lunch, killing 2 birds with 1 stone, since our rations are always under-consumed. In fact, if the unit had used the money they'd spent on giving us, a few weeks before, notebook covers with the Battalion logo and vision on them, to hire the banglas, we'd all have appreciated this more. If we'd hired Banglas, we would then have been freed of 2 days of meaningless labour and left to do more productive things, to make (marginally) better use of our various talents and skills.
Now, it's not just because we're lazy that we advocated the hiring of the banglas. There is, as always, a more tenable (to the SAF) reason. With all this furniture shifting, a significant amount of the furniture has suffered irreversible damage - many scratches have appeared on the cupboards, drawer keys have gone missing, clothes hooks have broken, metal parts securing cupboard doors have disappeared, wooden beams on bedframes to support the mattresses have broken, some mattresses have lost their bounciness and burst springs and more. If nothing else, with the number of mirrors that were broken, 42SAR will have bad luck for the next few decades. Now, if we'd hired banglas, who are greatly more skilled at such tasks, and further, can be charged for damages, I doubt if we'd have a tenth of the furniture damage that we now have. Thanks to the SAF's shortsightedness, it had now incurred a greater cost for itself - damaged furniture which will have to be replaced sooner.
Incidentally, at one point we were told to put on our shirts because it was a "safety" issue - without them we'd "get scratched". Like the shirts would protect us much against scratches anyway. And what about the greater risk of heat stroke? Would that not have been more of a safety hazard than scratches?
SAF and the Media
FOUR Singapore Armed Forces soldiers were injured yesterday morning when a bullet, jammed in the chamber of a heavy machine gun, exploded in their faces as they tried to dislodge it.
The incident occurred during a live-firing exercise, after the 0.5-inch calibre weapon mounted on an armoured vehicle jammed while a full-time NSman was firing it.
The stuck round exploded while the NSman and a safety officer tried to rectify the problem.
The soldier who had been firing the gun was the most seriously wounded - shrapnel from the exploding round hit his face and eyes.
He is now in a stable condition and is warded at the National University Hospital.
The safety officer and two other full-time NSmen nearby were also hurt.
They suffered minor injuries and received outpatient treatment at the hospital.
All four soldiers, aged between 20 and 24, are trainees at the SAF's Armour Training Centre at Sungei Gedong Camp in Lim Chu Kang.
I was at first pleasantly surprised that this incident was reported in the papers with only minor inaccuracies the following day and on CNA the same day, for even though there has been a welcome move towards transparency recently, I didn't think that they'd be so forthright. Later, however, the real reason was revealed - the press was at the gates of our camp less than an hour after the event. I assume someone had tipped them off.
Now, MINDEF does not like to report this sort of incident for a variety of reasons: the negative publicity and the loss of trust in the SAF, people knowing that it injures its slaves now and then, speculation and (the most charitable explanation) that it is best to wait for the investigation to conclude, to establish the facts definitively.
Negative publicity should not be an issue, for the SAF should be able to defend its actions and practices in public, if it is able. If it is not, no one should be able to censor such news with the excuse that it would cause a loss of trust in the SAF, for then it would be justified.
Speculation is feared for it could lead to confusion and misconceptions arising in the public, especially in the absence of an official, definitive version of the facts. However, speculation thrives best in the fertile ground of uncertainty and silence, and the SAF, in keeping mum about facts until investigations are complete, and holding slaves to silence with ominous and vague threats, is actually sowing the seeds of its downfall, for there is no harm releasing preliminary findings, or even eyewitness reports, for if nothing is said, it is usually assumed that there is something to hide.
Even if we accept the last explanation, it does seem fortuitous that by the time the investigation ends, no one will care about the incident if it isn't too major, and it will be relegated to a footnote in the papers, below a story about how a cat was saved from an angsana tree by brave firemen, and no one will think to question the why and wherefore of the incident, for news is current and immediate, and no one cares about stale news. If we accepted this kind of excuse, all the news we got would be 2 months old, having had to be researched and vetted by a committee ensuring that the "true facts" of the incident were reported.
Furthermore, the public has a right to know how the flower of their youth are sacrificing their eyesight in the name of Our Defense, especially since this is an army of slaves, press-ganged and thrust wide-eyed into a dangerous new world, and not regulars who have made a Faustian bargain, sacrificing their freedom (and much else) for duty, honour, glory and - dare I say - money.
My 8km route march
As part of our training for Exercise Lancer, we had a 8km route march. As usual, I was placed at the front. Why they persist in placing me at the front dring runs, route marches and what not, I do not know, for I inevitably end up at the back, in the "Gabriel detail". What is more, I block all the people trying to overtake me and get prematurely tired out trying to keep up with the rest at first.
By the time the rest of the company had reached the rest point at the 4km mark, I was about 600m behind the rest of them, so they got a little more rest than they would have gotten otherwise. About midway through the 5th (of 6th) round, a clip on my field pack fortuitiously broke while I was taking it off my shoulders. I then brought it all the way to the safety minivan by bear-hugging it and carried on. My load was now lighter, but after an initial burst of energy, it seemed almost as hard as ever to continue, due to my generalised exhaustion and foot pain (both due to blisters and my collapsed arches).
Near the ending of the last round, I felt my strength ebbing and my breathing became more laboured. I tried to slow down. Then the "motivation" started. People were understandably upset, for they'd walked with me at my torturingly slow pace and wasted a lot of time. However, I'd never asked them to walk with me, and would rather have had them go on by themselves.
The lines and insults that people like to shout to "motivate" others never work on me, for they appeal to my non-existent sense of male pride. Nevertheless, in some odd way they do drag my mental state down.
"Are you a pussy or are you a man?"
Now, obviously one answer is meant to have negative connotations, and another positive ones. Not to me, though. Though I have some antipathy towards cats, pussies are cute, sweet, innocent, lovable and soft. And they purr. To be a "man", on the other hand, has connotations of insensitivity, thinking with your gonads, having no empathy, being testosterone driven and placing value in empty things like puerile physical or foolhardy feats. Anyhow, I never asked to be born male, and to expect ALL males to possess certain attributes and characteristics is sexist. If females can be soldiers, it follows that not all males are suited to be enslaved.
"I let you take off your field pack already, what else do you want?"
Interesting question. How about not having a field pack in the first place? How about not doing the route march? How about being in another unit? How about ORDing now? How about not being enslaved in the first place? While we're there, I would also like someone back, a million in the bank, the Cure for Cancer to be discovered and World Peace.
And so, the cumulative stress was too much to bear, and I broke down again, like I did at the 12km checkpoint of the 16km route march last September - crying, screaming, ululation, lying on the road and banging my fists on the tarmac, and I had to be hauled up and led bodily to the end point.
It is also upsetting that some people seem to think that this is all an act. I suppose only the sight of mangled dead bodies would convince them of the truth of the matter. Oh wait. Death need not necessarily be an intention - it could just be an act gone wrong.
In Sungei Gedong
We had stairs training, starting off with SBO attire and just over half an hour of clambering up the staircases. This was considered "light" and already I felt like fainting. This is not looking good. And apparently it can lead to osteoarthritis in 2-3 decades' time, so we won't be able to claim money from the SAF for it.
I swear - nowadays, 75% of the time, one of the two choices of breakfasts we get is either "fried egg noodles" or "fried Hongkong noodles", and I am unable to discern any difference between the two of them. Furthermore, by the time I eat breakfast, there is almost always only one choice left. Namely, the fried egg/Hongkong noodles. Now, I like fried egg/Hongkong noodles, but eating it almost daily is making me sick.
SFI experiments in breakfast foods can go horribly wrong - who can forget such abominations as the "curry pao" and "sardine pao" from Islamic Food Industries? However, one experiment that has come out well is the "vegetable pao", provided by Khong Guan. This is actually a pao which has soon kueh stuffing inside. It might not sound very nice, but it does taste quite good. Incidentally, I suspect that SFI provides its food suppliers with convenient guinea pigs (ie us) to test out new products, since I've never seen the "vegetable pao" outside of SFI cookhouses, nor, come to think of it the "curry pao" or "sardine pao".
A recent tasty cookhouse innovation is the "Eight Treasure" vegetable dish. I tried counting the ingredients and came up with the following: cauliflower, broccoli, two types of mushrooms (one button), red pepper, green pepper, yellow pepper, celery and carrot. That's 9 ingredients. Oh well.
The fourth combat company of 42SAR has enlisted, and is now doing BMT. This puts them out of sync with the rest, but I guess they're supposed to be special. Hell, they even get Vitamin C pills every night - maybe the SAF is trying to train Biologically-Enhanced Warriors. They new company's name has been changed from "Cougar" to "Paladin". This makes slightly more sense in the sense that "P" is closer to "J", "K", "L" and "S", but breaks with the Great Tradition of naming each company after a cat. Thus, I have chosen to call "P" Company "Pussy" Company.
Some things that piss me off:
- being kept away from my workplace constantly because of various stupid activities, and then being expected to perform my job as if I were around all the time. If it comes down to it, I think I've done less than I am expected to do, but more than I could be reasonably expected to
- people stealing my stationery, especially stationery that I've paid and isn't SAF-issued
- people taking my "stores" for granted, yet refusing to help me acquire more for immediate consumption
Medical Centre
Someone was playing with his saliva and making sounds with it, and a big glob fell on the floor. Ugh. I thought people stopped playing with saliva in primary school.
During enlistment day of my unit's fourth company, there was an obligatory tour of the medical centre, and desperate people were peeking through the blinds at the ah lians and aunties. I remarked on this giving negative utility and someone pointed out that they had nothing better to do. I was amused at someone bringing his dog along, though.
Early one morning at about 7:15, I was proceeding to the medical centre to take over as duty medic. My beret was on, and my lightly-laden (for once) bag slung over my shoulder. As I was entering the School of Armour car porch, a platoon-sized group in PT Kit was filing past. Suddenly, one of them turned around and the following exchange ensued:
Guy: Boss (?) tiam! Good morning Sir! *salutes me smartly*
Me: I'm not a "Sir". You can carry on. Thank you.
Their hair was too long for them to be recruits. Maybe it was too early for their brains to be functioning properly, and they needed blood to go to their heads (the classic SAF excuse for knocking people down).
Whenever I'm the duty medic, my grand staff - made of the finest Ironwood and tipped with a circlet of green jade - will appear: the symbol of my power and authority as the Duty Medic. More importantly, it lets me shut the door without getting out of my seat, and also to thwack people on their butts.
I was sweeping the floor while on duty, and must have looked very lousy and pathetic, for some sickbay patients offered to help me if I lent them my charger. Quite a fair quid pro quo, I think, though some people accused me of exploiting them.
People were inoculating new recruits, and I noticed that almost all of the injection sites had trickles of blood flowing from them. Interestingly, my record is about 1 in 20 injections leading to blood flowing from the site.
Misc SAF
My boots were wet during a river crossing, so my favourite Poor Suffering Substantive Third Sergeant lent me his Gore-Tex boots as my parade boots had mysteriously shrunk. It was the first time I'd worn the new design, and I have to say that they're overrated. There's little difference between well-seasoned boots of the old design and Gore-Tex ones.
The various disingeneous ploys used to "encourage" people are interesting to examine if the aren't being used on you. At the start, they tell you that you've just started, and that you can't give up so easily. When you've reached the midway mark, they say that you've finished half of the exercise and should feel accomplised. Only half of the exercise is left! Also, vague threats of remedial training are waved about. Finally, when you're near the end of the activity, you are told that you're almost done and that you shouldn't give up.
Apparently Captains and Majors visit SAF Psychiatrists as well. Oh well.
Quotes:
[On using real SAR 21s for the river crossing] It seems the 'dummy' is mutually exclusive. Either the person organising is a dummy, or the rifle is a dummy. (It seems that only one can be a dummy -)
[Sign on a laundrette door] Anyone who wanna use the laundrate room please seek permission from the COS or CSM (wants to use the laundrette) (Ed: Damnit, it's written on the door above this stupid sign!]
[On cadets] They're still quite nice people. Wait until they get commissioned, then they become fuckers. Can you imagine Swee Soon if he's commissioned? 'Eh. Hello! Hello!'
[Me to a nice guy about to be posted to a company for BMT: I cannot imagine you knocking down the recruits] Neither can I.
[On engineering] It's like a dump ground. Dumping ground.
[On my filing the medical dockets from the previous day] Why you put back? They're going to report sick again today. (did you put them)
[On me and my stick] You look like a Sergeant Major. Medical Centre Sergeant Major. MSM.
Gabriel, you should get a wife. [Me: So I can - stay out?] Someone to take care of you for the rest of your life (?)
[On the finer points of cursing in Hokkien] [Me: When do you say 'lan jiao' and when do you say 'jee bye'?] Jee bye is when you're du lan [Ed: Pissed off] over something. [Me: Lan jiao is...?] Lan jiao is when someone says something wrong. 'Lan jiao lah!'
We need comfort women in the camp. Then people won't mind staying in, I tell you. A lot of people will sign on... FFI for prostitutes.
[Dennis: Weng! Weng! Weng!] Is that Dennis or Ban Xiong? [Me: *points at Dennis* Ban Xiong doesn't make stupid noises] He doesn't make stupid noises. He only makes stupid comments.
[Me on the Lord of the Rings exhibition: You can see Arwen's dress] Arwen's underwear. [Someone: Only tubby will think of this kind of thing]
[Me on some Ah Lian: I see the crack of someone's ass] That's different. That's more elegant.
L'origine de Bert
Friday, March 05, 2004
Got a new pair of earphones yesterday, as the ones included with my MP3 player were getting temperamental (the right earphone wouldn't produce sound unless the tension on its wire was just right).
Accompanied by the redoubtable Poor Suffering ("I have a name!"), I was befuddled by the number of seemingly similar earphones that the electronics companies had on offer. In the end, I picked one with a lucky sounding price of $29.90, a pair of Sony NDR-E931LP "Stereo Dynamic Earphones", which were advertised as being "Stable & Comfortable", having a "Thin housing & slim bass duct", "Twin Turbo (fontopia)", a "Neck-chain", a "silent cap" and a "Gold plated stereo mini plug". All of this was greek to me, of course.
Not being an audiophile, all I know is that the sound is better and more vivid than that from my old pair. The $60 or $70 sets will probably be wasted on me.
ConsoleClassix.com - Hundreds of Console Games STRAIGHT to your monitor
Aren't you distributing ROM images?
No. The way our service works is simple. Our clients log into our service, they then can browse a list of available games. Once a user has selected a game our server locks that image so that no one else can use it. This ensures that we are never using more copies of a game than we own, that would be copyright infringement. If the connection between the client and server is broken the game no longer functions on the client and the server unlocks the game for other players. We allow you to rent our games, not buy them. We allow you to access our ROMs, but we don't distribute them.
So you're basically an internet video rental place?
Exactly. There is no ideological difference between our service and that of any common video rental store. We have simply taken a classic idea and brought it to the web. This will certainly become commonplace as the internet expands and bandwidth increases. We are merely spearheading a small piece of a huge industry.
This sounds very fishy. I suppose back in the days these games were programmed, no one thought to include a clause forbidding unauthorised broadcasting or renting.
The PowerGoth Girls
Someone took a picture as the last of the credits of Mel Gibson's "Passion of the Christ" were rolling.
Interesting, most interesting.
Accompanied by the redoubtable Poor Suffering ("I have a name!"), I was befuddled by the number of seemingly similar earphones that the electronics companies had on offer. In the end, I picked one with a lucky sounding price of $29.90, a pair of Sony NDR-E931LP "Stereo Dynamic Earphones", which were advertised as being "Stable & Comfortable", having a "Thin housing & slim bass duct", "Twin Turbo (fontopia)", a "Neck-chain", a "silent cap" and a "Gold plated stereo mini plug". All of this was greek to me, of course.
Not being an audiophile, all I know is that the sound is better and more vivid than that from my old pair. The $60 or $70 sets will probably be wasted on me.
ConsoleClassix.com - Hundreds of Console Games STRAIGHT to your monitor
Aren't you distributing ROM images?
No. The way our service works is simple. Our clients log into our service, they then can browse a list of available games. Once a user has selected a game our server locks that image so that no one else can use it. This ensures that we are never using more copies of a game than we own, that would be copyright infringement. If the connection between the client and server is broken the game no longer functions on the client and the server unlocks the game for other players. We allow you to rent our games, not buy them. We allow you to access our ROMs, but we don't distribute them.
So you're basically an internet video rental place?
Exactly. There is no ideological difference between our service and that of any common video rental store. We have simply taken a classic idea and brought it to the web. This will certainly become commonplace as the internet expands and bandwidth increases. We are merely spearheading a small piece of a huge industry.
This sounds very fishy. I suppose back in the days these games were programmed, no one thought to include a clause forbidding unauthorised broadcasting or renting.
The PowerGoth Girls
Someone took a picture as the last of the credits of Mel Gibson's "Passion of the Christ" were rolling.
Interesting, most interesting.
Post ID: 107850135154648144
Word of the Day: "blancmange"
Petals Around the Rose
This is the sort of thing my JC class liked to play. I was terrible at this sort of game and only got the pattern once.
People used to be driven crazy searching for the pattern. I, on the other hand, learnt how to ignore this sort of stupid games :)
When I was outfield last year, some people started playing this kind of games. I promptly went to a side and lay down.
And now I shall now break the covenant of the petal (ie give the solution). Muahaha!
"u see right
like lets say, i have a 5 (on the dice)
there's 4 dots at the corner, and 1 in the centre. so how many petals around the rose? 4! :P
if there's a 3 dice, then how many petals : 2! :P
so u simply add up all the 'petals' and u get the answer. :P
if u have
2 5 1 1 3 u get 6 petals la."
In my words: The "rose" is actually the dot in the centre of the die when you roll a "1", "3" or "5". The "petals", then, are the dots surrounding the centre dot. Ergo, a "1" has 0 petals, a "3" has 2 petals and a "5" has 4 petals. The number of petals around the rose is therefore the sum of the "petals" on all the dice.
Alternatively: "my solution is the mathematical expression of your solution
odd numbers are those with 'petals' except for 1 which has none
and i subtract the number of odd numbers to 'get rid' of the middle of the 'rose'"
Was checking a search referral and I found that the Sar-vivor rap is finally online.
Original: The Blinking Bastardos, lyrics
Remix (?): http://www.sfcave.com/sars/, lyrics
Confusingly, the page hosting the remix displays the lyrics of the original. Do not be deceived, for the remix doesn't have the golden line: "SARS is the virus that I just want to minus" or the hordes of people dancing and screaming in the background!
Reservations Of An Airline Agent
80s Cartoons reviews - Centurions, Bravestarr
I was reading Island of the Undead (FF #51) when I found out that the page with paragraph 58 has been ripped out. Argh! Gah! Nooo! Sacrilege! !@#$%^&*()
Petals Around the Rose
This is the sort of thing my JC class liked to play. I was terrible at this sort of game and only got the pattern once.
People used to be driven crazy searching for the pattern. I, on the other hand, learnt how to ignore this sort of stupid games :)
When I was outfield last year, some people started playing this kind of games. I promptly went to a side and lay down.
And now I shall now break the covenant of the petal (ie give the solution). Muahaha!
"u see right
like lets say, i have a 5 (on the dice)
there's 4 dots at the corner, and 1 in the centre. so how many petals around the rose? 4! :P
if there's a 3 dice, then how many petals : 2! :P
so u simply add up all the 'petals' and u get the answer. :P
if u have
2 5 1 1 3 u get 6 petals la."
In my words: The "rose" is actually the dot in the centre of the die when you roll a "1", "3" or "5". The "petals", then, are the dots surrounding the centre dot. Ergo, a "1" has 0 petals, a "3" has 2 petals and a "5" has 4 petals. The number of petals around the rose is therefore the sum of the "petals" on all the dice.
Alternatively: "my solution is the mathematical expression of your solution
odd numbers are those with 'petals' except for 1 which has none
and i subtract the number of odd numbers to 'get rid' of the middle of the 'rose'"
Was checking a search referral and I found that the Sar-vivor rap is finally online.
Original: The Blinking Bastardos, lyrics
Remix (?): http://www.sfcave.com/sars/, lyrics
Confusingly, the page hosting the remix displays the lyrics of the original. Do not be deceived, for the remix doesn't have the golden line: "SARS is the virus that I just want to minus" or the hordes of people dancing and screaming in the background!
Reservations Of An Airline Agent
80s Cartoons reviews - Centurions, Bravestarr
I was reading Island of the Undead (FF #51) when I found out that the page with paragraph 58 has been ripped out. Argh! Gah! Nooo! Sacrilege! !@#$%^&*()
Post ID: 107846450101024200
Sunday, February 29, 2004
Jiamin and I got Geraldine the same present.
Hmm.
It *is* a very suitable present. Guess we know her too well. Or maybe we think alike. Or maybe we walked past the same place in Borders it was prominently displayed.
I also finally saw and played the infamous Chu Chu Rocket that Xephyris and Chinx kept talking about in JC. It was too fast paced for me, but that aside I found it heavily overrated.
There was also this disturbing Japanese game - a 2 player version of a 2D one-plane-against-all-odds scroller, but where enemies you killed cross over to the opponent's screen. Did I mention that your choice of "planes" is limited to flying Japanese manga characters including 4 dustballs, 3 androgynous bishounen on some sort of animal (I forgot which sort) and a chick with a pencil? Oh, and it was set to Japanese Dance Music too. That was the worst thing.
Another sorta funny Garfield. Could Jim Davis be bucking up?
Meanwhile, Foxtrot is always funny. They always find something new to make fun of.
Hmm.
It *is* a very suitable present. Guess we know her too well. Or maybe we think alike. Or maybe we walked past the same place in Borders it was prominently displayed.
I also finally saw and played the infamous Chu Chu Rocket that Xephyris and Chinx kept talking about in JC. It was too fast paced for me, but that aside I found it heavily overrated.
There was also this disturbing Japanese game - a 2 player version of a 2D one-plane-against-all-odds scroller, but where enemies you killed cross over to the opponent's screen. Did I mention that your choice of "planes" is limited to flying Japanese manga characters including 4 dustballs, 3 androgynous bishounen on some sort of animal (I forgot which sort) and a chick with a pencil? Oh, and it was set to Japanese Dance Music too. That was the worst thing.
Another sorta funny Garfield. Could Jim Davis be bucking up?
Meanwhile, Foxtrot is always funny. They always find something new to make fun of.
Post ID: 107805940538444610
So much for going there by 12pm.
Hair's done - the guy charged me $8. Maybe he thought I was a student. Would still rather have it done in camp by the ah lian though. Besides saving $5, there's the more important factor - saving time!
Most of phone's problems were solved by turning it off and then on, so I can procrastinate my maintenance trip.
1. Why were u in a pub at 3am? which pub?
Altivo on Mount Faber. I was with HWMNBN and another friend.
2. How did HWMNBN meet mr ong?
Mr Ong strolled into BK while we were sipping our drinks and chatting.
Hair's done - the guy charged me $8. Maybe he thought I was a student. Would still rather have it done in camp by the ah lian though. Besides saving $5, there's the more important factor - saving time!
Most of phone's problems were solved by turning it off and then on, so I can procrastinate my maintenance trip.
1. Why were u in a pub at 3am? which pub?
Altivo on Mount Faber. I was with HWMNBN and another friend.
2. How did HWMNBN meet mr ong?
Mr Ong strolled into BK while we were sipping our drinks and chatting.
Post ID: 107803018995002233
Saturday, February 28, 2004
Things to do tomorrow:
1) Screwed Up Girl's birthday party, which starts at 2pm, but I want to go at 12pm.
2) hair cut (for the 'hygiene inspection')
3) Take photos for NUS application form
4) Send phone to the Nokia Care Centre (Wheelock Place? Damn. Should have brought my warranty card when I met He Who Must Not Be Named today):
- I can't send pictures and tones by IR to other Nokia phones (apparently this might be by design)
- Some midis won't play fully
- Now the radio doesn't work and all calls are routed to loudspeaker no matter what I do
Junxiong says that in NUS, when you take an MC it has to be endorsed by their clinic. Wah lao. Just like the SAF. No wonder they have a clinic there! I was wondering why they were so nice to their students.
1) Screwed Up Girl's birthday party, which starts at 2pm, but I want to go at 12pm.
2) hair cut (for the 'hygiene inspection')
3) Take photos for NUS application form
4) Send phone to the Nokia Care Centre (Wheelock Place? Damn. Should have brought my warranty card when I met He Who Must Not Be Named today):
- I can't send pictures and tones by IR to other Nokia phones (apparently this might be by design)
- Some midis won't play fully
- Now the radio doesn't work and all calls are routed to loudspeaker no matter what I do
Junxiong says that in NUS, when you take an MC it has to be endorsed by their clinic. Wah lao. Just like the SAF. No wonder they have a clinic there! I was wondering why they were so nice to their students.
Post ID: 10779744338180396
Friday, February 27, 2004
According to a recent English-language Gulf News wire report published in The Plain Dealer (Cleveland), teenagers in the port of Dubai, located in Bahrain, who are searching for "exotic highs" are smoking ants or inhaling the fumes they emit when burned. In fact, a small packet of Samaseem - Gulf Arabic for ants - sells for up to $135 in the emirate of Abu Dhabi. According to the report, Dubai police said youngsters are trying ants because they can't afford the usual narcotics, or they believe they won't be prosecuted for getting high on ants.
Maybe I can try this some day.
Competition for Handsome Boy Steven Lim, the eyebrow plucker!
How did this get into my subdomain?!
SMS I just got: "Hygiene inspection on mon. Specs will be inspected by rsm"
Ooh. Nasty.
I won't be going for this (Pared itinerary)
12 Days Best of Egypt & Red Sea
Day 1 - Singapore/Cairo
Day 2 - Cairo-Alexandria
Arrive Cairo and transfer to Alexandria, Egypt's second largest city for a visit to the Turkish/Florentine-styled Montazah Palace and Gardens, Fort of Qaitbay, built on the site of the ancient Pharos Lighthouse and Pompeii's Pillar, a prominent Ptolemaic landmark
Day 3 - Alexandria-Memphis-Saqqara-Cairo
Visit the ancient capital of Memphis and necropolis of Saqqara where the first Pyramids were built for King Zoser - The Step Pyramids. Transfer to Cairo next to visit the Seven Wonders of the World, the Pyramids and Sphinx of Giza. After Lunch, visit the Egyptian Museum with the world's greatest collection of Egyptian antiquities including treasures from King Tut's tomb.
Day 4 - Cairo-Aswan (Nile River Cruise)
Take an early flight to Aswan. Upon arrival, visit the Unfinished Obelisk, granite quarries, Aswan Dam, old Dam and Philae Temple. Transfer to cruise ship for embarkation.
Day 5 - Nile River Cruise
Enjoy a felucca boat ride and view the Aga Khan Mausoleum from afar. Then sail for Temple of Kom Ombo, dedicated to the two gods of Sobek and Haroeris. Continue sailing for Edfu.
Day 6 - Nile River Cruise
Visit the Temple of Edfu dedicated to Horus the Falcon God. Sail on to Esna for the lock crossing to Luxor.l
Day 7 - Nile River Cruise
Cross over to the West Bank for a visit to King Tut's tomb in the Valley of the Kings, Queen Hatshepsut's Temple and Collossi of Memnon. IN the afternoon, visit the Temples of Karnak and Luxor.
Day 8 - Nile River Cruise / Hurghada
Proceed to Red Sea Resort of Hurghada. A simple fishing village once, it is now Egypt's best tourist spot with crystal clear waters and pristine reefs. Go on a desert safari and enjoy a Bedouin Dinner under the stars.
Day 9 - Hurghada
Day is free at leisure. You can "catch" the Red Sea Big Five in a glass-bottom boat, go for a dive in the azure sea, or enjoy the many sports available. Relax with a Turkish bath, massage or sauna.
Day 10 - Hurghada-Cairo
-Free and Easy-
Day 11 - Cairo-Singapore
Argh. Alexandria! The Aswan Dam! Thebes! The Pharos! The Pyramids! The Valley of the Kings! All that's missing is a visit to the Oracle of Siwa.
Maybe at the end of the year... I'll go look at what Greece has to offer
In other news:
Mathematician explains parting of Red Sea
"Naum Voltsinger used differential equations to show that strong winds and a hidden underwater reef would have allowed more than half a million Jews to flee to the Promised Land - without getting their feet wet. "
Fascinating.
Maybe I can try this some day.
Competition for Handsome Boy Steven Lim, the eyebrow plucker!
How did this get into my subdomain?!
SMS I just got: "Hygiene inspection on mon. Specs will be inspected by rsm"
Ooh. Nasty.
I won't be going for this (Pared itinerary)
12 Days Best of Egypt & Red Sea
Day 1 - Singapore/Cairo
Day 2 - Cairo-Alexandria
Arrive Cairo and transfer to Alexandria, Egypt's second largest city for a visit to the Turkish/Florentine-styled Montazah Palace and Gardens, Fort of Qaitbay, built on the site of the ancient Pharos Lighthouse and Pompeii's Pillar, a prominent Ptolemaic landmark
Day 3 - Alexandria-Memphis-Saqqara-Cairo
Visit the ancient capital of Memphis and necropolis of Saqqara where the first Pyramids were built for King Zoser - The Step Pyramids. Transfer to Cairo next to visit the Seven Wonders of the World, the Pyramids and Sphinx of Giza. After Lunch, visit the Egyptian Museum with the world's greatest collection of Egyptian antiquities including treasures from King Tut's tomb.
Day 4 - Cairo-Aswan (Nile River Cruise)
Take an early flight to Aswan. Upon arrival, visit the Unfinished Obelisk, granite quarries, Aswan Dam, old Dam and Philae Temple. Transfer to cruise ship for embarkation.
Day 5 - Nile River Cruise
Enjoy a felucca boat ride and view the Aga Khan Mausoleum from afar. Then sail for Temple of Kom Ombo, dedicated to the two gods of Sobek and Haroeris. Continue sailing for Edfu.
Day 6 - Nile River Cruise
Visit the Temple of Edfu dedicated to Horus the Falcon God. Sail on to Esna for the lock crossing to Luxor.l
Day 7 - Nile River Cruise
Cross over to the West Bank for a visit to King Tut's tomb in the Valley of the Kings, Queen Hatshepsut's Temple and Collossi of Memnon. IN the afternoon, visit the Temples of Karnak and Luxor.
Day 8 - Nile River Cruise / Hurghada
Proceed to Red Sea Resort of Hurghada. A simple fishing village once, it is now Egypt's best tourist spot with crystal clear waters and pristine reefs. Go on a desert safari and enjoy a Bedouin Dinner under the stars.
Day 9 - Hurghada
Day is free at leisure. You can "catch" the Red Sea Big Five in a glass-bottom boat, go for a dive in the azure sea, or enjoy the many sports available. Relax with a Turkish bath, massage or sauna.
Day 10 - Hurghada-Cairo
-Free and Easy-
Day 11 - Cairo-Singapore
Argh. Alexandria! The Aswan Dam! Thebes! The Pharos! The Pyramids! The Valley of the Kings! All that's missing is a visit to the Oracle of Siwa.
Maybe at the end of the year... I'll go look at what Greece has to offer
In other news:
Mathematician explains parting of Red Sea
"Naum Voltsinger used differential equations to show that strong winds and a hidden underwater reef would have allowed more than half a million Jews to flee to the Promised Land - without getting their feet wet. "
Fascinating.
Post ID: 107788435806142140
If I Were...
If I were a poet,
I would write a sonnet.
It would say "I love you."
Your name would be on it.
If I were a farmer,
I'd give you a bunny.
If I had a beehive,
You would get free honey.
Fa la la (many times)
If I were a baker,
You could have a cruller
If I were a painter,
Choose your favorite color.
If I had some diamonds,
I'd give you a few,
Anything to show you
How much I love you.
Fa la la (many times)
Did you guess my secret?
I am not a poet.
Couldn't write a sonnet,
And I think you know it.
I am not a farmer,
Can't give you a bunny.
I don't have a beehive,
Sorry 'bout the honey.
Fa la la (many times)
I am not a baker,
Don't know bread from batter.
And I am not a painter,
And it doesn't matter.
I don't need a present,
All I have to do
Is look at you to show you
How much I love you.
Fa la la (many times)
--- Kermit The Frog
A song with a vague medieval flavour.
Yeh, I just found this in the unlikeliest place.
I've yet to find Sourwood Mountain and Same Train though.
Post ID: 107784945401253198
Thursday, February 26, 2004
Miriam pulls it off! - The Sun decided to test out the curvy model - who beneath the glam exterior is very definitely a MAN - on the streets of Britain. I'm not sure if this is another one of the Sun's joke articles
Animal Talk - "Click on the pictures below to hear a person making animal sounds in different languages. Do you hear the difference?" - This is really dumb.
Rules are turning our kids into wimps - "When nations compete with each other on ideas, obedience is not an asset; it could be Singapore's undoing."
An American Odyssey: Manifest Destiny - As someone better than me in describing it put it, "An exploration of American culture, its perception of the world and its imperial fitness. Profound, a bit disturbing, and brutally honest."
"Yes, we do have an ideology and, like all ideologies, it doesn't believe it is one. It just believes that it is The Truth. Bush believes in it to a degree which is astonishing. So far as he is concerned, America's way is God's way."
Put up another of my rejected forum letters below the letter that prompted it.
Email forward I got:
"Once upon a time,there lived an ant and a grasshopper. The grasshopper does nothing else but jump around and play.
On the other hand, the ant is so hardworking, looking for food all day long and store them in it's nest.
Looking at his hardworking friend working so hard, the grasshopper ask, "Hey, Ant! U dun have to relax ah? Always busy one. Come and play with me lah.
"To which the ant replied, "I can't lah i have to store all these food."
"Haiyah! Relaxlah. Why u bother storing all these food? When u hungry den go find lah." the grasshopper told the ant again.
"Eh,cannot lah. I have to standby for the coming winter season. Then I no need to panick mah. I think u oso must standby u know." the ant telling his friend.
"Where got time...I go play better. U wanna store food u go ahead lah. I continue playing ok.. bye!" And hop goes the grasshopper. The Ant is a hardworking guy... oops i mean insect. Not like the grasshopper who is so lazy.
And so as days, weeks, months go by,the winter still has not come yet but the ant is still seen searching and storing food. The two friends
happen to meet again.
"Hey Ant! U stil haven't finished storing food ah? Last time all the food all go where? So fast finish ah?" asked grasshopper.
"I got keep but all overdue liao. So cannot eat anymore. All because winter not here yet. Now i have to go and look for new food." sighed the ant.
"But ant ah.. U dun mind i ask ah.. Did u ever have a thought that Malaysia where got winter?" ask the grasshopper again.
"AHHHH????!!!!!" the ant was shocked!
THE END.
The moral of the story is whatever u do better think properly 1st. Dun anyhow hantam only... :)
Sometimes we go too busy in life and following our routine too tightly but most importantly, work towards where you wanna go in your life, what is it that you want, what isit that you REALLY want, what's your dream, is what you are doing now moving towards your dream ? If it's not, dun just keep on working hard n keep on hantam only just because someone in your life told you that this is the way and just because everyone is doing it !! Dun keep on working hard with no direction ....... focus in the direction of your life not your work but your life.
Plan your life, Live life cool ~~~~ ^_^"
Why Christians Should Not Vote for George W. Bush - Amazingly, If there was ever any doubt about the liberal sway of George W. Bush before his Presidency, that doubt should be well cleared up by now for all but only the willfully naïve.
It seems that not all right wing fundamentalist conservatives are for Dubya. I shudder for the day if people like this take over the USA. Just goes to show that you can't please idiots.
The accusation that George Bush is a liberal rests on the following points:
Abortion
'On the campaign trail, President Bush professed to be "pro-life," but... he believes abortion to be justified in cases of rape and incest... such pro-life exceptions that allow the innocent to be killed in some circumstances disqualify President Bush from being pro-life at all.'
The writer then goes on to equate abortion ('child-killing') with the murder of innocents and labels people who support abortion as supporting murder. He says that even in rape and incest cases, the baby cannot be aborted, but I think even most fundamentalist Christians would make an exception for these cases.
'Having a rapist for a dad is not a capital crime, and for President Bush to state that innocent children can justly be killed because of the tragic circumstances of their conception reveals that he doesn’t comprehend the basic principle of the inalienable, inviolable, God-given right to life acknowledged in our nation’s founding documents.'
Unfortunately, I am not familiar with American constitutional law, but I have more than a hunch that this is empty rhetoric. And anyway, since the writer loves quoting biblical verses, I can quote verses from his beloved bible that actually state - encourages - that innocent children (children, mind you, not not-yet-alive fetuses) can justly be killed because of the crimes of their parents. I assume - reasonably, of course - that incest and rape are crimes. (Psalm 109:8-12, Exodus 20:5, Numbers 31:17, Hosea 13:16 and many other places). In fact, abortion is even allowed if the alternative is a miserable life (Ecclesiastes 6:3-5, Ecclesiastes 4:1-3), and even if a miscarriage is caused without any mitigating factors, it is not counted as murder (Exodus 21:22-25), where the punishment is but a fine and not "a life for a life".
'If his daughter wanted to kill her grandmother to get the inheritance early, would he counsel her: "Sweetie, if you want to kill my mom, that’s completely up to you!?"'
A false analogy if I ever saw one.
He is also accused of appointing pro-choice judges in Texas, and of releasing funds to groups that promote family planning (which doesn't necessarily involve abortion, mind you) and provide abortions (even if they do try to discourage them with counselling and the screening of abortion videos). So just because some groups give poor, frightened, desperate women a final recourse, they should be banned from receiving money to do greater good. Right. Now I know why the world is so screwed up.
Sodomy
Apparently, his attempts to change the constitution to ban gay marriages isn't enough for the writer.
Then, for some reason other points are included under the Sodomy section: "Similarly, conservatives fear the judicial activism that is forcing a new religion down our throats, namely, atheistic humanism. We have Federal judges like U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson ruling that Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore has no right to acknowledge God on the job. Conservatives are in an uproar about the judicial tyranny that would cause a democratically-elected, upright man such as Roy Moore, who was only following his state Constitution's precedent in acknowledging God, to be evicted from the state bench."
The writer hasn't heard about the separation of church and state, apparently. He calls this an attempt to enforce "atheistic humanism" on the people, where it is actually ensuring that the basic principle of freedom of (and from) religion is met. What would the Pilgrims say? On the other hand, lugging a large monument inscribed with one of the three versions of the ten commandments in front of the courthouse is considered "acknowledging" their god. This ignores the fact that this is tantamount to a public endorsement and enshrining of a certain brand of religion - an attempt to mix church and state, plainly contrary to the First Amendment: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion..."
"The position of this administration is that whatever legal arrangements people want to make, they’re allowed to make, so long as it’s embraced by the state or at the state level."
Even an attempt to pander to a principle beloved of conservatives - states' rights and subsidiarity - cannot satisfy this writer!
"President Bush has stated that he has no qualms about hiring homosexuals, and he has proven it. He has appointed open homosexuals to high government positions at a rate that makes Bill Clinton look like a homophobe!"
Seeing how homophobic this writer is, I suspect he might actually be sexist and racist too, seeing as those who fear/hate/discriminate against one group different from them in one way are more inclined to fear/hate/discriminate against others as well.
"homosexual smear machine began to denigrate and verbally assault him for his beliefs"
This is rich, considering that the christian fundamentalist smear machine tries to denigrate and verbally (sometimes worse) assault others not only for what they believe in, but for what they *are*
'President Bush said he reads the Bible daily, but he confessed to the New York Times, "I don’t necessarily believe every single word is literally true." About the evolution-creation debate, he said, "The verdict is still out on how God created the earth. I don’t use the Bible as necessarily a way to predict the findings of science." In other words, Darwinism may be true according to President Bush. When the Bible and a scientific consensus are at odds, whom do you think that George Bush believes?'
What about the parts when the bible says the earth is flat/square, and that this is at odds not only with scientific consensus, but the truth? Note, too, that he uses the phrase "scientific consensus", not "scientific theory", so he may not believe even things that science has proven beyond all doubt. This writer believes in Creation "Science". If a practitioner of family medicine can believe in Creation "Science", I suppose he can believe that the stork brings babies.
Other issues
"There are many other reasons Christians should conscientiously object to voting for George W. Bush. Certainly, many of these acts are not necessarily sinful, but together they provide convincing proof that George W. Bush is not an authentic conservative."
Why do Christians necessarily have to be conservatives? Bah!
"He demoralized Korean and Japanese Christians by bowing down at a pagan Shinto shrine in Japan, His endorsement of Ramadan, a Muslim fast, at a White House celebration."
Respect for another religion is not akin to taking it up. I suppose then that Christians do not have the right to be offended if non-adherents do not even pay lip service to or retain a veneer of respect for their religion.
"His public profession that Muslims and Christians worship the same God, contrary to the plain teaching of Scripture. (I John 2:22-23, John 14:6)"
Actually, those 2 verses just say, respectively, that those who deny the christ are mistaken and cannot get salvation. Which doesn't mean that they don't worship the same god, just that one side is worshipping him wrongly. Frankly, I'm shocked how far he can twist verses for his purposes, trusting that people won't check them.
"His proposal to increase funding of the National Endowment for the Arts by 15 percent, the highest percentage increase in two decades. That's a total of 139 million dollars in 2005 to finance art, much of which is blasphemous. (Recall the taxpayer-financed painting of a crucifix in a jar of urine.)"
Claiming that one blasphemous art piece means that "much" of the rest are similarly sacrilegious is simply a non-sequiter. Going by this logic, if as much as one cent of donations to a church happens to be lost to corruption, we should all immediately stop giving any money to churches.
"His support of Clinton’s 1995 "assault weapons ban" which outlawed a host of semi-automatic guns."
I'm not sure that, even if the constitution allows them to carry guns, Americans equate that with the right to carry semi-automatic Weapons of Not-Inconsiderate Destruction. I'm sure that people using the guns for self defence will want to pump a whole magazine of 30 rounds into the robber who tries using a penknife or box-cutter on them.
"His endorsement and promotion of the globalist, sovereignty-threatening aims of the United Nations. He has continued the Clintonian policy of sending our soldiers to serve under U.N. commanders on U.N. missions."
It seems that, having lost the Jews as convenient boogeymen due to religious reasons, the deluded and paranoid have now latched on to the United Nations as the new Evil Entity which is trying to Take Over The World.
"In spite of the fact that he campaigned on the promise to veto any campaign finance reform legislation that limited Americans’ freedom of speech, he signed into law the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform Bill that effectively eviscerated the first amendment."
How campaign finance and freedom of speech are linked, I really don't know.
Hell, the only things I agree with are the menace of the Patriot Act and the reckless budget deficits.
It's not that I want to be mean, but when I come across something so plainly shrill and deluded, I feel the urge to expose the empty rants for what they are (though in this case they are already quite apparent)
Animal Talk - "Click on the pictures below to hear a person making animal sounds in different languages. Do you hear the difference?" - This is really dumb.
Rules are turning our kids into wimps - "When nations compete with each other on ideas, obedience is not an asset; it could be Singapore's undoing."
An American Odyssey: Manifest Destiny - As someone better than me in describing it put it, "An exploration of American culture, its perception of the world and its imperial fitness. Profound, a bit disturbing, and brutally honest."
"Yes, we do have an ideology and, like all ideologies, it doesn't believe it is one. It just believes that it is The Truth. Bush believes in it to a degree which is astonishing. So far as he is concerned, America's way is God's way."
Put up another of my rejected forum letters below the letter that prompted it.
Email forward I got:
"Once upon a time,there lived an ant and a grasshopper. The grasshopper does nothing else but jump around and play.
On the other hand, the ant is so hardworking, looking for food all day long and store them in it's nest.
Looking at his hardworking friend working so hard, the grasshopper ask, "Hey, Ant! U dun have to relax ah? Always busy one. Come and play with me lah.
"To which the ant replied, "I can't lah i have to store all these food."
"Haiyah! Relaxlah. Why u bother storing all these food? When u hungry den go find lah." the grasshopper told the ant again.
"Eh,cannot lah. I have to standby for the coming winter season. Then I no need to panick mah. I think u oso must standby u know." the ant telling his friend.
"Where got time...I go play better. U wanna store food u go ahead lah. I continue playing ok.. bye!" And hop goes the grasshopper. The Ant is a hardworking guy... oops i mean insect. Not like the grasshopper who is so lazy.
And so as days, weeks, months go by,the winter still has not come yet but the ant is still seen searching and storing food. The two friends
happen to meet again.
"Hey Ant! U stil haven't finished storing food ah? Last time all the food all go where? So fast finish ah?" asked grasshopper.
"I got keep but all overdue liao. So cannot eat anymore. All because winter not here yet. Now i have to go and look for new food." sighed the ant.
"But ant ah.. U dun mind i ask ah.. Did u ever have a thought that Malaysia where got winter?" ask the grasshopper again.
"AHHHH????!!!!!" the ant was shocked!
THE END.
The moral of the story is whatever u do better think properly 1st. Dun anyhow hantam only... :)
Sometimes we go too busy in life and following our routine too tightly but most importantly, work towards where you wanna go in your life, what is it that you want, what isit that you REALLY want, what's your dream, is what you are doing now moving towards your dream ? If it's not, dun just keep on working hard n keep on hantam only just because someone in your life told you that this is the way and just because everyone is doing it !! Dun keep on working hard with no direction ....... focus in the direction of your life not your work but your life.
Plan your life, Live life cool ~~~~ ^_^"
Why Christians Should Not Vote for George W. Bush - Amazingly, If there was ever any doubt about the liberal sway of George W. Bush before his Presidency, that doubt should be well cleared up by now for all but only the willfully naïve.
It seems that not all right wing fundamentalist conservatives are for Dubya. I shudder for the day if people like this take over the USA. Just goes to show that you can't please idiots.
The accusation that George Bush is a liberal rests on the following points:
Abortion
'On the campaign trail, President Bush professed to be "pro-life," but... he believes abortion to be justified in cases of rape and incest... such pro-life exceptions that allow the innocent to be killed in some circumstances disqualify President Bush from being pro-life at all.'
The writer then goes on to equate abortion ('child-killing') with the murder of innocents and labels people who support abortion as supporting murder. He says that even in rape and incest cases, the baby cannot be aborted, but I think even most fundamentalist Christians would make an exception for these cases.
'Having a rapist for a dad is not a capital crime, and for President Bush to state that innocent children can justly be killed because of the tragic circumstances of their conception reveals that he doesn’t comprehend the basic principle of the inalienable, inviolable, God-given right to life acknowledged in our nation’s founding documents.'
Unfortunately, I am not familiar with American constitutional law, but I have more than a hunch that this is empty rhetoric. And anyway, since the writer loves quoting biblical verses, I can quote verses from his beloved bible that actually state - encourages - that innocent children (children, mind you, not not-yet-alive fetuses) can justly be killed because of the crimes of their parents. I assume - reasonably, of course - that incest and rape are crimes. (Psalm 109:8-12, Exodus 20:5, Numbers 31:17, Hosea 13:16 and many other places). In fact, abortion is even allowed if the alternative is a miserable life (Ecclesiastes 6:3-5, Ecclesiastes 4:1-3), and even if a miscarriage is caused without any mitigating factors, it is not counted as murder (Exodus 21:22-25), where the punishment is but a fine and not "a life for a life".
'If his daughter wanted to kill her grandmother to get the inheritance early, would he counsel her: "Sweetie, if you want to kill my mom, that’s completely up to you!?"'
A false analogy if I ever saw one.
He is also accused of appointing pro-choice judges in Texas, and of releasing funds to groups that promote family planning (which doesn't necessarily involve abortion, mind you) and provide abortions (even if they do try to discourage them with counselling and the screening of abortion videos). So just because some groups give poor, frightened, desperate women a final recourse, they should be banned from receiving money to do greater good. Right. Now I know why the world is so screwed up.
Sodomy
Apparently, his attempts to change the constitution to ban gay marriages isn't enough for the writer.
Then, for some reason other points are included under the Sodomy section: "Similarly, conservatives fear the judicial activism that is forcing a new religion down our throats, namely, atheistic humanism. We have Federal judges like U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson ruling that Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore has no right to acknowledge God on the job. Conservatives are in an uproar about the judicial tyranny that would cause a democratically-elected, upright man such as Roy Moore, who was only following his state Constitution's precedent in acknowledging God, to be evicted from the state bench."
The writer hasn't heard about the separation of church and state, apparently. He calls this an attempt to enforce "atheistic humanism" on the people, where it is actually ensuring that the basic principle of freedom of (and from) religion is met. What would the Pilgrims say? On the other hand, lugging a large monument inscribed with one of the three versions of the ten commandments in front of the courthouse is considered "acknowledging" their god. This ignores the fact that this is tantamount to a public endorsement and enshrining of a certain brand of religion - an attempt to mix church and state, plainly contrary to the First Amendment: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion..."
"The position of this administration is that whatever legal arrangements people want to make, they’re allowed to make, so long as it’s embraced by the state or at the state level."
Even an attempt to pander to a principle beloved of conservatives - states' rights and subsidiarity - cannot satisfy this writer!
"President Bush has stated that he has no qualms about hiring homosexuals, and he has proven it. He has appointed open homosexuals to high government positions at a rate that makes Bill Clinton look like a homophobe!"
Seeing how homophobic this writer is, I suspect he might actually be sexist and racist too, seeing as those who fear/hate/discriminate against one group different from them in one way are more inclined to fear/hate/discriminate against others as well.
"homosexual smear machine began to denigrate and verbally assault him for his beliefs"
This is rich, considering that the christian fundamentalist smear machine tries to denigrate and verbally (sometimes worse) assault others not only for what they believe in, but for what they *are*
'President Bush said he reads the Bible daily, but he confessed to the New York Times, "I don’t necessarily believe every single word is literally true." About the evolution-creation debate, he said, "The verdict is still out on how God created the earth. I don’t use the Bible as necessarily a way to predict the findings of science." In other words, Darwinism may be true according to President Bush. When the Bible and a scientific consensus are at odds, whom do you think that George Bush believes?'
What about the parts when the bible says the earth is flat/square, and that this is at odds not only with scientific consensus, but the truth? Note, too, that he uses the phrase "scientific consensus", not "scientific theory", so he may not believe even things that science has proven beyond all doubt. This writer believes in Creation "Science". If a practitioner of family medicine can believe in Creation "Science", I suppose he can believe that the stork brings babies.
Other issues
"There are many other reasons Christians should conscientiously object to voting for George W. Bush. Certainly, many of these acts are not necessarily sinful, but together they provide convincing proof that George W. Bush is not an authentic conservative."
Why do Christians necessarily have to be conservatives? Bah!
"He demoralized Korean and Japanese Christians by bowing down at a pagan Shinto shrine in Japan, His endorsement of Ramadan, a Muslim fast, at a White House celebration."
Respect for another religion is not akin to taking it up. I suppose then that Christians do not have the right to be offended if non-adherents do not even pay lip service to or retain a veneer of respect for their religion.
"His public profession that Muslims and Christians worship the same God, contrary to the plain teaching of Scripture. (I John 2:22-23, John 14:6)"
Actually, those 2 verses just say, respectively, that those who deny the christ are mistaken and cannot get salvation. Which doesn't mean that they don't worship the same god, just that one side is worshipping him wrongly. Frankly, I'm shocked how far he can twist verses for his purposes, trusting that people won't check them.
"His proposal to increase funding of the National Endowment for the Arts by 15 percent, the highest percentage increase in two decades. That's a total of 139 million dollars in 2005 to finance art, much of which is blasphemous. (Recall the taxpayer-financed painting of a crucifix in a jar of urine.)"
Claiming that one blasphemous art piece means that "much" of the rest are similarly sacrilegious is simply a non-sequiter. Going by this logic, if as much as one cent of donations to a church happens to be lost to corruption, we should all immediately stop giving any money to churches.
"His support of Clinton’s 1995 "assault weapons ban" which outlawed a host of semi-automatic guns."
I'm not sure that, even if the constitution allows them to carry guns, Americans equate that with the right to carry semi-automatic Weapons of Not-Inconsiderate Destruction. I'm sure that people using the guns for self defence will want to pump a whole magazine of 30 rounds into the robber who tries using a penknife or box-cutter on them.
"His endorsement and promotion of the globalist, sovereignty-threatening aims of the United Nations. He has continued the Clintonian policy of sending our soldiers to serve under U.N. commanders on U.N. missions."
It seems that, having lost the Jews as convenient boogeymen due to religious reasons, the deluded and paranoid have now latched on to the United Nations as the new Evil Entity which is trying to Take Over The World.
"In spite of the fact that he campaigned on the promise to veto any campaign finance reform legislation that limited Americans’ freedom of speech, he signed into law the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform Bill that effectively eviscerated the first amendment."
How campaign finance and freedom of speech are linked, I really don't know.
Hell, the only things I agree with are the menace of the Patriot Act and the reckless budget deficits.
It's not that I want to be mean, but when I come across something so plainly shrill and deluded, I feel the urge to expose the empty rants for what they are (though in this case they are already quite apparent)
Post ID: 107780125057230829
Wednesday, February 25, 2004
Sunday, February 22, 2004
I was reading a book recently when Dennis and Wang stormed in. They were very excited, locked into a loving embrace and were groping each other while giggling. They fell onto me when I was reading on a mattress, and it took a while for me to disentangle myself from the writhing mass of body parts. I then fell on them in turn, crushing them. They then immediately scurried out in shock.
New webbings were issued to those people ORDing after June (ie not me). I was curious to see how different they were, but was disappointed when I found that the only difference between the new and old webbings was the bigger magazine pouches in the new ones. You'd think that DSTA would have made some advances in webbing technology after all these years!
I played a very cunning trick on Guohan a few weeks back. The email promoting his batch of medics to the rank of Corporal had just arrived, and the rest decided to trick him into believing that he'd been promoted too (he's a 2 year soldier, so he won't actually get promoted). He didn't really believe them, so I went to print the promotion notice out, editing his name in. After I'd showed it to him, he appeared quite despondent for the rest of the day.
I read this directive on holding military weddings (yes, there's a directive for everything. That's what the directive writers are paid for!), and noticed that it mentioned that only the bridegroom was allowed to wear the No 1 uniform. But what if the bride is also a military officer? She can still wear the No 1, with the cute hat!
I saw people sparring with "Pugil Sticks" (like those bolsters they used on American Gladiators) during Close Combat Training and was struck by how useless this was for combat purposes, for pugil sticks do not even remotely approximate any close combat weapon to hand on the field of battle. [Update: According to a gung-ho commenter - "USMC grunts train with pugil sticks Over Grown Qtips to develop rifle bayonet fighting skills not hand to hand. I know cuz I did it."]
I think one reason for the popularity of the mongrel, bastardised, creole, pidgin form of "Chinese" that Singaporeans speak is the increasing occurence of English words in Chinese pop songs. For example: "You're my lucky charm" and "Merry merry christmas, lonely lonely christmas".
I am very much taken with an idea I came across recently, that overdeference to and hypersensitivity against offending certain groups - whether racial, gender or religious - is actually a subtle form of discrimination. This meshes well with my stand that affirmative action is actually an insult, for the message behind it is that the respective group is inferior, stupid, useless, lazy, incompetent etc.
Quote:
[Me: I heard you're posting out] *Eagerly* Really? Who did you hear [that] from? True or not? If [it's] true I['ll] kiss you. [Me: You also hate 46?] Of course. Wah na beh.
[To me on Wang] You're the only one who can control him.
[Me on someone diagnosed with computer games addiction: Wah. C2 ah. Why don't you downgrade for porn addiction?] Fuck you.
[Written] carapina (carabina)
cloth hitch (clove)
[On my critique of Junhui's essay] Moral of the story: Never let Gabriel read your essay.
[On a University application essay] Mine is very very different. [Me: What? 'Hey!'?] Hey, jee bye! Hey, jee bye! [Someone: Then they'll ask what's 'hey, jee bye!']
[On being appreciated] Get something more intangible from him. [Me: What, more empty words?] "Good job guys". A "good job guys" is equivalent to 2 days off.
[On his medical appointment] The AH woman - fucking chio. The girl who help me take the X-ray - touch here *touches waist* [Me: She touched you?] Yah.
[On his secondary school days recce-ing the NUS canteens] If you want to look at girls, go to the Arts canteen. If you want to look for guys to laugh at, Engineering is a good bet.
New webbings were issued to those people ORDing after June (ie not me). I was curious to see how different they were, but was disappointed when I found that the only difference between the new and old webbings was the bigger magazine pouches in the new ones. You'd think that DSTA would have made some advances in webbing technology after all these years!
I played a very cunning trick on Guohan a few weeks back. The email promoting his batch of medics to the rank of Corporal had just arrived, and the rest decided to trick him into believing that he'd been promoted too (he's a 2 year soldier, so he won't actually get promoted). He didn't really believe them, so I went to print the promotion notice out, editing his name in. After I'd showed it to him, he appeared quite despondent for the rest of the day.
I read this directive on holding military weddings (yes, there's a directive for everything. That's what the directive writers are paid for!), and noticed that it mentioned that only the bridegroom was allowed to wear the No 1 uniform. But what if the bride is also a military officer? She can still wear the No 1, with the cute hat!
I saw people sparring with "Pugil Sticks" (like those bolsters they used on American Gladiators) during Close Combat Training and was struck by how useless this was for combat purposes, for pugil sticks do not even remotely approximate any close combat weapon to hand on the field of battle. [Update: According to a gung-ho commenter - "USMC grunts train with pugil sticks Over Grown Qtips to develop rifle bayonet fighting skills not hand to hand. I know cuz I did it."]
I think one reason for the popularity of the mongrel, bastardised, creole, pidgin form of "Chinese" that Singaporeans speak is the increasing occurence of English words in Chinese pop songs. For example: "You're my lucky charm" and "Merry merry christmas, lonely lonely christmas".
I am very much taken with an idea I came across recently, that overdeference to and hypersensitivity against offending certain groups - whether racial, gender or religious - is actually a subtle form of discrimination. This meshes well with my stand that affirmative action is actually an insult, for the message behind it is that the respective group is inferior, stupid, useless, lazy, incompetent etc.
Quote:
[Me: I heard you're posting out] *Eagerly* Really? Who did you hear [that] from? True or not? If [it's] true I['ll] kiss you. [Me: You also hate 46?] Of course. Wah na beh.
[To me on Wang] You're the only one who can control him.
[Me on someone diagnosed with computer games addiction: Wah. C2 ah. Why don't you downgrade for porn addiction?] Fuck you.
[Written] carapina (carabina)
cloth hitch (clove)
[On my critique of Junhui's essay] Moral of the story: Never let Gabriel read your essay.
[On a University application essay] Mine is very very different. [Me: What? 'Hey!'?] Hey, jee bye! Hey, jee bye! [Someone: Then they'll ask what's 'hey, jee bye!']
[On being appreciated] Get something more intangible from him. [Me: What, more empty words?] "Good job guys". A "good job guys" is equivalent to 2 days off.
[On his medical appointment] The AH woman - fucking chio. The girl who help me take the X-ray - touch here *touches waist* [Me: She touched you?] Yah.
[On his secondary school days recce-ing the NUS canteens] If you want to look at girls, go to the Arts canteen. If you want to look for guys to laugh at, Engineering is a good bet.
Post ID: 107745151688631693
Talkback! is back, and a new guestbook too. Have fun.
Unfortunately, I'd neglected to backup my guestbook entries, so a good year's worth (Mid-November 2002 to February 2003, October 2003 to November 2003, 20th January 2004-whenever guestpage.com disappeared - mostly spam, hopefully) are lost. Oh well.
Finally! A funny Garfield strip. People claim it used to be funnier, but a look at the first Garfield strip leads one to beg to differ, for back then it was almost just as lame. I'm surprised the free archive stretches back so far though!
Kristin Thomas Spam Poetry - "I write poetry using only the subject lines from the hundreds of pieces of SPAM I get every day."
Unfortunately, I'd neglected to backup my guestbook entries, so a good year's worth (Mid-November 2002 to February 2003, October 2003 to November 2003, 20th January 2004-whenever guestpage.com disappeared - mostly spam, hopefully) are lost. Oh well.
Finally! A funny Garfield strip. People claim it used to be funnier, but a look at the first Garfield strip leads one to beg to differ, for back then it was almost just as lame. I'm surprised the free archive stretches back so far though!
Kristin Thomas Spam Poetry - "I write poetry using only the subject lines from the hundreds of pieces of SPAM I get every day."
Post ID: 107744698202259976
The meaning of life is very simple - it's all about self-gratification, acquiring power, attaining massive material wealth, and crushing your foes. Why, it's so simple I'm surprised you even have to ask. "What you want, take." Everything else is an illusion spun by those in power to prevent people from claiming what's rightfully theirs.
Post ID: 107744338963044990
People often search for the meaning of life, but there *is* no grand, over-arching "meaning of life" for everyone. Life has no meaning beyond what you give it.
Jennifer Tham gets interviewed about her having no children.
XXXX GALUMPIA ADULT XXXX - I think the extra "X" gives you a clue about how it differs from normal "XXX". What you see is not what you get!
Jennifer Tham gets interviewed about her having no children.
XXXX GALUMPIA ADULT XXXX - I think the extra "X" gives you a clue about how it differs from normal "XXX". What you see is not what you get!
Post ID: 107743036481817383
Power Rangers Wild Force is... interesting. It seems to break with the past in some ways, among the most intriguing (rather, disconcerting to me) are the computer animation (argh. Now the zords look a bit like they're from Beast Wars. What happened to good ole people in suits?!), a flying shark zord (very weird), mobile phones as morphers (now I've seen it all) and claws on the morphed rangers (?!). I suppose I'll get used to it in time.
The pilot was horribly shoddy, though, explaining almost nothing. For example, wth is "Princess Shayla"? Maybe it's because we got cheated, as both episodes debuted in the US as an hour long special! I hope episode 2 makes up for the pilot...
Meanwhile, in the US:
"Power Rangers Dino Thunder premiered on ABC Family on February 21, 2004. The series premieres with three Power Rangers (Red, Blue and Yellow). Two others, a Black Power Ranger and a White Power Ranger, emerge later in the storyline. The newest series is highlighted by the return of one-time Power Ranger Tommy Oliver (1993-97). Tommy is now a high school science teacher in the town of Reefside, California, a refuge he returned to after years of working alongside the late scientist Dr. Anton Mercer. Their top secret experiment combined dinosaur DNA and modern technology and resulted in the invention of Dino Zords, creatures of incredible strength and brilliance. Tommy hoped this innovation would benefit man's understanding of dinosaurs but the lab and its secret work was viciously destroyed by a warped scientist, later known as Mesogog, who conspired to return the world to the age of the dinosaurs.
Believing that chapter of his life is closed, Tommy is focusing on teaching but unbeknownst to him, Mesogog intends to see his distorted plan through. Among Tommy's students are: Connor, a star soccer player, Kira, a wannabe rocker, and Ethan, an internet guru and champion on-line gamer. While on a class field trip, the trio comes across ancient Dino Gems, stones from the asteroid that destroyed the dinosaur population long ago. The strange stones have immense power, bond their special magic to each kid and before long, will transform them into superheroes known as the Power Rangers. When Mesogog resurfaces and attacks the city with his fearsome Tyrannodrones - plus two robotic cyborgs, Elsa and Zeltrax - Tommy must quickly teach his three students to harness the power of the Dino Zords - a giant Tyrannosaurus, Triceratops and Pteranodon. Although they are hesitant, the teens rise to challenge. Through the Dino Gems and with their special call out, "Dino Thunder! Power Up!," Connor morphs into the Red Ranger with super speed, Kira becomes the Yellow Ranger with a piercing and powerful scream, and Ethan is the Blue Ranger with the ability to grow impenetrable armor for skin.
Mesogog knows the Power Rangers are the sole obstacle to his plan and sets out to seize the Dino Gems. Then, an important secret about the teens' teacher is revealed - he was once the leader of the Power Rangers. The students implore Tommy to reignite his Ranger powers and ultimately, he joins them as the Black Power Ranger. But the Rangers have another threat upon them when a renegade White Power Ranger strikes the city. Unsure of his motives, it's up to the Power Rangers to first uncover his identity and then somehow convince him to join the ranks and fight evil alongside the Power Rangers. When Mesogog ups the ante in his quest to capture the powers of the Dino Gems for himself, it will be up to five Power Rangers to utilize new Zords, new weapons and new powers to defeat him. All the while, they must keep their Power Ranger identities secret from two fellow students Cassidy and Devin, reporters for the school TV station."
Hmm. Tommy is back! But it'll take 2 years for us to see him in action again (well, there's Forever Red, but that's for 1 episode only, so). I prefer him with his luscious locks, though.
The pilot was horribly shoddy, though, explaining almost nothing. For example, wth is "Princess Shayla"? Maybe it's because we got cheated, as both episodes debuted in the US as an hour long special! I hope episode 2 makes up for the pilot...
Meanwhile, in the US:
"Power Rangers Dino Thunder premiered on ABC Family on February 21, 2004. The series premieres with three Power Rangers (Red, Blue and Yellow). Two others, a Black Power Ranger and a White Power Ranger, emerge later in the storyline. The newest series is highlighted by the return of one-time Power Ranger Tommy Oliver (1993-97). Tommy is now a high school science teacher in the town of Reefside, California, a refuge he returned to after years of working alongside the late scientist Dr. Anton Mercer. Their top secret experiment combined dinosaur DNA and modern technology and resulted in the invention of Dino Zords, creatures of incredible strength and brilliance. Tommy hoped this innovation would benefit man's understanding of dinosaurs but the lab and its secret work was viciously destroyed by a warped scientist, later known as Mesogog, who conspired to return the world to the age of the dinosaurs.
Believing that chapter of his life is closed, Tommy is focusing on teaching but unbeknownst to him, Mesogog intends to see his distorted plan through. Among Tommy's students are: Connor, a star soccer player, Kira, a wannabe rocker, and Ethan, an internet guru and champion on-line gamer. While on a class field trip, the trio comes across ancient Dino Gems, stones from the asteroid that destroyed the dinosaur population long ago. The strange stones have immense power, bond their special magic to each kid and before long, will transform them into superheroes known as the Power Rangers. When Mesogog resurfaces and attacks the city with his fearsome Tyrannodrones - plus two robotic cyborgs, Elsa and Zeltrax - Tommy must quickly teach his three students to harness the power of the Dino Zords - a giant Tyrannosaurus, Triceratops and Pteranodon. Although they are hesitant, the teens rise to challenge. Through the Dino Gems and with their special call out, "Dino Thunder! Power Up!," Connor morphs into the Red Ranger with super speed, Kira becomes the Yellow Ranger with a piercing and powerful scream, and Ethan is the Blue Ranger with the ability to grow impenetrable armor for skin.
Mesogog knows the Power Rangers are the sole obstacle to his plan and sets out to seize the Dino Gems. Then, an important secret about the teens' teacher is revealed - he was once the leader of the Power Rangers. The students implore Tommy to reignite his Ranger powers and ultimately, he joins them as the Black Power Ranger. But the Rangers have another threat upon them when a renegade White Power Ranger strikes the city. Unsure of his motives, it's up to the Power Rangers to first uncover his identity and then somehow convince him to join the ranks and fight evil alongside the Power Rangers. When Mesogog ups the ante in his quest to capture the powers of the Dino Gems for himself, it will be up to five Power Rangers to utilize new Zords, new weapons and new powers to defeat him. All the while, they must keep their Power Ranger identities secret from two fellow students Cassidy and Devin, reporters for the school TV station."
Hmm. Tommy is back! But it'll take 2 years for us to see him in action again (well, there's Forever Red, but that's for 1 episode only, so). I prefer him with his luscious locks, though.
Post ID: 107742571950465503
'As for codes now being found anyway, consider such amusing but telling research as that of computer whiz Don Steinberg. Using a codebreaking computer procedure similar to that of Witztum, Rips, and Rosenberg, Steinberg found not only the Rabin assassination but boxer Mike Tyson biting Evander Holyfield's ear, and even the complete sentence "O. J. did it"--encoded in a Microsoft software license agreement! Steinberg's conclusion? "Whenever powerful computers, large documents, and people with a whole lot of free time are involved, anything is possible"' --- On mathematical mysteries
Also: Assassinations Foretold in Moby Dick!
exso - Tell your ex. Tell the world - Spill the beans on your ex-s.
misinformer Games Sneak Preview: Playstation 3 - Hmm. *g*
Also: Assassinations Foretold in Moby Dick!
exso - Tell your ex. Tell the world - Spill the beans on your ex-s.
misinformer Games Sneak Preview: Playstation 3 - Hmm. *g*
Post ID: 107738050161570227
Saturday, February 21, 2004
Melvin's masterpiece! Some field names have been blurred for, ahem, security purposes.
Paul Bunyan: The Story of Paul Bunyan - this comes from the M$ Knowledge Base!
Technology seen in Minority Report that actually exists today: Heliodisplay/ Interactive Free-Space Display and Projection Keyboard.
Sent to me by a friend - Shaping elitist mindset - "What began as a jealous boy-girl dating complaint has developed into a full-blown Internet debate that highlights the divisive impact of Singapore's school ranking system." (from the Sunday Star, some Malaysian newspaper)
Post ID: 107735183635014215
Friday, February 20, 2004
Q5. What position was most common for heterosexual copulation in ancient Greece?
A5. Like dogs - the "missionary" position was known but not favoured - at least not by the artists who painted pictures on ancient Greek vases.
Q5 - Early this [Ed: Last] century the Emperor of Ethiopia was impressed by American use of the electric chair for executing criminals, and bought one. What happened to it, and why?
A5. Dr. Bob's answer: There being no electricity in Ethiopia at the time, he used it as a throne. If this trend had been continued after electricity came in, it would have been a very convenient way of disposing of recalcitrant monarchs.
Q1. What proportion of UFO abductions are reported as happening in the USA??
A1. Dr. Bob's answer: 80% - Aliens obviously find Americans the most interesting specimens
Q5. How, or on what occasion, did Attila the Hun die?
Alternative answer: He isn't dead. I've seen him with Elvis in my local supermarket.
Q3 - In 1867 how many different kinds of hammer were being made in Birmingham (UK)?
A3. Dr. Bob's answer: 500
Q4 - What Pharaoh of ancient Egypt had the nickname "Horse Face"?
A4. Dr. Bob's answer: Akhnaten (congenital deformity; there are statues and carvings that show it)
Q1 - What proportion of American households buy no books?
A1. Dr Bob’s answer: 90%
Q1 - In a field of ripe wheat, how big a circle can one man flatten in 30 minutes with simple garden tools?
A1. Dr Bob’s answer: 20m diameter. As has been demonstrated by the Wessex Skeptics, who the following morning had to shoo away various gurus who kept turning up, pronouncing it genuine and waffling on about "No human being can possibly have done this", etc.
Q1 - What percentage of adults lose faith in their religion?
A1. Dr Bob’s answer: 38%
Q2 - If you see a polar bear coming charging towards you, which way should you jump?
A2. Dr Bob’s answer: Left! Left! Everybody knows that most bears are left-handed. Indeed the Inuit of Kalaallit Nunaat (ex Greenland Eskimos) objected to the official seal (sic) of the Royal Greenland Trading Company which depicts a bear extending its right paw. (Dr Bob would like to hear from someone in the area). The bear will swipe with its front left paw; therefore if you and the bear are facing, you wait till the last moment then jump to the bear’s right, which is your left.
Q4 - What European country exports the most hippopotamuses?
A4. Dr Bob’s answer: Hungary (it’s a terrible place, you can’t walk around on the Great Plain without having to bat herds of them off with a stick. The spotty pink ones are the worst - randy old buggers - yes I do believe I’ll have another slivovitch)
Q4 - What does the constellation Sagittarius spectacularly resemble?
A4. Dr Bob’s answer: A teapot. The ancients reckoned they could see a half man, half horse with a bow and arrow, but you can’t find those mushrooms any more. I am amazed and appalled that nobody got this right. Maybe nobody goes outside at night and looks up any more. Get some astronomical software so you can see, on your screens, what you would have seen if you went outside.
But this one seems wrong!
Q3 - A bucket of water, full to the brim, stands on bathroom scales which read exactly 40kg. A large block of wood weighing 5kg is dropped in, and it floats freely. What is the final reading on the scales?
A3. (By Andi Stevenson) - If that greek geezer was right, it would displace it's own mass, so it's still 40kg. But it was DROPPED in, and water would have splashed out - so make that 39kg..
A5. Like dogs - the "missionary" position was known but not favoured - at least not by the artists who painted pictures on ancient Greek vases.
Q5 - Early this [Ed: Last] century the Emperor of Ethiopia was impressed by American use of the electric chair for executing criminals, and bought one. What happened to it, and why?
A5. Dr. Bob's answer: There being no electricity in Ethiopia at the time, he used it as a throne. If this trend had been continued after electricity came in, it would have been a very convenient way of disposing of recalcitrant monarchs.
Q1. What proportion of UFO abductions are reported as happening in the USA??
A1. Dr. Bob's answer: 80% - Aliens obviously find Americans the most interesting specimens
Q5. How, or on what occasion, did Attila the Hun die?
Alternative answer: He isn't dead. I've seen him with Elvis in my local supermarket.
Q3 - In 1867 how many different kinds of hammer were being made in Birmingham (UK)?
A3. Dr. Bob's answer: 500
Q4 - What Pharaoh of ancient Egypt had the nickname "Horse Face"?
A4. Dr. Bob's answer: Akhnaten (congenital deformity; there are statues and carvings that show it)
Q1 - What proportion of American households buy no books?
A1. Dr Bob’s answer: 90%
Q1 - In a field of ripe wheat, how big a circle can one man flatten in 30 minutes with simple garden tools?
A1. Dr Bob’s answer: 20m diameter. As has been demonstrated by the Wessex Skeptics, who the following morning had to shoo away various gurus who kept turning up, pronouncing it genuine and waffling on about "No human being can possibly have done this", etc.
Q1 - What percentage of adults lose faith in their religion?
A1. Dr Bob’s answer: 38%
Q2 - If you see a polar bear coming charging towards you, which way should you jump?
A2. Dr Bob’s answer: Left! Left! Everybody knows that most bears are left-handed. Indeed the Inuit of Kalaallit Nunaat (ex Greenland Eskimos) objected to the official seal (sic) of the Royal Greenland Trading Company which depicts a bear extending its right paw. (Dr Bob would like to hear from someone in the area). The bear will swipe with its front left paw; therefore if you and the bear are facing, you wait till the last moment then jump to the bear’s right, which is your left.
Q4 - What European country exports the most hippopotamuses?
A4. Dr Bob’s answer: Hungary (it’s a terrible place, you can’t walk around on the Great Plain without having to bat herds of them off with a stick. The spotty pink ones are the worst - randy old buggers - yes I do believe I’ll have another slivovitch)
Q4 - What does the constellation Sagittarius spectacularly resemble?
A4. Dr Bob’s answer: A teapot. The ancients reckoned they could see a half man, half horse with a bow and arrow, but you can’t find those mushrooms any more. I am amazed and appalled that nobody got this right. Maybe nobody goes outside at night and looks up any more. Get some astronomical software so you can see, on your screens, what you would have seen if you went outside.
But this one seems wrong!
Q3 - A bucket of water, full to the brim, stands on bathroom scales which read exactly 40kg. A large block of wood weighing 5kg is dropped in, and it floats freely. What is the final reading on the scales?
A3. (By Andi Stevenson) - If that greek geezer was right, it would displace it's own mass, so it's still 40kg. But it was DROPPED in, and water would have splashed out - so make that 39kg..
Post ID: 107728543911877636
Thursday, February 19, 2004
Finally got a new template - the first non-garish template by maystar that's not like all the others that I've seen.
As I told He Who Must Not Be Named when he accused me of being fickle,
"I last changed my template in august
prior to that, april
before that, december
so I'm overdue"
As I told He Who Must Not Be Named when he accused me of being fickle,
"I last changed my template in august
prior to that, april
before that, december
so I'm overdue"
Post ID: 107720026541505383
An animal protection group in Jerusalem, Israel, says in the last three months there have been 43 reported cases of people throwing cats out of cars, apparently in an attempt to abandon them to the streets. While most were tossed from cars "at low speed," at least one ended up hitting the windshield of another vehicle. The cat survived.
Babes Against Bush - "What could be more un-American than that election-hijacking, economy-wrecking, war-mongering chimp George W. Bush? What could be more All-American than thirteen beautiful young women, exercising their first amendment right to thumb their nose at our bozo president?... For only $11.00 (plus $1.95 shipping), you too can experience the thrill of thirteen socially-conscious, stunningly-attractive young women escorting you through the weeks and months until inauguration day in January, 2005 - when America finally gets a real president again. Educational, entertaining, and socially responsible without being politically correct...all for less than a dollar per month!"
Right.
Quotes from Either President of the United States George W. Bush or Senator/Chancellor/Emperor Palpatine from the Star Wars Movies
Why do carbonated drinks seem to bubble more in plastic cups? - "The properties and characteristics of a particular member of the plastics family... causes carbonated drinks to bubble more in plastic cups."
"There's a difference between "trivia" and "obscure shit that no-one in their right mind would possibly know or find out without hours of research"."
Gah. My guestbook has been down for at least 2 weeks. Looks like I'll have to find a new one. Luckily I managed to retrieve the archives up till late January, but any entries (mostly spam, luckily!) since then have been lost.
Rossino Mantovano: Lirum Bililirum
Lirum bililirum, li-lirum, lirum, lirum.
Deh si soni la sordina.
Tu m'intendi ben, Pedrina,
Ma non già per il dovirum.
Lirum bililirum, li-lirum, lirum li
Deh, si soni la sordina,
Deh, si soni la sordina,
Le ses an che t'vo mi ben
E che t'son bon servidor,
Ma t'aspet che l'so ben
Ch'al fin sclopi per amor.
Deh, non da plu tat dolor,
Tu sa ben che dig il virum.
Madrigals are so charming.
Wth is Selma Boudovoir whatever?
Babes Against Bush - "What could be more un-American than that election-hijacking, economy-wrecking, war-mongering chimp George W. Bush? What could be more All-American than thirteen beautiful young women, exercising their first amendment right to thumb their nose at our bozo president?... For only $11.00 (plus $1.95 shipping), you too can experience the thrill of thirteen socially-conscious, stunningly-attractive young women escorting you through the weeks and months until inauguration day in January, 2005 - when America finally gets a real president again. Educational, entertaining, and socially responsible without being politically correct...all for less than a dollar per month!"
Right.
Quotes from Either President of the United States George W. Bush or Senator/Chancellor/Emperor Palpatine from the Star Wars Movies
Why do carbonated drinks seem to bubble more in plastic cups? - "The properties and characteristics of a particular member of the plastics family... causes carbonated drinks to bubble more in plastic cups."
"There's a difference between "trivia" and "obscure shit that no-one in their right mind would possibly know or find out without hours of research"."
Gah. My guestbook has been down for at least 2 weeks. Looks like I'll have to find a new one. Luckily I managed to retrieve the archives up till late January, but any entries (mostly spam, luckily!) since then have been lost.
Rossino Mantovano: Lirum Bililirum
Lirum bililirum, li-lirum, lirum, lirum.
Deh si soni la sordina.
Tu m'intendi ben, Pedrina,
Ma non già per il dovirum.
Lirum bililirum, li-lirum, lirum li
Deh, si soni la sordina,
Deh, si soni la sordina,
Le ses an che t'vo mi ben
E che t'son bon servidor,
Ma t'aspet che l'so ben
Ch'al fin sclopi per amor.
Deh, non da plu tat dolor,
Tu sa ben che dig il virum.
Madrigals are so charming.
Wth is Selma Boudovoir whatever?
Post ID: 107717750700877732
I believe you're referring to the Jib-Jib, a creature indigenous to the Low Xamen area in Kakhabad. Jib-Jibs are essentially walking hairballs with a STAMINA of 1 and ear-shattering cries. To the best of my recall, they've surfaced in Sorcery! Book 1 and Fighting Fantasy Book 29: Midnight Rogue - in both instances as walking alarm systems who have to be killed in one Attack Round.
Insert gratuitous pop culture trivia: Jub Jub is the name of Selma Bouvier's giant iguana.
Insert gratuitous pop culture trivia: Jub Jub is the name of Selma Bouvier's giant iguana.
Post ID: 107717279992224640
Wednesday, February 18, 2004
JubJubs are very shy creatures.
They aren't aggressive, but they can defend themselves when threatened with their deafening screech.
This is a "jubjub" from Neopets. In another era, jubjubs were creatures in the Old World (Khakabad) from the Fighting Fantasy Universe. Interestingly enough, they also defended themselves by emanating loud noises. Something's very fishy here.
Bah!
Dog Issued Credit Card. Owner Sends In Pre-Approved Application As Joke - Pre-approved cards by spammers actually get issued!
Women Over 40 Biggest Online Gamers - "Think teenagers are spending all night long playing online games on the computer? Wrong -- it's their mothers burning the midnight oil."
MIT student dances with robots
MAKE YOUR OWN PRUNO - "Pruno, a prison wine created from fruit, sugar and ketchup, is such a vile and despicable beast in the California state penal system that prisoners can't eat fresh fruit at lunch."
Escape from Neverland - Play Michael Jackson and snare boys escaping from your ranch. Let one escape and you get raided and go to jail. The part I found most amusing - it uses music and sound effects (the "Ow!") from the old Michael Jackson's Moonwalker game.
Post ID: 107710772006163720
Sunday, February 15, 2004
relax we understand j00 - Making sense of 1337-speak
Wanted: personal social network coordinator - "Permanent full-time position for a personal social coordinator for a New York-based web designer. Your primary responsibility will be managing my accounts with various online social networking sites including, but not limited to, Friendster, LinkedIn, Tribe, Orkut, Ryze, Spoke, ZeroDegrees, Ecademy, RealContacts, Ringo, MySpace, Yafro, EveryonesConnected, Friendzy, FriendSurfer, Tickle, Evite, Plaxo, Squiby, and WhizSpark."
Why your Movable Type blog must die - "
In the past, blogging was an interesting pastime. Now, with the advent of the ridiculously popular weblog package Movable Type, the Web is in risk of drowning under a tidal wave of morons who throttle search engines with writing that has no purpose and such PageRank-destroying features as "TrackBack"."
But why lambast MT blogs only? Most points apply to many blogs around today.
Interview in the Sunday Times today:
"When we visited a Buddhist temple one day to have a meal, he said we'd have no problems because it was vegetarian. As it turned out, it was vegetarian, but all the dishes were made to taste like ham, beef, chicken and even a suckling pig. We couldn't eat."
What does vegetarian chicken have to do with it? And if they can't eat foods masquerading as pork, then vegetarian bacon bits, turkey ham, turkey bacon and the like are haram too, and MUIS should take away McDonald's Halal cert.
Every Sperm Is Sacred
Composers: David Howman & Andre Jacquemin
Authors: Michael Palin & Terry Jones
From the Movie 'The Meaning of Life'
DAD:
There are Jews in the world.
There are Buddhists.
There are Hindus and Mormons, and then
There are those that follow Mohammed, but
I've never been one of them.
I'm a Roman Catholic,
And have been since before I was born,
And the one thing they say about Catholics is:
They'll take you as soon as you're warm.
You don't have to be a six-footer.
You don't have to have a great brain.
You don't have to have any clothes on. You're
A Catholic the moment Dad came,
Because
Every sperm is sacred.
Every sperm is great.
If a sperm is wasted,
God gets quite irate.
CHILDREN:
Every sperm is sacred.
Every sperm is great.
If a sperm is wasted,
God gets quite irate.
GIRL:
Let the heathen spill theirs
On the dusty ground.
God shall make them pay for
Each sperm that can't be found.
CHILDREN:
Every sperm is wanted.
Every sperm is good.
Every sperm is needed
In your neighbourhood.
MUM:
Hindu, Taoist, Mormon,
Spill theirs just anywhere,
But God loves those who treat their
Semen with more care.
MEN:
Every sperm is sacred.
Every sperm is great.
WOMEN:
If a sperm is wasted,...
CHILDREN:
...God get quite irate.
PRIEST:
Every sperm is sacred.
BRIDE and GROOM:
Every sperm is good.
NANNIES:
Every sperm is needed...
CARDINALS:
...In your neighbourhood!
CHILDREN:
Every sperm is useful.
Every sperm is fine.
FUNERAL CORTEGE:
God needs everybody's.
MOURNER #1:
Mine!
MOURNER #2:
And mine!
CORPSE:
And mine!
NUN:
Let the Pagan spill theirs
O'er mountain, hill, and plain.
HOLY STATUES:
God shall strike them down for
Each sperm that's spilt in vain.
EVERYONE:
Every sperm is sacred.
Every sperm is good.
Every sperm is needed
In your neighbourhood.
Every sperm is sacred.
Every sperm is great.
If a sperm is wasted,
God gets quite iraaaaaate!
Wanted: personal social network coordinator - "Permanent full-time position for a personal social coordinator for a New York-based web designer. Your primary responsibility will be managing my accounts with various online social networking sites including, but not limited to, Friendster, LinkedIn, Tribe, Orkut, Ryze, Spoke, ZeroDegrees, Ecademy, RealContacts, Ringo, MySpace, Yafro, EveryonesConnected, Friendzy, FriendSurfer, Tickle, Evite, Plaxo, Squiby, and WhizSpark."
Why your Movable Type blog must die - "
In the past, blogging was an interesting pastime. Now, with the advent of the ridiculously popular weblog package Movable Type, the Web is in risk of drowning under a tidal wave of morons who throttle search engines with writing that has no purpose and such PageRank-destroying features as "TrackBack"."
But why lambast MT blogs only? Most points apply to many blogs around today.
Interview in the Sunday Times today:
"When we visited a Buddhist temple one day to have a meal, he said we'd have no problems because it was vegetarian. As it turned out, it was vegetarian, but all the dishes were made to taste like ham, beef, chicken and even a suckling pig. We couldn't eat."
What does vegetarian chicken have to do with it? And if they can't eat foods masquerading as pork, then vegetarian bacon bits, turkey ham, turkey bacon and the like are haram too, and MUIS should take away McDonald's Halal cert.
Every Sperm Is Sacred
Composers: David Howman & Andre Jacquemin
Authors: Michael Palin & Terry Jones
From the Movie 'The Meaning of Life'
DAD:
There are Jews in the world.
There are Buddhists.
There are Hindus and Mormons, and then
There are those that follow Mohammed, but
I've never been one of them.
I'm a Roman Catholic,
And have been since before I was born,
And the one thing they say about Catholics is:
They'll take you as soon as you're warm.
You don't have to be a six-footer.
You don't have to have a great brain.
You don't have to have any clothes on. You're
A Catholic the moment Dad came,
Because
Every sperm is sacred.
Every sperm is great.
If a sperm is wasted,
God gets quite irate.
CHILDREN:
Every sperm is sacred.
Every sperm is great.
If a sperm is wasted,
God gets quite irate.
GIRL:
Let the heathen spill theirs
On the dusty ground.
God shall make them pay for
Each sperm that can't be found.
CHILDREN:
Every sperm is wanted.
Every sperm is good.
Every sperm is needed
In your neighbourhood.
MUM:
Hindu, Taoist, Mormon,
Spill theirs just anywhere,
But God loves those who treat their
Semen with more care.
MEN:
Every sperm is sacred.
Every sperm is great.
WOMEN:
If a sperm is wasted,...
CHILDREN:
...God get quite irate.
PRIEST:
Every sperm is sacred.
BRIDE and GROOM:
Every sperm is good.
NANNIES:
Every sperm is needed...
CARDINALS:
...In your neighbourhood!
CHILDREN:
Every sperm is useful.
Every sperm is fine.
FUNERAL CORTEGE:
God needs everybody's.
MOURNER #1:
Mine!
MOURNER #2:
And mine!
CORPSE:
And mine!
NUN:
Let the Pagan spill theirs
O'er mountain, hill, and plain.
HOLY STATUES:
God shall strike them down for
Each sperm that's spilt in vain.
EVERYONE:
Every sperm is sacred.
Every sperm is good.
Every sperm is needed
In your neighbourhood.
Every sperm is sacred.
Every sperm is great.
If a sperm is wasted,
God gets quite iraaaaaate!
Post ID: 107684817287699916
Comments attributed to Andy Rooney I was forwarded almost 2 weeks back which I've annotated (original version can be found here):
Andy Rooney said on 60 minutes a few weeks back: (for those of you
that don't know Andy Rooney, he is an 82 year old US TV commentator.)
I like big cars, big boats, big motorcycles, big houses and big campfires.
Good for you. What if I like big government unlike you? To each his own
I believe the money I make belongs to me and my family, not some
governmental stooge with a bad comb-over who wants to give it away to
crack addicts for squirting out babies.
I'm sure that pouring the money into farm subsidies for filthy rich farmers so Third World peasants can't find a market for their crops is a much better use of your money. Taxes exist for a reason - to help the disadvantaged.
Guns do not make you a killer. I think killing makes you a killer. You can kill someone with a baseball bat or a car, but no one is trying to ban you from driving to the ball game.
Weapons of mass destruction don't make you a killer either, but I don't see anyone advocating for all countries to exercise a divine right to hold them.
I believe they are called the Boy Scouts for a reason, that is why there are no girls allowed. Girls belong in the Girl Scouts! ARE YOU LISTENING MARTHA BURKE?
I think that if you feel homosexuality is wrong, it is not a phobia, it is an opinion.
If you feel that Jews are big-nosed, skullcap wearing usurers and evil Zionist scum, that's not anti-Semitism, that's an opinion.
I don't think being a minority makes you a victim of anything, except numbers. The only things I can think of that are truly discriminatory are things like the United Negro College Fund, Jet Magazine, Black Entertainment Television, and Miss Black America. Try to have things like the United Caucasian College Fund, Cloud Magazine, White Entertainment Television, or Miss White America, and see what happens. Jesse Jackson will be knocking down your door.
I have the right "NOT" to be tolerant of others because they are different, weird, or tick me off.
So I assume others have the right "NOT" to be tolerant of you.
When 70% of the people who get arrested are black, in cities where 70%
of the population is black, that is not racial profiling, it is the Law of Probability.
But the truth is - it's a disproportionate number who get arrested. The reason for the discrepancy lies elsewhere, not the Law of Probability.
I know what sex is, and there are not varying degrees of it. If I received
sex from one of my subordinates in my office, it wouldn't be a private matter or my personal business. I would be "FIRED" immediately!
I believe that if you are selling me a milk shake, a pack of cigarettes, a newspaper or a hotel room, you must do it in English! As a matter of fact, if you want to be an American citizen, you should HAVE to speak English!
I'm not all that sure all the immigrants who made America great spoke English, so I guess we can discount their contributions.
My father and grandfather didn't die in vain, so you can leave the countries you were born in to come over and disrespect ours. I think the police should have every right to shoot your sorry self, if you threaten them after they tell you to stop. If you can't understand the word "freeze" or "stop" in ENGLISH, see the above lines.
So I guess it's okay if you Americans get beaten up by Moroccan police after you accidentally outrage the modesty of some of their women by touching their hands to get their attention. Oh I forgot. Most of you have never been outside of your country.
I feel much safer letting a machine with no political affiliation recount votes when needed. I know what the definition of lying is.
Guess you haven't heard about all the screw ups plaguing the new machines, huh?
I don't think just because you were not born in this country, you are qualified for any special loan programs, government sponsored bank loans or tax breaks, etc., so you can open a hotel, coffee shop, trinket store, or any other business.
At least they're helping the economy to *grow*, instead of sitting around sulking like Pennsylvania steel workers and whining for trade tariffs just because they can't make steel as efficiently as others.
We did not go to the aid of certain foreign countries and risk our lives in wars to defend their freedoms, so that decades later they could come over here and tell us our constitution is a living document; and open to their interpretations.
Foreign countries did not come over and risk their lives in a war for your independence, so that centuries later you could call them "cheese eating surrender monkeys". And if labour and environmental standards can be imposed willy-nilly all over the third world on pain of sanctions, why not recognise that after 200 years, your constitution is as irrelevant if taken literally as Nostradamus?
I don't hate the rich. I don't pity the poor. I know pro wrestling is fake, but so are movies and television. That doesn't stop you from watching them.
I believe a self-righteous liberal or conservative with a cause is more dangerous than a Hell's Angel with an attitude.
Funny, aren't you one?
I think Bill Gates has every right to keep every penny he made and continue to make more. If it ticks you off, go and invent the next operating system that's better, and put your name on the building. Ask your buddy that invented the Internet to help you.
I think the Japanese have every right to make cars that put Detroit to shame and even bankruptcy. And at least they don't run roughshod over their competitors with underhand tactics.
It doesn't take a whole village to raise a child right, but it does take a parent to stand up to the kid; and smack their little behinds when necessary, and say "NO!"
Unfortunately, a smack and a "no" is hardly the worst that happens.
I think tattoos and piercing are fine if you want them, but please don't pretend they are a political statement. And, please, stay home until that new lip ring heals. I don't want to look at your ugly, infected mouth as you serve me fries!
I am sick of "Political Correctness." I know a lot of black people, and not a single one of them was born in Africa; so how can they be "African-Americans"? Besides, Africa is a continent. I don't go around saying I am a European-American because my great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather was from Europe. I am proud to be from America and nowhere else. And if you don't like my point of view, tough.
NB: The above comments weren't actually made by Andy Rooney, and bear a striking resemblance to another piece attributed to George Carlin. See Snopes' investigation.
Andy Rooney himself said that:
"About a year ago, I became aware of a more serious theft of my name and it is so hurtful to my reputation that it calls for legal action against the thief. Hundreds of people have written asking if I really wrote the 20 detestable remarks made under my name that have had such wide circulation on the Internet.
[...]
Some of the remarks, which I will not repeat here, are viciously racist and the spirit of the whole thing is nasty, mean and totally inconsistent with my philosophy of life. It is apparent that the list of comments has been read by hundreds of thousands of Americans, many of whom must believe that it accurately represents opinions of mine that I don't dare express in my column or on television. It is seriously damaging to my reputation."
It just goes to show - "People will accept your ideas much more readily if you tell them that Benjamin Franklin said it first."
Civ 3's devilishly hard. Even at Chieftain (easiest), it wasn't a pushover and now I'm finding Warlord challenging.
Andy Rooney said on 60 minutes a few weeks back: (for those of you
that don't know Andy Rooney, he is an 82 year old US TV commentator.)
I like big cars, big boats, big motorcycles, big houses and big campfires.
Good for you. What if I like big government unlike you? To each his own
I believe the money I make belongs to me and my family, not some
governmental stooge with a bad comb-over who wants to give it away to
crack addicts for squirting out babies.
I'm sure that pouring the money into farm subsidies for filthy rich farmers so Third World peasants can't find a market for their crops is a much better use of your money. Taxes exist for a reason - to help the disadvantaged.
Guns do not make you a killer. I think killing makes you a killer. You can kill someone with a baseball bat or a car, but no one is trying to ban you from driving to the ball game.
Weapons of mass destruction don't make you a killer either, but I don't see anyone advocating for all countries to exercise a divine right to hold them.
I believe they are called the Boy Scouts for a reason, that is why there are no girls allowed. Girls belong in the Girl Scouts! ARE YOU LISTENING MARTHA BURKE?
I think that if you feel homosexuality is wrong, it is not a phobia, it is an opinion.
If you feel that Jews are big-nosed, skullcap wearing usurers and evil Zionist scum, that's not anti-Semitism, that's an opinion.
I don't think being a minority makes you a victim of anything, except numbers. The only things I can think of that are truly discriminatory are things like the United Negro College Fund, Jet Magazine, Black Entertainment Television, and Miss Black America. Try to have things like the United Caucasian College Fund, Cloud Magazine, White Entertainment Television, or Miss White America, and see what happens. Jesse Jackson will be knocking down your door.
I have the right "NOT" to be tolerant of others because they are different, weird, or tick me off.
So I assume others have the right "NOT" to be tolerant of you.
When 70% of the people who get arrested are black, in cities where 70%
of the population is black, that is not racial profiling, it is the Law of Probability.
But the truth is - it's a disproportionate number who get arrested. The reason for the discrepancy lies elsewhere, not the Law of Probability.
I know what sex is, and there are not varying degrees of it. If I received
sex from one of my subordinates in my office, it wouldn't be a private matter or my personal business. I would be "FIRED" immediately!
I believe that if you are selling me a milk shake, a pack of cigarettes, a newspaper or a hotel room, you must do it in English! As a matter of fact, if you want to be an American citizen, you should HAVE to speak English!
I'm not all that sure all the immigrants who made America great spoke English, so I guess we can discount their contributions.
My father and grandfather didn't die in vain, so you can leave the countries you were born in to come over and disrespect ours. I think the police should have every right to shoot your sorry self, if you threaten them after they tell you to stop. If you can't understand the word "freeze" or "stop" in ENGLISH, see the above lines.
So I guess it's okay if you Americans get beaten up by Moroccan police after you accidentally outrage the modesty of some of their women by touching their hands to get their attention. Oh I forgot. Most of you have never been outside of your country.
I feel much safer letting a machine with no political affiliation recount votes when needed. I know what the definition of lying is.
Guess you haven't heard about all the screw ups plaguing the new machines, huh?
I don't think just because you were not born in this country, you are qualified for any special loan programs, government sponsored bank loans or tax breaks, etc., so you can open a hotel, coffee shop, trinket store, or any other business.
At least they're helping the economy to *grow*, instead of sitting around sulking like Pennsylvania steel workers and whining for trade tariffs just because they can't make steel as efficiently as others.
We did not go to the aid of certain foreign countries and risk our lives in wars to defend their freedoms, so that decades later they could come over here and tell us our constitution is a living document; and open to their interpretations.
Foreign countries did not come over and risk their lives in a war for your independence, so that centuries later you could call them "cheese eating surrender monkeys". And if labour and environmental standards can be imposed willy-nilly all over the third world on pain of sanctions, why not recognise that after 200 years, your constitution is as irrelevant if taken literally as Nostradamus?
I don't hate the rich. I don't pity the poor. I know pro wrestling is fake, but so are movies and television. That doesn't stop you from watching them.
I believe a self-righteous liberal or conservative with a cause is more dangerous than a Hell's Angel with an attitude.
Funny, aren't you one?
I think Bill Gates has every right to keep every penny he made and continue to make more. If it ticks you off, go and invent the next operating system that's better, and put your name on the building. Ask your buddy that invented the Internet to help you.
I think the Japanese have every right to make cars that put Detroit to shame and even bankruptcy. And at least they don't run roughshod over their competitors with underhand tactics.
It doesn't take a whole village to raise a child right, but it does take a parent to stand up to the kid; and smack their little behinds when necessary, and say "NO!"
Unfortunately, a smack and a "no" is hardly the worst that happens.
I think tattoos and piercing are fine if you want them, but please don't pretend they are a political statement. And, please, stay home until that new lip ring heals. I don't want to look at your ugly, infected mouth as you serve me fries!
I am sick of "Political Correctness." I know a lot of black people, and not a single one of them was born in Africa; so how can they be "African-Americans"? Besides, Africa is a continent. I don't go around saying I am a European-American because my great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather was from Europe. I am proud to be from America and nowhere else. And if you don't like my point of view, tough.
NB: The above comments weren't actually made by Andy Rooney, and bear a striking resemblance to another piece attributed to George Carlin. See Snopes' investigation.
Andy Rooney himself said that:
"About a year ago, I became aware of a more serious theft of my name and it is so hurtful to my reputation that it calls for legal action against the thief. Hundreds of people have written asking if I really wrote the 20 detestable remarks made under my name that have had such wide circulation on the Internet.
[...]
Some of the remarks, which I will not repeat here, are viciously racist and the spirit of the whole thing is nasty, mean and totally inconsistent with my philosophy of life. It is apparent that the list of comments has been read by hundreds of thousands of Americans, many of whom must believe that it accurately represents opinions of mine that I don't dare express in my column or on television. It is seriously damaging to my reputation."
It just goes to show - "People will accept your ideas much more readily if you tell them that Benjamin Franklin said it first."
Civ 3's devilishly hard. Even at Chieftain (easiest), it wasn't a pushover and now I'm finding Warlord challenging.
Post ID: 107682172188143411
Noise merchants take the rap with a dose of opera
A judge has come up with a novel way to punish those who play their car stereos too loudly — he sentences them to a night at the opera.
Offenders who agree to sit in Judge Jeffrey Swartz’s Miami chambers and listen to his favourite operas can have their cases dismissed, avoiding the $460 fine and court costs.
Mr Swartz gleefully doles out his punishment by opera every Monday at his courtroom overlooking the Washington Avenue nightclub strip. His philosophy is simple: "You impose your music on me, and I’m going to impose my music on you."
Most of those brought before him for noise violations are young men stopped with customised car stereos blasting out rap and hip-hop music from subwoofers. He decided how to deal with them after stopping at a red light next to a car playing music so loud that "my car windows were rattling, I could hear the bolts loosening in the engine well".
This week Mr Swartz had two volunteers for trial by opera. He told Gene Tary, 23: "You’re a lucky man, you’re going to be listening to La traviata."
"Never heard of it," said Tary, quickly adding: "But it sounds good."
Joseph Puerto, his companion in the punishment box, said that he was no opera buff, but La traviata had to be better than a $460 fine. "The only time I heard opera before was in a James Bond movie, and that was only for about two seconds," he said.
Mr Swartz, 54, does not choose his opera specifically to fit the crime, in which case he would surely prescribe doses of Nessun Dorma from Turandot for offenders who kept neighbours awake.
Instead he bases his choice on what is playing at the Florida Grand Opera. Gounod’s Romeo and Juliet opens on Wednesday and will debut shortly afterwards in the judge’s chambers.
It does not matter if the offenders enjoy the punishment or not, the judge says. "They either get to appreciate some culture, or it drives them up the wall. It’s a win-win situation," he said.
He does make exceptions. Verdi’s Macbeth is not on his playlist. "It’s too depressing. You need about five Prozacs to avoid suicide." He also refuses to play Bizet’s Carmen. "They’d take to that too easily"
A judge has come up with a novel way to punish those who play their car stereos too loudly — he sentences them to a night at the opera.
Offenders who agree to sit in Judge Jeffrey Swartz’s Miami chambers and listen to his favourite operas can have their cases dismissed, avoiding the $460 fine and court costs.
Mr Swartz gleefully doles out his punishment by opera every Monday at his courtroom overlooking the Washington Avenue nightclub strip. His philosophy is simple: "You impose your music on me, and I’m going to impose my music on you."
Most of those brought before him for noise violations are young men stopped with customised car stereos blasting out rap and hip-hop music from subwoofers. He decided how to deal with them after stopping at a red light next to a car playing music so loud that "my car windows were rattling, I could hear the bolts loosening in the engine well".
This week Mr Swartz had two volunteers for trial by opera. He told Gene Tary, 23: "You’re a lucky man, you’re going to be listening to La traviata."
"Never heard of it," said Tary, quickly adding: "But it sounds good."
Joseph Puerto, his companion in the punishment box, said that he was no opera buff, but La traviata had to be better than a $460 fine. "The only time I heard opera before was in a James Bond movie, and that was only for about two seconds," he said.
Mr Swartz, 54, does not choose his opera specifically to fit the crime, in which case he would surely prescribe doses of Nessun Dorma from Turandot for offenders who kept neighbours awake.
Instead he bases his choice on what is playing at the Florida Grand Opera. Gounod’s Romeo and Juliet opens on Wednesday and will debut shortly afterwards in the judge’s chambers.
It does not matter if the offenders enjoy the punishment or not, the judge says. "They either get to appreciate some culture, or it drives them up the wall. It’s a win-win situation," he said.
He does make exceptions. Verdi’s Macbeth is not on his playlist. "It’s too depressing. You need about five Prozacs to avoid suicide." He also refuses to play Bizet’s Carmen. "They’d take to that too easily"
Post ID: 107681975161420323
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related:www.sammyboy.com - My content is related to that on Sammyboy? Wah.
hellokitty horoscopes
"women raping man" - I can only visualise one woman raping one man at the same time.
"naked pictures of powerpuff girls - The only thing more disturbing than the Powerpuff Girls - naked pictures of them!
names given to havasupai indian girls in the 1800s and their meanings
anorexia pictures sex free porn - Might as well look at skeletons
primary school sex pics academics
"men in bra"
"hentai allowed in islam" - No, sorry. I don't think so.
depilate men private part hair - Does this have something to do with scrotal infusions?
the origins of tentacle porn - I'd like to know too.
army medic ringtone - Maybe someone will transcribe Medics of the Field someday.
Future Tense Windows Media Neopets - This mades no sense.
jokes abou internal audit - Internal audits are worse than jokes.
hindu pushup technique - One-handed?
toenail dust fetish
rjc short skirt
"pictures of people playing pool "
scgs courage - They forgot sincerity, generosity and service
God's Billboards parody - It seems my page is first!
Anti-NS singapore - Well done. Spot on.
Hentai dos Power Rangers - Lost Galaxy - I don't think so. Whatever a "dos" is.
JHATKA METHOD OF SLAUGHTER - I also want to know what Jhatka is.
duck dodgers hentai - wth. Daffy Duck'd into Hental too these days?!
pictogram for bullshit
learn to vibrate breakdance - They can take lessons from Wo-Hen.
+review prettislim - How about "+review prettibosom"? I hear most of the programs give temporary enlargement only and use pumps, massages and creams. Just like Swedish made penis enlarger pumps.
local mother gets rape or fuck in s'pore
chio rjc blog
ancient baal worship pics - I don't think he has an illustrated handbook of rites.
dangers of electric toothbrush "masturbation" - Whoever you are, please don't get electricuted
acjc adidas - Rich, aren't they? :)
pics of teletubby in the smoke of trade towers - Now *that* is freaky.
chij sluts - I seem to have seen this before.
scgs porn - Ditto
wenshan nude in the public
Post ID: 107678642281537365
Outfield Excursion
All the HQ medics were to be sent outfield to set up the BCS (Battalion Casualty Station) for 2 days and 2 nights, so we were told to report to the Medical Centre by 7pm. In the end, we left just after midnight - the SAF is truly wonderful and efficient.
After we'd set up the BCS, I found that due to it being a night setup (thus enclosed so no light could escape), it was extremely stuff and humid inside, and I felt light-headed - almost faint. And so when we finally got to sleep, instead of sleeping in the BCS tentage or our vehicles, I just opened up a stretcher and KO-ed outside the BCS.
It was already past 3 am, so I was hoping to snatch a precious few hours of uninterrupted rest, but alas, this was not to be. We were made to do guard duty in one hour shifts clad in webbing and helmet - which was even more pointless and obviously for show than it would have been, since we had no weapons. If this wasn't bad enough, through the haze of sleep, I dimly perceived our CO and friends running around, and even after they'd left, I couldn't get back to sleep, especially since the insects were beginning to get to me, so I moved back into the stuffy bronco and uncomfortably reposed.
Being in Armour, we were suitably stocked for our journeys, and while sipping some F&N "Cheeky" Cherryade, a flash of inspiration struck and I came up with one more alternate name for F&N's alliterative series of drinks. So now we have: Obiang Orange (?), Gross Grape, Sucky Strawberry, Freaky Fruitade, Cloying Cherryade, Zonking Zappel (?) and Lousy Lychee! (NB: Names with a question mark beside them are not confirmed as yet) I got some alternate suggestions (cheebye cherryade, fucking fruitade, lanjiao lychee) but somehow they don't have the same charm.
Somehow, we didn't get to draw any combat rations, so we subsisted on bread all the way. This was just as well, I suppose, for from what I saw, other people were eating the Muslim Combat Rations, which not only are hot but contain less pasta packets than the Non-Muslim ones. I discovered that Campbell's Chunky soup is good to have outfield, whether virgin or with bread. I think they should give it to us in our combat rations. It would probably be cheaper than what they currently give us (estimates of 1 24hr pack range from $25 to $50, and most of the cost should go to the SFI-produced meal packets, since the rest can be had commercially), especially in bulk, and sure as hell tastes a whole lot better.
Later in the Outfield Experience, I do not know what came over me, but I had a case of "combat stress reaction" - I broke down when my MO scolded me. I'd forgotten to bring some frozen food from the freezer in camp, cutting off one meal's supplies to widespread discontent. Then later, when we were engaging in casualty "play", I fumbled a few times, and got accused of faking blood pressure readings. I was then inconsolable for a while till I was dispatched back to camp to replenish the ice and make good on my forgetting to bring the frozen food.
Later in the fortnight, I was catching up with a week's backlog of work, and discovered an administrative lapse. The MOs questioned why this was so, and questioned the system, but circumstances inevitably made it seem that it was me taking the hit, and I started to crumble again, managing to get dismissed before I lost control completely.
On a detached level, I wonder why these events distressed me so, for I have little or no pride - indeed, I have no small measure of shame - in anything to do with the SAF. Even if I did, these are little things, and not worthy of worry or taking to heart. And - if I'm going to ORD with this sort of temperament, I think I better check myself into IMH.
Days in 42SAR
To commemorate Total Defense Day, we had a turnout just after 4am on Saturday. We'd heard rumours of a turnout, but it was finally confirmed by our Routine Orders, so we were prepared. I actually had woken up a while before the turnout started, after multiple ringing alarm clocks woke me (but unfortunately, not the ones who set them), though I was too lazy to turn them off, and was lying in bed when I heard the fire bell ringing. People got very excited, and more than one person was running up and down the corridor shouting "ORD Loh!". Groggily, we proceeded downstairs with a mess tin, fork and spoon to eat plain porridge with sweet potato chunks which just made us more hungry, listen to a talk and watch a Defense Watch video, the message of which probably sunk in more effectively due to our lowered resistance to brainwashing. I was actually eagerly anticipating us being asked: "What can we learn from this day?", for I had an answer prepared: "Even when defended by a motivated, well-equipped, well-trained, world class, professional army (the British in 1942), we will lose. So we have no hope with a demoralised, half-past six conscript army of slave soldiers."
I miss the days when all the vending machines in our camp sold Root Beer, and one day I spotted the F&N man topping up one of the machine. I asked him if he could put Root Beer in and he replied that his boss dictated what drinks were available, based on "market data". Bah.
We were made to go on a 5km route march in SBO, and as usual, I was in the Gabriel (ie the last) detail. Sometimes, I wonder why they bother.
During company runs and other physical activities, they like to play us weaker ones off against each other, with cries such as "Christopher is catching up!", or "Gabriel is in front of you. How can you let him beat you?". I, for one, am not swayed by these attempts to appeal to a non-existent part of my pride. In a related note, I am always being accused of "not puting in effort". One of these days, I shall put in no effort at all, stop moving and plonk myself down on the ground.
Our old CSM has returned from East Timor, and during a bunk inspection he allegedly proclaimed Wo-Hen Nankan "obiang" and swore at him, so I have been forced to move his pictures onto the inner door of my cupboard. In more uplifting news, though, I have re-telked (however you spell it) my documentation table, and put pictures of my 2 idols underneath it, to widespread disapproval.
42 is becoming more and more ririculous. Now enlistees are not allowed to wear the battalion baseball cap in camp.
We were chosen to participate in a grassroots leaders visit to Nee Soon camp one Sunday. Just as we didn't want to be there, I think the grassroots leaders didn't either. Anyhow, we were kiwing the tracks of our Broncos in preparation. Not only was this tedious and tiring, it was pointless too, for by the day of the visit, one could not tell how we'd slaved over the tracks.
One day when I booked out in No 4, the guard 2ic told me to put on my beret, but he himself wasn't wearing his. Bah.
Some reservists tried to hitchhike out of camp, and one of them was making the sign. So I'm not the only idiot who's tried!
Apparently people in HQ4SAB stay out on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday nights. Wah. [Update: A friend who's in there tells me this isn't true. Just goes to show - don't believe everything you hear in the SAF!]
My WITS team won the "Outstanding Commendable Effort" award. Now, if we could just figure out what that means...
Mandai Range
I got arrowed to cover my company's range at Mandai on Thursday and Friday, and consequently my sleep cycle is seriously disrupted - I woke at 5:10am on Thursday and slept at almost 1:30am, since people took their time shooting at the range. On Friday, I woke at 5:30am (about 4 hours of sleep) and slept just after 12 midnight. However, we had the Total Defence turnout (see above), so I got only about 4 hours of sleep for the second consecutive night.
I did manage to get some sleep at the range - more than the firers, at any rate, but in both quality and quantity it was less than sufficient, due to the rule that at range, no one is allowed to lie down. This rule puzzles me, actually. If the firers don't get to rest properly, they won't shoot properly, especially if it's the second or third day of a range, when insufficient sleep is already having an effect on the firers' performances. Maybe it's just a devious rule drawn up by the SAF to ensure fewer people get Marksman, and so it saves money.
The range itself was quite impressive, as ranges go. The canteen was large and looked like a proper canteen, even coming with a fish pond, public telephone and a dog, and the shooting chambers, toilet and training sheds were all numerous and large.
Medical Centre Musings
The 46SAR recruits are very ardent patrons of our after hours report sick service. It wouldn't be that bad, but for the fact that they come singly, such that sometimes the entire evening can be burnt sending them to see the duty MOs. They should make them wait for 2 hours, then have a tonner send 20 of them to Tengah to see the MO, or have an evening sick parade when they are asked if they want to report sick.
Our medical centre is a veritable rats' paradise. It started with the pantry - if one enters it, there's a good chance that one will see rats scurrying up pipes or scampering across the floor to their hiding places with unearthly speed and dexterity. Now, the infestation has spread. I am told that they now run across the sickbay floor at night, striking abject fear into the hearts of those warded for sore eyes, and they have even been spotted in the waiting area in the main building. I hope that the upcoming renovation will get rid of them once and for all.
After some time, you no longer care - you can no longer afford to. (Un)Fortunately, I haven't reached that stage.
General SAF Thoughts
SAF units always expend all unused rounds (live or blank) after ranges, live firing and exercises. I am told that this is because the paperwork to fill out for returning the rounds is too onerous. Perhaps to save costs, they should make it such that it is easier to return some rounds than expend them all - an incentive, even. Maybe 10% of the cost of returned rounds can be channeled towards the respective unit's welfare fund.
Some doctors interviewed on people who malinger to get fake MCs said that people who do manual, repetitive work and/or are unhappy in their jobs are the most likely to get MCs. This describes the problem the SAF has perfectly.
I wonder why many people are wont to postulate wildly implausible 'what if' scenarios, and then expect others to prepare for all of them, even if the expected benefit is dwarfed by the expected cost.
It's rich, how people can talk about Social Defense as a part of Total Defense, when some parts of the SAF - Armour and Signals, for example, are off limits to certain groups.
I am told in Maju camp, due to the cat infestation, they're getting a day off for each cat they kill. Maybe they should give us a day off for each dog that we kill.
"Fairness" in the SAF
The SAF concept of "fairness" is uniquely warped. Whenever one person manages to pull himself above the others in some small way, perhaps to improve the quality of his life infinitesimally, he will be pulled down promptly by his peers, egged on by the commanders, so that he, once again, is as miserable as they are, to a chorus of "it's not fair to the others". For example, if some people in a group are in the shade, they are told to move into the sun (even if the area of shade is sufficient to accommodate everyone). As a friend puts it, this is the "Crab Bucket Syndrome - a term coined by educational psychologists, describing the phenomena that crabs in a bucket will always pull down the lone crab who’s almost crawled out of the bucket. Prevalent mainly where large groups of oppressed/disempowered people gather hoping no one will rise above his/her station and make the rest of them look lazy. e.g. school, the workplace, the military).
One wonders why, instead of this "one suffer, all suffer" (sic) attitude, they cannot have a "one enjoy, all enjoy" (sic) attitude. Life, after all, is not a zero-sum game, and this mercantilist philosophy can only lead to greater aggregate suffering as the "equal misery principle" is applied. If not everyone can be happy, can not at least some people be less unhappy than the others?
I suspect that this mentality is deliberately encouraged both to play slaves off against each other in trivial matters such as these, such that they fall to petty squabbling and putting each other down and thus are distracted from greater things, and to reinforce the sense in everyone that National Slavery is a must - if one has had to do it, one will be less objecting to one's sons doing it ("I did it. So can/should/must/will you, son"), and will also strenuously object if, in the distant future, they come to their senses and decide to enslave a smaller proportion of the male population ("I had/have to do it. Why shouldn't they?").
"It is hard to think of any neo-conservative who has put on his country's uniforms other than in his dreams" (The Economist) - Deliciously wicked. I love it.
The funniest book I have read in a long while: "How to marry the man of your choice" (Margaret Kent, 1988). Particularly mirth-inducing sections are forthcoming, and I'm not the only one who thinks so as Publishers Weekly commented that "the author's detailed tips on male manipulation comprise a howling, humorous success". (Apparently the book sold for US$95 on initial publication!)
A certain friend of mine - let's call him "Melvin", to preserve his privacy - not too long ago made the mistake of agreeing to let the NKF suck a few dollars off him every month. Since that fateful day, he has changed his mind (or decided he was too lazy to give them his bank account number). He has been pestered by the NKF staff at least 3 times on his handphone, and they have now resorted to emailing him to try to wheedle his bank account number from him. It seems they don't get the message, while he is too shy to tell them the truth (maybe I need to answer the 4th call for him and forcefully turn them away with my holy charms). The NKF is really like the dialysis machines it buys, sucking blood endlessly. The only difference being most, or at least a good portion, of the blood disappears. I wonder where all the money goes to, anyway.
[Ed: Update as of 15/02/04 - They've sent something by snail mail to his house. I offered my services in rebuffing them but "Melvin" declined. For all we know, their overpaid staff will be knocking on his door next!]
Apparently Nokia phones cannot send pictures and ringtones to one another via IR. Evil!
I am told that My Little Pony slash exists, but I'm having finding it. Maybe I need to ask the Internet Search Wizard.
Quotes:
I have a feeling of impending doom.
Silly And Foolish. SAF stands for what. (That's what SAF stands for)
[On the grassroots leaders visit to Nee Soon camp] So are any of our friends' fathers grassroots leaders? Ask them to go. "Very good, very good"
[On safety and learning from mistakes] All wear black. CO killed by a flying baka pole. "Treat it as a learning experience"
[On a route march] I'm your bunk mate. I always take good care of you. Fuck you, walk faster lah!
[Someone: Signal platoon diam! Good morning Sir!] Go away, go away. [Someone: Permission to carry on Sir!] Carry on 20. [Someone: Thank you Sir! Signal platoon at ease!]
[On why there are so many school kids in Bishan] Everybody likes RI guys, so they come here to pick them up.
Once I came to 42, everything went down[hill]. Nothing surprises me anymore.
[On my being in 42SAR for almost 20 months] I don't know how you lasted here so long. You are truly strong.
[On 'How to marry the man of your choice'] This stupid book plants stupid ideas into stupid women.
[On the above] Are you going to write that down? Let me repeat it to you slowly. [Me: No need]
[On my listening to 96.8FM] What the hell are you doing? Do you want me to send you to PCC?
[On my troubles] They seems to have given up on you. Now they only make fun of you. Always seems to call your name. (seem)
[On safety during the airborne course] There ws one guy who was even more vicious. He hoped that ***'d land in a crocodile farm in Southern Thailand.
[Routine Orders] All personnel are reminded to consume porridge for breakfast on Saturday in collaboration to Total Defense Day (commemoration of)
[Me on the black meal: I hope it's not mat food] I think it's mat food. I heard the food today is funeral food.
Are we the only ones who clean the toilet? Sorry, I phrased it wrongly. Are we the only ones who are supposed to clean the toilet?
There's nothing much to do in the Treatment Room. I wonder what Toh Ah Beng does there all day. That's why he goes for so many details... His job is so much easier than mine.
[On my secret garden] Why is my name still there?... And stop forging my signature! [Me: It's not me. It was Melvin]
All the HQ medics were to be sent outfield to set up the BCS (Battalion Casualty Station) for 2 days and 2 nights, so we were told to report to the Medical Centre by 7pm. In the end, we left just after midnight - the SAF is truly wonderful and efficient.
After we'd set up the BCS, I found that due to it being a night setup (thus enclosed so no light could escape), it was extremely stuff and humid inside, and I felt light-headed - almost faint. And so when we finally got to sleep, instead of sleeping in the BCS tentage or our vehicles, I just opened up a stretcher and KO-ed outside the BCS.
It was already past 3 am, so I was hoping to snatch a precious few hours of uninterrupted rest, but alas, this was not to be. We were made to do guard duty in one hour shifts clad in webbing and helmet - which was even more pointless and obviously for show than it would have been, since we had no weapons. If this wasn't bad enough, through the haze of sleep, I dimly perceived our CO and friends running around, and even after they'd left, I couldn't get back to sleep, especially since the insects were beginning to get to me, so I moved back into the stuffy bronco and uncomfortably reposed.
Being in Armour, we were suitably stocked for our journeys, and while sipping some F&N "Cheeky" Cherryade, a flash of inspiration struck and I came up with one more alternate name for F&N's alliterative series of drinks. So now we have: Obiang Orange (?), Gross Grape, Sucky Strawberry, Freaky Fruitade, Cloying Cherryade, Zonking Zappel (?) and Lousy Lychee! (NB: Names with a question mark beside them are not confirmed as yet) I got some alternate suggestions (cheebye cherryade, fucking fruitade, lanjiao lychee) but somehow they don't have the same charm.
Somehow, we didn't get to draw any combat rations, so we subsisted on bread all the way. This was just as well, I suppose, for from what I saw, other people were eating the Muslim Combat Rations, which not only are hot but contain less pasta packets than the Non-Muslim ones. I discovered that Campbell's Chunky soup is good to have outfield, whether virgin or with bread. I think they should give it to us in our combat rations. It would probably be cheaper than what they currently give us (estimates of 1 24hr pack range from $25 to $50, and most of the cost should go to the SFI-produced meal packets, since the rest can be had commercially), especially in bulk, and sure as hell tastes a whole lot better.
Later in the Outfield Experience, I do not know what came over me, but I had a case of "combat stress reaction" - I broke down when my MO scolded me. I'd forgotten to bring some frozen food from the freezer in camp, cutting off one meal's supplies to widespread discontent. Then later, when we were engaging in casualty "play", I fumbled a few times, and got accused of faking blood pressure readings. I was then inconsolable for a while till I was dispatched back to camp to replenish the ice and make good on my forgetting to bring the frozen food.
Later in the fortnight, I was catching up with a week's backlog of work, and discovered an administrative lapse. The MOs questioned why this was so, and questioned the system, but circumstances inevitably made it seem that it was me taking the hit, and I started to crumble again, managing to get dismissed before I lost control completely.
On a detached level, I wonder why these events distressed me so, for I have little or no pride - indeed, I have no small measure of shame - in anything to do with the SAF. Even if I did, these are little things, and not worthy of worry or taking to heart. And - if I'm going to ORD with this sort of temperament, I think I better check myself into IMH.
Days in 42SAR
To commemorate Total Defense Day, we had a turnout just after 4am on Saturday. We'd heard rumours of a turnout, but it was finally confirmed by our Routine Orders, so we were prepared. I actually had woken up a while before the turnout started, after multiple ringing alarm clocks woke me (but unfortunately, not the ones who set them), though I was too lazy to turn them off, and was lying in bed when I heard the fire bell ringing. People got very excited, and more than one person was running up and down the corridor shouting "ORD Loh!". Groggily, we proceeded downstairs with a mess tin, fork and spoon to eat plain porridge with sweet potato chunks which just made us more hungry, listen to a talk and watch a Defense Watch video, the message of which probably sunk in more effectively due to our lowered resistance to brainwashing. I was actually eagerly anticipating us being asked: "What can we learn from this day?", for I had an answer prepared: "Even when defended by a motivated, well-equipped, well-trained, world class, professional army (the British in 1942), we will lose. So we have no hope with a demoralised, half-past six conscript army of slave soldiers."
I miss the days when all the vending machines in our camp sold Root Beer, and one day I spotted the F&N man topping up one of the machine. I asked him if he could put Root Beer in and he replied that his boss dictated what drinks were available, based on "market data". Bah.
We were made to go on a 5km route march in SBO, and as usual, I was in the Gabriel (ie the last) detail. Sometimes, I wonder why they bother.
During company runs and other physical activities, they like to play us weaker ones off against each other, with cries such as "Christopher is catching up!", or "Gabriel is in front of you. How can you let him beat you?". I, for one, am not swayed by these attempts to appeal to a non-existent part of my pride. In a related note, I am always being accused of "not puting in effort". One of these days, I shall put in no effort at all, stop moving and plonk myself down on the ground.
Our old CSM has returned from East Timor, and during a bunk inspection he allegedly proclaimed Wo-Hen Nankan "obiang" and swore at him, so I have been forced to move his pictures onto the inner door of my cupboard. In more uplifting news, though, I have re-telked (however you spell it) my documentation table, and put pictures of my 2 idols underneath it, to widespread disapproval.
42 is becoming more and more ririculous. Now enlistees are not allowed to wear the battalion baseball cap in camp.
We were chosen to participate in a grassroots leaders visit to Nee Soon camp one Sunday. Just as we didn't want to be there, I think the grassroots leaders didn't either. Anyhow, we were kiwing the tracks of our Broncos in preparation. Not only was this tedious and tiring, it was pointless too, for by the day of the visit, one could not tell how we'd slaved over the tracks.
One day when I booked out in No 4, the guard 2ic told me to put on my beret, but he himself wasn't wearing his. Bah.
Some reservists tried to hitchhike out of camp, and one of them was making the sign. So I'm not the only idiot who's tried!
Apparently people in HQ4SAB stay out on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday nights. Wah. [Update: A friend who's in there tells me this isn't true. Just goes to show - don't believe everything you hear in the SAF!]
My WITS team won the "Outstanding Commendable Effort" award. Now, if we could just figure out what that means...
Mandai Range
I got arrowed to cover my company's range at Mandai on Thursday and Friday, and consequently my sleep cycle is seriously disrupted - I woke at 5:10am on Thursday and slept at almost 1:30am, since people took their time shooting at the range. On Friday, I woke at 5:30am (about 4 hours of sleep) and slept just after 12 midnight. However, we had the Total Defence turnout (see above), so I got only about 4 hours of sleep for the second consecutive night.
I did manage to get some sleep at the range - more than the firers, at any rate, but in both quality and quantity it was less than sufficient, due to the rule that at range, no one is allowed to lie down. This rule puzzles me, actually. If the firers don't get to rest properly, they won't shoot properly, especially if it's the second or third day of a range, when insufficient sleep is already having an effect on the firers' performances. Maybe it's just a devious rule drawn up by the SAF to ensure fewer people get Marksman, and so it saves money.
The range itself was quite impressive, as ranges go. The canteen was large and looked like a proper canteen, even coming with a fish pond, public telephone and a dog, and the shooting chambers, toilet and training sheds were all numerous and large.
Medical Centre Musings
The 46SAR recruits are very ardent patrons of our after hours report sick service. It wouldn't be that bad, but for the fact that they come singly, such that sometimes the entire evening can be burnt sending them to see the duty MOs. They should make them wait for 2 hours, then have a tonner send 20 of them to Tengah to see the MO, or have an evening sick parade when they are asked if they want to report sick.
Our medical centre is a veritable rats' paradise. It started with the pantry - if one enters it, there's a good chance that one will see rats scurrying up pipes or scampering across the floor to their hiding places with unearthly speed and dexterity. Now, the infestation has spread. I am told that they now run across the sickbay floor at night, striking abject fear into the hearts of those warded for sore eyes, and they have even been spotted in the waiting area in the main building. I hope that the upcoming renovation will get rid of them once and for all.
After some time, you no longer care - you can no longer afford to. (Un)Fortunately, I haven't reached that stage.
General SAF Thoughts
SAF units always expend all unused rounds (live or blank) after ranges, live firing and exercises. I am told that this is because the paperwork to fill out for returning the rounds is too onerous. Perhaps to save costs, they should make it such that it is easier to return some rounds than expend them all - an incentive, even. Maybe 10% of the cost of returned rounds can be channeled towards the respective unit's welfare fund.
Some doctors interviewed on people who malinger to get fake MCs said that people who do manual, repetitive work and/or are unhappy in their jobs are the most likely to get MCs. This describes the problem the SAF has perfectly.
I wonder why many people are wont to postulate wildly implausible 'what if' scenarios, and then expect others to prepare for all of them, even if the expected benefit is dwarfed by the expected cost.
It's rich, how people can talk about Social Defense as a part of Total Defense, when some parts of the SAF - Armour and Signals, for example, are off limits to certain groups.
I am told in Maju camp, due to the cat infestation, they're getting a day off for each cat they kill. Maybe they should give us a day off for each dog that we kill.
"Fairness" in the SAF
The SAF concept of "fairness" is uniquely warped. Whenever one person manages to pull himself above the others in some small way, perhaps to improve the quality of his life infinitesimally, he will be pulled down promptly by his peers, egged on by the commanders, so that he, once again, is as miserable as they are, to a chorus of "it's not fair to the others". For example, if some people in a group are in the shade, they are told to move into the sun (even if the area of shade is sufficient to accommodate everyone). As a friend puts it, this is the "Crab Bucket Syndrome - a term coined by educational psychologists, describing the phenomena that crabs in a bucket will always pull down the lone crab who’s almost crawled out of the bucket. Prevalent mainly where large groups of oppressed/disempowered people gather hoping no one will rise above his/her station and make the rest of them look lazy. e.g. school, the workplace, the military).
One wonders why, instead of this "one suffer, all suffer" (sic) attitude, they cannot have a "one enjoy, all enjoy" (sic) attitude. Life, after all, is not a zero-sum game, and this mercantilist philosophy can only lead to greater aggregate suffering as the "equal misery principle" is applied. If not everyone can be happy, can not at least some people be less unhappy than the others?
I suspect that this mentality is deliberately encouraged both to play slaves off against each other in trivial matters such as these, such that they fall to petty squabbling and putting each other down and thus are distracted from greater things, and to reinforce the sense in everyone that National Slavery is a must - if one has had to do it, one will be less objecting to one's sons doing it ("I did it. So can/should/must/will you, son"), and will also strenuously object if, in the distant future, they come to their senses and decide to enslave a smaller proportion of the male population ("I had/have to do it. Why shouldn't they?").
"It is hard to think of any neo-conservative who has put on his country's uniforms other than in his dreams" (The Economist) - Deliciously wicked. I love it.
The funniest book I have read in a long while: "How to marry the man of your choice" (Margaret Kent, 1988). Particularly mirth-inducing sections are forthcoming, and I'm not the only one who thinks so as Publishers Weekly commented that "the author's detailed tips on male manipulation comprise a howling, humorous success". (Apparently the book sold for US$95 on initial publication!)
A certain friend of mine - let's call him "Melvin", to preserve his privacy - not too long ago made the mistake of agreeing to let the NKF suck a few dollars off him every month. Since that fateful day, he has changed his mind (or decided he was too lazy to give them his bank account number). He has been pestered by the NKF staff at least 3 times on his handphone, and they have now resorted to emailing him to try to wheedle his bank account number from him. It seems they don't get the message, while he is too shy to tell them the truth (maybe I need to answer the 4th call for him and forcefully turn them away with my holy charms). The NKF is really like the dialysis machines it buys, sucking blood endlessly. The only difference being most, or at least a good portion, of the blood disappears. I wonder where all the money goes to, anyway.
[Ed: Update as of 15/02/04 - They've sent something by snail mail to his house. I offered my services in rebuffing them but "Melvin" declined. For all we know, their overpaid staff will be knocking on his door next!]
Apparently Nokia phones cannot send pictures and ringtones to one another via IR. Evil!
I am told that My Little Pony slash exists, but I'm having finding it. Maybe I need to ask the Internet Search Wizard.
Quotes:
I have a feeling of impending doom.
Silly And Foolish. SAF stands for what. (That's what SAF stands for)
[On the grassroots leaders visit to Nee Soon camp] So are any of our friends' fathers grassroots leaders? Ask them to go. "Very good, very good"
[On safety and learning from mistakes] All wear black. CO killed by a flying baka pole. "Treat it as a learning experience"
[On a route march] I'm your bunk mate. I always take good care of you. Fuck you, walk faster lah!
[Someone: Signal platoon diam! Good morning Sir!] Go away, go away. [Someone: Permission to carry on Sir!] Carry on 20. [Someone: Thank you Sir! Signal platoon at ease!]
[On why there are so many school kids in Bishan] Everybody likes RI guys, so they come here to pick them up.
Once I came to 42, everything went down[hill]. Nothing surprises me anymore.
[On my being in 42SAR for almost 20 months] I don't know how you lasted here so long. You are truly strong.
[On 'How to marry the man of your choice'] This stupid book plants stupid ideas into stupid women.
[On the above] Are you going to write that down? Let me repeat it to you slowly. [Me: No need]
[On my listening to 96.8FM] What the hell are you doing? Do you want me to send you to PCC?
[On my troubles] They seems to have given up on you. Now they only make fun of you. Always seems to call your name. (seem)
[On safety during the airborne course] There ws one guy who was even more vicious. He hoped that ***'d land in a crocodile farm in Southern Thailand.
[Routine Orders] All personnel are reminded to consume porridge for breakfast on Saturday in collaboration to Total Defense Day (commemoration of)
[Me on the black meal: I hope it's not mat food] I think it's mat food. I heard the food today is funeral food.
Are we the only ones who clean the toilet? Sorry, I phrased it wrongly. Are we the only ones who are supposed to clean the toilet?
There's nothing much to do in the Treatment Room. I wonder what Toh Ah Beng does there all day. That's why he goes for so many details... His job is so much easier than mine.
[On my secret garden] Why is my name still there?... And stop forging my signature! [Me: It's not me. It was Melvin]
Post ID: 107678592961434210
Saturday, February 14, 2004
In commemoration of Valentine's Day, a properly formatted version of an email forward I got:
Need any inspiration for your Valentines card?
These are entries to a Washington Post competition asking for a rhyme with the most romantic first line but.... the least romantic second line:
Love may be beautiful, love may be bliss
But I only slept with you, because I was pissed.
*************************
I thought that I could love no other
Until, that is, I met your brother.
**************************
Roses are red, violets are blue, sugar is sweet, and so are you.
But the roses are wilting, the violets are dead, the sugar bowl's empty and so is your head.
**************************
Of loving beauty you float with grace
If only you could hide your face.
****************************
Kind, intelligent, loving and hot
This describes everything you are not.
******************************
I want to feel your sweet embrace
But don't take that paper bag off of your face.
*******************************
I love your smile, your face, and your eyes
Damn, I'm good at telling lies!
************************************
My darling, my lover, my beautiful wife:
Marrying you screwed up my life.
************************************
I see your face when I am dreaming.
That's why I always wake up screaming.
***************************************
My love, you take my breath away.
What have you stepped in to smell this way?
****************************************
My feelings for you no words can tell
Except for maybe "Go To Hell".
*****************************************
What inspired this amorous rhyme?
Two parts vodka, one part lime.
Need any inspiration for your Valentines card?
These are entries to a Washington Post competition asking for a rhyme with the most romantic first line but.... the least romantic second line:
Love may be beautiful, love may be bliss
But I only slept with you, because I was pissed.
*************************
I thought that I could love no other
Until, that is, I met your brother.
**************************
Roses are red, violets are blue, sugar is sweet, and so are you.
But the roses are wilting, the violets are dead, the sugar bowl's empty and so is your head.
**************************
Of loving beauty you float with grace
If only you could hide your face.
****************************
Kind, intelligent, loving and hot
This describes everything you are not.
******************************
I want to feel your sweet embrace
But don't take that paper bag off of your face.
*******************************
I love your smile, your face, and your eyes
Damn, I'm good at telling lies!
************************************
My darling, my lover, my beautiful wife:
Marrying you screwed up my life.
************************************
I see your face when I am dreaming.
That's why I always wake up screaming.
***************************************
My love, you take my breath away.
What have you stepped in to smell this way?
****************************************
My feelings for you no words can tell
Except for maybe "Go To Hell".
*****************************************
What inspired this amorous rhyme?
Two parts vodka, one part lime.
Post ID: 107672624817792040
Tuesday, February 10, 2004
For all those who don't know yet, I'm flying off this saturday morning to melbourne, arriving in the evening. Starting classes on the 16th- next week monday. If you want to catch up with me while i'm still here, drop me a note n i'll see what i can do; otherwise will see you when i get back. Melbourne-ians, call me when i get there! I'll mention "serve programme 2004 sjsm" just to see how many hits are generated from there, heh.
Post ID: 107640745032347850
Monday, February 09, 2004
With the latest release, the reasons why I dislike it have become fewer. I suppose I'll have to switch some time (not yet though). Besides, it has a nice icon.
Q: Which is the most dangerous method of electricity generation per kilowatt produced - nuclear, coal, oil, sea (waves), geothermal, or wind?
A: Wind power causes the most deaths (from people injured by, or falling off, windmills) per kWh that is actually produced.
Q: In the USA 3 million teenagers play the role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons and in 1992, 28 teenage suicides were related to it. Is this significant?
A: It shows that Dungeons and Dragons has very little to do with teenage suicide. In the USA, the average teenage suicide rate was 1 in 10,000. If anything, this suggests people who role-play are less likely to commit suicide than the average person.
Post ID: 107625714256737466
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