Dance like no one's watching

This is cool.  You must watch till the end.

Having said that, is anyone taking part in Earth Hour?  Switching off your lights for 1 hour on 28 March?  I’m not for it.  I support all efforts to cut wastage and save energy but switching off the lights for just 1 hour seems a little meaningless to me.  Isn’t it more important to work on being green on a daily basis?  It bugs me when people leave the tap running as they soap their hands, or letting the shower run while the water heats up, or letting the aircon escape from a room, or not shutting down their computers, or not switching off the monitor, etc.  There’s so much more we should be doing on a daily basis rather than living in darkness for 1 hour.

For me, I’ll start by not falling asleep with my lights on.

Wanted to post this last night but fell asleep after talking to Iceman.  Heh.

There’re many ways of making a flat-chested person busty… but not vice versa!

I find it odd how some people’s opinions of things can change in accordance to their mood.  For me, once I form an opinion of something (be it my assessment of a situation or a person), something has to happen before my opinion changes.  In recent months however, I’ve come across 2 people, whose opinions flipped from one end to the other, without any apparent change to the subject matter.

Case 1:  I told a friend that I was using my usual hairstylist, YK, to do my makeup for the JB wedding dinner.  The first time I told her, she commented that YK wasn’t very good – belonging more to the "Taiwanese style" of makeup (i.e. “cheena” at best, or “getai-ish” at worst).  I noted her feedback but didn’t do anything about it ‘cos I don’t know of anyone else of whom I’m confident of handling my hair, and who will be willing to find her way to JB to help me with makeup + hair.

About 2 months later, this same friend was around when I told another friend about using YK to do makeup + hair.  This time round, she commented that YK should do a good job ‘cos she’s quite experienced.  I was surprised at what she said ‘cos this contradicts what she told me previously but I didn’t press the issue ‘cos it’s not a big deal (since it wasn’t going to change my mind anyway).

Then came a 3rd time when the same friend was around when I brought up that YK was going to be doing my makeup + hair.  I was talking about getting a trial makeup, etc.  My same dear friend then said that she felt that YK wasn’t very good.  I was like HUH?!?  Why does her stand keep changing!  I was truly perplexed.  Once again, I didn’t press the issue.

Case 2: A colleague used to sing praises of our intern, Cache, as he is smart and eager to learn (humble chap).  Today however, she mentioned him in a negative tone when she was complaining about our CEO, Loudhailer.  She complained that we always have to bow to the whims and fancies of our bosses, and this includes taking in and training interns recommended by them, even when we are not free to do so.  I was taken aback by what she said because in the first place, Cache was not sent to our department by Loudhailer, but by our other CEO (strange but we have 2 of them working as co-CEOs).  Second, given how she has always spoken positively about Cache, why mention him in a negative light now, as though he is a waste of our time?  Even though her complaint (albeit unjustified) was against Loudhailer, isn’t it unfair to cite Cache as a negative example as a result?

I think I will make an effort to clarify this fickleness of opinion the next time it happens, though I need to find a diplomatic way of doing it.  Last night on America’s Top Model, there was this really diplomatic photographer.  Instead of telling a model that she’s ugly, he said something to the effect of, “I don’t think she’ll be a successful model because the structure of the face is not suitable for photos”.  That was an extremely polite and diplomatic way of saying, “that transsexual is ugly”.

I need to learn such diplomacy.  Many times, I do not confront issues because I don’t know how to phrase things in a pleasant way.  I have a tendency of  “giving it as it is” and obviously not many people are able to deal with a spade being called a spade.  Indeed, I need to learn to soften my words.

This must be the weirdest news in March!

STRAITS TIMES

March 18, 2009

Lesbian attacks wife with sperm

PITTSFIELD (Massachusetts) – ONE HALF of a lesbian married couple has ended up in custody after allegedly attempting to forcibly impregnate her ‘wife’ with her brother’s sperm.

According to a number of website reports on Wednesday, Stephanie Lighten, 26, allegedly threw her wife Jennifer Lighten, 33, on a couch in the couple’s home.

She then threatened to impregnate her with "a turkey baster" filled with semen from Stephanie’s brother kept in a sealed container, reported letzgetreal.com.

A "turkey baster" is a large syringe with a catheter tip, according to the police who confiscated it.

Police also discovered and confiscated a container of semen donated by Stephanie’s brother, Nicholas Lighten, and some aluminium that also apparently had contained the semen said a report on news.com.au.

Jennifer is reported as say she struggled with a "liquored up’ Stephanie on the couch who grabbed at Jennifer’s clothes.

She said she then ran to the bathroom and locked herself in but allegedly Stephanie broke down the door.

Police then arrived and arrested Stephanie.

Jennifer Lighten has declined to press attempted rape charges because she does not believe Stephanie seriously intended to impregnate her said letzgetreal.com.

Stephanie been charged with domestic assault and will be required to attend the Central Berkshire District Court on April 29 for a pre-trial hearing.

We all know how enthusiastic the government can be when it comes to matchmaking the people of Singapore… now, even the birds are involved… (albeit not by the government)

STRAITS TIMES

March 23, 2009

Wild hornbill seeks Mr Right

By Grace Chua

WANTED: A mate for Singapore’s only wild rhinoceros hornbill living in the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve.

The female already has possible suitors from among captive males, but they may belong to any of three sub-species of this endangered bird and not be an exact genetic match.

Preserving the sub-species is vital as each is uniquely suited to its environment. Allowing them to cross-breed may produce less hardy hybrids.

Wildlife photographer and field researcher Marc Cremades said: ‘We are trying to provide a boyfriend for the lady, and have them breed, and then provide some friends for the babies.’

The striking bird, with its orange-and-white beak and casque, was first sighted in Singapore four years ago.

Its search for love has been bumpy. Last year, researchers – who aim to reintroduce the rhinoceros hornbill sub-species here – decided the bird needed help.

Mr Cremades and his comrade for this mission, gynaecologist and amateur naturalist Ng Soon Chye, front the Singapore Hornbill Project, which has teamed up with the National Parks Board, Jurong BirdPark, National University of Singapore (NUS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and the Nature Society.

Last month, NUS and NTU researchers captured the bird from the nature reserve, and compared its DNA to that of rhinoceros hornbills from the birdpark and from an aviary in Bali. This DNA typing reveals the sub-species, which differ slightly in colour and plumage.

A single male rhinoceros hornbill, now stationed in an aviary at the nature reserve, will undergo DNA testing.

If the test confirms he is Mr Right, he will be released into the wild, so the female hornbill will be lonely no longer.

Make sure you know how a restaurant celebrates birthdays before you go there…

Alcoholic buaya spotted @ Marina Square

Was clearing out my desk when I found this super old mouse pad!  The UOB mini card was good for partying ‘cos it fitted discreetly into my jeans pocket.  Being relatively small, there was also a lower chance of it getting bent while salsa-ing.  I liked it.

I was so impressed with Scholl’s gel plaster, how inconspicuous it is, how soft, I just had to take a photo of it!

Here’s a pic of Pinky looking very discreet and inconspicuous too… he was literally digging into a bag of hay….

Pinky looks absolutely adorable when he places his front paws on his play box.  The photo was taken when he was cleaning himself so he’s kinda blurry.  Horlicks was staring right into the camera though.

Another shot of Pinky grooming.  🙂

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This is completely unrelated to the above post.  I read in the papers over the weekend that there was a bit of a hooha in online forums over Joanne Peh’s bra size.  She apparently claims to be a D-cup and said that her cup size increases by 1 whole cup when she’s having a period.  Docs have debunked that to be highly unlikely.

There’s this old Ch 8 show on TV now and… she looks damn flat to me leh.  How to be D-cup?  A-cup more like it man… but I suppose there could be other ways of increasing your cup size…

I know this isn’t an entirely fair comparison given that the M500 is a much older model (well, it’s older by 1 to 2 years) but there are these little things about the X200 that are making me love it more and more.  Here’s why:

• It doesn’t heat up much.  Heating is a huge problem with the Toshiba M500.
• The speakers are better – at least my MP3s sound better!  The Toshiba M500 has a tendency to make my MP3s sound a little squeaky.
• There’re volume buttons on the laptop, allowing me to mute, unmute, increase & decrease the volume!  The M500 only allows me to mute/unmute via a function ("Fn") button.
• The speakers on the X200 are on the "front side" of the laptop such that even when I close the laptop, I can still hear my music loud & clear.  The speakers on the M500 are on the screen panel so you have to leave the laptop open in order to hear clearly.
• Once again, the battery life on the X200 is freaking excellent!!  Normal usage (wireless broadband but not playing any MP3s) allows me 9-10hrs of usage!  I don’t have to bring my adaptor/charger home over the weekend ‘cos 9hrs is definitely sufficient to check office email and surf a little!  I almost never use the battery on my M500… but when I last did… I only got 2 hrs of batt life!  How sad is that!  It used to be 3.5 to 4hrs…  🙁
• The fingerprint reader on the X200 is very sensitive.  I think I may forget my login & email passwords soon… haha.  The fingerprint reader on the M500 gave me problems right from the start… (blogged about it b4).
• It’s super light!  With the 9-cell battery, the laptop only weighs

The only 3 things that I prefer about the M500?

1. I like the pearl white.
2. The keyboard is softer and easier to type… but maybe that’s ‘cos I’ve had it since 2007.  Heh.
3. The "Fn" button is on the bottommost row, 2nd from left.  The "Fn" button on the X200 is the 1st from left on the bottommost row… which makes it a little awkward for me to press Ctrl-C or Ctrl-Shift type of shortcuts.  I keep hitting the "Fn" button instead.

Sang this song at church today – What a Friend We have in Jesus.

What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.

Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged; take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness; take it to the Lord in prayer.

Are we weak and heavy laden, cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge, take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do your friends despise, forsake you? Take it to the Lord in prayer!
In His arms He’ll take and shield you; you will find a solace there.

Blessed Savior, Thou hast promised Thou wilt all our burdens bear
May we ever, Lord, be bringing all to Thee in earnest prayer.
Soon in glory bright unclouded there will be no need for prayer
Rapture, praise and endless worship will be our sweet portion there.

I always thought that the focus of this song was that Jesus is our Lord and Friend.  During the sermon however, the speaker shared that the words of this song were taken from a poem titled  “Pray Without Ceasing” by Joseph Scriven.  Scriven’s mother was quite seriously ill in Ireland at that time and Scriven was unable to visit her (he was living in Canada) as he did not have enough money.  The title of the poem struck me and so I went to re-read the words of the song, and I suddenly saw this from a whole new angle… not that Jesus isn’t our Friend but perhaps the point Scriven was trying to get across was that we should “pray without ceasing”.

This is good food for thought.

MM Lee on Singapore’s population

SINGAPORE: Even after the millions spent on Baby Bonuses and other parenthood incentives, policy-makers are confounded by a problem that goes to the very heart of survival: Singaporeans are still not reproducing themselves.
And on Friday, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew reflected on this challenge at the National University of Singapore Society’s (NUSS) dialogue on "Singapore and Singaporeans: A Quarter Century From Now".
In Singapore, he said, it is becoming a "lifestyle choice" for women past the age of 30 to stay single as they are well-travelled and have no one to worry about.
"My daughter is one of them. What can I do? When she was in her early 30s, my wife used to tell her, what you want is a ‘MRS’. She did not think it was funny.
"Now she is 50-plus, her mother is bedridden, I’m on a pacemaker, I got this rambling house. Everything is looked after now. What happens if we are both not there?…
"She says, ‘I’ll look after myself’. But we know she has not been looking after herself all these years. When she went to Boston for training, her cooking was to just to put her salmon into the microwave."
Mr Lee added: "But that’s life. It’s a choice that she has made, and a choice that 30 per cent of our women are making. Who am I to complain? Society lives with the consequences it is making."
The problem that this trend creates: "Without new citizens and permanent residents, we are going to be the last of the Mohicans. We are going to disappear".
But immigrants bring their own challenges to a society.
Some Singaporean parents have complained about migrants entering schools and competing with local children. He urged parents: "Would you want them to compete against you or with you as part of the team? If you don’t have them with you as part of your team, they will be on the Chinese and Indian team."
Some of these migrant students, he acknowledged, use Singapore as a stepping stone to other countries. So "why are we so stupid" in allowing this?
"Because more than half (of these students) do not make the grade to go to America, and the second tier is not bad for us."
Singapore needs to draw from a big talent pool beyond its own shores, "so that we can continue to punch above our weight. No other way".
"Would you want the pie to grow? You want a small pie with your children taking the last portion, or a big pie where you get a bigger portion, even though the talented person may get a bigger slice? That’s life. If you are afraid of talent, you will not succeed."
One catch he foresees: Even as the second generation of today’s immigrants become more Singaporean, one dubious habit they might also adopt, is to have only one child.
"So we got to make this breakthrough, otherwise we are going to have a constant problem.
"We got to get people to realise that if we don’t have 2.1 (babies) to replace ourselves, we are always dependent."
Earlier in the evening, Mr Lee officially opened the new NUS Alumni Complex, which comprises the redeveloped NUSS Kent Ridge Guild House and Shaw Foundation Alumni House. – TODAY

My boss is looking to hire another person to help out in my area of work and so he asked me what sort of conditions / criteria will I set for the new staff.  I said I want someone who writes good English and has a good attitude (i.e. willing to learn, not arrogant, etc).  My boss then asked me how was he supposed to carry out an English test during the interview?  I replied that we didn’t need an English test per se as we could just use the candidate’s GCE O Level English and GCE A Level General Paper scores as a gauge.

When I told Azure about this, she felt that a simple English test ought to be conducted and these were her suggested questions:
1) What is the past tense for "quit"?
2) What is the plural for "staff"?
3) What is the meaning of "revert" and use it to form a sentence that you would type in an e-mail.
4) "I is fine with this".  This sentence is grammatically correct – true or false?

While I couldn’t stop laughing at her questions, I noted that they do address some very common mistakes people make.  I have on more than one occasion heard the word "quitted" being uttered in office, and just as the plural for ‘staff’ is still ‘staff’, I have seen the words "equipments", "informations" and "furnitures" bandied about when they don’t exist!

Extending this plural versus singular issue is when people get their singular and plural forms mixed up, saying things like, "some people has all the luck" when it should be "some people have all the luck", or "he have a dog" when it should be "he has a dog".

Another common mistake I’ve observed is the use of tenses.  To denote that something took place in the past, we add an "ed" at the end of the root word.  So when someone says, "I refused to help him", it indicates that speaker refused to lend a hand previously – but it doesn’t automatically mean that speaker will not agree to helping now!

My gripe about writing proper English thus continues.  My boss asked if it is really that important that the new person who joins is able to write well.  I replied with a resounding "yes".  After all, we often cross swords with lawyers over policy wording issues and we wouldn’t want the new staff to be insulted by any lawyers over grammatical mistakes right?