Friday, March 30, 2007
Seat belt use is more than just a personal right. From time to time we have rear seat passengers dying or getting seriously injured because they had not used their seat belts. This is a cause for concern. Motorists should cultivate the good habit of belting up in the interest of safe motoring. We must also realize that for every unnecessary injury or fatality resulting from a collision, there are economic costs to society. This include medical costs and subsidies as well as the loss of contribution to the economy by the economically active. Besides, an unbelted person might cause injury to belted passengers in the same car by knocking into them.
Retrieved from SPF website, 30/03/07
http://driving-in-singapore.spf.gov.sg/services/Driving_in_Singapore/Faq/seatbeltfaq.htm#personal
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Things that make me happy
the falling patter of drums
the slash of joy across my face
The rain tells me
i have many many miles to go before i rest
and many many miles to go before i rest.
I love the pain, the pain
the ache of muscles cross my thighs
the pull of tendons across the arms
The pain tells me
i have many many miles to go before i rest
and many many miles to go before i rest.
i love the heart, the heart
the strings that pull whenever you're in pain
the urge to hold and keep you safe
The heart tells me
i have many many miles to go before i rest
and many many miles to go before i rest.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Advice, like youth, probably just wasted on the young
I encourage anyone over 26 to try this and thank you for indulging my attempt.
Ladies and gentlemen of the class of '97:
Wear sunscreen.
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now.
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded. But trust me, in 20 years, you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine.
Don't worry about the future. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 p.m. on some idle Tuesday.
Do one thing every day that scares you.
Sing.
Don't be reckless with other people's hearts. Don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.
Floss.
Don't waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long and, in the end, it's only with yourself.
Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.
Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements.
Stretch.
Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don't.
Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees. You'll miss them when they're gone.
Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll divorce at 40, maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else's.
Enjoy your body. Use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or of what other people think of it. It's the greatest instrument you'll ever own.
Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room.
Read the directions, even if you don't follow them.
Do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you feel ugly.
Get to know your parents. You never know when they'll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings. They're your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.
Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were young.
Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard. Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft. Travel.
Accept certain inalienable truths: Prices will rise. Politicians will philander. You, too, will get old. And when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.
Respect your elders.
Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund. Maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse. But you never know when either one might run out.
Don't mess too much with your hair or by the time you're 40 it will look 85.
Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth.
But trust me on the sunscreen.
Mary Schmich, Chicago Tribune
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/chi-970601sunscreen,0,4664776.column
Desiderata
Desiderata
Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Personality time!
You have always been on the move seeking affectionate, satisfying and harmonious relationships. Your ultimate goal has been the realisation of an intimate union in which there could be love, self-sacrifice and mutual trust. It has often been said that 'True love is just around the corner' and - if you haven't found it as yet - you possibly soon will.
In the past there have been - and maybe there still are - many things that you have had to do without. You have now decided to set your sights on a position or situation that could give you greater prestige and which will afford you considerable self esteem.
Being a very proud individual, you tend to hold yourself aloof pretending that you are stoical - indifferent to pain and pleasure. This is not so, for in truth you are an extremely emotional individual, one that may make a hasty decision and perhaps regret it at leisure. It is time now to break the bond of detachment and be the 'you' that you would like to be - give vent to your emotions and enjoy yourself.
You are being unduly influenced by the situation that is all around you. You do not like the feeling of loneliness and whatever it is that seems to separate you from others. You know that life can be wonderful and you are anxious to experience life in all its aspects, to live it to the full. You therefore resent any restriction or limitations that are being imposed on you and you insist on going it alone.
You wish to be left in peace... no more conflict and no more differences of opinion. In fact you just don't want to be involved in arguments of any shape or form. All you want is for 'them' to get on with it - and to leave you alone.
Kal et Krab
"The blood of horseshoe crabs is blue, which is a result of its high content in copper-based hemocyanin instead of the iron-based hemoglobin found, for example, in humans."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse_shoe_crab
Is that why they are considered the king of crabs?
The ironic thing being that they aren't crabs at all.
Saturday, March 24, 2007
You can have great conversations with taxi drivers too
1. Ask taxi driver how's life.
2. Hear him go on about some topic or other.
3. Give comments on topic.
4. Begin heated conversation.
Repeat steps 2-4.
Last 2 taxi conversations -
Singapore education system and why LKY is screwing it up/ making it better.
The joys of retirement and why becoming a taxi driver instead staying at home and staring at your wife for 24 hours is a good idea.
You can have one too! If you have had any interesting conversation with taxi drivers, do let me know! im interested in what you have talked about.
Off-topic:
How many euphemisms can you make for shitting?
1. Going to check out toilet fiction.
2. Going number 2.
3. Taking a dump.
4. Adding to the lump collection.
5. Dropping an S-bomb.
6. Firing off a couple of rounds.
7. Unloading the goods.
8. Relieving stress in the lower intestine.
9. Exercising the stomach muscles.
10. Reigning on the porcelain throne.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Psychic Feedback
I changed my msn tagline to:
"you cant make much money if you don't make sense."
and it suddenly shutdown on me.
I think its the combined power of 10 or more people looking at my tagline and groaning.
Imagine one day, the human race became telepathic and our minds operate like a organic MSN system.
I think i could shut down a few people like that.
Hrmmm. With great power comes great responsibility.
I think it would be fun to play around.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Random Thoughts
I dreamt i was a butterfly.
I was flitting through life, going from flower to flower, taking what i needed, moving, existing, living. It was blissful. It was peaceful. Without a care in the world.
One day i alit onto a most stunning flower. It was bright like a rainbow, with all the iridiscent hues that attract butterflies like me. Its nectar hung invitingly, a golden droplet of pure ecstacy, balanced upon a tip of a stem, balanced precariously, inviting attention and attraction. "Drink of me," it seemed to whisper. "Take me," invited the ambrosial droplet tenderly.
As i was about to lean in and partake of that sweet liquid, i heard a voice.
"If you choose to take of this, you will learn more than you would wish to know. What you will learn, once you know it, may hurt you. It may cause you suffering beyond anything you have ever felt. At the same time, it will give you possibly the most happiness that you will ever experience, beyond the simple life of a butterfly."
I hesitated a moment, taking the words of the disembodied voice into account. Deciding,i leaned forward and drank it.
Then i woke up.
Saturday, March 17, 2007
New Bag!
Thursday, March 15, 2007
The littlest mango
It had many little mangoes. Green ones, yellow ones, small ones, big ones. Mangoes of all shapes and sizes.
These mangoes had been together for a very long time. They were all friends with each other, happy and contented.
Except for one. One day, there came a mango so small, so tiny, that the others marveled that he was able to seed at all. They watched, amazed at his growth, and how he survived the passing of the years.
But he was still small, and the others always made fun of him for that.
Lets call him Little.
One day, the mangoes were disturbing Little. They did not want him around. They wanted him to go, to stop being such a disgrace to the mango population.
So they decided to shake and shake themselves, until the poor Little could not hang onto the branch no longer, and fell, plunging to the earth.
It was a long fall, and Little had a long time to plan his revenge.
When Little struck the ground, he landed in soft mud. He heard a rustling sound around him. "oh no," he thought. "Someone's gonna eat me..."
A man came into the clearing. He looked at Little, lying there on the floor.
"Hey, that looks like a mango."
The man picked him up.
"Hey, that SMELLS like a mango."
Then he looked at Little in a funny way.
"Nah, its too small to be a mango. Its probably not worth the effort eating."
Little was overjoyed. "Look above," he whispered. "Look at all the big, pretty looking mangoes in the tree. Don't you want some of those? Don't you want to sink your teeth into that bright yellow succulent flesh?"
"Mmmmm." The man thought. "Tasty tasty mangoes."
The man looked up, at the rich, full fruits hanging up on the tree. "Go on," said the littlest mango. "Go and take your fill. Its just here, right here just for you..."
When the man reached the crown of the mango tree, all the mangos were suprised. "What is this man doing here?" They thought. Their innocent thoughts soon changed however.
The man reached for the largest, most juicy looking mango. "What is he doing to me," the mango cried. He ripped the mango from the branch, and looking at it tastily, took out his trusty hunting knife. "No!" screamed the mango. He carved a little x at the tip of the mango, taking care to pierce the skin, but not too deeply. "No!!!" wailed the mango in pain and agony. Soon, the man began to take excruciating care in peeling off the skin of the mango, slowly pulling it off bit by bit. Inch by juicy inch. The other mangoes were shocked into silence by the screams of pain the juiciest mango felt. And terrified that they would be next. Whilst below, the little mango cried in happiness, enjoying the screams of those that had made fun of him and cast him down.
Soon, one by one, the mango peels came floating down, littering the floor with the remnants and carcasses of the once living mangoes. The little mango laughed to see them, in such a pitiful state.
The tree was empty, full with the sound of silence. The man was satiated. And the little mango was finally happy.
The End.
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
A kiss to build a dream on
And my imagination will thrive upon that kiss
Sweetheart, I ask no more than this
A kiss to build a dream on
Give me a kiss before you leave me
And my imagination will feed my hungry heart
Leave me one thing before we part
A kiss to build a dream on
When Im alone with my fancies...Ill be with you
Weaving romances...making believe theyre true
Give me your lips for just a moment
And my imagination will make that moment live
Give me what you alone can give
A kiss to build a dream on
When Im alone with my fancies...Ill be with you
Weaving romances...making believe theyre true
Give me a kiss to build a dream on
And my imagination will thrive upon that kiss
Ah sweetheart, I ask no more than this
A kiss to build a dream on
Sunday, March 04, 2007
Saturday, March 03, 2007
Sadly Hilarious
As i travelled back to my hall, i realised one thing - Everyone was comparing answers and getting them wrong.
It was damn funny, in a sad way.