I shall let many of the entries in my Sordid Archives of the Search Referrer Logs speak for themselves:
"nanyang girls" world war two
pink ranger rape - Which one, I wonder.
julia roberts hairy armpits
2003 2004 email information of all the churches in Edfu
Vaginal Discharge Panties Pics
scgs thong - I don't think they need it unless they're wearing it tight.
acjc nude
acjc sluts
xray fuck pictures
occult ceremony nude pics
unisex spa in Kuala Lumpur
SAF sispec pride lecture - They have lectures about pride? Bah.
"school uniform" "river valley high"
"looney tunes" "hee hee hee" wav
disturbing pictures of mangled pussy - Disturbing indeed.
arizona police grenade pear
2004 asian gynecologist email guestbook
media analysis 8 mile stereotype representation eminem
use xray make man infertile - Nasty weapon!
alt.sex.passwords kermit - See Kermit shagging Miss Piggy! Bestiality rules.
bomoh nombor - This means "bomoh number" in Malay
teletubby platoon
mom son incest in islam
rgs girls pretty proud - RGS girls are pretty proud or pretty and proud?
Permanent teeth regrown miracles
DISSERATIONS ON BEAUTY IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER
Sudol, Jews - Jews pour Sudol on themselves?
sammyboy.com crack - I believe Sexkey is free.
R@ygold Japanese Junior High School Lolita. - From what I know, R@ygold has no Japanese stuff.
rgs cheerleaders singapore 2000
candle insertion vagina safety - I'm not sure if you can do that safely.
beng CDRW problem - Benq must be so disappointed at the association.
I Not Stupid guanyinma
bahrain massage done by girls only
black updos spikes
tanya breasts "red alert" shoot - I doubt you can shoot them.
Phang Liying - Yaoi Girl is popular.
bdsm camp training centre - They actually have camps for this sort of thing?!
NKF Weakness and Threats - I'd like to know.
Unclean mamak stall in Malaysia - Haram of just plain unhygienic?
professional singer, Tuan Anh
acjc 2003 beach party yearbook
murtad mama - What is a murtad and who is his mama?
loolah photo - What is a loolah?
amputee secret garden surgery
rgs "tse yin"
SAF downgrade depression
horseriding topless clip
RGS prom queens
"girls in shirts" - The diabolical cult has made progress.
ns commando songs singapore lyrics bomb - Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Ma-laysia!
tekong bare \bodied
voodoo spells and glucose tolerance
"scrawny twig"
dad rigid cock fuck own daughter tight cunt ooo
story behind r@ygold - Some sick pedo decied to set up shop one day?
novena to pray to make your gallstones pass - Sorry. Wishful thinking.
rectal thermometers in girls butt photo
LAN girls mugging cannot click
"fierce girl" gay
Nude in Raffles Girl School(secondary)
singapore chinese girls GRC schools - Group Representative Constituency?
hentai scrollers
bangala movie - Shokalata!
clitoridectomy photo
religious depilation
bit torrent sun yanzi - She's not that popular.
Blood donation cockups
fuck girl in alexandria egypt
singapore malay clinic for ladies - Where they can take their tudungs off while seeing the doctor.
Why are you interested in getting an OCBC scholarship?
Singapore girls wear powerpuff girls costume for contest
Napoleon Likes Smelly Crotch
psychology tentacle monster
raw material ordering, yakult in malaysia - They don't sell Yakult there.
chij girl pictures sammyboy - Convent girl fetish?
mahathir emotional video 2002
"pulau tekong" haunted
"worst school uniform" - Li Hua, undoubtedly.
sahaja bust cream
nude girl wearing tudung - But then she wouldn't be nude already.
GIRLS SHAVING THEIR HEADS
debauched.popes
east indian women with pubic hair to stay
peloponnesian wars picturs
sms haram
is wearing condoms haram - Everything is haram these days.
jc girls hot singapore
nude army men having cum feist
photos of embarassing moments of skirts blowing up
L'origine de Bert
Saturday, March 20, 2004
1) Say you're Mom, and you told your two kids NOT to have any cookies before dinner. While you're gone, deadbeat Dad comes by, raids the cookie jar, looks at the two kids with an innocent grin and say they can have some and leave it out there for them. You come by and catch them in the act. Is it justifiable to send them to their rooms with no dinner for that night and no TV/Computer for a month?
2) Can you think of any crime so horrendous that it would justify eternal, unrelenting torment, with no second chances ever being given, even if the criminal honestly repents and is completely forgiven by his victims?
3) Would our justice system let off a criminal if someone agreed to take his punishment instead?
4) You likely have no desire whatsoever to stab people with a kitchen knife and dine on their entrails, although there's nothing specific preventing you from doing so. Does this, nevertheless, take away your "free will"?
5) There are still a few rare people who, incredibly, believe the earth is flat despite mountains of evidence to the contrary. This is demonstrably false, yet they hold such a belief regardless and can't be convinced otherwise. Would you, regardless, be able to completely give up on these people for their honest, albeit incredibly delusional, mistake, leaving them forever condemned for it?
6) Hypothetically, if a doctor had the power to cure every single child suffering of malaria across the world easily and at no personal expense, but only did so for those who asked him just right, would you consider him a good human being?
7) Are you familiar with confirmation bias (remembering only hits, not misses)?
8) Similarly, are you familiar with selective thinking (applying undue skepticism to arguments and data unfavorable to your position, while having a less stringent standard of evidence for data confirming it)?
9) Will wishful thinking often make an otherwise rational person accept something which is literally 'too good to be true', such as pyramid schemes or spirit mediums that allegedly let them communicate with departed loved ones?
10) Are people suffering from emotional turmoil, a great deal of stress, depression, or those going thru a monumental upheaval in their lives often impaired in utilizing their best judgment and hence vulnerable to cult leaders and other charlatans?
11) Are you aware that very realistic mystical experiences can be produced by a myriad assortment of known causes, from drugs such as LSD, to sensory deprivation, to direct magnetic stimulation of the brain?
12) Do you recognize that the human mind is capable of recognizing patterns where none really exist, such as images in clouds, the Rorschach ink blot test, and numerology, among others, especially when it has already developed a bias to look for specific patterns?
13) Is a sunset beautiful when no one is watching, without first requiring an intelligent observer to assign such profound meaning to it?
14) Continuing, are our lives meaningful because we can now recognize and/or assign such meaning, where little such meaning existed for animals who were not self-aware and intelligent?
These and other thought provoking questions at Questioning Theistic Beliefs
"ANTIBIOTIC EFFECTIVENESS: A CRITICAL REVIEW" by Allan L. Glenn, Ph. D.*
Antibiotics - in Western society, the very mention of the drugs evokes images of caring doctors in white coats curing all manner of devastating illness with cute little tablets.
But below the surface of this modern myth lies a shocking truth. Contrary to popular belief and medical propaganda, antibiotics just don't work.
In the good old days, everyone knew that disease was caused by demon possession and/or sexual immorality, not germs. The populace of the day wasn't as easily duped, and as a result, "Germ theory", not "Germ fact", got its well-deserved name.
Medical journals, textbooks and doctors would have you believe that antibiotics do work, but on closer inspection, they only create that impression by selectively citing favorable data and discarding the rest. Numerous cases exist (conveniently suppressed by the establishment, of course) where antibiotics didn't work as advertised, even going so far as to contradict accepted medical knowledge.
Here's a short list of cases where antibiotics didn't work as expected:
* "... a combination of antibiotics failed and the 79-year-old patient died."
* "She didn't respond to antibiotics and was placed in the hospital. After developing pneumonia and falling into a coma, she was placed in intensive care where she died on December 12, 1968."
* "The 63- year-old photo editor for the supermarket tabloid The Sun suffered cardiac arrest and died Friday after he didn’t respond to antibiotics and his kidneys failed."
* "A slow improvement was noted and a different antibiotic was prescribed. Following a telephone call from the patient, Dr Ellison saw the patient again on 12 August 1996. The patient presented with indications of pneumonia. Dr Ellison's advice was the patient should go to hospital... The patient was admitted to hospital on 15 August 1996. Pulmonary embolism was diagnosed. The patient died on 17 August 1996 following a cardiac arrest."
The list could go on and on, as tens of thousands of similar cases are known from the last few decades alone.. But you won't hear about them in the medical journals! The bigoted materialists who want our kids to learn this nonsense in medical school aren't even willing to do the legwork to support their claims.
Those misotheistic doctors, of course, have dozens of unevidenced ad hoc rationalizations for why antibiotics fail so often. One is the case of "antibiotic resistance". But this excuse is, for lack of a better term, pathetic. One alleged resistance system, that of the Vancomycin-immune strain of staphylococcus, involves a complex enzyme pathway with 5 different and interacting parts 5. But as Leigh University biochemist Michael Behe has demonstrated, irreducible complexity can't evolve. Therefore, this bacterium can't be immune. It's as simple as that.
Another is the carefully-crafted excuse of "viral infection". Allegedly, antibiotics don't work on a virus. But this explanation also fails when you consider that viruses have never been proven to exist. The sole purpose of postulating them is to provide another excuse for the failure of antibiotics.
Occasionally, an infection that by the doctors' own admission should be susceptible to antibiotics remains unaffected, often resulting in a patient's death. The medical establishment usually chalks this up to a freak occurence, but this is just more evidence that they have no explanation! Their a-priori commitment to materialistic antibiotics blinds them to the truth and makes inventing wild excuses a necessity.
However, in using those rationalizations to account for the times when antibiotics don't work, yet using the times they allegedly do work as evidence, doctors remove antibiotic effectiveness from the realm of falsifiability and hence make it pseudoscience. With that mindset, any possible observation would be consistent with the effectiveness of antibiotics. Practitioners of ineffective alternative medicine generally use this approach, invoking "you didn't have enough faith", "the spirits aren't generous enough today" or other excuses when explaining the failure of their "treatments", but one is surprised to find this practice alive and well in the trusted mainstream.
In response, Scientists will cite double-blind studies that suggest antibiotics work better than a placebo, but there are a variety of demonologist explanations available for those studies. One is the hypothesis that demons desire to make people believe they're not responsible for disease, and thus let up the possession (resulting in relief from symptoms) whenever scientists are performing a study. This has the desired effect of making the populace believe antibiotics do work, in turn making them scoff at the reality that DEMONS DO EXIST and cause illness, removing the weapons of spiritual warfare and exorcism from their naive arsenal and letting the masterful spirits have free reign.
Another explanation is that God won't make the existence of spiritual forces obvious, as that removes the free will of materialists to believe. Consequently, the Lord will make sure to surreptitiously exorcise demons from a host if he or she is involved in a recorded study. This ensures that antibiotics appear to work on a limited basis, making the existence of demons only obvious to those knowledgeable in scriptural Truth™.
A number of other explanations are possible, thus, the effectiveness of antibiotics rests on the materialist interpretation of double-blind studies and other data, not the facts themselves. Demonologists don't deny facts, we just deny the anti-supernaturalistic interpretation of those facts.
Of course, a naturalist commitment to denying the existence of demons allows them to make unwarranted assumptions like "demons haven't interfered with the results of this study" or "angels didn't accelerate radiometric decay," whereas a demonologist has no such bias.
* Dr. Glenn is Associate Professor of Demonology at IDR. His doctorate thesis at Patriot University studied the negative effects possession has on Catholic scriptural interpretations.
Refuting Unfalsifiable Claims with Superior, Incompatible Explanations
So the next time you get asked for evidence that vampires or ghosts don't exist, you can just say "That's irrelevant when dealing with such intentionally unfalsifiable claims--all things considered, the best explanation is that both were invented by superstitious people when they were working with limited observations and just didn't know any better." Alternatively, say you received divine revelation that they're lying, and ask them to prove you didn't.
2) Can you think of any crime so horrendous that it would justify eternal, unrelenting torment, with no second chances ever being given, even if the criminal honestly repents and is completely forgiven by his victims?
3) Would our justice system let off a criminal if someone agreed to take his punishment instead?
4) You likely have no desire whatsoever to stab people with a kitchen knife and dine on their entrails, although there's nothing specific preventing you from doing so. Does this, nevertheless, take away your "free will"?
5) There are still a few rare people who, incredibly, believe the earth is flat despite mountains of evidence to the contrary. This is demonstrably false, yet they hold such a belief regardless and can't be convinced otherwise. Would you, regardless, be able to completely give up on these people for their honest, albeit incredibly delusional, mistake, leaving them forever condemned for it?
6) Hypothetically, if a doctor had the power to cure every single child suffering of malaria across the world easily and at no personal expense, but only did so for those who asked him just right, would you consider him a good human being?
7) Are you familiar with confirmation bias (remembering only hits, not misses)?
8) Similarly, are you familiar with selective thinking (applying undue skepticism to arguments and data unfavorable to your position, while having a less stringent standard of evidence for data confirming it)?
9) Will wishful thinking often make an otherwise rational person accept something which is literally 'too good to be true', such as pyramid schemes or spirit mediums that allegedly let them communicate with departed loved ones?
10) Are people suffering from emotional turmoil, a great deal of stress, depression, or those going thru a monumental upheaval in their lives often impaired in utilizing their best judgment and hence vulnerable to cult leaders and other charlatans?
11) Are you aware that very realistic mystical experiences can be produced by a myriad assortment of known causes, from drugs such as LSD, to sensory deprivation, to direct magnetic stimulation of the brain?
12) Do you recognize that the human mind is capable of recognizing patterns where none really exist, such as images in clouds, the Rorschach ink blot test, and numerology, among others, especially when it has already developed a bias to look for specific patterns?
13) Is a sunset beautiful when no one is watching, without first requiring an intelligent observer to assign such profound meaning to it?
14) Continuing, are our lives meaningful because we can now recognize and/or assign such meaning, where little such meaning existed for animals who were not self-aware and intelligent?
These and other thought provoking questions at Questioning Theistic Beliefs
"ANTIBIOTIC EFFECTIVENESS: A CRITICAL REVIEW" by Allan L. Glenn, Ph. D.*
Antibiotics - in Western society, the very mention of the drugs evokes images of caring doctors in white coats curing all manner of devastating illness with cute little tablets.
But below the surface of this modern myth lies a shocking truth. Contrary to popular belief and medical propaganda, antibiotics just don't work.
In the good old days, everyone knew that disease was caused by demon possession and/or sexual immorality, not germs. The populace of the day wasn't as easily duped, and as a result, "Germ theory", not "Germ fact", got its well-deserved name.
Medical journals, textbooks and doctors would have you believe that antibiotics do work, but on closer inspection, they only create that impression by selectively citing favorable data and discarding the rest. Numerous cases exist (conveniently suppressed by the establishment, of course) where antibiotics didn't work as advertised, even going so far as to contradict accepted medical knowledge.
Here's a short list of cases where antibiotics didn't work as expected:
* "... a combination of antibiotics failed and the 79-year-old patient died."
* "She didn't respond to antibiotics and was placed in the hospital. After developing pneumonia and falling into a coma, she was placed in intensive care where she died on December 12, 1968."
* "The 63- year-old photo editor for the supermarket tabloid The Sun suffered cardiac arrest and died Friday after he didn’t respond to antibiotics and his kidneys failed."
* "A slow improvement was noted and a different antibiotic was prescribed. Following a telephone call from the patient, Dr Ellison saw the patient again on 12 August 1996. The patient presented with indications of pneumonia. Dr Ellison's advice was the patient should go to hospital... The patient was admitted to hospital on 15 August 1996. Pulmonary embolism was diagnosed. The patient died on 17 August 1996 following a cardiac arrest."
The list could go on and on, as tens of thousands of similar cases are known from the last few decades alone.. But you won't hear about them in the medical journals! The bigoted materialists who want our kids to learn this nonsense in medical school aren't even willing to do the legwork to support their claims.
Those misotheistic doctors, of course, have dozens of unevidenced ad hoc rationalizations for why antibiotics fail so often. One is the case of "antibiotic resistance". But this excuse is, for lack of a better term, pathetic. One alleged resistance system, that of the Vancomycin-immune strain of staphylococcus, involves a complex enzyme pathway with 5 different and interacting parts 5. But as Leigh University biochemist Michael Behe has demonstrated, irreducible complexity can't evolve. Therefore, this bacterium can't be immune. It's as simple as that.
Another is the carefully-crafted excuse of "viral infection". Allegedly, antibiotics don't work on a virus. But this explanation also fails when you consider that viruses have never been proven to exist. The sole purpose of postulating them is to provide another excuse for the failure of antibiotics.
Occasionally, an infection that by the doctors' own admission should be susceptible to antibiotics remains unaffected, often resulting in a patient's death. The medical establishment usually chalks this up to a freak occurence, but this is just more evidence that they have no explanation! Their a-priori commitment to materialistic antibiotics blinds them to the truth and makes inventing wild excuses a necessity.
However, in using those rationalizations to account for the times when antibiotics don't work, yet using the times they allegedly do work as evidence, doctors remove antibiotic effectiveness from the realm of falsifiability and hence make it pseudoscience. With that mindset, any possible observation would be consistent with the effectiveness of antibiotics. Practitioners of ineffective alternative medicine generally use this approach, invoking "you didn't have enough faith", "the spirits aren't generous enough today" or other excuses when explaining the failure of their "treatments", but one is surprised to find this practice alive and well in the trusted mainstream.
In response, Scientists will cite double-blind studies that suggest antibiotics work better than a placebo, but there are a variety of demonologist explanations available for those studies. One is the hypothesis that demons desire to make people believe they're not responsible for disease, and thus let up the possession (resulting in relief from symptoms) whenever scientists are performing a study. This has the desired effect of making the populace believe antibiotics do work, in turn making them scoff at the reality that DEMONS DO EXIST and cause illness, removing the weapons of spiritual warfare and exorcism from their naive arsenal and letting the masterful spirits have free reign.
Another explanation is that God won't make the existence of spiritual forces obvious, as that removes the free will of materialists to believe. Consequently, the Lord will make sure to surreptitiously exorcise demons from a host if he or she is involved in a recorded study. This ensures that antibiotics appear to work on a limited basis, making the existence of demons only obvious to those knowledgeable in scriptural Truth™.
A number of other explanations are possible, thus, the effectiveness of antibiotics rests on the materialist interpretation of double-blind studies and other data, not the facts themselves. Demonologists don't deny facts, we just deny the anti-supernaturalistic interpretation of those facts.
Of course, a naturalist commitment to denying the existence of demons allows them to make unwarranted assumptions like "demons haven't interfered with the results of this study" or "angels didn't accelerate radiometric decay," whereas a demonologist has no such bias.
* Dr. Glenn is Associate Professor of Demonology at IDR. His doctorate thesis at Patriot University studied the negative effects possession has on Catholic scriptural interpretations.
Refuting Unfalsifiable Claims with Superior, Incompatible Explanations
So the next time you get asked for evidence that vampires or ghosts don't exist, you can just say "That's irrelevant when dealing with such intentionally unfalsifiable claims--all things considered, the best explanation is that both were invented by superstitious people when they were working with limited observations and just didn't know any better." Alternatively, say you received divine revelation that they're lying, and ask them to prove you didn't.
Post ID: 107978115476429138
Just collected from the Post Office today:
Way of the Tiger 4 - Overlord (Berkley/Pacer uncut)
Way of the Tiger 4 - Warbringer (Berkley/Pacer uncut)
Way of the Tiger 6 - Inferno (Berkley/Pacer uncut)
The Avenger, Assassin and Usurper I have are from Knight Books (the same company as that which published Blood Sword). The UK covers are nicer, and the books include colour maps, but the text is the same, so. Berkely/Pacer is such a cheap company, but at least they didn't cut these books.
Grailquest 1 - The Castle of Darkness (Dell)
Grailquest 2 - The Den of Dragons (Dell)
Grailquest 4 - Voyage of Terror (Dell)
The one I have (#3, The Gateway of Doom) is from Armada books and is slightly bigger than the ones I just got.
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Adventure Gamebook 10 - Lord of Doom
Feathered Friend
"My grandmother, 78 and widowed, is a kind, generous woman who has seen her share of difficult times. She is a bit offbeat, but extremely conservative and religious... She purchased a lively little parakeet and named him Pretty Baby.
Pretty has provided wonderful companionship and entertainment for my
grandmother, even learning to speak to her.
The problem is the kissing... or what I recently witnessed the kissing
leads to... Pretty Baby proceeded to screech more and more loudly, as he humped my grandmother's finger wildly. She also moved it back and forth for him."
Way of the Tiger 4 - Overlord (Berkley/Pacer uncut)
Way of the Tiger 4 - Warbringer (Berkley/Pacer uncut)
Way of the Tiger 6 - Inferno (Berkley/Pacer uncut)
The Avenger, Assassin and Usurper I have are from Knight Books (the same company as that which published Blood Sword). The UK covers are nicer, and the books include colour maps, but the text is the same, so. Berkely/Pacer is such a cheap company, but at least they didn't cut these books.
Grailquest 1 - The Castle of Darkness (Dell)
Grailquest 2 - The Den of Dragons (Dell)
Grailquest 4 - Voyage of Terror (Dell)
The one I have (#3, The Gateway of Doom) is from Armada books and is slightly bigger than the ones I just got.
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Adventure Gamebook 10 - Lord of Doom
Feathered Friend
"My grandmother, 78 and widowed, is a kind, generous woman who has seen her share of difficult times. She is a bit offbeat, but extremely conservative and religious... She purchased a lively little parakeet and named him Pretty Baby.
Pretty has provided wonderful companionship and entertainment for my
grandmother, even learning to speak to her.
The problem is the kissing... or what I recently witnessed the kissing
leads to... Pretty Baby proceeded to screech more and more loudly, as he humped my grandmother's finger wildly. She also moved it back and forth for him."
Post ID: 107976886044206700
Friday, March 19, 2004
Blog Survey: Summary of Findings
"Findings from an online survey conducted between January 14th and January 21st, 2004... 486 respondents answered questions about their blogging practices and their expectations of privacy and accountability for the entries they publish online:
- 36% of respondents have gotten in trouble because of things they have written on their blogs
- 12% of respondents know other bloggers who have gotten in legal or professional problems because of things they wrote on their blogs
- when blogging about people they know personally: 66% of respondents almost never asked permission to do so; whereas, only 9% said they never blogged about people they knew personally.
- several participants explained that, if they have good things to say about their friends and family friends they will, for the most part, reveal their names; if, however, they post negative comments about a person, they will often conceal this person’s name
- the frequency with which a blogger writes highly personal things is positively and significantly correlated to how often they get in trouble because of their postings; (r = 0.3, p < 0.01); generally speaking, people have gotten in trouble both with friends and family as well as employers.
Bloggers still do not feel like they know their audience. For the most part, they have no control over who reads their postings. The study also shows that bloggers usually have some idea of their “core” audience (readers who post comments on the site) without really knowing who the rest of their readers are – in many cases, this latter group makes up the majority of their readers.
When confronted with questions of defamation and legal liability, respondents in this survey paint a conflicting picture. In general, they believe that they are liable for what they publish online. However, bloggers in this study were not concerned about the persistent nature of what they publish – which tends to be a major aspect of liability – nor did they believe someone would sue them for things they had written on their blogs... These results reveal a certain naiveté in how most bloggers think about persistence and how it operates in networked environments such as the net, where information is constantly cached. As blogs become more pervasive and their audiences grow, the ever-persistent nature of entries and the direct link to defamation and liability are likely to become even more of a burning issue.
Even though blogs have been hailed as the ultimate venue for personal expression; a world that is all about the self, it turns out that blogs are not necessarily that egocentric. In this survey, various respondents expressed the pressure that comes with having an audience. Even in its current elusive form, a blog’s audience can become such a powerful element of the writing action that it can affect what the blogger chooses to write about.
Are you surprised when someone you meet in person says they have read your blog?
1. extremely 20.78%
2. .. 24.49%
3. .. 13.37%
4. .. 7.61%
5. not at all 6.79%
6. it has never happened to me 26.95%"
Respondents from Singapore: 2. I wonder who the other one was.
"Findings from an online survey conducted between January 14th and January 21st, 2004... 486 respondents answered questions about their blogging practices and their expectations of privacy and accountability for the entries they publish online:
- 36% of respondents have gotten in trouble because of things they have written on their blogs
- 12% of respondents know other bloggers who have gotten in legal or professional problems because of things they wrote on their blogs
- when blogging about people they know personally: 66% of respondents almost never asked permission to do so; whereas, only 9% said they never blogged about people they knew personally.
- several participants explained that, if they have good things to say about their friends and family friends they will, for the most part, reveal their names; if, however, they post negative comments about a person, they will often conceal this person’s name
- the frequency with which a blogger writes highly personal things is positively and significantly correlated to how often they get in trouble because of their postings; (r = 0.3, p < 0.01); generally speaking, people have gotten in trouble both with friends and family as well as employers.
Bloggers still do not feel like they know their audience. For the most part, they have no control over who reads their postings. The study also shows that bloggers usually have some idea of their “core” audience (readers who post comments on the site) without really knowing who the rest of their readers are – in many cases, this latter group makes up the majority of their readers.
When confronted with questions of defamation and legal liability, respondents in this survey paint a conflicting picture. In general, they believe that they are liable for what they publish online. However, bloggers in this study were not concerned about the persistent nature of what they publish – which tends to be a major aspect of liability – nor did they believe someone would sue them for things they had written on their blogs... These results reveal a certain naiveté in how most bloggers think about persistence and how it operates in networked environments such as the net, where information is constantly cached. As blogs become more pervasive and their audiences grow, the ever-persistent nature of entries and the direct link to defamation and liability are likely to become even more of a burning issue.
Even though blogs have been hailed as the ultimate venue for personal expression; a world that is all about the self, it turns out that blogs are not necessarily that egocentric. In this survey, various respondents expressed the pressure that comes with having an audience. Even in its current elusive form, a blog’s audience can become such a powerful element of the writing action that it can affect what the blogger chooses to write about.
Are you surprised when someone you meet in person says they have read your blog?
1. extremely 20.78%
2. .. 24.49%
3. .. 13.37%
4. .. 7.61%
5. not at all 6.79%
6. it has never happened to me 26.95%"
Respondents from Singapore: 2. I wonder who the other one was.
Post ID: 107969774537760788
Thursday, March 18, 2004
The administrative Prime Minister - Review of Goh Chok Tong's years as Prime Minister.
"Paul Krugman's other message was that this Asian values thing, this Asian model of governance (authoritarianism is good for economic growth) was bunkum. The "Asian miracle" was no more than classic economics: you put so much in, you get so much out. Now this message can't be right, we said. Of course, there was something morally superior about Asian values, and of course the discipline from tough unquestioned authority produces stunning economic results, we assured ourselves. And what's this business of efficiency gains? We had all manner of international comparison data to show we were at or near the top of various tables. If, by 'efficiency', Krugman meant that our workers needed to think, then he was being subversive. Our brilliant rulers will do the thinking. The lowly workers need only work hard."
No time to vote – I'm having sex! - " A woman claimed she was having group sex with 30 men in Nimbin, NSW, and could not get to a polling booth in Queensland on time to vote. That is the all-time best excuse, according to electoral commissioner Bob Longland... ""You could have walked across Moreton Bay for all the broken-down fishing boats"
Maybe it was 30 fishermen...
DEFEND YOURSELF WITH THE MOSQUITO REPELLER WATCH - "Scientists discovered that most mosquitoes that feed on human blood are pregnant females. Well if there is one thing a pregnant mosquito doesn't like, it's a male. In fact they dislike males so much that they fly as far away as possible. The Mosquito Repeller Travel Alarm Clock and the Wrist Watch were designed with advanced harmonics circuitry to emulate and emit the ultra sonic high frequency of an approaching male."
This will be great outfield
Riyadh enforcing ban on sale of camera phones - "Newspapers here recently reported that a number of girls have been expelled from schools and universities for using the phones to photograph their colleagues. The pictures are in some cases distributed over the Internet, the reports said."
*Gasp* Indecent! Immoral! They must be killed for the sake of their and their families' honour!
Brawl at Malaysia's National Service camp, 4 trainees hurt - "Four trainees from the National Service Programme camp in Similanjau received outpatient treatment at Bintulu Hospital after they were allegedly beaten up by three medical staff from their camp."
Si Mi Lan Jiau?!
USB Swiss Army Knife
The Museum Of Bad Art
KABOOM! The Suicide Bomber Game
"Paul Krugman's other message was that this Asian values thing, this Asian model of governance (authoritarianism is good for economic growth) was bunkum. The "Asian miracle" was no more than classic economics: you put so much in, you get so much out. Now this message can't be right, we said. Of course, there was something morally superior about Asian values, and of course the discipline from tough unquestioned authority produces stunning economic results, we assured ourselves. And what's this business of efficiency gains? We had all manner of international comparison data to show we were at or near the top of various tables. If, by 'efficiency', Krugman meant that our workers needed to think, then he was being subversive. Our brilliant rulers will do the thinking. The lowly workers need only work hard."
No time to vote – I'm having sex! - " A woman claimed she was having group sex with 30 men in Nimbin, NSW, and could not get to a polling booth in Queensland on time to vote. That is the all-time best excuse, according to electoral commissioner Bob Longland... ""You could have walked across Moreton Bay for all the broken-down fishing boats"
Maybe it was 30 fishermen...
DEFEND YOURSELF WITH THE MOSQUITO REPELLER WATCH - "Scientists discovered that most mosquitoes that feed on human blood are pregnant females. Well if there is one thing a pregnant mosquito doesn't like, it's a male. In fact they dislike males so much that they fly as far away as possible. The Mosquito Repeller Travel Alarm Clock and the Wrist Watch were designed with advanced harmonics circuitry to emulate and emit the ultra sonic high frequency of an approaching male."
This will be great outfield
Riyadh enforcing ban on sale of camera phones - "Newspapers here recently reported that a number of girls have been expelled from schools and universities for using the phones to photograph their colleagues. The pictures are in some cases distributed over the Internet, the reports said."
*Gasp* Indecent! Immoral! They must be killed for the sake of their and their families' honour!
Brawl at Malaysia's National Service camp, 4 trainees hurt - "Four trainees from the National Service Programme camp in Similanjau received outpatient treatment at Bintulu Hospital after they were allegedly beaten up by three medical staff from their camp."
Si Mi Lan Jiau?!
USB Swiss Army Knife
The Museum Of Bad Art
KABOOM! The Suicide Bomber Game
Post ID: 107961804493144043
Manhunt on for armed robbers on Tekong
(click on thumbnail for a full view)
Mafia 'outsourcing' killers
>From correspondents in Rome
March 9, 2004
AMERICAN Mafia families are recruiting their killers in Sicily because Americans are seen as unreliable and indiscreet, according to authorities in Rome and Washington.
US Mafia bosses, such as the late John Gotti are recruiting new killers in Sicily after a perception American hitmen are 'unreliable'
Mob families in New York, Chicago and Philadelphia needed new blood after being decimated by turncoats and arrests, said Roberto Centaro, the head of the Italian parliament's anti-Mafia commission.
"Soldiers from Sicily are considered less likely to end up collaborating with police."
Dozens of Sicilians aged between 20 and 30 are believed to have been sent from towns in the Palermo area to the US to help shore up the ranks of clans such as the DeCavalcante family in New Jersey and the Bonanno family in New York.
Mr Centaro has just spent a week in New York discussing organised crime with the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the US protection program for Mafia turncoats and the Justice Department.
Investigators in the US told him that using telephone taps they had heard new arrivals discussing attacks on American investigators and judges.
Mafiosi in Sicily and the US are not only linked by blood but also co-operate in drug-trafficking and occasionally supply each other with personnel when an unknown face is needed for a job.
In recent years American crime families have sent "soldiers" to Sicily to learn the Mafia code of honour.
Experts see the decline of the code as one of the main reasons why American police have been able to make inroads into their activities in recent years.
The Red Lobster "Restaurant"
"Scallops = Abomination
Mussels = Abomination
Clams = Abomination
Shrimp = Abomination
Lobster = Abomination
The Red Lobster Seafood company are the ones responsible for this outbreak in ignorance and lies that finless/scaleless water creatures are "okay" to eat. Just look at how these pagans are advertising to our children!! Look how anti-family The Red Lobster is!
LOBSTERS = EVIL"
Heh.
Post ID: 107960421055485521
Tuesday, March 16, 2004
More bang for the military buck
In the final quarter of last year, savings from suggestions helped to save $62.7 million. This means that for every $1 awarded to servicemen for their suggestions, $144 was saved.
What they don't tell you: Dubious calculations and criteria for cost savings are used, and because servicemen are forced to come up with "cost saving" plans (and have a quota, to boot), ideas of questionable veracity are accepted. Administrative instructions for all activities are supposed to be printed, and for routine activities, each set of admin instructions is 98% identical to that of the previous time's.
Items such as fighter aircraft and missile gunboats are upgraded regularly and replaced only when they are no longer cost-effective to deploy, which means they can have a longer lifespan.
What they don't tell you: We use what is essentially 40 year old technology in many areas. Look how long it took for them to retire the "Super" Skyhawk. And the SM-1 looks positively pathetic alongside a real battle tank.
Outsourcing
Tests to identify those with flying potential are now done in Australia. With a commercial arrangement in place, there is no need to own and maintain a fleet of trainer aircraft for the tests. This saves $7 million a year.
Maintenance of the C-130 aircraft deployed to help in operations in Iraq was farmed out to ST Aerospace.
What they don't tell you: We could probably outsource half of the SAF's combat operations and it'd be cheaper and more effective.
This is just the tip of the iceberg.
It's the people who count in national defence
He focused on three areas: improving training safety standards, better compensation for full-time national servicemen and retirement schemes. At the heart of these measures is the belief that the armed forces must take care of its people.
3 words: "Respect. Care. Dignity". Or rather, the absence of them. Nuff said.
In other words, the SAF must do more with the limited manpower it has. The good news is it already has a headstart - with 'well-educated soldiers who can easily master the technologically sophisticated weapons and equipment'. The armed forces must therefore make every soldier count. Ultimately, however, the sum of a nation's defence is not merely the strength of its military. So women, who are not conscripted, should not feel left out.
Riiiight. On the one hand, the SAF has "limited" (ie not enough) manpower and so must "make every soldier count". On the other, we have effective soldiers, and manpower is not everything. How disingeneous. They're trying to have it both ways.
Although Minister of State (Defence) Cedric Foo rejected a call led by several women MPs to also make national service compulsory for women, he was careful not to play down their role. Indeed, women here already contribute to nation-building and total defence through the workforce. As he put it, they are also 'critical pillars in support of civil, psychological and social defence'.
So men do not "contribute to nation-building and total defence through the workforce"? I believe the workforce participation rate for males is higher than females, and since they earn more, they presumably earn more. Thus, they contribute more to nation-building and total defence through the workforce than women. Is he also suggesting that men do not have important contributions in the realms of civil, psychological and social defence, or that women are useless with regards to military defence? What a sexist view (both ways)!
The experience of the British and Americans during World War II illustrates this principle well. While the men were at the front line, the women were in the factories manning machines and churning out ammunition and even aircraft for troops who were somewhere 'over there'. Even though they had different roles to play, women were no less important than men in the war effort.
So men are only good for the front line and women are only good for manning machines and producing goods. How edifying.
When it comes to national defence, including guarding against the terrorist threat, it is not the sophistication of the technology that counts but how everyone chips in.
Unfortunately, females who think they can chip in more effectively through military defence are denied that chance (signing on does not count) and males who feel they are more effective buttressing other pillars of total defence than military and try to act upon that are thrown into DB.
NS for women? Yet another nay
On the point that women could be trained in nursing during NS to cope better in crises, at home or even in hospital, he said that a proper nursing course would take at least three years. This is longer than the two-and-a-half-year NS period.
Odd, the Combat Medic course takes but 3 months and trains potential medics in more than civilian nursing skills.
As for the argument that conscripting women could solve the Singapore Armed Forces' manpower shortage, he said the shortage was a problem that could be managed by making greater use of technology and outsourcing.
Conveniently, technology and outsourcing are sufficient to ensure we don't enslave women as well, but not powerful enough to stop us from enslaving every person born with male genitalia.
On NS enabling greater social cohesion among men and women, he said its primary purpose is the defence of Singapore.
I hope this means they'll use the "social cohesion" argument for slavery less often in the future. At the very least, enslaving women as well would increase the fertility rate.
'We have to examine whether the objectives of social cohesion and nation-building can best be met by means other than compulsory NS for women,' he said, adding that it would remove them from the workforce at significant cost to Singapore and to themselves.
How about, "'We have to examine whether the objective of national defence (and oft-mentioned sub-objectives of social cohesion, nation-building and social engineering) can best be met by means other than compulsory NS for all men without an option for alternative service, especially for conscientious objectors,' he said, adding that it would remove them from the workforce and the real world and cause them misery, at significant cost to Singapore and to themselves."
In the final quarter of last year, savings from suggestions helped to save $62.7 million. This means that for every $1 awarded to servicemen for their suggestions, $144 was saved.
What they don't tell you: Dubious calculations and criteria for cost savings are used, and because servicemen are forced to come up with "cost saving" plans (and have a quota, to boot), ideas of questionable veracity are accepted. Administrative instructions for all activities are supposed to be printed, and for routine activities, each set of admin instructions is 98% identical to that of the previous time's.
Items such as fighter aircraft and missile gunboats are upgraded regularly and replaced only when they are no longer cost-effective to deploy, which means they can have a longer lifespan.
What they don't tell you: We use what is essentially 40 year old technology in many areas. Look how long it took for them to retire the "Super" Skyhawk. And the SM-1 looks positively pathetic alongside a real battle tank.
Outsourcing
Tests to identify those with flying potential are now done in Australia. With a commercial arrangement in place, there is no need to own and maintain a fleet of trainer aircraft for the tests. This saves $7 million a year.
Maintenance of the C-130 aircraft deployed to help in operations in Iraq was farmed out to ST Aerospace.
What they don't tell you: We could probably outsource half of the SAF's combat operations and it'd be cheaper and more effective.
This is just the tip of the iceberg.
It's the people who count in national defence
He focused on three areas: improving training safety standards, better compensation for full-time national servicemen and retirement schemes. At the heart of these measures is the belief that the armed forces must take care of its people.
3 words: "Respect. Care. Dignity". Or rather, the absence of them. Nuff said.
In other words, the SAF must do more with the limited manpower it has. The good news is it already has a headstart - with 'well-educated soldiers who can easily master the technologically sophisticated weapons and equipment'. The armed forces must therefore make every soldier count. Ultimately, however, the sum of a nation's defence is not merely the strength of its military. So women, who are not conscripted, should not feel left out.
Riiiight. On the one hand, the SAF has "limited" (ie not enough) manpower and so must "make every soldier count". On the other, we have effective soldiers, and manpower is not everything. How disingeneous. They're trying to have it both ways.
Although Minister of State (Defence) Cedric Foo rejected a call led by several women MPs to also make national service compulsory for women, he was careful not to play down their role. Indeed, women here already contribute to nation-building and total defence through the workforce. As he put it, they are also 'critical pillars in support of civil, psychological and social defence'.
So men do not "contribute to nation-building and total defence through the workforce"? I believe the workforce participation rate for males is higher than females, and since they earn more, they presumably earn more. Thus, they contribute more to nation-building and total defence through the workforce than women. Is he also suggesting that men do not have important contributions in the realms of civil, psychological and social defence, or that women are useless with regards to military defence? What a sexist view (both ways)!
The experience of the British and Americans during World War II illustrates this principle well. While the men were at the front line, the women were in the factories manning machines and churning out ammunition and even aircraft for troops who were somewhere 'over there'. Even though they had different roles to play, women were no less important than men in the war effort.
So men are only good for the front line and women are only good for manning machines and producing goods. How edifying.
When it comes to national defence, including guarding against the terrorist threat, it is not the sophistication of the technology that counts but how everyone chips in.
Unfortunately, females who think they can chip in more effectively through military defence are denied that chance (signing on does not count) and males who feel they are more effective buttressing other pillars of total defence than military and try to act upon that are thrown into DB.
NS for women? Yet another nay
On the point that women could be trained in nursing during NS to cope better in crises, at home or even in hospital, he said that a proper nursing course would take at least three years. This is longer than the two-and-a-half-year NS period.
Odd, the Combat Medic course takes but 3 months and trains potential medics in more than civilian nursing skills.
As for the argument that conscripting women could solve the Singapore Armed Forces' manpower shortage, he said the shortage was a problem that could be managed by making greater use of technology and outsourcing.
Conveniently, technology and outsourcing are sufficient to ensure we don't enslave women as well, but not powerful enough to stop us from enslaving every person born with male genitalia.
On NS enabling greater social cohesion among men and women, he said its primary purpose is the defence of Singapore.
I hope this means they'll use the "social cohesion" argument for slavery less often in the future. At the very least, enslaving women as well would increase the fertility rate.
'We have to examine whether the objectives of social cohesion and nation-building can best be met by means other than compulsory NS for women,' he said, adding that it would remove them from the workforce at significant cost to Singapore and to themselves.
How about, "'We have to examine whether the objective of national defence (and oft-mentioned sub-objectives of social cohesion, nation-building and social engineering) can best be met by means other than compulsory NS for all men without an option for alternative service, especially for conscientious objectors,' he said, adding that it would remove them from the workforce and the real world and cause them misery, at significant cost to Singapore and to themselves."
Post ID: 107943780445949772
Sunday, March 14, 2004
Phrase of the Day: "Scribo, ergo sum"
All the Singaporean file sharers used to be on Kazaa. Simple searches could bring up mp3s of pieces by Singaporean choirs and bands. And also upskirt shots of RJC girls, maybe some of them taken by one guy whose indiscretions we heard about during assembly one day in J1.
Now I don't know where they've all flocked to.
I don't know whether I am more aghast by the fact that this is on sale or the fact that I somehow found it.
Yahoo Auctions. Where you can sell almost anything to almost anyone.
All the Singaporean file sharers used to be on Kazaa. Simple searches could bring up mp3s of pieces by Singaporean choirs and bands. And also upskirt shots of RJC girls, maybe some of them taken by one guy whose indiscretions we heard about during assembly one day in J1.
Now I don't know where they've all flocked to.
I don't know whether I am more aghast by the fact that this is on sale or the fact that I somehow found it.
Yahoo Auctions. Where you can sell almost anything to almost anyone.
Post ID: 107926880955991711
Some people were trying to persuade me to have my lunch at the canteen with them. I explained that high authorities had seen fit to ban me from that sacred paradise, and as a good soldier, it was my duty to follow orders given from on high regardless of provenance, motive or morality. Okay, maybe I didn't *quite* use those words, but that was the gist of it. Anyhow, I then proceeded to explain that I would only desire the services of the canteen on 2 occasions: If the cookhouse food was bad or inedible, or if I was hungry in between meals. On hearing this, the reservist who was walking in front of us turned around and asked if I was "active" (ie a full-time slave who hadn't gotten his parole yet) - maybe I have the look, mannerisms, mien and demeanor or a reservist already. When I replied in the affirmative, he muttered vague words about the food now being good, and my not knowing how bad they had it in the past. To people who say that, as well as those who say that slavery nowadays is not such an onerous and demeaning punishment as in the past, and that hence, we shouldn't complain, I used to give the limb dismemberment analogy: Being a slave last time was like having 2 arms hacked off, and being a slave now is like having 1 arm amputated. Would I rather lose 1 arm than 2? Definitely. But that does not mean I liked being deprived of any appendages, or that I shouldn't complain about it. For variety, I now offer this new analogy:
"I think that prisoners on death row (at least in the USA) don't know how lucky they are. In the past, or in other countries people were, variously, stoned to death - a method of execution both inhumane and painful, put in the electric chair - leaving the body charred, torn to bits by mobs, been torn apart by having each limb tied to a horse and having people ride the horses in different directions, had their heads lobbed off with swords, or placed blindfolded before a firing squad. Some were tried by kangaroo courts, or subjected to vigilante justice. Nowadays, you get a delicious last meal, years of reprieve before the execution, professional lawyers defending you and last rites performed by the prison chaplain. With lethal injection, you die quickly, painlessly, bodily intact and with dignity. You don't know how lucky you are! You have no right at all to complain!"
Some people (eg prison guards and SAF commanders) like to justify their sadism and inflicting of torment on other people by saying that they are doing their job, and the implication is that they don't really want to do what they do. Nazis working in the Concentration Camps tried to use that excuse after the end of the war when they were held to account, but Nuremburg did not buy it, because it was obvious that they weren't just going through the motions.
One of the latest army ads urges people to join the army to "get the respect you deserve". With this ad, the SAF has possibly reached a nadir. As everyone knows, you cannot mandate respect: you must earn it. If you try to mandate it, what you get is a pretence of respect, but it is hollow and meaningless. Those who try to force people to respect them earn nothing except richly deserved contempt. The oft-repeated mantra: "Rank is worn. Respect is earned" acknowledges this, though it leaves unsaid how few people actually earn even half of the respect that their rank supposedly entitles them to, so I do not know what the person who conceptualised this ad was trying to do or say. I forsee that those who are motivated by this ad to sign on will be those with ego problems or with poor self-esteem and they will go on to bully their subordinates in the hope of getting the respect they "deserve", so perpetuating a hallowed SAF tradition and the circle of bullying and contempt. Then again, what's new?
For heliborne training, we had to endure 2 almost-identical lectures and waste time rehearsing with a rundown mock-up of a helicopter. There was also rehearsing with chairs on the parade square (practically identical to rehearsing with the mock-up) but luckily we missed that. I wonder if those who make us do these repetitive, pointless activities realise that we have more important things to do.
It is disheartening that enlistees get shouted at, and even get punished, for mistakes that commanders, especially senior commanders are permitted to make, and of a greater magnitude even. So much for bearing responsibility commensurate to your rank.
My unit vision says that "Every individual matters". I always thought that this was rubbish, but have since realised that it is in fact true - every individual matters of the Best Unit Competition (BUC) for ever failure can pull the unit down drastically.
My unit's latest Routine Orders say that "Servicemen who are caught with contraband items will be summary trailed". I wonder how they can spare the manpower to follow offenders around to make sure that they don't breach security with their contraband. Anything is possible in the name of security, I guess.
The SAF Counselling Centre's motto is "Respect. Care. Dignity." The implication is that elsewhere in the SAF, people don't get either. How true :)
The SAR21 is heavier than the M16, and slightly heavier to use, but for all its faults, it has fewer holes and crevices where dirt can be found during pedantic inspections. It also comes with a handy multi-purpose tool to clean what odd and hard-to-clean locations remain.
The people in Pussy company love to take pictures of them when they're training - maybe they'll burn a commemorative CD for the trainees for a POP souvenir. I notice, however, that they never take pictures of them when they're being punished or being screwed. Bah.
After hearing tales of how numerous people were chased or barked at by the stray dogs in camp, I decided to talk to my CSM about them. It emerged that there actually are dog catchers that we can call down, and that he used to call them down before his overseas posting. Perhaps that is why the number of dogs had increased so much in the last half a year or so - he hadn't been around to call the dog catchers. So now we just have to wait and hopefully our dog troubles will be over soon.
I was at a vending machine and most of the drinks were sold out. One of the few remaining available drinks was "Fanta Grape". My curiosity was piqued, for I've never seen Fanta Grape being sold in Singapore, so against my better judgment I bought 2 cans of the "Fanta Grape", one for me and one for a driver. Sure enough, it wasn't Fanta but "Cheers", a Malaysian drinks brand with a proven record of making horrible tasting and vile drinks. Having spent 80 cents, we resigned ourselves to our fate and drank. After all, the can said "New - improved!", so hopefully it wouldn't taste as bad as the previous time. Unfortunately, we found that it wasn't much better. One person said it was too sweet, and another said the smell reminded him of chewing gum. I suppose that the moral of the story is: Malaysians can't make good canned drinks, since all the drinks whose recipes come from Malaysia taste lousy.
I am saddened. After more than 2 years, I have been struck with footrot, albeit a minor case of it. I think it's because of the day I walked home in the rain, for 2 days later the spots showed up. Or maybe I didn't dry my boots properly and powder after the River Crossing day.
Vincent was asking me if I knew of a blog competition. I said I knew of one, and when he said a friend of his was taking part in it, I said that he'd surely lose. He said that it was a she and that she'd win, and when I remembered that he was from Li Hua Secondary School, I corrected myself and agreed that she would win.
Comment from someone: "I can't believe those guys are still trying to make u keep fit by banning u from the canteen.. they never learn do they. I mean, the end result is all the same, so there's not really much point in trying." Oh well. That's the SAF for you.
Quotes:
[On IQA requirements] 'Once Obese Always Obese'. What a stupid concept.
[Patient in sickbay] Hello, medic. [Me: Yes?] Mei3 ci4 wo3 kan4 dao4 ni3, wo3 jiu4 hen3 kai1 xin1 [Translation: Everytime I see you, I feel happy]
tomorrow preparing for lord march (preparing for a route march the next day)
they want to do some reveration works (renovation)
leave it day first (there)
Those people going Bernai trip (to Brunei)
My policy on area cleaning: the area cleaning can never do finish one lah, trust me (be finished)
[On singing silly army songs] Dang1 bing1 shi4 bao3 hu4 guo2 jia1, bu4 shi4 chang4 ge1 de4 [Translation: Being a soldier is not about singing songs, but about protecting the country]
Servicemen who are caught with contraband items will be summary trailed (summarily trialed)
You should add some sex to your blog because it's too full of shit.
Wah, nice sunglass. SOC pass or fail? [Someone: Fail] Failthen take off sunglass! (sunglasses)
[Ed: He Who Must Not Be Named suggests 100 Plus "as a beverage of reasonable drinkability", though it doesn't "taste of anything really". I didn't know it was a Malaysian recipe, but I don't like it anyway. I must agree, though, that Kickapoo is goot.
Many Singaporean drinks suck, but we have Yeo's and Marigold, so.
He also says that "fanta grape is still available in singapore. i've recently seen it sold at Mos Burgers, and the SJI canteen stocked it 2 years ago (no idea
about now)". Hmm. - 18th March]
"I think that prisoners on death row (at least in the USA) don't know how lucky they are. In the past, or in other countries people were, variously, stoned to death - a method of execution both inhumane and painful, put in the electric chair - leaving the body charred, torn to bits by mobs, been torn apart by having each limb tied to a horse and having people ride the horses in different directions, had their heads lobbed off with swords, or placed blindfolded before a firing squad. Some were tried by kangaroo courts, or subjected to vigilante justice. Nowadays, you get a delicious last meal, years of reprieve before the execution, professional lawyers defending you and last rites performed by the prison chaplain. With lethal injection, you die quickly, painlessly, bodily intact and with dignity. You don't know how lucky you are! You have no right at all to complain!"
Some people (eg prison guards and SAF commanders) like to justify their sadism and inflicting of torment on other people by saying that they are doing their job, and the implication is that they don't really want to do what they do. Nazis working in the Concentration Camps tried to use that excuse after the end of the war when they were held to account, but Nuremburg did not buy it, because it was obvious that they weren't just going through the motions.
One of the latest army ads urges people to join the army to "get the respect you deserve". With this ad, the SAF has possibly reached a nadir. As everyone knows, you cannot mandate respect: you must earn it. If you try to mandate it, what you get is a pretence of respect, but it is hollow and meaningless. Those who try to force people to respect them earn nothing except richly deserved contempt. The oft-repeated mantra: "Rank is worn. Respect is earned" acknowledges this, though it leaves unsaid how few people actually earn even half of the respect that their rank supposedly entitles them to, so I do not know what the person who conceptualised this ad was trying to do or say. I forsee that those who are motivated by this ad to sign on will be those with ego problems or with poor self-esteem and they will go on to bully their subordinates in the hope of getting the respect they "deserve", so perpetuating a hallowed SAF tradition and the circle of bullying and contempt. Then again, what's new?
For heliborne training, we had to endure 2 almost-identical lectures and waste time rehearsing with a rundown mock-up of a helicopter. There was also rehearsing with chairs on the parade square (practically identical to rehearsing with the mock-up) but luckily we missed that. I wonder if those who make us do these repetitive, pointless activities realise that we have more important things to do.
It is disheartening that enlistees get shouted at, and even get punished, for mistakes that commanders, especially senior commanders are permitted to make, and of a greater magnitude even. So much for bearing responsibility commensurate to your rank.
My unit vision says that "Every individual matters". I always thought that this was rubbish, but have since realised that it is in fact true - every individual matters of the Best Unit Competition (BUC) for ever failure can pull the unit down drastically.
My unit's latest Routine Orders say that "Servicemen who are caught with contraband items will be summary trailed". I wonder how they can spare the manpower to follow offenders around to make sure that they don't breach security with their contraband. Anything is possible in the name of security, I guess.
The SAF Counselling Centre's motto is "Respect. Care. Dignity." The implication is that elsewhere in the SAF, people don't get either. How true :)
The SAR21 is heavier than the M16, and slightly heavier to use, but for all its faults, it has fewer holes and crevices where dirt can be found during pedantic inspections. It also comes with a handy multi-purpose tool to clean what odd and hard-to-clean locations remain.
The people in Pussy company love to take pictures of them when they're training - maybe they'll burn a commemorative CD for the trainees for a POP souvenir. I notice, however, that they never take pictures of them when they're being punished or being screwed. Bah.
After hearing tales of how numerous people were chased or barked at by the stray dogs in camp, I decided to talk to my CSM about them. It emerged that there actually are dog catchers that we can call down, and that he used to call them down before his overseas posting. Perhaps that is why the number of dogs had increased so much in the last half a year or so - he hadn't been around to call the dog catchers. So now we just have to wait and hopefully our dog troubles will be over soon.
I was at a vending machine and most of the drinks were sold out. One of the few remaining available drinks was "Fanta Grape". My curiosity was piqued, for I've never seen Fanta Grape being sold in Singapore, so against my better judgment I bought 2 cans of the "Fanta Grape", one for me and one for a driver. Sure enough, it wasn't Fanta but "Cheers", a Malaysian drinks brand with a proven record of making horrible tasting and vile drinks. Having spent 80 cents, we resigned ourselves to our fate and drank. After all, the can said "New - improved!", so hopefully it wouldn't taste as bad as the previous time. Unfortunately, we found that it wasn't much better. One person said it was too sweet, and another said the smell reminded him of chewing gum. I suppose that the moral of the story is: Malaysians can't make good canned drinks, since all the drinks whose recipes come from Malaysia taste lousy.
I am saddened. After more than 2 years, I have been struck with footrot, albeit a minor case of it. I think it's because of the day I walked home in the rain, for 2 days later the spots showed up. Or maybe I didn't dry my boots properly and powder after the River Crossing day.
Vincent was asking me if I knew of a blog competition. I said I knew of one, and when he said a friend of his was taking part in it, I said that he'd surely lose. He said that it was a she and that she'd win, and when I remembered that he was from Li Hua Secondary School, I corrected myself and agreed that she would win.
Comment from someone: "I can't believe those guys are still trying to make u keep fit by banning u from the canteen.. they never learn do they. I mean, the end result is all the same, so there's not really much point in trying." Oh well. That's the SAF for you.
Quotes:
[On IQA requirements] 'Once Obese Always Obese'. What a stupid concept.
[Patient in sickbay] Hello, medic. [Me: Yes?] Mei3 ci4 wo3 kan4 dao4 ni3, wo3 jiu4 hen3 kai1 xin1 [Translation: Everytime I see you, I feel happy]
tomorrow preparing for lord march (preparing for a route march the next day)
they want to do some reveration works (renovation)
leave it day first (there)
Those people going Bernai trip (to Brunei)
My policy on area cleaning: the area cleaning can never do finish one lah, trust me (be finished)
[On singing silly army songs] Dang1 bing1 shi4 bao3 hu4 guo2 jia1, bu4 shi4 chang4 ge1 de4 [Translation: Being a soldier is not about singing songs, but about protecting the country]
Servicemen who are caught with contraband items will be summary trailed (summarily trialed)
You should add some sex to your blog because it's too full of shit.
Wah, nice sunglass. SOC pass or fail? [Someone: Fail] Failthen take off sunglass! (sunglasses)
[Ed: He Who Must Not Be Named suggests 100 Plus "as a beverage of reasonable drinkability", though it doesn't "taste of anything really". I didn't know it was a Malaysian recipe, but I don't like it anyway. I must agree, though, that Kickapoo is goot.
Many Singaporean drinks suck, but we have Yeo's and Marigold, so.
He also says that "fanta grape is still available in singapore. i've recently seen it sold at Mos Burgers, and the SJI canteen stocked it 2 years ago (no idea
about now)". Hmm. - 18th March]
Post ID: 107925639884035951
The "Hainanese" Pork Chop I had for dinner was laced with enough star anise to fell an elephant. I don't think it's even -supposed- to have any star anise. Ugh, I feel sick now.
"The Freaky Brothers" - Courtesy of BitchBert
McDonald's salad fattier than burgers
Funny Pics for Online Use
"How many times have you been brought to the point of cringing when someone on your favorite, normally sane forum posts mindless drivel like "I believe in aliens because people say they were abducted", "the moon landing was faked" or similar? Well, you don't have to take it lying down!
Even though any semblance of actual dialogue is pretty much useless in such cases, where one side has erected a 50 foot wall of concrete around their heads, making fun of the intellectually disabled can still be entertaining. The only important thing to remember is not to overdo it and cease immediately, in the name of fairness, if they somehow begin thinking."
ACJC Counterstrike Map:
"Q: In the preview releases, you modeled two ACJC girls. Tell us more.
AY: The models were more of a technical challenge. I wanted to try my hands at human figure modeling. The biggest problem with doing the model is the skirt. Basically when she walks, you have a skirt and you need to animate the limbs. In other models, the skirt would be attached to the legs. In this case, the skirt had to move independently from the legs. Doing that was challenging. Also, and we had to cover the underneath of the models. (laughs)
Q: Why model a girl rather than a guy, and why do they look like girls straight out from some Japanese anime?
AY: If we wanted a guy, we could easily use the skin of the standard Half-Life model and just modify it. I based it on two existing models that I downloaded, one for the figure and another for the texture. Since they had significantly different structures, I compared the two and slowly modeled them until I had something unique. Since the face of the anime model looked better, I just mapped it on."
Bah.
"The Freaky Brothers" - Courtesy of BitchBert
McDonald's salad fattier than burgers
Funny Pics for Online Use
"How many times have you been brought to the point of cringing when someone on your favorite, normally sane forum posts mindless drivel like "I believe in aliens because people say they were abducted", "the moon landing was faked" or similar? Well, you don't have to take it lying down!
Even though any semblance of actual dialogue is pretty much useless in such cases, where one side has erected a 50 foot wall of concrete around their heads, making fun of the intellectually disabled can still be entertaining. The only important thing to remember is not to overdo it and cease immediately, in the name of fairness, if they somehow begin thinking."
ACJC Counterstrike Map:
"Q: In the preview releases, you modeled two ACJC girls. Tell us more.
AY: The models were more of a technical challenge. I wanted to try my hands at human figure modeling. The biggest problem with doing the model is the skirt. Basically when she walks, you have a skirt and you need to animate the limbs. In other models, the skirt would be attached to the legs. In this case, the skirt had to move independently from the legs. Doing that was challenging. Also, and we had to cover the underneath of the models. (laughs)
Q: Why model a girl rather than a guy, and why do they look like girls straight out from some Japanese anime?
AY: If we wanted a guy, we could easily use the skin of the standard Half-Life model and just modify it. I based it on two existing models that I downloaded, one for the figure and another for the texture. Since they had significantly different structures, I compared the two and slowly modeled them until I had something unique. Since the face of the anime model looked better, I just mapped it on."
Bah.
Post ID: 107919602526487452
Saturday, March 13, 2004
Adobe Reader SpeedUp - Trim the bloat and it loads much faster!
Astrology is bullshit. Astrology is bullshit. Astrology is bullshit.
"Let's stop using the phrase "I'm not religious, I'm spiritual." Every time I hear anyone call themselves "spiritual," it's just after they mention astrology and just before I land a flying elbow to their ovaries... Astrological signs are based off arbitrary Zodiac symbols drawn by people who also believed that light from stars came from vents on burning chariot wheels."
Heart Attack - How to survive one when you are alone
HEART ATTACKS
Read this...It could save your life.
Let's say it's 6.15 pm and you're driving home (alone of course) after an unusually hard day on the job. You're really tired, and frustrated. Suddenly you start experiencing severe pain in your chest that starts to radiate out into your arm and up into your jaw. You are only five miles from the hospital nearest your home. Unfortunately you don't know if you'll be able to make it that far. You have been trained in CPR, but the guy that taught the course did not tell you how to perform it on yourself.
HOW TO SURVIVE A HEART ATTACK WHEN ALONE...
Since many people are alone when they suffer a heart attack, without help, the person whose heart is beating improperly and who begins to feel faint, has only about 10 seconds left before losing conscious. However, these victims can help themselves by coughing repeatedly and very vigorously.
A deep breath should be taken before each cough, the cough must be deep and prolonged, as when producing sputum from deep inside the chest.
A breath and a cough must be repeated about every two seconds without let-up until help arrives, or until the heart is felt to be beating normally again.
Deep breaths get oxygen into the lungs and coughing movements squeeze the heart and keep the blood circulating.
The squeezing pressure on the heart also helps it regain normal rhythm. In this way, heart attack victims can get to a hospital.
Tell as many other people as possible about this. It could save their lives !!! Don't think you cannot have a heart attack because your age is less than 40 and you may be fit. Nowadays, due to further widespread deterioration in lifestyle choices ( junk food diets and any use of pharmaceuticals), heart attacks are found among people of all age groups and fitness levels.
[Ed: A medical student advises that "that stuff on heart attack is very unlikely to work.... heart attacks are usually caused because something's already wrong/clogged up with the heart/surround blood vessels, and additional physical/emotional stress puts a strain on the heart," and that " A naturopathic physician is not the same as a medical doctor!!!! N.D. not equals M.D. This coughing manoevure is very unlikely to work. In any case it's impractical; generally when you're having a heart attack you're likely to be experiencing excruciating chest pains and coughing will be the last thing on yr mind." But then, if you're gonna die anyway, I guess it can't hurt. - Added 16/03/04]
Astrology is bullshit. Astrology is bullshit. Astrology is bullshit.
"Let's stop using the phrase "I'm not religious, I'm spiritual." Every time I hear anyone call themselves "spiritual," it's just after they mention astrology and just before I land a flying elbow to their ovaries... Astrological signs are based off arbitrary Zodiac symbols drawn by people who also believed that light from stars came from vents on burning chariot wheels."
Heart Attack - How to survive one when you are alone
HEART ATTACKS
Read this...It could save your life.
Let's say it's 6.15 pm and you're driving home (alone of course) after an unusually hard day on the job. You're really tired, and frustrated. Suddenly you start experiencing severe pain in your chest that starts to radiate out into your arm and up into your jaw. You are only five miles from the hospital nearest your home. Unfortunately you don't know if you'll be able to make it that far. You have been trained in CPR, but the guy that taught the course did not tell you how to perform it on yourself.
HOW TO SURVIVE A HEART ATTACK WHEN ALONE...
Since many people are alone when they suffer a heart attack, without help, the person whose heart is beating improperly and who begins to feel faint, has only about 10 seconds left before losing conscious. However, these victims can help themselves by coughing repeatedly and very vigorously.
A deep breath should be taken before each cough, the cough must be deep and prolonged, as when producing sputum from deep inside the chest.
A breath and a cough must be repeated about every two seconds without let-up until help arrives, or until the heart is felt to be beating normally again.
Deep breaths get oxygen into the lungs and coughing movements squeeze the heart and keep the blood circulating.
The squeezing pressure on the heart also helps it regain normal rhythm. In this way, heart attack victims can get to a hospital.
Tell as many other people as possible about this. It could save their lives !!! Don't think you cannot have a heart attack because your age is less than 40 and you may be fit. Nowadays, due to further widespread deterioration in lifestyle choices ( junk food diets and any use of pharmaceuticals), heart attacks are found among people of all age groups and fitness levels.
[Ed: A medical student advises that "that stuff on heart attack is very unlikely to work.... heart attacks are usually caused because something's already wrong/clogged up with the heart/surround blood vessels, and additional physical/emotional stress puts a strain on the heart," and that " A naturopathic physician is not the same as a medical doctor!!!! N.D. not equals M.D. This coughing manoevure is very unlikely to work. In any case it's impractical; generally when you're having a heart attack you're likely to be experiencing excruciating chest pains and coughing will be the last thing on yr mind." But then, if you're gonna die anyway, I guess it can't hurt. - Added 16/03/04]
Post ID: 107916919483242113
Tuesday, March 09, 2004
Modified version of the penguin batting game - This one's bloodier, gorier and contrary to expectations, less fun. The bat has become a spiky club, there are landmines and some weird bloodied appendages extending from the ground now, but I prefer the original.
Wondeful story from Myo Li:
When you occasionally have a really bad day, and you just need to take it out on someone, don't take it out on someone you know, take it out on someone you don't know.
I was sitting at my desk when I remembered a phone call I'd forgotten to make. I found the number and dialed it. A man answered, saying
"Hello."
I politely said, "This is Chris. Could I please speak with Robin Carter?" Suddenly the phone was slammed down on me. I couldn't believe that anyone could be so rude.
I tracked down Robin's correct number and called her. I had transposed the last two digits of her phone number. After hanging up with her, I
decided to call the 'wrong' number again. When the same guy answered the phone, I yelled "You're an asshole!" and hung up.
I wrote his number down with the word 'asshole' next to it, and put it in my desk drawer. Every couple of weeks, when I was paying bills or had a really bad day, I'd call him up and yell, "You're an asshole!" It always cheered me up.
When Caller ID came to our area, I thought my therapeutic 'asshole' calling would have to stop. So, I called his number and said, "Hi, this
is John Smith from the telephone company. I'm calling to see if you're familiar with our Caller ID Program?" He yelled "NO!" and slammed down the phone.
I quickly called him back and said, "That's because you're an asshole!"
One day I was at the store, getting ready to pull into a parking spot. Some guy in a black BMW cut me off and pulled into the spot I had patiently waited for. I hit the horn and yelled that I'd been waiting for that spot. The idiot ignored me. I noticed a "For Sale" sign in his car window, so I wrote down his number.
A couple of days later, right after calling the first asshole ( I had his number on speed dial,) I thought that I'd better call the BMW asshole, too.
I said, "Is this the man with the black BMW for sale?"
"Yes, it is."
"Can you tell me where I can see it?"
"Yes, I live at 1802 West 34th Street. It's a yellow house, and the car's parked right out in front."
"What's your name?" I asked.
"My name is Don Hansen," he said.
"When's a good time to catch you, Don?"
"I'm home every evening after five."
"Listen,Don, can I tell you something?"
"Yes?"
"Don, you're an asshole." Then I hung up, and added his number to my speed dial, too. Now, when I had a problem, I had two assholes to call.
But after several months of calling them, it wasn't as enjoyable as it used to be. So, I came up with an idea. I called Asshole #1.
"Hello."
"You're an asshole!" (But I didn't hang up.)
"Are you still there?" he asked.
"Yeah," I said.
"Stop calling me," he screamed.
"Make me," I said.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"My name is Don Hansen."
"Yeah? Where do you live?"
"Asshole, I live at 1802 West 34th Street, a yellow house, with my black Beamer parked in front."
He said, "I'm coming over right now, Don. And you had better start saying your prayers."
I said, "Yeah, like I'm really scared, asshole."
Then I called Asshole #2. "Hello?" he said.
"Hello, asshole," I said.
He yelled, "If I ever find out who you are..."
"You'll what?" I said.
"I'll kick your ass," he exclaimed.
I answered, "Well, asshole, here's your chance. I'm coming over right now."
Then I hung up and immediately called the police, saying that I lived at 1802 West 34th Street, and that I was on my way over there to kill my gay lover.
Then I called Channel 13 News about the gang war going down on West 34th Street.
I quickly got into my car and headed over to 34th street. There I saw two assholes beating the crap out of each other in front of six squad cars, a police helicopter and a news crew.
NOW I feel much better. Anger management really works.
Wondeful story from Myo Li:
When you occasionally have a really bad day, and you just need to take it out on someone, don't take it out on someone you know, take it out on someone you don't know.
I was sitting at my desk when I remembered a phone call I'd forgotten to make. I found the number and dialed it. A man answered, saying
"Hello."
I politely said, "This is Chris. Could I please speak with Robin Carter?" Suddenly the phone was slammed down on me. I couldn't believe that anyone could be so rude.
I tracked down Robin's correct number and called her. I had transposed the last two digits of her phone number. After hanging up with her, I
decided to call the 'wrong' number again. When the same guy answered the phone, I yelled "You're an asshole!" and hung up.
I wrote his number down with the word 'asshole' next to it, and put it in my desk drawer. Every couple of weeks, when I was paying bills or had a really bad day, I'd call him up and yell, "You're an asshole!" It always cheered me up.
When Caller ID came to our area, I thought my therapeutic 'asshole' calling would have to stop. So, I called his number and said, "Hi, this
is John Smith from the telephone company. I'm calling to see if you're familiar with our Caller ID Program?" He yelled "NO!" and slammed down the phone.
I quickly called him back and said, "That's because you're an asshole!"
One day I was at the store, getting ready to pull into a parking spot. Some guy in a black BMW cut me off and pulled into the spot I had patiently waited for. I hit the horn and yelled that I'd been waiting for that spot. The idiot ignored me. I noticed a "For Sale" sign in his car window, so I wrote down his number.
A couple of days later, right after calling the first asshole ( I had his number on speed dial,) I thought that I'd better call the BMW asshole, too.
I said, "Is this the man with the black BMW for sale?"
"Yes, it is."
"Can you tell me where I can see it?"
"Yes, I live at 1802 West 34th Street. It's a yellow house, and the car's parked right out in front."
"What's your name?" I asked.
"My name is Don Hansen," he said.
"When's a good time to catch you, Don?"
"I'm home every evening after five."
"Listen,Don, can I tell you something?"
"Yes?"
"Don, you're an asshole." Then I hung up, and added his number to my speed dial, too. Now, when I had a problem, I had two assholes to call.
But after several months of calling them, it wasn't as enjoyable as it used to be. So, I came up with an idea. I called Asshole #1.
"Hello."
"You're an asshole!" (But I didn't hang up.)
"Are you still there?" he asked.
"Yeah," I said.
"Stop calling me," he screamed.
"Make me," I said.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"My name is Don Hansen."
"Yeah? Where do you live?"
"Asshole, I live at 1802 West 34th Street, a yellow house, with my black Beamer parked in front."
He said, "I'm coming over right now, Don. And you had better start saying your prayers."
I said, "Yeah, like I'm really scared, asshole."
Then I called Asshole #2. "Hello?" he said.
"Hello, asshole," I said.
He yelled, "If I ever find out who you are..."
"You'll what?" I said.
"I'll kick your ass," he exclaimed.
I answered, "Well, asshole, here's your chance. I'm coming over right now."
Then I hung up and immediately called the police, saying that I lived at 1802 West 34th Street, and that I was on my way over there to kill my gay lover.
Then I called Channel 13 News about the gang war going down on West 34th Street.
I quickly got into my car and headed over to 34th street. There I saw two assholes beating the crap out of each other in front of six squad cars, a police helicopter and a news crew.
NOW I feel much better. Anger management really works.
Post ID: 107884398035535259
We interrupt this post to bring you a special broadcast
Ask Jeeves answer: what are the pros and cons of becoming a eunuch?
1) Sounds from the past:
Musica (Musica Musarum Germana) - Jacobus Handl-Gallus
By some Czech choir. Sounds a bit funny, but then I don't think our version was much better.
"Jacobus Gallus (Jacob Handl)
(1550 - 1591)
Gallus was one of the great composers of the Renaissance period. Scarcely known today, Gallus' music stands out as a monument to beauty and spirituality. He was born in 1550 somewhere in Carniola, probably in Ribnica in Sovenia. He died in Prague in 1591."
2) Ad seen in Orchard underpass:
"Brazilian Waxing
Give your loved ones that self confidence with the feeling of being clean, smooth, young and sexy"
Being grammatically incorrect is the least of this ad's faults.
3)Cuba? It was great, say boys freed from US prison camp - James Astill meets teenagers released from Guantanamo Bay who recall the place fondly
"I thank God that my son has come back, but he has changed... He is impatient and refuses to listen to his elders. He has grown disobedient."
4) Bush's flip flops
"So Bush has a site somewhere that tracks Kerry's "flip-flops". Reader TK probably spent three seconds coming up with this list of Bush flip flops. It's not like they're hard to find:
# Bush is against an Iraq WMD investigation; then he's for it.
# Bush is against nation building; then he's for it.
# Bush is against deficits; then he's for them.
# Bush is for free trade; then he's for tariffs on steel; then he's against them again.
# Bush is against the U.S. taking a role in the Israeli Palestinian conflict; then he pushes for a "road map" and a Palestinian State.
# Bush is for states right to decide on gay marriage, then he is for changing the constitution.
# Bush-"The most important thing is for us to find Osama bin Laden. Bush-"I don't know where he is. I have no idea and I really don't care.
# Bush first says the U.S. won't negotiate with North Korea. Now he will
# Bush said he would demand a U.N. Security Council vote on whether to sanction military action against Iraq. Later Bush announced he would not call for a vote
# Bush was for fingerprinting and photographing Mexicans who enter the US. Bush after meeting with Pres. Fox, he's against it."
Ask Jeeves answer: what are the pros and cons of becoming a eunuch?
1) Sounds from the past:
Musica (Musica Musarum Germana) - Jacobus Handl-Gallus
By some Czech choir. Sounds a bit funny, but then I don't think our version was much better.
"Jacobus Gallus (Jacob Handl)
(1550 - 1591)
Gallus was one of the great composers of the Renaissance period. Scarcely known today, Gallus' music stands out as a monument to beauty and spirituality. He was born in 1550 somewhere in Carniola, probably in Ribnica in Sovenia. He died in Prague in 1591."
2) Ad seen in Orchard underpass:
"Brazilian Waxing
Give your loved ones that self confidence with the feeling of being clean, smooth, young and sexy"
Being grammatically incorrect is the least of this ad's faults.
3)Cuba? It was great, say boys freed from US prison camp - James Astill meets teenagers released from Guantanamo Bay who recall the place fondly
"I thank God that my son has come back, but he has changed... He is impatient and refuses to listen to his elders. He has grown disobedient."
4) Bush's flip flops
"So Bush has a site somewhere that tracks Kerry's "flip-flops". Reader TK probably spent three seconds coming up with this list of Bush flip flops. It's not like they're hard to find:
# Bush is against an Iraq WMD investigation; then he's for it.
# Bush is against nation building; then he's for it.
# Bush is against deficits; then he's for them.
# Bush is for free trade; then he's for tariffs on steel; then he's against them again.
# Bush is against the U.S. taking a role in the Israeli Palestinian conflict; then he pushes for a "road map" and a Palestinian State.
# Bush is for states right to decide on gay marriage, then he is for changing the constitution.
# Bush-"The most important thing is for us to find Osama bin Laden. Bush-"I don't know where he is. I have no idea and I really don't care.
# Bush first says the U.S. won't negotiate with North Korea. Now he will
# Bush said he would demand a U.N. Security Council vote on whether to sanction military action against Iraq. Later Bush announced he would not call for a vote
# Bush was for fingerprinting and photographing Mexicans who enter the US. Bush after meeting with Pres. Fox, he's against it."
Post ID: 107882600391239951
Monday, March 08, 2004
"some sites are like porno mags
others like dictionary
and some like a bloody film
yours is like a school publication
its .......... just not meant to be commented upon "
Gee.
"Too often, we are told that virtue lies in sacrifice, meekness, service to some good or authority higher than ourselves. When writers and directors try to create a character who embodies such virtues, they almost inevitably come up with a simpleton like Forrest Gump.
By contrast, consider the Iliad and the Odyssey. Those works present many characters who meet Hibbs' call for complex, realistic, and attractive portraits of virtuous men (and, on occasion, women). But those works upheld an ethical framework that valued cunning, pride, and self-interest as well as honor and bravery. When greed, sensuality, and self-interest are considered vices, it stands to reason that only the villains will display those traits. And maybe that attitude, not a fascination with evil per se, is one reason the bad guys in film and TV are often much more interesting than the good guys."
More Than Zero (review of Shows About Nothing: Nihilism in Popular Culture From The Exorcist to Seinfeld)
Utilitarianism is based on two premises... The first premise is the belief in consequentialism. Specifically, that morality is concerned with the effects of actions on the happiness of individuals. The second premise is a belief in a maximization principle. Specifically, the right action is the one which has as its consequence the greatest happiness of the greatest number. It is not easy to realize in today's society what a radical departure the first premise was from the conventional wisdom of its time. The second premise is a foundation of todays ubiquitous use of cost-benefit analysis.
Deontological theories of morality take as their premise the belief that human beings have an intuitive knowledge of right and wrong. Associated with this approach is the belief that human beings have certain rights, and that actions which adversely affect such rights are morally wrong. Historically, one immediately thinks of the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; currently, one is aware of the demands for woman's rights, gay rights, and a variety of economic rights. Since most of us do have strong feelings of right and wrong, there surely is a psychological basis for the deontological approach to morality.
Social contract theory... takes as its premise that there is an agreement between an individual and society in which the individual agrees to submit to the authority of the government and its laws in return for the government's protection of the individual's life and property. These theories were primarily concerned with the moral obligations of citizens and governments.
The deontologist believes that individuals have certain moral rights which cannot be sacrificed for the benefit of others; the consequentialist believes that morally correct action depends on its effects. The primary objection to the deontological view is that, in the absence of religious authority, its adherents provide no alternative basis for their choice of moral rights. Their final appeal, as expressed in many papers, is to "moral intuition" or "what we know is right".
History shows that moral rules evolve over time. A most striking example is slavery. It is now almost universally agreed that the institution of slavery is immoral. Yet almost up to modern times citizens who considered themselves to be highly moral owned slaves. At present only "animal rights" advocates, a small minority, consider it immoral to kill animals for food or use them in medical research. In future times will the present majority who disregard animal rights be considered to be as immoral as those who formerly accepted slavery? The morality of slavery and animal rights is fundamentally related to the question of who are members of the social group to whom the rules of morality apply. One way in which the evolution of morality can be viewed is as the expansion of the concept of society-defined as the group to whom one's moral rules apply-from family, to clan, to city, to country, to all persons, and (perhaps) to animals.
The premises we propose as a basis for moral choices are: What is morally correct depends upon consequences; the desired consequences are those leading to happiness; moral rules should be choices made to promote happiness.
Source: Morality/Ethics - A Philosophical Discussion of the Basis for Contemporary Moral Choices
others like dictionary
and some like a bloody film
yours is like a school publication
its .......... just not meant to be commented upon "
Gee.
"Too often, we are told that virtue lies in sacrifice, meekness, service to some good or authority higher than ourselves. When writers and directors try to create a character who embodies such virtues, they almost inevitably come up with a simpleton like Forrest Gump.
By contrast, consider the Iliad and the Odyssey. Those works present many characters who meet Hibbs' call for complex, realistic, and attractive portraits of virtuous men (and, on occasion, women). But those works upheld an ethical framework that valued cunning, pride, and self-interest as well as honor and bravery. When greed, sensuality, and self-interest are considered vices, it stands to reason that only the villains will display those traits. And maybe that attitude, not a fascination with evil per se, is one reason the bad guys in film and TV are often much more interesting than the good guys."
More Than Zero (review of Shows About Nothing: Nihilism in Popular Culture From The Exorcist to Seinfeld)
Utilitarianism is based on two premises... The first premise is the belief in consequentialism. Specifically, that morality is concerned with the effects of actions on the happiness of individuals. The second premise is a belief in a maximization principle. Specifically, the right action is the one which has as its consequence the greatest happiness of the greatest number. It is not easy to realize in today's society what a radical departure the first premise was from the conventional wisdom of its time. The second premise is a foundation of todays ubiquitous use of cost-benefit analysis.
Deontological theories of morality take as their premise the belief that human beings have an intuitive knowledge of right and wrong. Associated with this approach is the belief that human beings have certain rights, and that actions which adversely affect such rights are morally wrong. Historically, one immediately thinks of the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; currently, one is aware of the demands for woman's rights, gay rights, and a variety of economic rights. Since most of us do have strong feelings of right and wrong, there surely is a psychological basis for the deontological approach to morality.
Social contract theory... takes as its premise that there is an agreement between an individual and society in which the individual agrees to submit to the authority of the government and its laws in return for the government's protection of the individual's life and property. These theories were primarily concerned with the moral obligations of citizens and governments.
The deontologist believes that individuals have certain moral rights which cannot be sacrificed for the benefit of others; the consequentialist believes that morally correct action depends on its effects. The primary objection to the deontological view is that, in the absence of religious authority, its adherents provide no alternative basis for their choice of moral rights. Their final appeal, as expressed in many papers, is to "moral intuition" or "what we know is right".
History shows that moral rules evolve over time. A most striking example is slavery. It is now almost universally agreed that the institution of slavery is immoral. Yet almost up to modern times citizens who considered themselves to be highly moral owned slaves. At present only "animal rights" advocates, a small minority, consider it immoral to kill animals for food or use them in medical research. In future times will the present majority who disregard animal rights be considered to be as immoral as those who formerly accepted slavery? The morality of slavery and animal rights is fundamentally related to the question of who are members of the social group to whom the rules of morality apply. One way in which the evolution of morality can be viewed is as the expansion of the concept of society-defined as the group to whom one's moral rules apply-from family, to clan, to city, to country, to all persons, and (perhaps) to animals.
The premises we propose as a basis for moral choices are: What is morally correct depends upon consequences; the desired consequences are those leading to happiness; moral rules should be choices made to promote happiness.
Source: Morality/Ethics - A Philosophical Discussion of the Basis for Contemporary Moral Choices
Post ID: 107875380848827001
Sunday, March 07, 2004
"With verdure clad" sounds so much more refined than "Now robed in cool refreshing green"
Robert Shaw recordings also tend to sound a little muffled, but at least this one is an English version. Though I do have some issues with the translation (see above).
Apparently Wild Force is the first series to be made by Disney (as opposed to Fox). That explains a lot of things (both good and bad). The special effects are technically better (especially evident with the CG in Forever Red), but somehow they have less character than the campy ones done by Fox.
Anonymous mail I got:
"i really hope that u would continue wiht the work and scan in year 1998 and 2001 yearbooks as well."
Sorry. No can do, bub.
Robert Shaw recordings also tend to sound a little muffled, but at least this one is an English version. Though I do have some issues with the translation (see above).
Apparently Wild Force is the first series to be made by Disney (as opposed to Fox). That explains a lot of things (both good and bad). The special effects are technically better (especially evident with the CG in Forever Red), but somehow they have less character than the campy ones done by Fox.
Anonymous mail I got:
"i really hope that u would continue wiht the work and scan in year 1998 and 2001 yearbooks as well."
Sorry. No can do, bub.
Post ID: 107864916621934796
Saturday, March 06, 2004
Israeli rabbi urges pig fat use to stop bombers
"A prominent Israeli rabbi has proposed hanging bags of pig fat in buses to deter Muslim suicide bombers who may want to avoid contact with an "unclean" animal, an Israeli official says."
If it won't stop Jews from taking the buses, why would it stop Muslims from bombing them? This measure is even supported by their Deputy Public Security Minister.
Look what happened, however, in 2001:
"A Thai lawmaker resigned Tuesday to douse widespread anger he caused by suggesting that Islamic countries guilty of harboring terrorists should be bombed with "pork fat bombs.""
Oh well.
I want to read China's "2003 US Rights Violation Record"!
The Rainbow Plucking Orgy
"Pluck me! Blatant Rainbow inuendo... For those of you who don't know, Rainbow was a credible childrens TV show from the 70's and 80's. This clip was actually broadcast and watched by millions of youngans (maybe)."
The more I watch it, the more suspicious it gets, what with lines such as:
"I think Geoffrey is trying to get him up"
"Yes Bungle, do you have a special friend that you like to play with?"
"Yesterday we played with each other's balls. Are we going to play with our friend's balls today?
"Yes, and we can play with our twangers as well."
(to camera) "Have you seen Bungles twanger?"
"Oh I have, I showed him how to pluck with it."
"We could hear you all banging away"
"Banging can be fun."
"Ooooh yes, and I was banging away all last night with Rod and Freddy."
(looking sad) "Yes, but it broke my plucking instrument."
( to Jane ) "Do you want to blow on my pipe while I'm twanging away?"
"Oh no, I was banging away with Freddy last night. But would you like to play with my maracas?"
(full transcript)
Hmm, which pair should I get? Apparently the former is better for those with flat feet (so says the 46SAR Routine Orders. Curiously, 42SAR's was silent on this matter). Poor suffering got both pairs. Bah.
"A prominent Israeli rabbi has proposed hanging bags of pig fat in buses to deter Muslim suicide bombers who may want to avoid contact with an "unclean" animal, an Israeli official says."
If it won't stop Jews from taking the buses, why would it stop Muslims from bombing them? This measure is even supported by their Deputy Public Security Minister.
Look what happened, however, in 2001:
"A Thai lawmaker resigned Tuesday to douse widespread anger he caused by suggesting that Islamic countries guilty of harboring terrorists should be bombed with "pork fat bombs.""
Oh well.
I want to read China's "2003 US Rights Violation Record"!
The Rainbow Plucking Orgy
"Pluck me! Blatant Rainbow inuendo... For those of you who don't know, Rainbow was a credible childrens TV show from the 70's and 80's. This clip was actually broadcast and watched by millions of youngans (maybe)."
The more I watch it, the more suspicious it gets, what with lines such as:
"I think Geoffrey is trying to get him up"
"Yes Bungle, do you have a special friend that you like to play with?"
"Yesterday we played with each other's balls. Are we going to play with our friend's balls today?
"Yes, and we can play with our twangers as well."
(to camera) "Have you seen Bungles twanger?"
"Oh I have, I showed him how to pluck with it."
"We could hear you all banging away"
"Banging can be fun."
"Ooooh yes, and I was banging away all last night with Rod and Freddy."
(looking sad) "Yes, but it broke my plucking instrument."
( to Jane ) "Do you want to blow on my pipe while I'm twanging away?"
"Oh no, I was banging away with Freddy last night. But would you like to play with my maracas?"
(full transcript)
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Hmm, which pair should I get? Apparently the former is better for those with flat feet (so says the 46SAR Routine Orders. Curiously, 42SAR's was silent on this matter). Poor suffering got both pairs. Bah.
Post ID: 107857264668763805
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[Addendum: Since the site is now down, here's what it used to say:
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are there anymore hentai simgirl games that i can try without signing up - I don't think so.
superhero steven lim - I love Handsome Boy, Steven Lim. Don't you?
"raffles girls" nude - This was followed 20 mins later by: "nanyang girls" nude. Underage Singapore schoolgirl porn sure is popular.
tumbled down factory poser
"infantry jokes" - Here's one. Why was the gay infantry platoon so proud of themselves? Because they were the "Queen of the Battlefield" Har. Har. Har.
sylvester zaogeng - (If it refers to the cat) He's already naked, why do you need him to zaogeng?
medic test american's army game - I don't think that game can model a medic test.
DIY bust enhancement massage - See what they're doing in Thailand.
naked pictures of piqua girls - What are piqua girls?
"pms" and "girls living together" - I think the person was looking for the period synchronisation thing.
Krusty Burger uniforms - See this.
gotong-royong (pot-luck) - Indonesia boleh!
nus blog fuck - I don't think Singaporean students are that open about their sexual liasons just yet.
singapore girls enhance bust advertisement - I wonder if bust enhancement is so popular and in the mainstream elsewhere.
email pictures of xray bottle stuck vagina - Ouch.
underwater tomb at macritchie reservoir - Maybe it contains gold to solve any financial problems Thailand has.
Raffles junior college zaogeng - I'd suggest Kazaa, but it seems Kazaa's dead in the water. I wonder where all the aficionados of S'pore porn have fled to.
Singaporean gays fucking
blog of scgs girls
Can I see Serene's big boobs? - No.
singapore secondary girls naked
gabriel friends - HAHAHA. Ahem.
SAF Ward - A really nice place to be, I'm told. You get to watch TV the whole day. I went there once and it was really spacious and the air was cool.
pussy eating halal - I don't think so. Haram! Haram!
anna hug raffles - ?!
pictures of people eating feces - Eek.
pixel porn gssq.blogspot - ASCII porn I assume
fuck movie chip malay - Chip? V-Chip?
melayu sex weblog
guiness world record for longest earlobes - Should be some Indo-Chinese tribe
forum + "Raffles institution" + gay
samurai swordsmen penis - I doubt they were out of the ordinary.
sword of Gabriel - My sword's rusting due to lack of care. Maybe if I get a good longsword I'll polish it every week.
chio swimwear - More chio than the people in them, at any rate.
"national service" malaysia nude - Birthday suits beat the disgusting blue uniforms anyday!
"plush sushi"
tomoko answers simgirl - Sorry, I didn't manage to complete that game either.
Website of Big Bird and Kermit the Frog Stoned - Bert is Evil has a brother site now?
Erotic elves legolas yaoi - Melding them with the Japanese tradition (and drawing them with gigantic eyes, I assume) is just plain wrong.
"how to" "opt out" eldershield - I doubt my blog's a good source of information on Singapore government policies and mechanics
"travis ho" singapore age - One year my junior.
virus automatically silencing winamp audio
melbourne, muslim housemate
funny girls
nude photos of fucking contests that gets past filters - Filters are pretty easy to bypass.
What is the disease in which females are born with male - Cloacal exstrophy, perhaps? Or Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia? I'm not an expert on intersexuality.
kermit fucks piggy - That'd be a sight. Bestiality!
balanced reports about expats having animals - ?!
I'm thinking of trying NewsMonster but I think most blogs I read don't have RSS/Atom feeds.
Mystery MP3 of the week.
Someone has responded about how Bob Manahan (aka Zordon) died. At least he passed away peacefully in his sleep.
[Addendum: Since the site is now down, here's what it used to say:
"Posted by Rob Petitt on February 07, 2004 at 00:27:05:
In Reply to: Bob Manahan aka Zordon posted by Agagooga on September 28, 2003 at 05:58:07:
: Does anyone know how he died?
How much information do you want? I can tell you that he passed away in his sleep in San Jose, CA. What I had heard from his brother and father was that it was a heart issue, possibly aneurism. Some might list this as a heart attack.
He was a very close personal friend of mine for many years, going all the way back to the late 1960's. I think of him every day."]
The Ultimate Crossover
The Year: 1997
The Place: Earth's Pacific Rim
The Problem: Zedd and Rita have attacked!
The BIG Problem: There's no Zordon!!
Without the Power Rangers, Zedd's first attacks can't be repelled. The Pacific Rim falls victim to a massive air strike, destroying most major cities and forcing the human survivors underground. But don't count the survivors out just yet....
The Ultimate Crossover pulls characters from:
| Power Rangers VR Troopers Superhuman Samuri Syber Squad Digimon Big Bad Beetleborgs Buffy the Vampire Slayer Seven Days Sailor Moon | Stargate SG-1 Masked Rider The Sentinel Gundam Wing X-Men Harry Potter Action Man Real Ghostbusters Max Steel |
The Ultimate Crossover, a dual-author project between Jennifer Bigley and Ellen Brand, is still in production. Basically, Ellen's waiting for Jen to get off her duff and write the first few segments. Watch for updates in The Castle Times as they happen.
Sounds promising, if they actually get down to writing it.
Post ID: 107854980765724928
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.
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.
Post ID: 107859827981731097
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
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