President Obama Can Swat a Fly!

Take a look at this link and just watch the video.

Pretty impressive ;) Wish I could swat like that man... I'm too afraid of dirtying myself though -_-"

Signing off... ...

I wonder why...

Why on earth do people ask for your name in enquiry forms, only to misspell it and call you something else when they return your email??

I've made many enquiries the past few weeks, and more than half come back calling me Angelina. -_-" And every single return email I send, I write my name again. The worst one was when the first email came with the right name, and after I replied (signing off with my name), every other email that came was for 'Angelina'. Honestly.

Signing off... ...

Dating Violence

Read this article quite a couple of weeks ago... Found it in my drafts ^^;; It was in the local 'Today' newspaper, and was sent to all of us students at my university. Anyway, thought I'd share it:

Breaking that cycle of violence

Said PAVe’s head of family development, Ms Seah Kheng Yeow: “They have invested a lot (of time and effort) into the relationship. Some of them think that the cycle of violence is normal — that obsessive jealousy is love, that pain, fear and sorrow are normal.

“Sometimes, a person tries to stay in a relationship in a bid to help the abuser, or hoping that the person can change, often putting the needs of others over theirs.” Emotions take precedence over rationality, for victims of violence. For example, Cynthia knew her friends were right when they told her to break off the relationship, but “it was easier said than done”.

Another form of emotional investment is sexual intimacy.

“There are some couples who, after being sexually intimate, feel they cannot find true love after breaking up,” said Ms Seah. In other cases, it is blackmail — such as the abusive partner threatening to distribute nude photos. The incidence of dating violence is not well-documented in Singapore. However, PAVe found in 2003 that out of 2,200 secondary and junior college students polled, 15 to 30 per cent had encountered family or dating violence.

Ms Seah advises those who are experiencing or know of someone in a violent relationship to speak to a counsellor or social worker. If not, “talk to an adult, someone you can trust or even your friends — don’t keep it to yourself”.

“Know that you can break the cycle of violence and you don’t have to be a victim,” she added.

The week-long awareness campaign is targeted at youths aged 17 to 25 and will highlight the four aspects of dating violence: Emotional, psychological, sexual and physical abuse. The organisers will visit schools to talk to students. Badges, brochures and flyers can also be found at the Body Shop and other retail outlets, to highlight dating violence to the wider community.

SIGNS OF DATING VIOLENCE

Emotional Abuse

• You are afraid of your partner
• You are subjected to public humiliation by your partner

Psychological Abuse

• Your partner threatens to use violence against you or to commit suicide
  

Sexual Abuse

• You are forced to have sex with your partner when you do not consent.
  

Physical Abuse

• Your partner pushes, punches, kicks or hurls things at you
  

Controlling behaviour

• Your partner insists on knowing where and what you are doing all the time
• Isolates you from family and friends

Signing off... ...

Personality Test

I took this personality test on personaldna.com... This is my result:

you are a benevolent experiencer.

personalDNA

about you

you are an experiencer

Your inquisitive nature, imagination, and hands-on practicality make you an EXPERIENCER.

Although you have an active imagination, you also concern yourself with the functional elements of things.

You are willing to experiment to find things that work the most efficiently.

Getting stuck in certain habits is boring to you—you'd rather find new experiences.

Accordingly, experiences are more important to you than objects—you'd rather spend your money and energy on events and adventures than on material things.

You like to contemplate a lot of options before making a decision, and you're willing and able to consider a lot of different angles to problems.

You're open to suggestions, and often rely on others to assess the merit of those suggestions.

You have an ability to see the big picture—not just how things are, but how they could be—in a variety of situations.

You're not one to force your positions on a group, and you tend to be fair in evaluating different options.

You're not afraid to let your emotions guide you, and you're generally considerate of others' feelings as well.

You do your own thing when it comes to clothing, guided more by practical concerns than by other people's notions of style.

If you want to be different:

Have faith that your imagination and practicality will complement each other, and lead to good decisions on your part.

Take the initiative in seeking things out—don't wait for them to come to you.

how you relate to others

you are benevolent

You are a great person to interact with—understanding, giving, and trusting—in a word, BENEVOLENT

You don't mind being in social situations, as you feel comfortable enough with people to be yourself.

Your caring nature goes beyond a basic concern: you take the time to understand the nuances of people's situations before passing any sort of judgment.

You're a good listener, and even better at offering advice.

You're concerned with others at both an individual and societal level—you sympathize with the plights of troubled groups, and you can care about people you've never met.

Considering many different perspectives is something at which you excel, and you appreciate that quality in others.

Other people's feelings are important to you, and you're good at mediating disputes.

Because of your understanding and patience, you tend to bring out the best in people.

If you want to be different:

You spend a lot of time taking care of others, but don't forget to take care of yourself!

Sometimes you can get overcommitted, and when you sacrifice spending time with those close to you, it can make them feel unimportant.

Interesting... =X

Signing off... ...

A riddle =)

Here's an interesting riddle I came across:

What do you throw out when you want to use it, but take back when you don't want to use it?



Signing off... ...
Answer: An anchor

Difference between Red and White Wine

Was wondering what the difference between red and white wine were, since they're both made from grape.

Color is the first and easiest distinguishing feature of wine. The main difference between red and white wine is that grape juice used to make red wine contains skins, seeds, and stems. This is significant for the following reason: leaving juice to mix together with the woody bits (known as maceration) causes the finished product to contain tannins. Tannins can lend a wonderful complexity to a red wine. As a general rule of thumb, red wines are heavier and more complex than white wines. White wines are usually a good place for beginners to start because they are initially more palatable to novices since they often tend to be sweeter.

The reason you need to be aware of the differences between red and white wine is because one of the oldest rules in fine dining is that you should attempt to harmonize your choice of food and drink. If you are going to be eating something delicate with subtle tastes you should avoid drinking something with a strong flavor that will overshadow the food. Conversely, a hearty meal will often be best complimented by a strong wine with flavor of its own. White wines tend to go best with fish and white meats, like chicken and pork; red wines go best with red meat and red sauces.

I guess that's why I prefer white wine... =X Red wine is too much for my taste buds =/

I want to learn how to drink red wine some day though =)

Signing off... ...

How to Open a Tightly Closed Lid

Saw an article sharing on how to open a tightly closed jar. These are the two I thought were most effective =)

1st method:

1. Find something to grip the jar with. Use a damp cloth or wear some rubber gloves (like those used when washing dishes) when trying to open it. If you have any rubber bands that come with vegetables, you can put those around the lid for traction.
   
2. Place your palm on the top of the lid and apply pressure, then twist it around with your whole hand.
   
3. Keep a firm grip on the jar. This is because you don't want the insides all over the table/floor.
   

2nd Method:

1. The problem is often caused by a partial vacuum inside the jar, leading to air pressure preventing the lid being removed. This vacuum is made worse by refrigerating the jar, so try to open the jar before refrigerating.
   
2. If the jar is already cold, try running hot water over the lid before opening. Do not run it over the entire jar, though. The hot water will make the lid expand temporarily.
   

By the way, my exams have started for a while... It's a bit late, but I'll probably be on a hiatus till my exams are over to study =) Wish me luck!

Signing off... ...

Personality Quiz

Saw a personality quiz on my friend's blog, so I decided to try it out. It's fast, and pretty accurate =D Except for 'attractive' and 'plenty of dates' ^^;;;

Click here to try it out yourself! =D

My Results

Your view on yourself:
You are down-to-earth and people like you because you are so straightforward. You are an efficient problem solver because you will listen to both sides of an argument before making a decision that usually appeals to both parties.

The type of girlfriend/boyfriend you are looking for:
You like serious, smart and determined people. You don't judge a book by its cover, so good-looking people aren't necessarily your style. This makes you an attractive person in many people's eyes.

Your readiness to commit to a relationship:
You prefer to get to know a person very well before deciding whether you will commit to the relationship.

The seriousness of your love:
Your have very sensible tactics when approaching the opposite sex. In many ways people find your straightforwardness attractive, so you will find yourself with plenty of dates.

Your views on education
Education is very important in life. You want to study hard and learn as much as you can.

The right job for you:
You're a practical person and will choose a secure job with a steady income. Knowing what you like to do is important. Find a regular job doing just that and you'll be set for life.

How do you view success:
You are afraid of failure and scared to have a go at the career you would like to have in case you don't succeed. Don't give up when you haven't yet even started! Be courageous.

What are you most afraid of:
You are afraid of having no one to rely on in times of trouble. You don't ever want to be unable to take care of yourself. Independence is important to you.

Who is your true self:

You are mature, reasonable, honest and give good advice. People ask for your comments on all sorts of different issues. Sometimes you might find yourself in a dilemma when trapped with a problem, which your heart rather than your head needs to solve.

Signing off... ...

White Tigers attack Zoo Cleaner

I heard about this incident this morning, so I decided to search online for the report on it. To my surprise, this is what most reports say on this incident (globally):

A newspaper says three Bengal white tigers have mauled to death a Singapore Zoo cleaner who fell into a moat surrounding their enclosure.

The Straits Times says the tigers pounced on Nordin Mondong of Malaysia when he fell into the moat Thursday. Terrified zoo visitors screamed, alerting zoo workers who managed to distract two of the tigers.

However, the third tiger continued to maul the 32-year-old Nordin. The report says he died on the way to a hospital.

Each of the tigers weighs more than 220 pounds (100 kilograms).

Bengal white tigers in the wild are found in South Asia, mostly in India.

(Taken from Yahoo News)

Over-Aggressive Tigers?

I was appalled when I read that version above (which appeared most frequently - if you don't believe me go google), so I went to search for the full story within Singapore websites.

Of course, the tigers were not being 'over-aggresive'. I found a more representative article here on what happened.

The more important parts of the article are:

According to eyewitnesses, Mr Nordin, who was seen shouting and flinging items about shortly before the incident, vaulted a low wall and landed in a moat in the enclosure, four metres below.

Carrying a yellow pail and a broom, he then crossed the 1.75m-deep moat, walked up to a rocky ledge near where the animals were and began agitating them by swinging the broom.

As two of the tigers approached him, he covered his head with the pail, lay down on the ground, and curled himself into a foetal position, two eyewitnesses, an Australian couple, told police.

and :

His colleagues later told zoo staff that the contract worker, who had been working at the zoo for about 4 1/2 months, had been behaving strangely minutes before the incident.

He had thrown his cutters and meal coupons about before telling them in Malay: 'Goodbye, you won't be seeing me again.'

He then rode off on his bicycle.

This incident sounds to me like suicide. He was already acting weirdly before the incident, and he had even told his colleagues "Goodbye, you won't be seeing me again". He left the zoo, then returned 5 minutes later to aggravate the white tigers, jump into their moat and just lie there with a pail over his head. All these were done when he was not even in charge of cleaning the tiger enclosure.

The tigers, I felt, were just acting naturally. They were not at fault.

The Zoo's Role

Of course, the zoo could have handled things better to avoid the death. There were men who held guns, but nothing was done. Some have posted on forums saying that they needn't have shot to kill, but could have just fired warning shots to scare the tigers. I agree with them on that.

Alternatively, since the zoo will be dealing with possibly endangered animals, they could have used tranquilisers instead of bullets. That way, you can still do something when emergencies like these arise. What is the point of having people there with arms when they are not well-equipped to handle emergencies?

Signing off... ...

Presidential Election 2008 Result

Obama won!

I can't wait to see the new direction America will be going off in.

Let us see.

Signing off... ...

US Elections

All eyes are on the USA as the presidential elections commence, including mine.

I noticed this poster at the bus stop near my place for a while already, and I found it really interesting how the US election is creating so much 'hoo-ha' around here even though it's happening at the other end of the globe.

I mean, you don't see stuff like that happening when it's time for elections here in Singapore.

Your Support?
Are you a Republican or a Democrat supporter? I have a friend who's a Republican supporter because of their pro-life policy. I'm for the Democrat's 'no discrimination' and gay rights policies. (I'm slightly leaning towards certain Democrat's other policies as well)

I have no stand on the taxes part though (which I expect would be one of the big factors America would be basing their votes on) cause I don't really know the details.

I'm really quite excited to see how America votes for their next president. Click here to see the current status of the election/s.

A couple more hours to go =)

Signing off... ...
Exciting

Awesome Origami

I came across this entry on a blog, so I take absolutely no credit for this post.
I just wanted to share the total awesome-ness of all the orgamis that were made using dollar bills =) For the post from the blog, look below.

"The goal of this art is to create a representation of an object using geometric folds and crease patterns preferably without the use of gluing or cutting the paper, and using only one piece of square paper."

Origami Money Shirt With Tie

Origami Fish

Origami Rhino

Origami Cat

Dollar Dude

Origami Rooster

Hang Glider

Origami Apatosaurus

Origami F-14 Airplane

More Creative Dollar Bill Origami

Signing off... ...
Amazing.

Blood Types

I remember learning/reading about blood type personalities a while back... And thought I'd write about it here. Apparently, this relation of blood type to your personality originated from Japan (I most likely learnt about it in my Japanese class).

It was researched by a group of scientists in the 1920s (I think), but was later pushed aside as its inaccuracy was proven. However, this relation of one's blood type with their personality is still believed by certain people, much like horoscopes in Western culture.

For the fun of it, this is the list of traits for each blood type =)

Blood Type A: The Perfectionist

Positive qualities:
Reserved, Patient, Sensitive, Earnest, Creative, Sensible, Responsible and Punctual.

Negative qualities:
Obsessive, Stubborn, Conservative and Tense (unable to relax).

A is most compatible with blood types A and AB.

Blood Type B: The Individualist

Positive qualities:
Creative, Passionate, Strong, Flexible, Goal-oriented, Cheerful and Straightforward.

Negative qualities:
Wild, Critical, Indecisive, Unpredictable, Selfish, Irresponsible and Unforgiving.

B is most compatible with blood types B and AB.

Blood Type O: The Natural Leader

Positive qualities:
Ambitious, Trendsetter, Independent, Loyal, Athletic, Robust, Passionate, Agreeable, Sociable, Optimistic and Self-confident.

Negative qualities:
Vain, Jealous and Careless.

O is most compatible with blood types AB and O.

Blood Type AB: The Rationalist

Positive qualities:

Popular, Sociable, Cool, Rational, Tactful, Fair and Controlled.

Negative qualities:

Forgetful, Critical, Indecisive, Irresponsible, Blunt and Self-centered.

AB is compatible with all other blood types. (A, B, AB, and O)

Heh. Interesting, eh? Mine's O, but I don't think I'm a natural leader -_-" Ah well. I know another O blood type friend who is though. =X

Signing off... ..

Cute Lizard!

My friend and I were heading back to office after lunch today when these small group of girls started screaming and shouting and backing away from something that we apparently could not see. The only guy that was with them starting kicking thin air, to scare whatever it was that was there.

When we approached them, we noticed what all the commotion was about. There was this lizard, cleverly camouflaged with the ground, sitting in the middle of the pathway. We started to laugh, then squeal at the absolute cuteness of it.

(taken with my friend's phone)

When we went closer to take a closer look, it spread its wing-like things at the side of it's body. Then we noticed it did that everytime we scared it. We tried to take a photo of it, but by the time our phones were out (mine didn't have space so I wasted precious time clearing my photos -_-") it got immune to all the disturbing we were doing.

The best shots we got are those below:


(Photo on left taken by my friend, photo on right taken by me)

Though I really have to stress that's NOT how it looks like when it's scared... That's when it's half-scared or calming down... When the wings are fully extended it looks beautiful =D

Anyone knows what species/breed this little critter is?


Signing off... ...