The English Cottage

A dachshund-y caterpillar comes a-visiting for CNY :)

2012-01-26T11:12:00.001+08:00

Here are some pictures of the fler:

And now, some pictures of the real thing: THREE DACSHUNDS!!! :)

Jolie and little Bella - responding to "Where's Mrs. Potts?" the stray cat that frequents Windsong!

Jolie

Toffee

All three looking at dad, because he said, "Want some?" which is the promise of food!!!

Jolie getting a touch-up and eye-dirt removal from dad!

Bella - this is how she is always: laughing with both her eyes, and her smile :)

Another "Want some?" promise!!! What did they get? Apple bits :)

'Every presentation ever'

2012-01-25T11:37:00.000+08:00

Corporate trainer - that's what I did when I left college-teaching. Every stint had a presentation, along with a whole host of stuff I had to get my hands on, to keep 25 to 30 adults 'entertained' for two whole days, between the highlight-of-their-days: the big, hotel meals!!! I'd soon tire of this - the training, not the meals - and discover that staying home and learning how to paint was the best-est ever thing in the world, even though it meant no more money!

When my daughter sent me this video, it brought back a lot of memories for me - and I thought I'd share this part of my life with you:

XIN NIAN KWAI LE !!!

2012-01-21T09:58:00.000+08:00

This is the year of the BLACK, WATER DRAGON - and I did find some black dragons online (free ;)

But, this guy was the most beautiful, so here he is, wishing one and all:

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!

Showing my age . . . .

2012-01-16T12:59:00.001+08:00

An amazingly clear vid, from around the time it was a hit. And even after all these years, it still gives me goosebumps!

It has always been a favourite of mine, and when I met Chuan, I found out it was one of his, too. An, "Awwww..." moment, no? LOL

Quotable Quotes

2012-01-15T17:15:00.001+08:00

Remember this from The Reader's Digest from way back when? I haven't read that in a bit, so I'm not sure if they still have it. But, here are some good 'come-back' lines that you might want to do a quotable quote with ;)

Ernest Hollings

'Do you pray for the senators, Dr. Hale?' No, I look at the senators and I pray for the country.
(Edward Everett Hale)

This is supposed to be a Dorothy Parker quote.

Our song

2012-01-13T17:17:00.003+08:00

If you're in my exclusive club, you may wanna join me here with a laugh at ourselves!

Toooooooo cute!

2012-01-13T17:17:00.000+08:00

Jeeves explains a faux pas

2012-01-10T01:12:00.001+08:00

My dear friend, Pierre, had this waiting for me in my inbox today. It's a hoot, so: Enjoy!

[For those not familiar with P G Wodehouse's Jeeves series ... set in the post WWI era in London,
Jeeves is the butler/man Friday, (very sharp witted and well read) to a dimwit rich aristocrat called Bertie Wooster.]

One day, Bertie Wooster decided to read a book.

On the very first page he came across an unfamiliar word. So he called out to Jeeves.

"Jeeves, what is this 'fox pass'?"

"This what, sir?"

"'Fox pass', Jeeves."

"Oh, that would be 'faux pas': a French phrase, sir, pronounced 'foe pa'; which literally means a 'false step'
but is equivalent to 'putting your foot in your mouth' in English.

"Yes, dash it, whatever."

"Well sir, let me explain it this way. Do you remember last weekend when Miss Plushbottom came to stay for the weekend?"

"Yes."

"And do you remember how on Sunday morning you pricked your finger on a rose?"

"Yes."

"And do you remember how, later, at breakfast, Miss Plushbottom asked you, 'Is your prick still throbbing, Bertie?', and you dropped a pot of marmalade?"

"Yes, Jeeves."

"Well, that, sir, was a faux pas . . . ."

Why didn't I think of that?!

2012-01-09T10:38:00.002+08:00

Here are some great ideas that I wish I'd thought of first:

Here's how to keep an apple from oxidising: keep it all together with a rubber band!
Great for popping in your bag for snacking later, eh?

Something I am going to do NOW: keep some talc in the car for when my feet get sandy from walking in the sand on the beach!!!

Somewhere in this blog is the vid for how to do this, but I forget where. But, these pix will
remind you. I've already learnt this, and do it all the time ;)
Go here, to see my post with the video from You Tube.

Works better than a shelf, no? Just hang a rod, and hook all your bottles on it! Brilliant!

A magnetic strip for your metal thingies! If you don't have one, Ikea sells them for knives! Use it for hairclips,
nail clippers, tweezers... the list goes on. If they can hold a knife, they can hold lots of stuff!

Cut X's in a box, and shove in your cupcakes for an instant cupcake holder. They'll also keep the
cupcakes from wobbling around as you make it to your party!

Use egg cartons for holding your christmas decorations. Isn't this the BEST time for finding out about this?
Are your Christmas decorations all stored away already? Now, tell the truth here . . .

Finally, SOMEthing to do with those Gardenia bread tags!!! Use it to tell yourself which line is which!!!

Bake your cupcake right inside an ice-cream cone!!! Pipe on the icing, and voila: you have a surreal ice-cream
that will fascinate the kiddies, and keep the cake off your floor at the same time! Nice!

Put these plastic cups in a patty-tin and use them on your desk. But, remember to drop magnets at the bottom of each,
so they don't spill over! Nice idea, eh? And cute, too :)

Nope, this is not a pix for how to store you spare/guests pillows!!!
It is how to store your bedsheets and pillow-cases, in a SET!!!
Keep them all together, and place them inside one of the pillow-cases!!!
Brilliant! I like this one best :)

And this one, I added just for CHUAN!!!

Attach a gutter-thingy along the wall, and use it to grow your veggies! How clever is that?
It saves space, and makes watering them super simple, too!

Thank you for dropping this in my inbox, Lita :)

Malaysian English at its best

2012-01-07T11:34:00.000+08:00

In case you were on Mars and missed this, here is the 'Dress Code' everyone is so up-in-arms about, from the Ministry of Defence's website. Apparently they need SOFTWARE to cope with their translation needs. 11 years of compulsory English language study in Malaysian schools has not adequately prepared their staff for this stupendously difficult task of translating their 'Dress Code' from Malay to English.

When I don't understand something in another language, Google Translate does it for me. Free. And it's a bloody good job it does, I must say. Their "software" - which was paid for with my hard earned money - had a 'glitch' and so is responsible for the rubbish below.

They must've hit 'translate' and just let it go. No one bothered to see what was done? How it was translated? Or was it that they looked, but it looked simply perfect to them? Hmmmm.

I hope none of those who 'manned' the site were any of my ex-students :(

Someone saved the stuff below, that's how I've got my hands on it.

And don't bother to go to the government website link below. Because they've removed the page.

From: http://www.mod.gov.my/information/defence-policy/dress-code.html?lang=en

Dress code

How to dress symbolizes the personality of the officers and staff as well as the values and moral work ethics. Therefore, how to dress and clothes are clean, tidy and appropriate to be standard practice is emphasized to the officers and staff. Following rules of dress while on duty in the office to be observed:

Dress code FOR MEN

Men's Clothing:

i) For officers in the management and professional, "Lounge Suite" or "Bush's jacket

ii) long pants with long sleeved shirt and tie

iii) complete with Malay dress clothes and bersongkok bersamping dark.

iv) Officers in the management and professional to wear a neck strap / cap / corporate scarves every Wednesday and the official functions of the Ministry.

v) long-sleeved shirts and T-shirt: -

a) collared shirts and tight Malay civet berbutang three

b) collared shirts and tight Malay civet berbutang five

c) hidden berbutang Nehru collar,

d) three berbutang mandarin collar.

e) long pants. Do not fold your sleeves. Shirts must be included in (tuck in).

f) Nehru suits made of fabrics and colors to suit: -

i) forward berbutang

ii) hidden berbutang

Dress code FOR WOMEN

Women's Clothing:

Appropriate clothing and worn neatly and politely in line with the practice of noble character.
Clothes that are allowed are as follows:

a) baju kurung

b) T-shirt and a loose blouse with exquisite

c) long-sleeved shirts and skirts with exquisite

d) National Dress by race

e) Shine closed

f) Wearing jewelry or accessories are simple and suitable only

CLOTHING NOT ALLOWED

The dress code is not allowed in the work:

a) Dress up that thought it seems to want to attend a party or picnic

b) Clothes that poke eye

c) 'jeans' or 'slacks'

d) Short Pants

e) Clothes that cover their face

f) sports shoes and slippers

g) hair dye

h) Suits (except in circumstances that require such work to outside)

i) long pants and blouse (for women)

The Beatles

2012-01-05T09:31:00.000+08:00

Cheesecake

2012-01-04T19:21:00.001+08:00

This smells really, really goooooooooood.

Over the New Year weekend, I was in the mood for something good: and that always translates to food for me ;)

I found this recipe online here, and me-being-me had to doctor it somewhat and make it mine. Yes, I steal without a conscience, so sue me.

The original recipe called for too much cheese - you must remember there's just Chuan and me at home - so, I halved it. It also had raspberries - which don't grow wild here, and cost a bomb, so that was out, too. I had planned on adding pineapple or tinned peaches (oh, get a grip, tinned food's fine lah!), but when I looked at the amount of cheesecake I had, I thought that, with the fruit, it would overflow the base. So, no fruit in mine.

I also switched around some of the ingredients, because I either didn't have them in my fridge, and I'm NOT the kind who runs out to buy stuff just because they're called for in a recipe. Purleeese!

Here's the recipe for this cheesecake...

Before you start, preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.

For the crust:

3/4 cup ground almonds*

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon cocoa (sifted)

1 tablespoon sugar

4 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

1/2 an egg

1 tsp vanilla

a pinch of salt

Just put all the ingredients in a bowl, and swish them around till they come together in a big, fat lump. If it's too gooey, put in the fridge for a bit. Then, press it into a tin, or baking dish. I used one that was about 9ish x 7ish. Then, plop that in the fridge while you make the filling.

Filling:

250 g cream cheese, softened - which means: take it out of the fridge, and let it warm up to room temperature

1/3 cup condensed milk

1 1/2 eggs (use the half left over from the crust! ;)

1 tablespoon lemon juice (or more, if you like it more sour)

1 tablespoon orange marmalade (it calls for lemon, which I didn't have. I did have marmalade :)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup brown sugar (or more; or less - depending on how sweet you like it. I taste raw food, so I can adjust for sweetness. If you don't, I can't help you. You'll have to follow the instructions, and pray.)

First of all, dump the cream cheese in a bowl, and beat it with an electric mixer till it is light and fluffy, and there're no lumps. You could do this by hand, and use up a few-hundred calories, but I didn't.

When it's nice and creamy, just add in all the other ingredients.

Then, pour it over the crust, and pop it in the oven. (Note: Because I used a pyrex baking dish, I put my dish on a pan, and then put both in the preheated oven. If not, my baking dish might've cracked.)

Bake for 45 minutes - until firm to the touch, and nicely golden on the sides, like it looks in the picture above. Cut out a slice: it will be moist, and light inside. YUMMM!

This is allllll good: c'mon, have a bite!

This is a really simple recipe, and if you've never made a cheesecake in your life, this is the one to try. It just can't go wrong. It also freezes well - and those packets in the freezer are going to be perfect for a rainy day, when Chuan and I want to catch a late movie, and are dying for a midnight snack ;)

*If you can't find ground almonds (or are allergic to nuts), you can use crushed biscuits (like McVite's digestives, which is what I used to use. Just add less sugar to the crust recipe, or omit sugar altogether, because the biscuits would be already sweet.

No, you don't have a fat arse!

2012-01-03T10:37:00.000+08:00

If that title sounds familiar - it could be because you've seen it here before. This is a re-post, thanks to my pal, Ruthie :)

It's from the days when I actually wrote stuff in this blog, wayyyyy back in March, 2010 - and who knows, maybe I'll be inspired to write again! Hahahahah!

Do give this a read, and go here, to see the comments some of my friends made. I tell you, they are special people!

From: Saturday, 20 March, 2010

When I was about 11, I remember over-hearing an uncle's wife (no, she's not my 'aunt' just because my uncle 'thought' with his nether regions and married her. No issues here at all, eh? ;) saying that I had my mother's bum! That was a double-whammy, but I'm not going to go into that.

What it did do - that unkind, and true-to-form bitchy comment - was to warp my stupid, young mind, and leave me with a negative body image for most of my life. Of course, my mother herself felt she had an indian bum that needed to be covered with long blouses, or the sari, or whatever else. Like a piece of cloth over it would make any difference and give her a nice chinese bum?! Dream on, mummy! Hahahah!

Yennyways, over the years I've had my battles with my lovely veena shape, and it's only recently, with the courage that menopause has bestowed, and a brain that's finally kicked in and spoken louder than the other idiot that advised me (myself), I finally learned that it is ok to be different.

And oh yes, my daughter - she sure had a lot to do with how I see myself! You look good, ma - she'll say. And after a bit, I guess I started to believe her. (Yah, Chuan always says that too, but somehow, I just feel he is sooo biased! And anyways, I'm always 'beautiful' to him, even when I'm sweaty and in raggedy shorts and a lop-sided tee! So, you can see, can't you, why he so doesn't count?!)

Anyways, back to Larnee: She has such a positive body image! And I don't know if I can take any credit for that. Although I did warn my mother to never say she was fat, or had a big bum (she doesn't) or make any other disparaging comments about her body to her (like she did to me).

And for the longest time, I believed that mum behaved. But apparently not. Because Larnee later would tell me that granma would often call her a 'fat lump' - which is a common term dripping from the lips of members in my family lah!

But, even despite a granma who should've known better, Larnee has turned out perfect! With a confidence and a flair I wish I had - but am just as pleased to see manifested in my daughter :)

So, if you have a little girl, or a not so little girl, or a wife, or a sister, or the whoever who rules in your world - tell her that her body is beautiful just the way it is.

I will be 54 this year. At this age, how I look matters little to me. That I am alive to look the way I do - now that has more meaning!!!

Yennyways, most of the time, we're all covered up, aren't we? So who's to know about the lump, or that bumb or that muffin that's wayyyyyyy over-flowing that top?!!!

And if they do know... SO effing WHAT??! How does it change their lives to know? And more importantly, how does it change yours???!!!

Only recently, I wrote in a new pal's blog: I have more years behind me than I have ahead of me, and I'd like to make these good years, these years ahead.

And if you're reading this, and you're already an old geezer - well, show it to someone young and say: you look great! As do the women in the pictures below. Beautiful - albeit 'flawed' in the eyes of so many, who need to see stick-thin wafers, but with humongous boobies (??!!!) tripping anorexic-ly down runways, or negativing up on their tv screens.

Larnee sent me these images, taken from here and here. Go see some beautiful bodies and know that so many woman actually look lovely like that - yet think we're ugly.

If you can, do something about that, k!

And, even more lovelies . . . .

"Time to say good bye"

2012-01-01T13:36:00.000+08:00

I watched him last night, and this song seemed so appropriate for the end of the year. I didn't really understand what the song meant, but for me, the message is clear: it's time to say good-bye to 2011, and to look forward to the year ahead.

I am not a fan of the classical voice, but Andrea Bocelli's is something else altogether!

2011-12-30T10:43:00.002+08:00

2012

May this be a good year for us all!

Josh Krajcik: Someone to listen out for in 2012

2011-12-26T12:07:00.001+08:00

He may not have won the US's X-Factor, but I think he's brilliant.

Listen and tell me you agree ;)

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!!!

2011-12-24T04:50:00.011+08:00

Those of you who know me may be a tad surprised by this, but below are two songs, without which Chritstams wouldn't be Christmas.

E N J O Y !!!

The English language: From Greater Glasgow

2011-12-20T13:02:00.000+08:00

We're always griping about how bad our Malaysian English is, aren't we? Well, the list below is said to be "...sentences actually typed by Medical secretaries in NHS Greater Glasgow". Perhaps, after you've read these, you won't think we're so bad after all. I did think about adding my thoughts to some of the examples, but except for one, I thought they just took away from these masterpieces of the English language.

1. The patient has no previous history of suicides.

2. Patient has left her white blood cells at another hospital.

3. Patient's medical history has been remarkably insignificant with only a 40 pound weight gain in the past three days.

4. She has no rigors or shaking chills, but her husband states she was very hot in bed last night.

5. Patient has chest pain if she lies on her left side for over a year.

6. On the second day the knee was better and on the third day it disappeared.

7. The patient is tearful and crying constantly. She also appears to be depressed.

8. The patient has been depressed since she began seeing me in 1993.

9. Discharge status: Alive, but without my permission.

10. Healthy appearing decrepit 69-year old male, mentally alert, but forgetful.

11. Patient had waffles for breakfast and anorexia for lunch.

12. She is numb from her toes down.

13. While in ER, she was examined, x-rated and sent home.

14. The skin was moist and dry.

15. Occasional, constant infrequent headaches. (Do you know anyone who says, "I always sometimes ...?) I do :(

16. Patient was alert and unresponsive.

17. Rectal examination revealed a normal size thyroid.

18. She stated that she had been constipated for most of her life until she got a divorce.

19. I saw your patient today, who is still under our care for physical therapy.

20. Both breasts are equal and reactive to light and accommodation.

21. Examination of genitalia reveals that he is circus sized.

22. The lab test indicated abnormal lover function.

23. Skin: somewhat pale, but present.

24. The pelvic exam will be done later on the floor.

25. Large brown stool ambulating in the hall.

26. Patient has two teenage children, but no other abnormalities.

27. When she fainted, her eyes rolled around the room.

28. The patient was in his usual state of good health until his airplane ran out of fuel and crashed.

29. Between you and me, we ought to be able to get this lady pregnant.

30. She slipped on the ice and apparently her legs went in separate directions in early December.

31. Patient was seen in consultation by Dr. Smith, who felt we should sit on the abdomen and I agree.

32. The patient was to have a bowel resection. However, he took a job as a stock broker instead.

33. By the time he was admitted, his rapid heart had stopped, and he was feeling better.

Grandma got run over by a reindeer!

2011-12-19T16:21:00.002+08:00

Pearls

2011-12-16T06:18:00.000+08:00

Amazing magic image

2011-12-14T10:32:00.000+08:00

1. Stare at the red star on the girl’s nose for 30 seconds.
2. Turn your eyes towards the wall/roof or somewhere else on a plane surface.
3. Keep blinking your eyes!

Whaddya see?

Please don't bother telling me the science of it all. I don't really care. I'm enjoying being amazed :)

Heard of e-mooning?

2011-12-14T10:20:00.000+08:00

I love to use emoticons when I write. I don't use many - limiting myself to:

:) to show that I am happy,

;) when I mean to tease, and

:( when I am unhappy with something.

Well, there are new ones out there, that I never knew about, it seems. Perhaps you already know them?

Heard of these? They're called ASSICONS:

(_!_) a regular ass

(__!__) a fat ass

(!) a tight ass

(_*_) an ass hole

{_!_} a swishy* ass

(_o_) an ass that's been around some

(_x_) kiss my ass!

(_X_) leave my ass alone!

(_zzz_) a tired ass

(_E=mc2_) a smart ass

(_$_) a money-coming-out-of-his ass

(_?_) a dumb ass

So, you've now been E-MOONED! Heee Heee Heee! ;)

* slang (US)- effeminate and/or homosexual

Animal thoughts

2011-12-13T12:44:00.000+08:00

These pictures all came ready-captioned. So, enjoy:

And before you tell me this last one has been Photo Shop-ed, let me tell you that darling, sweet, Toffee makes the exact face sometimes!!! I just haven't caught it on camera for you - yet - is all!

Adults only, please

2011-12-12T02:07:00.002+08:00

That's PRINCESS* Fiona, Shrek, and their family. Image taken from here.

Once upon a time there lived a king.

The king had a beautiful daughter, the PRINCESS*.

But there was a problem. Everything the princess touched would melt.

No matter what:

Metal,

Wood,

Stone,

Anything she touched would melt.

Because of this, men were afraid of her. Nobody would dare marry her.

The king despaired. What could he do to help his daughter?

He consulted his wizards and magicians. One wizard told the king, 'If your daughter touches one thing that does not melt in her hands, she will be cured.'

The king was overjoyed and came up with a plan.

The next day, he held a competition. Any man that could bring his daughter an object that would not melt would marry her and inherit the king's wealth.

THREE YOUNG PRINCES TOOK UP THE CHALLENGE.

The first brought a sword of the finest steel.

But alas, when the princess touched it, it melted. The prince went away sadly.

The second prince brought diamonds.

He thought diamonds are the hardest substance in the world and would not melt. But alas, once the princess touched them, they melted.

He too was sent away disappointed.

The third prince approached. He told the princess, 'Put your hand in my pocket and feel what is in there.'

The princess did as she was told, though she turned red.

She felt something hard. She held it in her hand. And it did not melt!!!

The king was overjoyed. Everybody in the kingdom was overjoyed.

And the third prince married the princess and they both lived happily ever after.

So, the Question is:

What was in the prince's pants?

Why, M&M's, of course.

They melt in your mouth, not in your hand.

What were you thinking??

I WORRY ABOUT YOU SOMETIMES!!!

Home for the holdiays

2011-12-11T10:36:00.001+08:00

Larnee sent me this, and for me, this is a very special song right now.

Enjoy.

How nice if one of our mobile service providers did something like this, too, for us. But, I guess it would be difficult - so hard to be 'correct' in so-confusing Malaysia, these days. Everything might be misinterpreted as proselytising* or something. No, no, better don't - in case it's mis-con-screwed or whatever.

I love the girl on the extreme right. Wait for her... she'll blow you away!

Happy Christmas, all.

Wine does not make you fat . . .

2011-12-10T13:52:00.000+08:00

It makes you LEAN . . .

... against tables, chairs, floors, walls, and ugly people.

Thanks for this one, Uncle Devan!

Want a taste of traditional street vendors?

2011-12-05T11:07:00.000+08:00

Yes, a tad cannibalistic, I thought... but Chuan is a peanut lover, and he wanted a packet of it.

I could find fault with so much on this package, not the least of it being the stereotypical image of the kacang puteh seller! But, I had to laugh at the 'enticement' to buy these peanuts.

And I laughed even louder *evil gleam in mine eye!* when I read where it was from!

Is that the guy whose 'traditional taste' this packet is chok-full of? Err . . . I pass, k.

So wevy nice-wan the Engrand here hah?!?!!

You CANNOT imagine how happy I was when I read that it wasn't packaged in Malaysia, but in
that place where they think their English is far, far superior to ours! Wellllll, maybe it is,
and maybe it isn't!!!!!! HeeHeeHee!

Nothing changes

2011-12-05T11:06:00.001+08:00

I bought this book because I loved the cover. Yes, I am deep like that. Get over it!

The tiny print at the back says this is by Brian Sanders.

As you can tell, it is an old book (see the age spots on the top left?), so it was going cheap, and I had to have it. I looked inside, and saw that Patrick O'Brian also wrote 'Master and Commander' (remember that? It starred Russel Crowe. Sigh!), so I thought I'd be sure to enjoy this one. And I did.

The Catalans was written in 1953. Long before I was even born, but here's what O'Brian writes that the Protagonist, Alain, overhears on the train, on his way home . . .

If I didn't tell you it was from this book, and you overlooked or missed the specific references to France, you'd think it was an extract from a newspaper of today, or from an article about our country. Or America. Or Britain. OMG, about anywhere, I think.

So, yeah, nothing changes, folks. I'm not saying lie down and play dead. Never. But, no matter who, no matter what you change, it'll just roll back to this. Cynical? Maybe. But, honestly? Realistic, I think.

Sleep time!

2011-12-05T11:06:00.000+08:00

My girls sleeping! You are forgiven for thinking this is the end of the day. It isn't. It is in the morning - the sky is grey, and the weather forecast says: Rain! So, it's nice and cool, and they've had their breakfast, so it's time for...

SLEEP!

Toffee, in HER corner. No one else is allowed there!

Bella's eyes are open - because she heard me move, and out they popped! Her eyes I mean. Popped open, not out of her head,
onto the floor, and under the table :(

Toffee and Jolie - how you will often find them! They are bosom-buds!

Doesn't Bella look so adorable, here? You can see her shaved belly - it has healed well, and has teeeny hairs growing already :)

'Way back home'

2011-12-03T09:34:00.000+08:00

"Way Back Home is the incredible new riding clip from Danny MacAskill, it follows him on a journey from Edinburgh back to his hometown Dunvegan, in the Isle of Skye." - taken from You Tube, where this is hosted.

It is amazing what he can do on his bicycle - but if you're not into that, there's this amazing soundtrack (The music is Loch Lomond "Wax and Wire" and The Jezabels "A Little Piece".
http://www.myspace.com/lochlomondmusic | http://www.thejezabels.com)...

and the spectacular photography of the amazing landscape he passes through!

Thank you for this one, Lita :)

Gooey brownies!

2011-12-02T14:32:00.000+08:00

Just out of the oven. Warm. And still snugly in their tin!

Yuppers! I made brownies yesterday, and they turned out yumm! It was Nigella's recipe, and you can go here to find it, if you want to make these, too - and she also offers a chocolate sauce topping. I didn't do that, because I like my brownies with their lovely semi-crispy crackly top :)

I have the recipe I used below, if you're lazy to go to the link.

Chuan's second piece. He usually says that it's too sweet. Whatever.

Fin! And yumm! Hahahahah!

There's lots left over for tea today, and for many more days, I think!!!

It's super simple and quick to do, so here's the recipe:

225 g dark chocolate

225 g butter

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

200 g castor sugar

3 eggs, beaten

150 g ground almonds

100 g chopped walnuts

Set the oven to 170 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit).

Melt the butter and chocolate in a double-boiler. When melted, add sugar and vanilla. Set aside to cool.

Then, beat in the eggs, almonds and walnuts.

Spoon mixture into a foil-covered (easier to wash up!!!) 24-cm-square tin, and bake for 25 - 30 minutes. It took 40-ish minutes in my plus-fan convectional oven.

It's ready when the top is set, but the inside's still gooey. Take it out, cut into squares, and let it cool. IF YOU CAN lah! We ate it as soon as it popped out of the oven! Yumm!

And Bella makes three :)

2011-11-28T15:31:00.001+08:00

We've got a new little girl at Windsong! She's a miniature dachshund, and she's seven years old.

In the picture above, she's posing in our driveway... with her makeshift tee-shirt on. She's only just been spayed, and instead of putting her in an elizabethan collar, we've put her in this tee, so that she can't worry her scar/wound until it's well healed.

Bella and her new sisters. Everyone asks if she's Toffee's puppy!

Chuan arranging the two of them - so you can tell who's bigger!

Unfazed by Bella's appearance :)

Jolie sunning herself.

Bella and me

And here's a video of all three of them, in our kitchen :)

English: It's the exception, not the rule, that matters

2011-11-21T13:20:00.001+08:00

I don't know where this originates, and, it's probably not new to you. But it landed in my inbox a while back, and today was the day it found its way here.

If you've ever had to explain something about English to anyone, you'd so get what this is all about.

We'll begin with a box, and the plural is boxes,
But the plural of ox becomes oxen, not oxes.
One fowl is a goose, but two are called geese,
Yet the plural of moose should never be meese.
You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice,
Yet the plural of house is houses, not hice.

If the plural of man is always called men,
Why shouldn't the plural of pan be called pen?
If I speak of my foot and show you my feet,
And I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet?
If one is a tooth and a whole set are teeth,
Why shouldn't the plural of booth be called beeth?

Then one may be that, and there would be those,
Yet hat in the plural would never be hose,
And the plural of cat is cats, not cose.
We speak of a brother and also of brethren,
But though we say mother, we never say methren.
Then the masculine pronouns are he, his and him,
But imagine the feminine: she, shis and shim!

Let's face it - English is a crazy language.
There is no egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger;
Neither apple nor pine in pineapple.
English muffins weren't invented in England.

We take English for granted, but if we explore its paradoxes,
We find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square,
And a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.
And why is it that writers write, but fingers don't fing,
Grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham?

Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend?
If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them,
What do you call it?

If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught?
If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?

Sometimes I think all the folks who grew up speaking English
Should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane.
In what other language do people recite at a play and play at a recital?

We ship by truck but send cargo by ship...
We have noses that run and feet that smell.
We park in a driveway and drive in a parkway.
And how can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same,
While a wise man and a wise guy are opposites?

You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language
In which your house can burn up as it burns down,
In which you fill in a form by filling it out,
And in which an alarm goes off by going on.
And in closing...

If Father is Pop, how come Mother's not Mop???!

Do you have a wheat belly?

2011-11-18T16:46:00.000+08:00

This article is taken from a magazine I subscribe to online:

Fab Over 50 ... describes me perfectly, nooo? ;)

Yennyways, here's the thing: Since moving to PD, I've found that I've put on a lot of weight, and most of it in my stomach/belly and bum. It is really depressing, and even more so because here is where I've exercised the most, and most consistently. I've actually gotten off my bum and gotten on my exercise machine (my elliptical trainer) and worked from 45 minutes (up to an hour on good days,when I feel strong and well), on it for at least five days a week. PLUS, Dan got me these resistance-band thingies to build muscle, and I include them in my exercise routine. And yet, I have not moved an ounce - let alone built muscle or have my tummy shrink - and when I weighed myself, I was even heavier than before I moved here.

And NO, I don't eat chocolates on a regular basis. And NO, I don't drink (arak lah ;) regularly. Both are once-in-a-blue-moon indulgences.

So, when I found this article below, today, I realised that the ONE thing that is different between being in KL and in PD is this: I eat a LOT more bread. Chuan bakes beautiful bread, and we eat breakfast together every day. And no, we don't eat a loaf each - it is like the article says: 2 slices. It is not super-rich bread, and neither is it full of raisins and nuts and other stuff. Just ordinary, good bread, that's super delicious, because it is homemade, and doesn't have the additives and whatnots that you'd find in Gardenia and High5 and the other stuff on the shelves.

And I read this article, and I think, this may be the answer to why I am not doing well at all. It won't be hard, but I'm going to cut out wheat from my diet for the next six months. I don't know if it'll move mountains, but if it does, I'll report back here.

I no longer feel the need to be stick-thin to feel good. I just need to feel and simply be healthy. Putting on all that weight in my tummy area is depressing; but, it also has aggravated my acid-reflux problem, which I was told gets worse when there is increased fat around the stomach area. Sounds icky when you put it like that, but that is the way it is.

I've always felt that a Low Glycemic Index diet was the best way to go, and I've tried to stay true to that. Ever since my dad developed diabetes in his late sixties, I read up on it and it is sound theory: control your body's insulin response, and you prevent a whole host of ailments.

That's why this article below struck such a chord in me. I almost didn't read it, because I thought it would be about some new-fangled exercise routine, or some new gimmicky machine that someone wanted to sell.

And then I found this man speaking words that resonated with me. I think he makes perfect sense. I hope it makes a difference for me.

Do you have a 'wheat belly'?

(Find the original article here.)Posted on November 16, 2011

Cardiologist William Davis, MD, started his career repairing damaged hearts through surgical angioplasty and stents. “That’s what I was trained to do, and at first, that’s what I wanted to do,” he explains. But when his own mother died of a heart attack in 1995, despite receiving the best cardiac care, he was forced to face nagging concerns about his profession.

“I realized how silly it was,” he says. “I’d fix a patient’s heart, only to see her come back, and back and back with the same problems. It was just a band-aid, with no effort to identify the cause of the disease.”

So he sailed his practice toward highly uncharted medical territory--prevention--and spent the next 15 years examining the causes of heart disease in his own patients. The resulting discoveries are revealed in Wheat Belly, his New York Times best-selling book, which attributes many of our nation’s physical problems, including heart disease, diabetes and obesity, to our consumption of wheat.

He spoke to us this week about how exactly eliminating wheat can "transform our lives."

First of all, what is a “wheat belly”?

I make a lot of arguments about the dangers of wheat, one of which is that it raises your blood sugar dramatically. In fact, two slices of wheat bread raise your blood sugar more than a Snickers bar. Anything that raises blood sugar to a high level will cause accumulation of abdominal fat. We’re not quite sure why high blood sugar leads to belly fat accumulation, but it does. When my patients give up wheat, I see that weight loss is substantial, especially from the abdomen. People can lose several inches in the first month.

You make connections in the book between wheat and a host of other health problems. How did you come up with this theory?

Eighty percent of my patients had diabetes or pre-diabetes. I knew that wheat spiked blood sugar more than almost anything else, so I started to say, “Let’s remove wheat from your diet and see what happens to your blood sugar.” They’d come back 3 to 6 months later, and their blood sugar would be dramatically reduced. But they also had all these other reactions: “I did this, and I lost 38 pounds.” Or, “my asthma got so much better, I threw away two of my inhalers.” Or “the migraine headaches I’ve had every day for 20 years stopped within three days.” “My acid reflux is now gone.” “My IBS is better, my ulcerative colitis, my rheumatoid arthritis, my mood, my sleep . . .” and so on, and so on.

So what is it about wheat that you think causes all these problems?

When you look at the makeup of wheat, it’s almost like a group of evil scientists got together and said, how can we create this god-awful destructive food that will ruin health?

First, amylopectin A, a chemical unique to wheat, is an incredible trigger of small LDL particles in the blood--the number one cause of heart disease on the United States. When wheat is removed from the diet, these small LDL levels plummet by 80 and 90 percent.

I typically think of a “hearth-healthy” diet as one that is low in fat and high in whole grains.

That has been the common wisdom for the last 15 years or so, and in that time we’ve seen an explosion in the rates of small LDL cholesterol, obesity and heart disease in this country. We’ve had a situation where the national advice--to cut fat and eat more whole grains--is advocating a diet that causes heart disease.

You also talk about the “addictive” properties of wheat.

Wheat contains high levels of gliadin, a protein that actually stimulates appetite. Eating wheat increases the average person’s calorie intake by 400 calories a day.

Gliadin also has opiate-like properties in the brain, so it’s not surprising that when some people remove wheat from their diets, they literally go through a period of withdrawal where they feel terrible. Food scientists have known this for 20 years, and they’ve used it to their advantage. If you go up and down the supermarket shelves, you’re going to see wheat flour in the most improbable places---everywhere from Campbell’s soup to granola bars.

Is eating a wheat-free diet the same as a gluten-free diet? I know that’s a major trend right now.

Gluten has negative, inflammatory properties, but it is just one component of wheat. In other words, if I took the gluten out of it, wheat will still be terrible for you since it will still have the Gliadin and the amylopectin A, as well as several other undesirable components.

So you don’t advocate all the “gluten free” products I see at the grocery store.

Unfortunately, when it comes to health, the food industry does not normally know what they’re doing. They’ve come out with all these foods that are gluten free: gluten-free multi-grain bread, gluten-free bagels, etc. Those are made with 4 basic ingredients: corn starch, rice starch, tapioca starch or potato starch. And those 4 dried, powdered starches are some of the very few foods that raise blood sugar even higher than wheat does!

Sounds like all the “fat free” foods that came out 10-15 years ago. People thought “these cookies are good for me because they don’t have fat.”

Perfect analogy. Yes, it’s the same kind of blunder. Just because it lacks one thing doesn’t make it good.

Is there any bread or wheat that’s okay to eat? What about the the health breads and the sprouted breads?

No. They still retain too much of the adverse wheat compounds--leptins, amylopectin A, gluten and gliadin. You might reduce the amount of some of the compounds, but they’re still there.
So what can you eat?!

I encourage people to return to real food: vegetables and nuts, cheese and eggs and meats in all forms, avocados and olives. Get rid of the “low-fat” notion. It’s not necessarily a diet of deprivation. I’ve been doing this for many years myself, and I’ve had cookies and cheesecake, carrot cake, chocolate biscotti--but it means recreating these food using different ingredients. I have recipes in the back of my book as well as on my wheat belly blog.

You advocate real food, but isn’t wheat a “real food?” People have been eating it for thousands of years, why is it suddenly such a problem?

Wheat really changed in the 70s and 80s due to a series of techniques used to increase yield, including hybridization and back crossings. It was bred to be shorter and sturdier and also to have more gliadin, a potent appetite stimulate. The wheat we eat today is not the wheat that was eaten 100 years ago. Wheat has also become a much more central part of the American diet.

What if I remove the wheat, but I’m still eating carbohydrates? So, for example, I stop eating my sandwich every day, and I start eating rice with chicken and vegetables. Will I still have the health benefits? Will I still lose weight?

Most do, yes. Because rice doesn’t raise blood sugar as high as wheat, and it also doesn’t have the amylopectin A or the gliadin that stimulates appetite. You won’t have the same increase in calorie intake that wheat causes. That’s part of the reason why foreign cultures that don’t consume wheat tend to be slenderer and healthier.

Does everyone need to stop eating wheat, or are some people more at risk for these problems than others?

If you ask me, everyone should stop eating wheat. This is the closest I know of to something that will transform your life. There are very few people who don’t have some physical issue that can be helped by this. The physical reach is so far and so wide, that I’m shocked when someone comes back to me and says, “I did it and nothing happened.”

Does that happen?
Very uncommon. Very, very uncommon.

You'll cry if you're their teacher; you'll split your sides if you're not . . . .

2011-11-18T13:48:00.000+08:00

The e-mail Ee Lynn sent me said that these were legit questions set in last year's GED examination. I couldn't verify this, but as a teacher myself, I know that students will answer questions exactly like this. The e-mail also said: These are genuine answers (from 16 year olds) . . . . and they WILL breed. Hahahah! Nice, that.

Q. Name the four seasons
A. Salt, pepper, mustard and vinegar

Q. Explain one of the processes by which water can be made safe to drink
A. Flirtation makes water safe to drink because it removes large pollutants like grit, sand, dead sheep and canoeists

Q. How is dew formed?
A. The sun shines down on the leaves and makes them perspire

Q. What causes the tides in the oceans?
A. The tides are a fight between the earth and the moon. All water tends to flow towards the moon, because there is no water on the moon, and nature abhors a vacuum. I forget where the sun joins the fight.

Q. What guarantees may a mortgage company insist on?
A. If you are buying a house they will insist that you are well endowed.

Q. In a democratic society, how important are elections?
A. Very important. Sex can only happen when a male gets an election. (Wei, like that ah, he better announce the date soon, no?!)

Q. What are steroids?
A. Things for keeping carpets still on the stairs

Q.. What happens to your body as you age?
A. When you get old, so do your bowels and you get intercontinental. (I guess that's why I so needed to go to the UK, then! It was pre-programmed!)

Q. What happens to a boy when he reaches puberty?
A. He says goodbye to his boyhood and looks forward to his adultery

Q. Name a major disease associated with cigarettes
A. Premature death

Q. What is artificial insemination?
A. When the farmer does it to the bull instead of the cow

Q. How can you delay milk turning sour?
A. Keep it in the cow

Q. How are the main 20 parts of the body categorised (e.g. The abdomen)
A. The body is consisted into 3 parts - the brainium, the borax and the abdominal cavity. The brainium contains the brain, the borax contains the heart and lungs and the abdominal cavity contains the five bowels: A, E, I,O,U. (I didn't know we had five, and named even!!!)

Q. What is the fibula?
A. A small lie

Q. What does 'varicose' mean?
A. Nearby

Q. What is the most common form of birth control?
A. Most people prevent contraception by wearing a condominium. (This only slightly differs from what our boss told us when Chuan and I had just gotten married, and were posted to PD: "You'll be happy there. You can buy a condom." I don't know how we did it, but neither of us laughed. But, we also didn't dare look at each other when he said it.)

Q. Give the meaning of the term 'Caesarean section'
A. The caesarean section is a district in Rome (I think it's brilliant that this mutt actually tied Caesarean and Rome in the first place.)

Q. What is a seizure?
A. A Roman Emperor

Q. What is a terminal illness?
A. When you are sick at the airport.

Q. Give an example of a fungus. What is a characteristic feature?
A. Mushrooms. They always grow in damp places and they look like umbrellas

Q. Use the word 'judicious' in a sentence to show you understand its meaning.
A. Hands that judicious can be soft as your face. (I had to read this aloud to get it. NO, I'm not as quick, nor clever as you are lah.)

Q. What does the word 'benign' mean?
A. Benign is what you will be after you be eight.

Q. What is a turbine?
A. Something an Arab or Shreik wears on his head

Greenwich

2011-11-12T10:46:00.000+08:00

This is my last batch of photos from London, and it's of our visit to Greenwich. We reached it by tube, out of Central London, and then aboard the DLR (Docklands Light Railway), from which I had a pretty amazing view of the city of London.

When we reached Greenwich, we walked through Greenwich Park, and on our right was the Old Royal Navy College, designed by Christopher Wren.

The Old Royal Navy College, now a college of music. We heard the 'musicians' at practice :(

That's London, across the Thames, beneath a painted sky.

Another view of the ORNC

It was a brilliant day at the start, but it turned to grey, and a feathery light rain descended soon after this.

That's coming up, below:

Some notes to help me remember where I was, and what I saw.

That's painted on the walls, above each arch. It's so brilliantly done, I at first thought it was moulding.
I think this is called 'trompe l'oeil' painting.

James Thornhill's allegorical version of the triumph of peace and liberty over tyrany.

The details over the arches and along the sides of the wall are all PAINTED on. It looks so very real,
you want to touch it (you shouldn't!), to make sure it isn't mouled on! Amazing!

I was fascinated by this piece, and took a close-up of the detailed rope, below :)

Again, some notes to help me remember.

The view from a pew, of the pulpit and alter ...

... the intricate details of the ceiling above ...

... the centre aisle

... and the ceiling right above me.

A pipe organ looms large over the entrance.

I just KNEW great things lie ahead for my son-in-law ;)

And then, onto the The Queen's House:

And how it used to look, from a painting in one of the first rooms we entered.

A scaled model of the house, and if you look in the windows, you will see that they kept to all the details, even
down to the checkered-patterned floors!

I found this paddle sitting on a window.

Greenwich, from a window in the Queen's House.

From the Queen's House, we walk up the hill to the point I've indicated with the arrow.

You'll find no pictures of me standing on the Meridian Line because that's not something I do ;) But, here are some of the things you'd find up on the hill:

What's left of that first telescope.

Nice, huh? I'd like one in my garden, please.

Behind this pillar, were lines of visitors waiting their turn to take a picture of themselves on the Meridian Line.

This is the 'Public Standards of Length'. When I think Britain/England, I think: the keeper of standards.

My last shot of Greenwich, and the perfect picture of London in the fall, for my memory box.

A day in Bath

2011-11-11T08:57:00.000+08:00

I was up at 4 this morning. Again. I thought I had this jet-lag thingy axed yesterday, but it seems I was wrong. So, I put my time to good use going through my pictures, and for this post, are these ones of Bath.

I simply had to go to Bath and walk the paths that perhaps were walked by Jane Austen herself all those years ago. It is a beautiful little place, and most of it is preserved - I imagine - as it was in her time, or even before. The hills around the town were as picturesque as the town itself, and I'd planned to take some pictures after our visit to the Fashion Museum and the Roman Baths. But, silly me forgot that the sun sets early in autumn, and by the time we were through at the baths, the light had gone.

I don't have any pictures of the Fashion Museum, although photography was allowed. I just didn't feel the need to take pictures of gowns and dresses and shoes and hats, I guess. But, it was an educational visit, and very interesting. And I felt a frisson of excitement to realise that those rooms were probably visited by so many of the Romantic poets and authors I love.

Well, here are my pictures of Bath - about a ninety-odd minute train out of London.

Have you guessed by now that I love churches?! I find them beautiful and amazing works of architecture.
Especially, if they were built so many centuries ago, and stand to this day.

A huge cathedral dominates the town, and I found it peeping through the rooftops in so many of my shots.

In the square, outside the church, this lady sang - her rich soprano echoing all around us.

I just had to take a snap of this: A Jamie Oliver restaurant! No, I didn't go in, but I was
chuffed (one of his favourite words!) to find it here, in Bath ;)

Panting uphill to the Fashion Museum, I distracted myself with the beautiful old buildings and lovely, steel gray sky.
The weather forecast was for rain, but except for a fine drizzle at around 2 pm, it was dry. But cold :(

We enter the Roman Baths from a walkway at the top. In the pix below, an arrow shows where I was when I took this shot.

When you realise how old this is, it is truly magnificent.

One of the many gods the Romans worshiped - looking down as his devotees bathed in the hot waters.

Roman soldiers guard the bathers. And there's that cathedral again!

A to-scale model of the Baths. An audio guide is available, and detailed explanations help you understand all that you see.

This is the explanation for the picture below:

Although only bits and pieces remain, a slide-show of photos super-imposed on these bits, help you imagine how it might have looked at the time.

Just some notes to help me remember the Baths.

These notes explain the picture below. I was fascinated with the three 'goddesses'
whom I felt looked like what I think aliens look like. Yes, I am a Von Daniken fan ;)

Banisters, guardrails and glass keep people out of the exhibits. I felt this was so well managed, and yet, allowed us to see and experience all that we needed to. So different from how it was in Pompeii - where people wandered everywhere, touched everything, and even messed about with stuff.

The rail keeps you from falling into the hot water!

Water either leaving or entering the baths. I forget which now :(

Notes helping to explain how the stones were lifted, and how pulleys work.

And even though I remember my Physics about pulleys, I did give these ropes a tug ;)

Down at bath-level. Steam rises from the hot water - but a sign warns us not to touch it. That's either to protect us from getting burned, or to protect them from getting sued. Too much of that around these days, I feel.

I loved this massive pillars.

People sat around on these beds of rock and enjoyed the warm waters. In the beginning, both men and women used the baths at the same time. Later, it was deemed improper, and there were separate baths for each.

Explanation for the pix below:

Still mesmerised at how massive the pillars are.

As in Pompeii, lead pipes were used to carry water to the baths. I hope these guys didn't drink the water, though.

Still true to this day!

Explanation for the pix below:

Kinda cool, no? How they kept it warm! Hahahahah!

The requisite shot that says I-was-there. I loved the shop-fronts - both here in Bath, in old Lyon, and in London. So very quaint, and so very beautiful. It seemed like so much of thought went into creating a beautiful and warm picture.

From the canals along Camden Market to Regent's Park

2011-11-10T19:07:00.000+08:00

I'm back home in PD again now, but over the next couple of days, I'll share the last of the pictures I took when I was in London.

Today's lot was taken on the day we went to Camden Market. Although it was a weekday, it was a crowded and busy place - like everywhere else in London. It was not unlike the pasar pagi and pasar malam we have here, and I am not a fan of either. So, I didn't feel the need to take any pictures there.

We did get our lunch there though: an African affair of tomato rice, a lamb curry-type-thingy (not pedas, so I liked it), and a nice salad topped with yogurt. Yummm!

I was more fascinated with the canal that ran alongside the market, though:

A weeping willow weeps into the canal, right opposite the market. The river
barge is used to take people on tours of the area.

Apartments along the canal, and boats anchored along it. You may park your boat
for free here, for a week, it says on a notice I passed.

I loved that flaming tree! And can you see the river barge? It's returning from a tour,
back to Camden Market.

It's a lovely walk along the canal. Apparently, they go on and on and on.

Larnee spotted this raspberry plant growing happily along
the banks! :)

Up-market homes whose gardens end on the banks of the canals.

A lovely old church that I spotted from the canal.

This young man reminded me of the one I'd left behind in PD - so I had
to sneak in a picture of him ;)

We'll soon be on that bridge.

We climbed a little path onto the main road, and this same church
loomed large again - and begged to be in another pix!

And then, on to Regent's Park:

From the canal, we walked across this bridge to Regent's Park. Many, many
others had the very same idea!

I spotted holly in a hedge - and later, found them everywhere, even
grown into trees. Amazing :)

Nothing says autumn as well as leaves of gold - on the trees, and in
a carpet on the ground.

And... if there are flowers to be found, I'll find them - and take a
picture of them as well ;) These were found in sheltered circles,
off the main road through the park.

St James's Park

2011-10-30T19:39:00.000+08:00

(Too many pix here: you were warned!)

It was a sunny day, yesterday, so we made the best of it and decided to go to St James's Park which is right next to Lizzy's palace.

On the way there, through Green Park, which is a tube station.

Isn't this a lovely walk?

An I-was-there-pix for me :)

I'm always mesmerised by the tree-tops.

The famous road, we always see: for Diana's funeral, and recently, at the wedding of
William and Kate, thronged with people.

More of him/her and his fellow avians coming up!

Summer's over, and autumn is well and truly here, so these are all I found: wild
flowers, almost at the end of their cycle.

I love poppies, and I thought these red ones were poppies, but I think
I am wrong. They're amaryllis or something! Hahahahah!

This was the only ONE of his kind that we saw there. And I don't know what
he's called :(

This is an apple tree, but all the apples were high on top - I guess, out of the
reach of even the tallest guy!

Can you see the apples? They're the EXACT colour as their leaves!

Ok, got one for you!

There were lots of squirrels about, and many were quite brave and would
come right up to us. I loved them!

These two guys were tucked into their wings, fast asleep!!!

I think these are echinesia - but I'm probably wrong.

This chestnut tree reached right down to the water. Lovely!

A heron

I usually take a snap of any notice that's up - to help me remember where I was
and what I was looking at!

A really friendly pelican, who allowed idiots to touch him, and many
took pictures doing just that.

That's the Cabinet War Rooms in the background.

A close-up of a chestnut tree. These were all over Lyon as well :)

Can you see the London Eye?

Out the back gates, and onto Trafalgar Square, and home.

Fill in the blanks

2011-10-29T16:35:00.000+08:00

Courtesy of my pal Gopi:

London and Lyon

2011-10-27T17:48:00.001+08:00

I'm back in London, after spending the weekend+ with my daughter, her husband, and his family in Lyon. I haven't taken many photographs because my son-in-law has a new camera and he's snapping away at everything, and he's promised to send me his shots. But, until I get them, I've decided to put up some of mine here.

The opening shots are of London's King's Cross station ...

King's Cross St Pancras

a detail on a column

It's cold, and the leaves are turning to yellow and gold - except in this
little alcove

And now, on to Lyon:

The view from atop a hill, looking down on Lyon

We arrived at the basilica just as the bells pealed for the start of mass. So, we didn't get too much of a look-around inside. The outside was magnificent enough, I feel, to not make me feel too bad about missing the inside.

These details - above and below - are for me, and my doodly-art ;)

A sneaky pix of the inside while mass was being sung. We were there for about
five minutes. Brought back a lot of old memories of church-going-times for me.

The clear-blue skies of Lyon, on Sunday, were amazing.

It was tough getting down the huge steps; but a lot tougher climbing back up
to the top.

Roses, and rose-hips, growing right in the centre of town

A decent shot of the basilica, atop the hill, from Vieux Lyon

Smartphone pictures pose privacy risks

2011-10-21T22:05:00.000+08:00

Watch this You Tube and adjust your privacy settings, IF privacy is important to you, and/or your children.

Steve Jobs 1955 - 2011

2011-10-19T18:35:00.000+08:00

Hello from London :)

The original motorcycle dog

2011-10-13T13:19:00.000+08:00

LG Optimus Hyper Facade

2011-10-11T14:19:00.000+08:00

Turn you sound on.

Switch to full-screen.

Sit back, and be amazed:

Thank you for this one, Lita. I loved it :)

Word play

2011-10-07T15:40:00.000+08:00

Below are some neologisms (new words that have yet to be used commonly) that are a hoot!

Pat

The Washington Post's Mensa Invitational once again invited readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition.

Here are the winners:

1. Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period of time.

2 Ignoranus : A person who's both stupid and an asshole.

3. Intaxication : Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.

4. Reintarnation : Coming back to life as a hillbilly.

5. Bozone ( n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.

6. Foreploy : Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid.

7. Giraffiti : Vandalism spray-painted very, very high

8. Sarchasm : The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.

9. Inoculatte : To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.

10. Osteopornosis : A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)

11. Karmageddon : It's like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.

12. Decafalon (n.): The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.

13. Glibido : All talk and no action.

14. Dopeler Effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.

15. Arachnoleptic Fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.

16. Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito, that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.

17. Caterpallor ( n.): The color you turn after finding half a worm in the fruit you're eating.

The Washington Post has also published the winning submissions to its yearly contest, in which readers are asked to supply alternate meanings for common words. (These are my favourites!!!)

And the winners are:

1. Coffee, n. The person upon whom one coughs.

2. Flabbergasted, adj. Appalled by discovering how much weight one has gained.

3. Abdicate, v. To give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.

4. Esplanade, v. To attempt an explanation while drunk.

5. Willy-nilly, adj. Impotent.

6. Negligent, adj. Absentmindedly answering the door when wearing only a nightgown.

7. Lymph, v. To walk with a lisp.

8. Gargoyle, n. Olive-flavored mouthwash.

9. Flatulence, n. Emergency vehicle that picks up someone who has been run over by a steamroller.

10. Balderdash, n. A rapidly receding hairline.

11. Testicle, n. A humorous question on an exam.

12. Rectitude, n. The formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.

13. Pokemon, n. A Rastafarian proctologist.

14. Oyster, n. A person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddishisms.

15. Frisbeetarianism, n. The belief that, after death, the soul flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there.

Gerald Celente: Trend forecaster with a bitter pill

2011-10-06T10:03:00.001+08:00

The article below makes riveting reading for someone like me. I dislike what I see happening in the world around me, and see a fall coming soon. But, for whom, and when? This guy seems to think this fall will begin with America. But what about us? I've heard it said that '...when Wall Street sneezes, KL catches a cold....' So, that isn't good news for us at all, is it? Couple that with the way we are free-wheeling downhill, ostensibly rudderless, read this and hope it isn't so!

The man who predicted the 1987 stock market crash and the fall of the Soviet Union is now forecasting a revolution in America , food riots and tax rebellions - all within four years, while cautioning that putting food on the table will be a more pressing concern than buying Christmas gifts by 2012.

Gerald Celente, the CEO of Trends Research Institute, is renowned for his accuracy in predicting future world and economic events, which will send a chill down your spine considering what he told Fox News this week.

Celente says that by 2012 America will become an underdeveloped nation, that there will be a revolution marked by food riots, squatter rebellions, tax revolts and job marches, and that holidays will be more about obtaining food, not gifts.

"We ' re going to see the end of the retail Christmas... we ' re going to see a fundamental shift take place... putting food on the table is going to be more important than putting gifts under the Christmas tree," said Celente, adding that the situation would be "worse than the great depression."

"America's going to go through a transition the likes of which no one is prepared for," said Celente, noting that people ' s refusal to acknowledge that America was even in a recession highlights how big a problem denial is in being ready for the true scale of the crisis.
Celente, who successfully predicted the 1997 Asian Currency Crisis, the subprime mortgage collapse and the massive devaluation of the U.S. dollar, told UPI in November last year that the following year would be known as "The Panic of 2008," adding that "giants (would) tumble to their deaths," which is exactly what we have witnessed with the collapse of Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns and others. He also said that the dollar would eventually be devalued by as much as 90 percent. The consequence of what we have seen unfold this year would lead to a lowering in living standards, Celente predicted a year ago, which is also being borne out by plummeting retail sales figures.

The prospect of revolution was a concept echoed by a British Ministry of Defence report last year, which predicted that within 30 years, the growing gap between the super rich and the middle class, along with an urban underclass threatening social order would mean, "The world's middle classes might unite, using access to knowledge, resources and skills to shape transnational processes in their own class interest," and that, "The middle classes could become a revolutionary class."

In a separate recent interview, Celente went further on the subject of revolution in America. "There will be a revolution in this country," he said. "It's not going to come yet, but it ' s going to come down the line and we're going to see a third party and this was the catalyst for it: the takeover of Washington, D.C. in broad daylight by Wall Street in this bloodless coup. And it will happen as conditions continue to worsen."

"The first thing to do is organise with tax revolts. That's going to be the big one because people can't afford to pay more school tax, property tax, any kind of tax. You're going to start seeing those kinds of protests start to develop."

"It's going to be very bleak. Very sad. And there is going to be a lot of homeless, the likes of which we have never seen before. Tent cities are already sprouting up around the country and we're going to see many more."

"We're going to start seeing huge areas of vacant real estate and squatters living in them as well. It's going to be a picture the likes of which Americans are not going to be used to. It's going to come as a shock and with it, there's going to be a lot of crime. And the crime is going to be a lot worse than it was before because in the last 1929 Depression, people's minds weren't wrecked on all these modern drugs, over-the-counter drugs, or crystal meth or whatever it might be.. So, you have a huge underclass of very desperate people with their minds chemically blown beyond anybody's comprehension."

The George Washington blog has compiled a list of quotes attesting to Celente's accuracy as a trend forecaster. "When CNN wants to know about the Top Trends, we ask Gerald Celente." - CNN Headline News "Gerald Celente has a knack for getting the zeitgeist right." - USA Today

"There's not a better trend forecaster than Gerald Celente. The man knows what he's talking about." - CNBC

"Those who take their predictions seriously ...consider Gerald Celente and the Trends Research Institute." - The Wall Street Journal

"Gerald Celente is always ahead of the curve on trends and uncannily on the mark ... he's one of the most accurate forecasters around." - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

"Mr. Celente tracks the world's social, economic and business trends for corporate clients." - The New York Times

"Mr. Celente is a very intelligent guy. We are able to learn about trends from an authority." - 48 Hours, CBS News

"Gerald Celente has a solid track record. He has predicted everything from the 1987 stock market crash and the demise of the Soviet Union to green marketing and corporate downsizing." - The Detroit News

"Gerald Celente forecast the 1987 stock market crash, 'green marketing,'and the boom in gourmet coffees."- Chicago Tribune

"The Trends Research Institute is the Standard and Poors of Popular Culture." - The Los Angeles Times

"If Nostradamus were alive today, he'd have a hard time keeping up with Gerald Celente." - New York Post

So there you have it - hardly a nut job conspiracy theorist blowhard now is he? The price of not heeding his warnings will be far greater than the cost of preparing for the future now. Storable food and gold are two good places to make a start.

p.s.
Whatever happens to America, the whole world will be affected – so let's not dismiss this.

Read about him here, in Wikipedia.

Or, read about his trend predictions on this fan's site: Trends & Forecasts

A letter to the people of Australia

2011-10-03T14:28:00.000+08:00

... or so the e-mail said. It shows a picture of a smiling person - presumably their PM, Julia Gilliard.

I'm posting it here because I hear on the news that we, here in Malaysia, are thinking about raising the retirement age... while this suggests that they intend the direct opposite.

BUT, in both cases, I think the implicit and intended outcome remains the same.

*************

Dear People of Australia ,

Due to the current financial situation caused by the slowdown of the economy, your Government has decided to implement a scheme to put workers 50 years of age and older on early retirement. This scheme will be known as RAPE (Retire Aged People Early).

Persons selected to be RAPED can apply to the government to be eligible for the SHAFT scheme (Special Help After Forced Termination).

Persons who have been RAPED and SHAFTED will be reviewed under the SCREW program (Scheme Covering Retired Early Workers). A person may be RAPED once, SHAFTED twice and SCREWED as many times as the government deems appropriate.

Only persons who have been RAPED can get AIDS (Additional Income for Dependants & Spouse) or HERPES (Half Earnings for Retired Personnel Early Severance). Obviously, persons who have AIDS or HERPES will not be SHAFTED or SCREWED any further by the government..

Persons who are not RAPED and are staying on, will receive as much SHIT (Special High Intensity Training) as possible. The government has always prided itself in the amount of SHIT it gives out. Should you feel that you do not receive enough SHIT, please bring this to the attention of your local MP. They have been trained to give you all the SHIT you can handle.

Alzheimer's: Some food for thought

2011-10-02T15:38:00.000+08:00

"The idea that Alzheimer's is entirely genetic and unpreventable is perhaps the greatest misconception about the disease," says Gary Small, M.D., director of the UCLA Center on Aging. Researchers now know that Alzheimer's, like heart disease and cancer, develops over decades and can be influenced by lifestyle factors including cholesterol, blood pressure, obesity, depression, education, nutrition, sleep and mental, physical and social activity.

The big news:

Mountains of research reveals that simple things you do every day might cut your odds of losing your mind to Alzheimer's.

In search of scientific ways to delay and outlive Alzheimer's and other dementias, I tracked down thousands of studies and interviewed dozens of experts. The results in a new book:

100 Simple Things You Can Do to Prevent Alzheimer's and Age-Related Memory Loss (Little, Brown; $19.99).

Here are 10 strategies I found most surprising (. . . comments are in italics . . . . ):

1. Have coffee

In an amazing flip-flop, coffee is the new brain tonic. A large European study showed that drinking three to five cups of coffee a day in midlife cut Alzheimer's risk 65% in late life. University of
South Florida researcher Gary Arendash credits caffeine: He says it reduces dementia-causing amyloid in animal brains. Others credit coffee's antioxidants. So drink up, Arendash advises, unless your doctor says you shouldn't.

I'm a coffee FAN, and this is my favourite coffee. Davidoff (white cap), which
I take with milk, no sugar, first thing in the morning. A must!

2. Floss

Oddly, the health of your teeth and gums can help predict dementia. University of Southern California research found that having periodontal disease before age 35 quadrupled the odds of dementia years
later. Older people with tooth and gum disease score lower on memory and cognition tests, other studies show. Experts speculate that inflammation in diseased mouths migrates to the brain. (This one is a no-brainer, because really - how can you NOT floss?!)

3. Google

Doing an online search can stimulate your aging brain even more than reading a book, says UCLA's Gary Small, who used brain MRIs to prove it. The biggest surprise: Novice Internet surfers, ages 55 to 78, activated key memory and learning centers in the brain after only a week of Web surfing for an hour a day. (What was life like Before Google? I cannot imagine. I hear that there are worries about Google and anti-trust laws or whatever in the US, but really, they'd better keep Google around for me. I cannot imagine not being able to just type something in and get a gazillion replies to my querry!)

4. Grow new brain cells.

Impossible, scientists used to say. Now it's believed that thousands of brain cells are born daily. The trick is to keep the newborns alive. What works: aerobic exercise (such as a brisk 30-minute walk every day), strenuous mental activity, eating salmon and other fatty fish, and avoiding obesity, chronic stress, sleep deprivation, heavy drinking and vitamin B deficiency. (I'm good for all this, except the eating salmon bit - yukkk, phuuui! I try not to miss a day on my elliptical trainer (I do about an hour), and if I do, it's because I've either mopped the house, or am out shopping ;) - all activity, and all good!)

5. Drink apple juice

Apple juice can push production of the "memory chemical" acetylcholine; that's the way the popular Alzheimer's drug Aricept works, says Thomas Shea, Ph.D., of the University of Massachusetts. He was surprised that old mice given apple juice did better on learning and memory tests than mice that received water. A dose for humans: 16 ounces, or two to three apples a day. (This is fail-dot-com for me, because I do EAT apples, but don't juice. I'm an orange-juice-kinda-girl.)

6. Protect your head

Blows to the head, even mild ones early in life, increase odds of dementia years later. Pro football players have 19 times the typical rate of memory-related diseases. Alzheimer's is four times more common in elderly who suffer a head injury, Columbia University finds. Accidental falls doubled an older person's odds of dementia five years later in another study. Wear seat belts and helmets,
fall-proof your house, and don't take risks. (I don't know why Americans need to be told to protect their heads - duh! - but I'm careful about that. Even this is not a political blog, so my head's protected both literally and figuratively.)

7. Meditate

Brain scans show that people who meditate regularly have less cognitive decline and brain shrinkage - a classic sign of Alzheimer's - as they age. Andrew Newberg of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine says yoga meditation of 12 minutes a day for two months improved blood flow and cognitive functioning in seniors with memory problems. (I've never been someone who can meditate. But, I've found a good substitute: doodling. Visit me here, and see my peace mandala, and doodle-y bookmarks that are now with friends. When I doodle, I forget everything and everyone else. It's the same when I paint: all I think of is the paint and colour, and where what goes, and how. Meditation with tools.)

8. Take D

A "severe deficiency" of vitamin D boosts older Americans' risk of cognitive impairment 394%, an alarming study by England's University of Exeter finds. And most Americans lack vitamin D. Experts
recommend a daily dose of 800 IU to 2,000 IU of vitamin D3. (We've lots of sunshine here, so I don't think we need worry - unless you're chained to the office all day, and never see the sun. CHANGE THAT!)

9. Fill your brain

It is called "cognitive reserve". A rich accumulation of life experiences - education, marriage, socializing, a stimulating job, language skills (I'm studying French - it's not easy, it twist-ties my tongue up in knots, but I still love it! :), having a purpose in life, physical activity and mentally demanding leisure activities makes your brain better able to tolerate plaques and tangles. You can
even have significant Alzheimer's pathology and no symptoms of dementia if you have high cognitive reserve, says David Bennett, M.D., of Chicago's Rush University Medical Center. (I get lost in my books, and am hooked on Sudoku. I think there aren't enough hours in a day for me to do all I need to do, and still find time for tv. A cliché about retirees, but true for me!)

10. Avoid infection

Astonishing new evidence ties Alzheimer's to cold sores, gastric ulcers, Lyme disease, pneumonia and the flu. Ruth Itzhaki, Ph.D., of the University of Manchester in England estimates the cold-sore herpes simplex virus is incriminated in 60% of Alzheimer's cases. The theory: Infections trigger excessive beta amyloid "gunk" that kills brain cells. Proof is still lacking, but why not avoid common infections. (If you've had chicken pox, you already have the herpes simplex virus in your system and there's nothing you can do about it. If you haven't, get vaccinated.)

What to Drink for Good Memory

A great way to keep your aging memory sharp and avoid Alzheimer's is to drink the right stuff.

a. Tops: Juice

A glass of any fruit or vegetable juice three times a week slashed Alzheimer's odds 76% in Vanderbilt University research. Especially protective:blueberry, grape and apple juice, say other studies. (Yerrrrr! Why isn't a margarita on this list???!!!!)

b. Tea

Only a cup of black or green tea a week cut rates of cognitive decline in older people by 37%, reports the Alzheimer's Association. Only brewed tea works. Skip bottled tea, which is devoid of antioxidants.

A beautifully blurrrrrr pix of my favourite tea - which I have every morning,
after I slog away at the exercise machine :)

c. Caffeine beverages

Surprisingly, caffeine fights memory loss and Alzheimer's, suggest dozens of studies. Best sources: coffee (one Alzheimer's researcher drinks five cups a day), tea and chocolate. Beware caffeine if you are pregnant, have high blood pressure, insomnia or anxiety.

d. Red wine

If you drink alcohol, a little red wine is most apt to benefit your aging brain. It's high in antioxidants. Limit it to one daily glass for women, two for men. Excessive alcohol, notably binge drinking, brings on Alzheimer's. (Red wine makes me puke. 'Nuff said.)

e. Two to avoid:

Sugary soft drinks, especially those sweetened with high fructose corn syrup. They make lab animals dumb. Water with high copper content also can up your odds of Alzheimer's. Use a water filter that removes excess minerals.

5 Ways to Save Your Kids from Alzheimer's

Now Alzheimer's isn't just a disease that starts in old age. What happens to your child's brain seems
to have a dramatic impact on his or her likelihood of Alzheimer's many decades later. Here are five things you can do now to help save your child from Alzheimer's and memory loss later in life, according to the latest research.

1. Prevent head blows:

Insist your child wear a helmet during biking, skating, skiing, baseball, football, hockey, and all contact sports. A major blow as well as tiny repetitive unnoticed concussions can cause damage, leading to memory loss and Alzheimer's years later. (I'm trying to remember if either of my kids landed on their heads when they were young... I think not. But then, Dan didn't always tell me what he did when he was young. . . .)

2 Encourage language skills:

A teenage girl who is a superior writer is eight times more likely to escape Alzheimer's in late life than a teen with poor linguistic skills. Teaching young children to be fluent in two or more languages makes them less vulnerable to Alzheimer's.

3. Insist your child go to college:

Education is a powerful Alzheimer's deterrent. The more years of formal schooling, the lower the odds. Most Alzheimer's prone: teenage drop outs. For each year of education, your risk of dementia drops 11%, says a recent University of Cambridge study.

4. Provide stimulation:

Keep your child's brain busy with physical, mental and social activities and novel experiences. All these contribute to a bigger, better functioning brain with more so-called 'cognitive reserve.' High cognitive reserve protects against memory decline and Alzheimer's.

5. Spare the junk food:

Lab animals raised on berries, spinach and high omega-3 fish have great memories in old age. Those overfed sugar, especially high fructose in soft drinks, saturated fat and trans fats become overweight and diabetic, with smaller brains and impaired memories as they age, a prelude to Alzheimer's.

[Excerpted from Jean Carper's newest book: "100 Simple Things You Can Do
to Prevent Alzheimer's".]

The Titanic didn't stand a chance!

2011-09-29T19:23:00.001+08:00

This came from a Rig Manager for Global Marine Drilling in St. Johns , Newfoundland.

They actually have to divert the path of these things away from the rig by towing them with ships!

Anyway, in this particular case the water was calm and the sun was almost directly overhead, so that the diver was able to get into the water and take this picture.

They estimated its weight at 300,000,000 tons.

Is this C O O L or what?!

The BUS test

2011-09-28T13:54:00.000+08:00

Here's a pre-school test for you!

Which way is the bus below travelling?
To the left or to the right?

Can't make up your mind?

Look carefully at the picture again.

Still don't know?

Pre-schoolers all over the United Kingdom were shown this picture and asked the same question.
90% of them gave this answer:

"The bus is travelling to the right."

When asked, "Why do you think the bus is travelling to the right?"

☺

☺

☺

☺

☺

☺

☺

☺

☺

☺

☺

☺

They answered: "Because you can't see the door to get on the bus."

How do you feel now???

Neither Chuan nor I could answer this. Scant consolation, I know, but . . . . ;)

Draw a stickman!!!

2011-09-23T10:14:00.002+08:00

Yes, do it now!!! It is so fun, I tell you!

http://www.drawastickman.com/

A place in the sun

2011-09-20T12:50:00.001+08:00

Jolie finds a patch of sunlight whenever she lies down for a nap. No matter where, and for no matter how long, if there's a splotch of sunlight on the floor somewhere, she's lying in it :)

Where's Toffee? With all that fur, she's no fan of the sun - it just makes her too, too hot!

She's on the other side of the room - under the shelves. You see that fan behind Jolie? That's aimed directly at the Toffster, keeping her nice and cool :)

Undi* lah

2011-09-19T18:22:00.002+08:00

If you don't, you can't grumble later.

I love this one... enjoy!

*Undi means to vote, in Malay.
Lah has no meaning, but it sure makes everything we say in English sound so very Malaysian :)

And, if you're interested, the English subtitles version ;)

Did you know?

2011-09-16T16:12:00.000+08:00

Here's some interesting stuff you might not have known . . . .

People who ride on roller coasters have a higher chance of having a blood clot in the brain. (Found confirmation of this online.)

People with blue eyes see better in the dark. (But, people with dark eyes see better during the day, in bright sunshine, or so the story goes - BUT, I couldn't find confirmation of this online, so I guess it is just a myth.)

Another one about the eye: The only part of the body that has no blood supply, is the cornea of the eye. It takes in oxygen directly from the air. (The oxygen gets dissolved into the tears, and from there, feeds the corneal cells.)

Wearing headphones for just one hour will increase the bacteria in your ears by 700 times!

(Here's what I found online about this one:

The source of this idea seems to be a 1992 study from the medical journal 'Laryngoscope' in which Itzhak Brook and William Jackson measured bacteria levels found on 20 audio headsets of the type provided on commercial airline flights. At the beginning of the experiment, the typical headset had 60 microorganisms on its surface; after an hour's use of the headphones by a volunteer, that number went up to 650 - roughly 11, not 700, times more. This could suggest that headphones make germs procreate like crazy, an icky enough image, but the authors say it's more likely that the heat and humidity created in the user's ears cause "resident organisms from the deeper skin layers and the sweat and sebaceous glands" to congregate out in the open, which to some might seem far ickier.

So we've got the general idea that headphone use for an hour = lots more bacteria, but where did that 700-times thing come from? Here we turn to the "Practical Traveler" column in the New York Times of January 3, 1993. Addressing the topic of germs lingering on airplane pillows, headrest covers, and headsets, writer Betsy Wade summarizes the Brook and Jackson report as saying their "research showed a 100- to 700-fold increase in bacteria" on the headset. Now, the Straight Dope staffers and I have turned that study upside down and can't fathom how Wade got her numbers. Whether they arose from a cryptic reading of the data, a misreading, or a proofreader's slip, it's of such that Internet factoids are born.

The bigger question is: fine, wearing headphones causes the ears to teem with bacteria; other than grossing us out, does this affect our lives? Unclear.

Though they warn of potential risk, Brook and Jackson couldn't tie the germ increase to actual health trouble; a Malaysian study of 118 phone-support workers who used headsets seven hours a day found that 11 had chronic ear, nose, and throat problems, but in only four cases were those were related to ear infections. Other ear research suggests that pretty much anything you stick in there - stethoscopes, hearing aids, audiological gear - comes out covered in microbes, but those microbes don't necessarily make anyone particularly sick. )

The sound that you hear when you crack your knuckles is that of nitrogen gas bubbles bursting.

Money isn't made of paper - but of cotton. (Actually, of rags: either cotton or linen cloth.)

A huge underground river runs underneath the Nile, with six times more water than the river above. (This appears to be true. Lots of sites online with more info.)

The mosquito is the one responsible for the most deaths worldwide.

Right-handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left-handed people. (This is NOT TRUE, but a myth started by a 1992 book, 'The Lefthanded Syndrome' - but, it was based on misinterpreted data. So, if you're a lefty, don't worry about not outliving me ;)

Men's shirts have the buttons on the right, while women's shirts/blouses are on the left. (Because men dressed themselves; and women were helped - so it was easier for the 'helper' to manipulate the buttons if they were on the helper's right, which was the woman's left. Nice, eh?)

We exercise about 30 muscles when we smile :)

It cost 7 million dollars to make the Titanic - the ship - and 200 million to make a film about it.

The USA uses 29% of the world's petrol, and 33% of the world's electricity. (I didn't check up on this one, but it seems about right to me! Like, who's surprised already?!)

September 11

2011-09-12T16:28:00.000+08:00

If you're interested in another perspective, read Antares 9/11 Revisited: Loose change & the Enemy Within, on September 11.

From his site, I was directed to this one - Patriots Question 9/11.

And before you ask, I'll answer: Yes, I also question their landing on the moon. The evidence just doesn't add up - for me.

I think it is all right to question things, and to not accept the conventional wisdom. It doesn't mean I'm mad, it just means that I am thinking about it, and I've yet to make up my mind.

For the week leading up to 11 September, tv has been full of documentaries about the event, the most priceless one of all being what was billed as important, and not-to-be-missed: The interview with GW Bush, on the event. Are they effing kidding me?!!?!

A pendulum only an engineer could love

2011-09-10T18:17:00.000+08:00

... or so the heading went, in the e-mail my buddy Lita sent me.

But this is a pendulum that I have always loved - and I am no engineer. Not by any stretch of my feeble imagination ;)

I had one like this, but my mum dropped it, and it couldn't be unknotted, though we did try.

I have watched this so many times, now - and I am still fascinated at the many beautiful dances it produces.

Brilliant :)

Thank you for this one, Lita. I know it was a casual forward, but I am totally delighted with it :)

Rolling in the deep

2011-09-09T15:39:00.000+08:00

This is one of my favourite-est songs, and she is one of my favourite-est singers right now - so I thought I'd share what I am listening to now:

You think your blueberry cereal's yummy? Hmmmmm . . . .

2011-09-07T19:44:00.000+08:00

Well, you'd better read the label of the box you purchased - because there may not be any blueberries in it at all!

Watch the video below, and see what's REALLY inside your favourite cereals and muffins, and pancake mixes.

When you do read the label, look out for words like:

High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) - which no one should put in their mouths!!!

Partially hydrogenated *anything* - margarine is partially hydrogenated vegetable fat, and we know that's bad for our arteries; in most of the cereals, you're gonna find, partially hydrogenated soybean oil - just as bad for us!

And where there should be blueberries, and there aren't, there are colouring agents!

So, while you're feeling virtuous for quietly eating your cereal with milk, instead of a nasi lemak, or wantan mee soup, maybe you should think again about how good that cereal really is for you!

The blurb on You Tube reads:

"The blueberries found in blueberry bagels, cereals, breads and muffins are REAL blueberries right? Wrong! Award-winning investigative journalist Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, exposes the deceptive chemical ingredients and dishonest marketing of "blueberry" products from big-name food and cereal companies. The blueberries, it turns out, are made from artificial colors, hydrogenated oils and liquid sugars. See more episodes at Food Investigations.Com "

An e-mail from the queen

2011-09-06T19:30:00.000+08:00

This landed in my inbox today, and it tickled me enough to want to share it. After all, I still use 'colour' (not color), and still '-ise' (not -ize), so I felt it was a noteworthy exercise: what she plans to undertake!

Pat

To: The citizens of the United States of America
From: Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

RE: Important announcement regard the USA

In light of your immediate failure to financially manage yourselves and also in recent years your tendency to elect incompetent Presidents of the USA and therefore not able to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective immediately.

(You should look up 'revocation' in the Oxford English Dictionary.)

Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths, and territories (except Kansas, which she does not fancy).

Your new Prime Minister, David Cameron, will appoint a Governor for America without the need for further elections.

Congress and the Senate will be disbanded. A questionnaire may be circulated sometime next year to determine whether any of you noticed.

To aid in the transition to a British Crown dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect:

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1. The letter 'U' will be reinstated in words such as 'colour,' 'favour,' 'labour' and 'neighbour.' Likewise, you will learn to spell 'doughnut' without skipping half the letters, and the suffix '-ize' will be replaced by the suffix '-ise.' Generally, you will be expected to raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels. (look up 'vocabulary').

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2. Using the same twenty-seven words interspersed with filler noises such as ''like' and 'you know' is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication. There is no such thing as U.S. English. We will let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell-checker will be adjusted to take into account the reinstated letter 'u'' and the elimination of '-ize.'

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3. July 4th will no longer be celebrated as a holiday.

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4. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers, or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you're not quite ready to be independent. Guns should only be used for shooting grouse. If you can't sort things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist,then you're not ready to shoot grouse.

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5. Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous than a vegetable peeler. Although a permit will be required if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public.

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6. All intersections will be replaced with roundabouts, and you will start driving on the left side with immediate effect. At the same time, you will go metric with immediate effect and without the benefit of conversion tables. Both roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the British sense of humour.

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7. The former USA will adopt UK prices on petrol (which you have been calling gasoline) of roughly $10/US gallon. Get used to it.

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8. You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call French fries are not real chips, and those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called crisps. Real chips are thick cut, fried in animal fat, and dressed not with catsup but with vinegar.

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9. The cold, tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually beer at all. Henceforth, only proper British Bitter will be referred to as beer, and European brews of known and accepted provenance will be referred to as Lager. New Zealand beer is also acceptable, as New Zealand is pound for pound the greatest sporting nation on earth and it can only be due to the beer. They are also part of the British Commonwealth - see what it did for them. American brands will be referred to as Near-Frozen Gnat's Urine, so that all can be sold without risk of further confusion.

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10. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as good guys. Hollywood will also be required to cast English actors to play English characters. Watching Andie Macdowell attempt English dialogue in Four Weddings and a Funeral was an experience akin to having one's ears removed with a cheese grater.

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11. You will cease playing American football. There are only two kinds of proper football; one you call soccer, and rugby (dominated by the New Zealanders). Those of you brave enough will, in time, be allowed to play rugby (which has some similarities to American football, but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body armour like a bunch of nancies).

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12. Further, you will stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the World Series for a game which is not played outside of America. Since only 2.1% of you are aware there is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable. You will learn cricket, and we will let you face the Australians (World dominators) first to take the sting out of their deliveries.

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13. You must tell us who killed JFK. It's been driving us mad.

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14. An internal revenue agent (i.e. tax collector) from Her Majesty's Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all monies due (backdated to 1776).

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15. Daily Tea Time begins promptly at 4 p.m. with proper cups, with saucers, and never mugs, with high quality biscuits (cookies) and cakes; plus strawberries (with cream) when in season.

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God Save the Queen!

(Thank you for this one, Emily ;)

Curry, curry night

2011-09-05T15:07:00.000+08:00

Please turn up those speakers and listen to this one. It's funny - but I'm in love with his voice: Amazing.

Another G E M from our National News Agency

2011-09-04T14:20:00.001+08:00

Just in case someone from Bernama is reading this, here's how this could be made right (because that sentence is wrong, guys).

If we keep the idea and structure you've started out with, you could have said:

Traffic ... is generally smooth, despite the fact that there are more vehicles ~~are~~ plying on the road . . .

A tidier - and shorter - sentence would read:

Traffic ... is generally smooth despite there being more vehicles than normal on the road right now.

The use of 'more vehicles' implies a comparison with something: so, the reader may ask, "More than what...?" So, to preempt the need to ask/answer that question, you'd give the reason, i.e. 'more vehicles than normal', or 'more vehicles for this time of day/month/year, etc.'

The use of 'plying' is so unnecessary here, and why use it if you're going to use it wrongly? *sigh*

Such a simple solution. Yet such a grave error - and made by our National News Agency! Exit stage left, even!!!

Nelson Mandela and the persistent Chinese delivery man

2011-09-02T15:46:00.000+08:00

Nelson Mandela is sitting at home watching TV and drinking a beer when he hears a knock at the door.

When he opens it, he is confronted by a little Chinese man, clutching a clip board and yelling,

'You Sign! You sign!'

Behind him is an enormous truck full of car exhausts.

Nelson is standing there in complete amazement, when the Chinese man starts to yell louder,

'You Sign! You sign!'

Nelson says to him, 'Look, you've obviously got the wrong man', and shuts the door in his face.

The next day he hears a knock at the door again.

When he opens it, the little Chinese man is back with a huge truck of brake pads.

He thrusts his clipboard under Nelson's nose, yelling,

'You sign! You sign!'

Mr Mandela is getting a bit hacked off by now, so he pushes the little Chinese man back, shouting:

'Look, go away! You've got the wrong man. I don't want them!' Then he slams the door in his face again.

The following day, Nelson is resting, and late in the afternoon, he hears a knock on the door again.

On opening the door, there is the same little Chinese man thrusting a clipboard under his nose, shouting,

'You sign! You sign!'

Behind him are TWO very large trucks full of car parts.

This time Nelson loses his temper completely, he picks up the little Man by his shirt front and yells at him:

'Look, I don't want these! Do you understand? You must have the wrong name! Who do you want to give these to?'

The little Chinese man looks very puzzled, consults his clipboard, and says:

(. . . it's a beauty . . . )

(. . . wait for it . . . )

'You not Nissan Main Deala?'

Thank you for this one, Ee Lynn :)

Rain and Africa: Voice only

2011-09-01T14:28:00.000+08:00

This first one is an actual video showing the choir 'doing' the rain:

This one next one has the rain at the start, and then an almost perfect acapella version of Africa - but it isn't video, but a collection of stills spliced together, I think.

Management Theory: 6 easy lessons

2011-08-31T15:37:00.000+08:00

Not new, but still worth the read ;)

Lesson 1

A man is getting into the shower just as his wife is finishing up her shower, when the doorbell rings.

The wife quickly wraps herself in a towel and runs downstairs.

When she opens the door, there stands Bob, the next-door neighbor....

Before she says a word, Bob says, 'I'll give you $800 to drop that towel.'

After thinking for a moment, the woman drops her towel and stands naked in front of Bob, after a few seconds, Bob hands her $800 and leaves.

The woman wraps back up in the towel and goes back upstairs.

When she gets to the bathroom, her husband asks, 'Who was that?'

'It was Bob the next door neighbour,' she replies.

'Great,' the husband says, 'did he say anything about the $800 he owes me?'

Moral of the story:

If you share critical information pertaining to credit and risk with your shareholders in time,
you may be in a position to prevent avoidable exposure.

Lesson 2

A priest offered a Nun a lift.

She got in and crossed her legs, forcing her gown to reveal a leg.

The priest nearly had an accident.

After controlling the car, he stealthily slid his hand up her leg.

The nun said, 'Father, remember Psalm 129?'

The priest removed his hand But, changing gears, he let his hand slide up her leg again.
The nun once again said, 'Father, remember Psalm 129?'

The priest apologized 'Sorry sister but the flesh is weak.'

Arriving at the convent, the nun sighed heavily and went on her way.

On his arrival at the church, the priest rushed to look up Psalm 129. It said, 'Go forth and seek, further up, you will find glory.'

Moral of the story:

If you are not well informed in your job, you might miss a great opportunity.

Lesson 3

A sales rep, an administration clerk, and the manager are walking to lunch when they find an antique oil lamp.

They rub it and a Genie comes out. The Genie says, 'I'll give each of you just one wish.'

'Me first! Me first!' says the admin clerk. 'I want to be in the Bahamas , driving a speedboat, without a care in the world.' Puff! She's gone.

'Me next! Me next!' says the sales rep... 'I want to be in Hawaii , relaxing on the beach with my personal masseuse, an endless supply of Pina Coladas and the love of my life.' Puff! He's gone.

'OK, you're up,' the Genie says to the manager.

The manager says, 'I want those two back in the office after lunch.'

Moral of the story:

Always let your boss have the first say.

Lesson 4

An eagle was sitting on a tree resting, doing nothing.

A small rabbit saw the eagle and asked him, 'Can I also sit like you and do nothing?' The eagle answered: 'Sure, why not.'

So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the eagle and rested. All of a sudden, a fox appeared, jumped on the rabbit and ate it.

Moral of the story:

To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very, very high up.

Lesson 5

A turkey was chatting with a bull.

'I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree' sighed the turkey, 'but I haven't got the energy.'

'Well, why don't you nibble on some of my droppings?' replied the bull. They're packed with nutrients.'

The turkey pecked at a lump of dung, and found it actually gave him enough strength to reach the lowest branch of the tree.

The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch.

Finally, after a fourth night, the turkey was proudly perched at the top of the tree.

He was promptly spotted by a farmer, who shot him out of the tree

Moral of the story:

Bull Shit might get you to the top, but it won't keep you there..

Lesson 6

A little bird was flying south for the winter. It was so cold the bird froze and fell to the ground into a large field.

While he was lying there, a cow came by and dropped some dung on him.

As the frozen bird lay there in the pile of cow dung, he began to realize how warm he was.

The dung was actually thawing him out!

He lay there all warm and happy, and soon began to sing for joy.
A passing cat heard the bird singing and came to investigate.

Following the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the pile of cow dung, and promptly dug him out and ate him.

Moral of the story:

(1) Not everyone who shits on you is your enemy.

(2) Not everyone who gets you out of shit is your friend.

(3) And when you're in deep shit, it's best to keep your mouth shut!

It's not December 21, 2012 - it's October 28, 2011, people!

2011-08-29T03:33:00.003+08:00

My pal Antares responded to my post yesterday, with a new date for me: 28 October, 2011. It was a totally new thing for me, because I was still operating on the fact that 'it' was all going to come to a head in December of 2012 - yes, I live on Mars, didn't you know?

Yennyways, I did some digging online, and I found so many sites talking about 28 October 2011, and talking about so many interesting things that have been happening this year, and how it's all coincided with calculations made . . . .

Here are some vids I found online that have got me thinking:

I like this one best:

What a time we live in

2011-08-28T12:38:00.000+08:00

This is a screenshot of my news page today. Nice, eh, this world we live in?
Is it all really going to go kaput in 2012? I wonder about that, these days. Seriously.

We all lose our temper

2011-08-27T11:05:00.000+08:00

Lite FM keeps playing this thingy, over and over, and all in the spirit of helping us keep our heads and not lose our tempers and erupt in violence. BUT, this very thingy is irritating me and I just want to hit someone whenever I hear it.

It doesn't help that the voice who's doing the voice-over is well modulated, pronounces his words well, and sounds handsome. I cannot believe that handsome-voice can bear to speak something that is so blatantly wrong.

Yennyways, it goes like this:

We've all lost our temper at some time:
When someone cuts you off the road
When someone's being rude
Or even, insulting you.

Ok, there are lots of bits I can find fault with in that piece, but I won't.

I'm sticking to the one BIG thing that sticks in my eye: the broken rule of parallelisms.

This simply means that when you have a bunch of ideas in a row, or are repeating something, all the bits that are being repeated need to be 'parallel': be it tense, structure, idea, etc. If you're using nouns, all the repeats must have nouns. If you're using the past tense, all the repeats must be in the past tense.

For instance, you cannot say:

I like swimming and cycling, rather than long walks.

It should be:

I like swimming and cycling, rather than taking long walks.

That is a simple example, and it's easy to correct the error in parallelism.

But so is the thingy on the radio simple to correct:

When someone cuts you off the road
When someone's being rude
Or even, insulting you.

That last bit is wrong, because it is not a parallel phrase that matches the first two. It should read:

'Or even, when someone insults you.'

But, the whole damn thingy needs refining, and would sound better this way:

When someone cuts you off the road
When someone is rude
Or even when someone insults you.

That's how I'd fix it lah. But no one asked me, so all I can do is correct it here, and pretend I don't hear it when I hear it again ;)

This is all part of my writing-it-out-of-my-system plan.

I think the whole point of Lite FM's exercise is to stop people from losing their cool and going out there and hitting someone senseless. I do believe there is a line somewhere there that talks of 'unnecessary violence' - but I'm going to be strong. I won't go there - and ask them to pray tell when necessary violence is A-OK :(

Sigh.

The four stages of life

2011-08-25T20:26:00.000+08:00

Y'all want me to do what???

2011-08-22T17:20:00.001+08:00

I do believe that the doggies face and eyes say it all!!!

Don't y'all agree with me?!

The Aussie version of creation

2011-08-19T14:06:00.000+08:00

In the beginning God created day and night. He created day for footy matches, going to the beach,

and BBQs.

He created night for going prawning,
sleeping and BBQs,and God saw that it was good.

On the Second Day, God created water - for surfing,

swimming, and BBQs on the beach,
and God saw that it was good.

On the Third Day God created the Earth to bring forth plants to provide malt and yeast for beer

and wood for BBQs, and God saw that it was good.

On the Fourth Day God created animals
and crustaceans for chops, sausages,
steak and prawns for BBQs, and God saw that it was good.

On the Fifth day God created a Bloke to make use of all these wondrous creations:

go to the footy, enjoy the beach, drink the beer and eat the meat and prawns at BBQs, and God saw that it was good.

On the Sixth Day God saw that the Bloke was lonely and needed someone to go to the footy, surf, drink beer, eat and stand around the barbie with.

So God created:

Mates,

and God saw that they were good Blokes, and God saw that it was good.

On the Seventh Day God looked around at the twinkling barbie fires, heard the hiss of opening beer cans and the raucous laughter of all the Blokes. He smelled the aroma of grilled chops and sizzling prawns and God saw that it was good.

Well - almost good.

He saw that the Blokes were still lonely.

They were also too tired to clean up and needed a rest.
So God created Sheilas to clean the house, to bear children, to wash, to cook and to clean the barbie, and then God saw that it was not just good - it was better than that, it was Bloody Awesome!

IT WAS AUSTRALIA!!!!!