Dance like no one's watching

Really strange.  Download speeds are typically twice as fast as upload speeds… but for my office’s servers?  The upload speed is faster… weird weird weird.

I’ve never been a big follower of any beauty regimen because I’ve never been, and am still not sure about how scientifically proven they are.  My “beauty regimen” used to consist of 1) washing my face with a facial foam and 2) using a moisturiser for face.

In the last 6 months however, as my wedding date drew nearer, and out of pure kiasu-nism, I gradually stepped up my beauty regimen.  It’s like… what if I don’t do it and it actually works!?  And so an evolutionary process began starting with:

– wash + moisturise, to

– wash + scrub + moisturise + use sunscreen (for face), to

– wash + scrub + moisturise with separate face & eye moisturiser (I used to use my face moisturiser for my eye area too) + sunscreen + toner, to

– wash + scrub + moisturise (face & eye) + sunscreen + toner + mask!

I think I know why a “beauty regimen” is like a religion… some do it religiously, and just like the evolution process, no one can prove it’s real.

Went on a shopping spree just now.  Got cuff links & a tie for Iceman’s groom suit, bought my SKII moisturiser, bought a whitening mask (first time i’m trying it… getting married is making me vainer than usual), bought a Biotherm makeup base for my mom… and got samples (and a free umbrella) from SKII & Biotherm!  Yeah!

My best buy?  A pair of shoes that cost $12.90 from Heatwave.  They should be able to match my evening gown… and ‘cos they’re so cheap, I don’t mind buying another pair if I find something better.  Else, these should work too.  Yippee!

I love shopping sprees.  Wee!

😀

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P.S. We’re also looking for a cravet for Iceman’s tux for the wedding… didn’t see any at Robinson’s… or maybe I missed it.  Any idea where has a good selection of cravets?

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P.P.S. Searched online and found a shop that rents out cravets.  Heh.

Sigh… bonus is coming next week… I asked HR to type our bonus letters faster so we can get them earlier… but she said she’s not superwoman.  Hehe.  (HR, I hope you’re reading this).  I’ve been eyeing this LV bag for the past month… I know it’s rather common ‘cos I always see ladies carrying it on the MRT… but I find it really nice! 

Sigh.  If only HR could type an extra ‘0’ before the decimal point on the letter…

I’m also eyeing this Sony Ericsson T707 handphone… the specs aren’t as good as my Nokia N82 but at least it has 3G, unlike the LG Icecream flip phone.

I need big bonus, HR. BIG BIG bonus.

Last night, I tried what Kelwin taught previously in order to add a line spacing between the paragraphs.  I tried for 2 over hours but ultimately failed, and I ended up sending an e-mail to ask Kelwin for help again.  When I came to office this morning however, the line spacing was there between the paragraphs!  Gosh!  I checked my codes and I have no idea how it happened.  Unfortunately, together with the line spacing, there’s also this rather big gap from the title of the post, to the post itself.  Sigh.  I give up… more space is better than less space.

Anyway, here’re some cute pics my dad took of Horlicks and Pinky over the weekend.

To distract Horlicks from eating my mom’s orchids, my dad thought it was a good idea to let her eat the pandan leaves.  But she couldn’t reach… so my dad placed a tool for her.

I’m told that after Horlicks came down, Pinky followed suit but we don’t have photographic evidence of that.  Heh. 

Pinky, next to his favourite DHL box.

Horlicks, full after a meal of pandan leaves.

I don’t mean to brag but it rocks that my colleagues (at least those who sit around me) are not IT inclined.  Hehe.  ‘Cos when I’m really bored at work (like now), and don’t have any urgent things to handle, I can brazenly upload new themes using a FTP programme… knowing full well that even if they see it on my screen, they’ll probably mistake it for Windows Explorer.  Muahahahahahaha.

I’ve uploaded tons of themes recently… but this is my latest haul… all are widget friendly, though I’ve not got the chance to test them on IE & other browsers like Safari, Opera and Chrome (so far all work in Firefox).

Some of the themes don’t have a line spacing between paragraphs either… and I’m not sure if I’ll be able to fix it using what Kelwin taught the last time… guess I’ll try at a later date.

Anyway, here’re the screenshots of the latest themes I’ve uploaded & some initial comments on them:

Azure & Iceman didn’t like this… actually I don’t really like it either…though I thought the planet theme was rather cool.

I liked this really fresh look… except I couldn’t get the line spacing between paragraphs.

Uploaded… then decided I didn’t really like it.  Haha.

I think this is cool… not tested on other browsers yet.

Quite like this except that the banner picture says “Veelove World” and I can’t change the jpeg image.  Works in IE & Firefox so that’s great.

Very neat layout… but I don’t really like the colour & there’s the line spacing problem again.  Argh.

Looks good except for the line spacing problem AGAIN!  What’s with these authors!  Can’t they space out their stuff!

Got a little too blue & green for me…

This looks promising… haven’t had a chance to test it.

This looks good too… shall test it when I’m in a “Hong-Kongy” mood.

Okie!  Time to meet Iceman at the tailor.  Ciao!

By Asha Popatlal, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 13 April 2009 2057 hrs

SINGAPORE: A new Bill to manage public law and order has been passed in Parliament.

It rationalises current rules for public assemblies and processions by moving away from rulings based on the number of persons involved in these activities.

Instead the focus is on whether the activity may have a disruptive effect on the public.

Scenes of disruption like those at international meetings such as the G20 meeting in London and more recently, the failed ASEAN Summit in Thailand’s Pattaya, are common.

But that’s exactly what Singapore, which will later this year host the APEC meetings where many world leaders are expected to attend, wants to avoid.

That is why it is introducing new legislation at this time.

The new Public Order Act rationalises the existing two Bills – the Public Entertainments and Meetings Act (PEMA) and the Miscellaneous Offences Act (MOA).

At the heart of the Public Order Act is one key philosophy.

Second Minister for Home Affairs, Mr K Shanmugam, said: "The approach is to seek the optimal balance between the freedom to exercise political rights while not affecting public safety security and not affecting stability.

"Have we gotten that balance right? Well, ask yourselves two questions. In our region, which country would you rather be in? And amongst the countries in the world which became independent in the 1950s and 60s, which country would you rather be in?

"The answer to these questions would be the answer to the main question I asked."

Under the new Bill, three types of activities will require permits: Those that demonstrate support for or against views or actions of any person, group of persons or any government; those that publicises a cause or campaign; and those that mark or commemorate any event.

Many sporting and recreational activities will be exempted. This means that 50 per cent of activities that now require permits will no longer be regulated by permit.

There will also be changes to the penalty regime. First-time offenders will be fined and repeat offenders will face stiffer penalties.

The Act will also give police officers new powers to issue pre-emptive "move-on" orders, which will be in written form, ordering demonstrators not to congregate at the intended rally area, or give them a chance to leave without getting arrested.

Currently, police can only observe and warn a person if an offence has been committed and follow up with investigations after the event. The police can only arrest the person on the spot if it is a seizable offence such as for carrying weapons.

Mr Shanmugam said: "If a person complies with the order and leaves the designated area, no offence will be made out against him. By giving the person in the first instance, an opportunity to cooperate with the law enforcement authorities, the move-on powers bridge the current gap of ‘doing nothing’ and ‘outright arrest’."

The police will also get special powers for international events, which Mr Shanmugam describes as "trophy targets for terrorists", where they can search people and personal property.

And learning from the Mumbai terrorist incident, the police will have powers to stop the filming of ongoing security operations and seize such materials so that operations are not compromised.

Police could even take such a person, who is believed to have such a film or picture, into custody if he refuses to stop filming or surrender his materials. But this does not apply to routine police duties.

– CNA/ir

Two of my friends got attached recently and although I know the guy better, it was the girl who “accidentally” let slip that she had a boyfriend.  I suspect that the slip wasn’t that accidental because she knew that I had questioned the guy previously when they were still dating, on whether he was interested in her or not, and thus she probably guessed that I would probe more into who’s her boyfriend, thereby giving her the opportunity to divulge the “secret” to me.

Through our chats in the past week, I sensed she was trying to find out where she weighs in my friend’s heart from me.  Actually, that’s the very reason why I suspected they were dating – ‘cos I felt she was trying to befriend me, in order to find out more about the guy.  I was in quite a dilemma over what to tell her when we met for dinner last week because I could see she was hanging onto every word I said about my observations about the guy and his ex-girlfriend (not that I know much about it anyway).

While I think the guy is a great person and fantastic friend – sincere, generous and kind (he never once badmouthed some hateable colleagues of his), I get the inkling that he isn’t quite the ideal boyfriend material.  I always got the impression that the guy was secretive about his past relationship because he knew it wasn’t working out, but yet he didn’t want to let go of it before he found another girlfriend.  My conclusion then was that a swinging bachelor in his late 30s is unlikely to settle down… and it’s just unfortunate that his next girlfriend turned out to be this pleasant, albeit insecure, girl.

I’m not very confident that this relationship of theirs will work out, though for both their sakes, I do hope this girl will be the exception rather than the norm, and that the guy will not let her down.  From what I heard, things have been good so far.  I think I’m going to make an effort to steer the conversation away from their relationship and my opinion of the guy as a boyfriend the next time the girl initiates chats with me.  This is a foreseeable mess I want to avoid – plus, I know regardless of whether the guy is in the right or wrong, I’m likely to be on his side, because he’s my friend (the girl’s really more an acquaintance and now I consider her the girlfriend of my friend).

Ignorance is sometimes bliss.

Interesting letter that appeared in Straits Times’ Forum section.

April 9, 2009

Business and religion: Where do you draw the line?

I READ with interest the recent spate of news with regard to calls for greater transparency in how charities are run, the raising of $19 million for a new complex by New Creation Church and the subsequent revelation that one of its staff was paid a $500,000 salary.

More should be done to look at how charities and religious organisations are run, together with ‘concessions’ given to them in terms of whether they are allowed to pursue commercial interests.

I cite New Creation Church in particular because I am a Christian and this was one church I attended at the encouragement of friends.

I am appalled by the amount of money paid to one staff member, presumably its senior pastor. While I can see the logic and rationale behind the need for larger premises for the growing congregation, I cannot rationalise why there is a need to go into a joint venture to build a commercial mall.

My interest in New Creation Church led me to find out more about it, and I must say some of things I came across on its website surprised me:

– The church has a ‘business arm’, Rock Productions, of which Senior Pastor Joseph Prince and senior leaders of the church are majority shareholders. A check with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority revealed more surprises, with Rock Productions stated to have $103 million in paid-up capital.

– Rock Productions also owns and manages Marine Cove. In addition, a childcare centre and a travel agency are registered under the ownership of Mr Prince and New Creation Church.

– The church has ‘membership cards’ that are given to donors according to the amount of money donated to the church. For instance, if you donate a certain amount in US dollars, you are given a ‘partner’ card that entitles you to a number of ‘benefits’, including DVDs of Mr Prince’s sermons.

As the recent revelation of the senior pastor’s salary has also become a matter of public interest, it would be helpful if the church could clarify the following:

– Detailed clarification on the stakes owned by Mr Prince and senior leaders of the church in Rock Productions and any other affiliated commercial entities, and where the money for the setting up of these commercial entities comes from?

– How are members of the remuneration council selected or elected, and what are the processes pertaining to the determination of Mr Prince’s salary, with those of senior management?

– How are profits made by Rock Productions and the other commercial entities of New Creation Church ploughed back into the church?

– Other than the external auditors appointed by the church, who else is on the audit committee of the church, and how many are independent non-members of the church?

– What are the legal concessions given by the Commissioner of Charities with regard to religious organisations and charities owning commercial entities, and what are the guidelines to ensure proper governance?

I have posed these questions to senior members of the church.

Among the responses by some church members is that such matters are the sole business of the church, and that so long as the members are willing to give, the public has no right to interfere in the affairs of the church.

I beg to differ because a church is a public space, if you are to believe in the Christian spirit of welcoming anyone who is interested. That said, there are non-members of New Creation Church like me who give donations to the church as offerings, and I am sure I am not the only one. Surely then, there is an interest to know where the donations actually go?

I have great respect for Mr Prince in terms of his preaching and what he has done for his congregation. However, I am seeking clarity in terms of accountability and governance with regard to money matters.

While I applaud the church for its innovation in raising funds and its efforts to be self-sustaining, I cannot help but wonder where one draws the line between commercial profit and the conventional definition of a non-profit organisation.

Bruce Chan

Got this from someone in the cellgroup…

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Why does Easter move around our calendar so much?
– By Quek Tze-Ming
Easter is the time when we celebrate Christ’s Resurrection. Unlike Christmas
(the other important day in the Christian calendar), which is fixed on
December 25, Easter seems to float around the Sundays of April randomly,
occasionally making an appearance in March (it fell on March 23 in 2008) or
as late as April 25 (this will happen in 2038).

Why is this? The answer is found in the difficulty of calculating a date
based on both the solar and lunar calendars.

According to the gospel accounts, Jesus was killed on or around the time of
the Jewish Passover. He was raised three days later, on the first day of the
Jewish week (Sunday).  So Christians wanted to have their feast day around
the same time as Passover, which was fixed to begin on twilight on the 14th
day of the month of Nisan (Heb: Aviv; see Lev. 23.5).

Got this so far? Now come the disputes.
First, in the mid-second century, Christians in the province of Asia
celebrated Easter beginning on Nisan 14 itself, rather than the Sunday
following, which was the practice of most Christians outside of Asia. This
became known as the Quartodeciman controversy (in the Latin Vulgate of Lev.
23.5, quarta decima = 14). The early father Melito of Sardis was a notable
Quartodeciman. This difference in practice led predictably to bouts of
name-calling, with threats of excommunication and harassment.
Quartodecimanism died out, but it was the first of a whole series of Easter
controversies.

Second, by the third century, some Christians were becoming unhappy with
relying on the Jewish community to determine the date of Easter. The First
Council of Nicaea (325 CE) decided that the calculation for the date of
Easter would be "independent" of Jewish calculations of the Passover.
Because the Council came up with little that was actually useful in
computation, it took centuries for a common method to find acceptance
throughout Christendom. Thus, while the Alexandrian tables eventually became
normative, a Roman 84-year cycle introduced at the end of the 3rd century
continued to be in use in the British Isles as late is 931.

So what is the rule now? What eventually came to be accepted was this:
Easter falls on the Sunday following the first full moon after the vernal
(or spring) equinox, which is the spring day when the length of the day and
the length of the night are exactly the same.

This is why Easter moves around our Gregorian (solar) calendar so much,
because the calculation depends on both the solar and lunar year. A solar
year (the length of time it takes the earth to move round the sun) is 365
days, 5 hours, 49 minutes, and 12 seconds. But a lunar year is 354.37 days.
Even for those who are mathematically inclined, calculating one (solar:
equinox) against another (lunar: full moon day) is seriously complicated.
You would think this is complicated enough, but that didn’t stop even more
fiddling around!

You see, the problem was that BOTH the astronomical full moon and the
astronomical equinox were not days but moments in time, and they vary. The
astronomical equinox can occur on either March 20 (as it did at Nicaea) or
Mar 21 (so 2007). The astronomical full moon can be observed happening on
different days depending on where you were standing on earth. All this
reliance on observation made planning ahead well nigh impossible.

So the church fathers decided that the full moon used to determine Easter
would not be the astronomical full moon, but an Ecclesiastical Full Moon
(EFM), calculated as the 14th day of the lunar month (determined by
formula). Easter was defined as the Sunday after the first EFM that falls on
or after March 21 (whether or not that date is the astronomical equinox).
Got it? So Easter is the Sunday after a notional full moon following a
notional equinox!

Using the formula and tables, Easter can fall on 35 possible dates between
March 22 and April 25 inclusive, with the cycle of dates repeating itself
after exactly 5,700,000 years. The most common date for Easter is April 19,
occurring 3.9% of the time.

In practice, we get our Easter dates from the Catholic church, which has
compiled tables based on the ecclesiastical rules. All the Easter observant
churches in Western Christendom use this table, or the calculation behind it
(the Eastern Churches have liturgical calendars based on the Julian
calendar). The calculation of Easter is one practice that the Protestant
church still gets its cues from the Roman Catholic church. It is a practice
based on conciliar decision and church tradition that the Reformation did
not touch. Perhaps it was too difficult to understand, reform, or offer an
alternative!

In this period leading up to our Resurrection-celebration, it is appropriate
for us to end by meditating on these lines from the old Quartodeciman,
Melito of Sardis:

I, he says, am the Christ. I am the one who destroyed death, and triumphed
over the enemy, and trampled Hades under foot, and bound the strong one, and
carried off man to the heights of heaven, I, he says, am the Christ.

Therefore, come, all families of men, you who have been befouled with sins,
and receive forgiveness for your sins. I am your forgiveness, I am the
passover of your salvation, I am the lamb which was sacrificed for you, I am
your ransom, I am your light, I am your saviour, I am your resurrection, I
am your king, I am leading you up to the heights of heaven, I will show you
the eternal Father, I will raise you up by my right hand.
– Peri Pascha 102-103