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Wednesday, July 29, 2009

250 Other things you should know

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Source:
Why Flamingos are pink... and 250 other things you should know
by Valeri R. Helterbran

Where does cork come from?

Cork is actually the bark of a certain tree, the cork oak (Quercus suber). The cork oak grows in the Mediterranean Sea region, primarily in Portugal, Spain, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Italy and France. Portugal alone produces over 50% of the cork we use in the United States. For optimal growth, the cork oak requires plenty of sun and a combination of low amounts of rainfall and high humidity. The formation of cork bark is nature's way of providing the tree protection from temperature extremes, insects, fire and other threats.

Strict laws govern the harvesting of cork in order to protect the trees themselves and to assure a stable crop of high-quality cork. During the summer months, highly skilled labourers use a special axe to strip the cork bark from the trees making sure that no more than one-third of the bark is stripped away at any one time. They also take care to avoid damaging the cambium, the delicate layer of the tree that forms the cork bark itself. Stripping the bark does not harm the tree. Cork oak trees are typically first harvested at the age of 25 and can be harvested no sooner than every nine years thereafter for the tree's expected 250-250 lifespan. Processing the bark results in virtually no waste. There is a use for every little scrap of cork.

What does the dog days of summer mean?
We call the hot and humid days of late summer the dog days. Sirius (called the Dog Star) rose in tandem with the sun when summer was at its hottest. The ancients believed (erroneously) that because Sirius was such a bright star, it added to the heat normally generated by the sun, making these days even hotter. Therefore, this period of time began to be called the "dog days".

Interestingly, because people may tend to move more slowly and be less productive during these days, any time of stagnation may also be referred to as dog days.

>> Bflygal's comments: Now I know why Sirius Black is called Sirius Black. Oops abit too WOLS. Afterall I have been in my dog days since born hahaha.. especially nowadays.. totally lethargic...

What does the phrase the cat's meow mean?

It means that something or someone is outstanding in some way or simply too cool for words.

Coined in the early part of the 20th century by Thomas A. Dorgan, an American cartoonist, journalist, and boxing expert. He is also credited with creating other slang words and expressions such as dumbbel (an unintelligent person), cheaters (reading glasses), hard-boiled (a tough or mean person), as busy as a one-armed paperhanger (an overworked person), drugstore cowboy (a lazy person or a ladies' man), and many more.

What do the five Olympic rings represent?

The five rings are blue, black, red, yellow, and green. They are the brainchild of Pierre de Coubertin (1863-1937), the chief architect of the revival and reestablishments of the modern Olympics in 1896.
The interlocking colored rings represent the major areas of the world (Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania); the white background represent peace.

Pieere de Coubertin is quoted as saying, "the six colours, including the white background, represent the colours of all the world's flags.. This is a true international emblem."

The Olympic flag was first displayed at the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp, Belgium.

Chisenbop
An ancient korean method of finger counting. It dates back to the time when the abacus was used.

chi (ji) finger + sanpŏp (sanbeop) calculation 지산법
Source: Wiki

I like the way it does the 9 times multiplication:

Hold out your hands in front of you so that your thumbs point toward one another.

Visualize that your left pinky finger represents 1, the next finger 2, and so on left to right, until your right pinky finger represents 10. Those fingers represent the number you wish to multiply by 9. To do so, simply put the finger down you wish to multiply by 9. All fingers to the left of the down finger represent the tens digit of the answer while all fingers to the right represent the ones digit.

Example: 6 x 9. Put the finger representing 6 down (the right hand thumb). To the left of the down finger, you have 5 fingers up. That's your tens digit. 5. To the right, you have 4 fingers up. There's your ones digit. 4. Put those together and you have your answer: 54.

Multiplying by 6-10

Hold out your hands in front of you so that your thumbs point toward one another.

Visualize that both thumbs represent 6, both index fingers 7, and so on until both pinky fingers represent 10. In other words, imagine that each thumb has a 6 written on it, each index a finger a 7, etc., so that you have 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 on the left hand and 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 on the right hand. This set up will allow us to multiply any combination of those numbers, for example 7 x 8.

Here's how it works. Let's do 7 x 8. Take your index finger representing 7 on your left hand and touch the middle finger representing 8 on your right hand. As you do this, keep your thumbs pointing down.

Add all the fingers BELOW, and including, the two fingers touching. In this case, your total is 5 - your index finger and thumb on your left hand plus your middle finger, index finger and thumb on your right hand. Multiply that number by 10. We get 50.

Now count all the fingers on each hand ABOVE, but NOT including, the two fingers touching. In this case you have 3 on the left hand and 2 on the right. Multiply these two numbers. We get 6.

Add the two numbers toegther for your answer: 50 + 6 = 56. That's the answer!

Source: Curiousmath


What is the origin of Buffalo wings?


They were first created in1964 in Buffalo, New York, at the Anchor Bar, a restaurant owned by Frank and Teressa Belissino.

And did you know that chicken wings were considered to be undesirable for the most part, and were used primarily for soup stock or simply discarded. Mrs. Belissimo created a finger food using these wings with a hot sauce that she whipped up. Something that used to be discarded now became a child's favourite food. Amazing!

Is the tomato a fruit or a vegetable?

Botanically speaking, a fruit as it is the fleshy, edible part of the plant that contains the seeds. By this definition, squash, cucumber, watermelon, and green pepper are also examples of fruits.

However, horticulturally speaking, the tomato is a vegetable as it applies to certain plants that are grown for an edible part, typically intended to be consumed during the principal part of a meal.

Oh and the French dubbed the tomato "the apple of love". The Germans called it "the apple of paradise".

Bflygal's comments: Curiosity kills the cat but I'm no cat so off I am to read more of such types of books. Besides I never remember what I read so every snippets is a new discovery to me which clearly amuses me!

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

天使的爱

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Both Angel's Love & To Grow with Love has a love theme.
Both shows I watched the first episode.
Both shows I watched the last episode.
Both shows I gave up going through the plot because they took too long to load and had far too many episodes.

But while I really felt nothing much towards To Grow with Love because I don't really believe in discrimination towards plump people. So long it is true love, it will happen regardless of race, size and age.

Angel's love on the other hand is something I wanted to watch for a long long time. Sadly I had lost patience with tv series (just felt that I'm wasting too much time repeating theories that I should have known. Maybe I just don't want to get too intoxicated for all the wrong reasons.)

But I don't regret watching the ending. Because of the quotes:

天使的爱必须平均地分给每一个人,这是他的使命
当天使拥有爱情的时候,上帝对他说:‘你必须放弃,因为天使不能拥有爱情~!’
爱不会因为放弃而消失,爱会延续下去,因为你说过:‘爱是你曾经存在的证明’ 。

没有爱,就没有这个世界,只要心中有爱,每个人都是天使
只要懂得付出,懂得关怀,懂得尊重生命。
我知道你一直都在我身边,我也一直不孤单。

天使,是上帝给我们最好的礼物。
只要继续相信,天使的爱,永远也不会消失。
这就是我们期盼的天使情人。



發現真愛
- 183 Club

Cause you and I all got an angel's eye
快张开这双眼
你就会看见真爱

你在他的身边
却看不见
永远不是永远
没有终点
不要象个刺猬
动不动就是拼命防备
留一个小小空间
给等爱的人自己体会

Cause you and I all got an angel's eye
快张开这双眼
你就会发现真爱
Cause you and I
都开始更明白
这爱情的真谛
就是要放手简单
you and I
Angel's eyes
Oh Baby

直到了那一天
你发现爱 Oh No
时间不能重来
或者倒转 Oh no
跨越这地平线
要找寻守候你有多难
或许你真的不懂
要如何才能好好爱我

Cause you and I all got an angel's eye
快张开这双眼
你就会发现真爱
Cause you and I
都开始更明白
这爱情的真谛
就是要放手简单
you and I
angel's eyes wo yeah

也许你听不到
多么大声的说我爱你
也许你也看不见
但我会一直守在身边

Cause you and I all got an angel's eye
快张开这双眼
你就会发现真爱
Cause you and I
都开始更明白
这爱情的真谛
就是要放手简单
Cause you and I all got an angel's eye
快张开这双眼
你就会发现真爱
Cause you and I
都开始更明白
这爱情的真谛
就是要放手简单
you and I


Anyway I saw Marie Digby on CNA today. Considering I have been hearing about her arrival on the radio, not overly surprised but still pleasantly surprised haha. And decided to hear a song from her... a song about walking away...

Beauty In Walking Away
- Marie Digby

A light shines off in the distance
A pale flickering glow
How many times do I have to dream that I could be there
The time is here and she won't be waiting for me to find the easy way out
I've lost count of the days that were wasted

There's an answer in the sound of a train
There is wisdom past the bridge on the bay
There's a lifetime through the fog, in the rain
There's a beauty in walking away

I float on the streets that are empty
Take the path that the wind only knows
Tonight is the last time that I'll ever be here

There's an answer in the sound of a train
There is wisdom past the bridge on the bay
There's a lifetime through the fog, in the rain
There's a beauty in walking away

It's never quite simple, it's never that safe
It never seems perfect until it's too late
It's never the right time to find a new way

There's an answer in the sound of a train
There is wisdom past the bridge on the bay
There's a lifetime through the fog, in the rain
There's a beauty in walking away



Sometimes, I think, I should not read news because everytime I flip the papers, I don't seem to see much good news. Once again I flip the paper only to find out the 5th H1N1 death... the pretty lousy match of the Lions & Liverpool (Well I caught the Man U & Malaysian match while in Genting and it was so much better I suppose.).. Back to my books to cheer myself up!

Monday, July 27, 2009

跳绳的河马

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跳绳的河马
它遇到障碍都会翻跟斗,然后继续跳绳;
可是一旦从高楼跌倒,还是需要人家扶它一把.

Just finished the second season of Healing Hands.  When Jackie died, I did not have much motivation to continue the show.  If it wasn't because loading To Grow With Love takes far too much time, I guessed I would not fall back to Healing Hands 2.  Then I wouldn't know that Suki was destined to die either.  And seriously, it felt so sad to have her gone.  I can't believe why she and her bf split up after so many years.  But I am even more devastated that the glimmer of patching back was taken away from them totally.

No don't cry
Cos it will be alright
I know you want to leave
But soon it will be light
So don't cry
Don't cry

No don't cry
Cos it will be alright
I know you want to leave
But soon it will be light
So don't cry
Don't cry

With her departure, this song became more depressing.  Funnily I am unable to find out the actual lyrics of this song even though it had been so many years already.  Maybe there are times that such things are destined not to be found.

I have lots of afterthoughts but am too lazy to pen all down.  What I remember most would be quotes from Tracy and Anson.
At times I wondered if Tracy is right to say 爱上一个多情汉比爱上一个 无情汉好命多了。
Maybe it is really true that Tracy is not the lady for Paul.  But then maybe Paul really doesn't need love at all. 
And I still remember how stubborn Anson is, to wait for so many years 因为不服气 。 Even Fion made the same mistake too.  女人有时候也太固执 了,只因为自己要的是个哥哥而不是个弟弟。 但是越不要的,越想躲避的,是不是越躲不了。这是不是上天安排的?

那么越想要的呢?是不是越想要的,就越容易得到?
I had wanted to go for a swim today.  But as I walked to the swimming pool, the skies turned overcast and finally rained... heavily...  In the end I did had a swim, under the sky.  As I get drenched, I thought hard and long about certain stuff. The only comfort I had is I finally got some cool respite.

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Attracting Healthy Relationships

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Someone once said that in order to love fully, you have to risk having your heart broken.

Too many people in infatuations, romantic relationships and marriages make the mistake of withholding love. Most of our relationships have boundaries. We use them for protection. We've been hurt before, and we're afraid of becoming too intimate with someone lest we get hurt again. As a result, there is a mistrust, we play mind games, withhold who we truly are, and refuse to cede our power and pride.

Trust takes a while to develop. The problem is when someone is never able to completely open and honest. In order to have an intimate relationshipwith anyone, we must first love and trust ourselves. If we are untrustworthy, we probably will not be able to trust anyone else. The problem is often not the other person. The problem is when we make unsound choices based on our insecurities and fears.

It's good for us to be able to see our own areas that need improving. However, it is distorted to believe ourselves to be unlovable. No matter who we are or what we've done, what we choose to do with our lives is a matter of free will. We can, at any time, change our thinking and immediatelybeing changing our experience. That is, if we prefer to grow rather than wallow in self pity. Until we can truly accept and love ourselves exactly as we are, close, loving relationships will be hard to come by. Instead, we'll find ourselves dogged by unhealthy, secretive and selfish relationships.

If we can resign ourselves to be in that perfect place of love, where we are giving, loving, and trustworthy for others, people will come into our experience. Some will be healthy for us and others will be draining. To attract those who will resonate with us, we can simply speak softly our highest truth and stand quietly in our integrity. Those who cannot bear the light will slip back into the shadows.

It is often easier to love those we haven't met than those we face daily! Potential partners are always more attractive and interesting in our imagination and in our distance. We always want what we do not have. When we do have it and the illusion falls away, we find that we are unable to deal with the reality, and begin to hanker after another false image.

If we would be loved, we must be loving. If we can look beyond the humannes of another – that is, the weakness and fallibility of being human – then we can see the beauty within. It's that beauty that we fall in love with. That grows ever more lovely even as age creases the skin, loosens the muscles and greys the hair.

Love is an infinite commodity. You can't give it away without creating more. You attract into your life that which you are. To find the right person, be the right person.

Source: A Slice of Life – Presented and written (unless otherwise indicated) by Eugene Loh

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Quotes of the week

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There is a solar eclipse today. And with it, it was predicted that there might be tsunami. Hmm I'm wondering though if the eclipse caused the rainfall. And if I came back in time to watch the eclipse as I did not know (having been in my own world the last 4 days).

But as I was watching the solar eclipse, I thought about the typhoon movie again.. Still find it very touching... Especially the plastic bag scene. A plastic bag flying in American Beauty is an artistic appreciation. A plastic bag flying in Super Typhoon (超强台风) tells the wind movement, air circulation, the impending disaster.


And I thought about life as usual. About why sometimes certain events will happen again and again, like a cycle. It will repeat until one finally understands the meaning behind the cycle, the lesson.


It is remarkable though that only the goldfish remain unscathed despite the strong typhoon because it was in its own world - the goldfish bowl. Hmm...

Sidetrack while checking if I can find the plastic bag scene in Super Typhoon (Unfortunately no). Reminds me abit of my story I wrote a long long time ago haha.


Worrying about failing because of some past experience, for example, is energy-wasting.
Worrying about other people's opinion of you is also ultimately pointless.
Worrying about yourself and your loved ones is more than enough. Forget the people in life who seem to drain your optimism and sap your confidence.
Source: Slice of Life.
Sometimes I'm not sure if it is good to worry too much when you are holding it in your hands already. Hmm is that pointless too?

If worry is a natural instinct, maybe is what you worry that matters? Anyway I'm destined to 吃苦, 因为风水说我属于多吃苦,少吃辣, 才会比较幸福。 No wonder I fell in love with bitter gourd for some times already.

"God determines who walks into your life. It is up to you to decide who you let walk away, who you let stay, and who you refuse to let go."
If refuse to let go but unable to hold on, what will be the outcome?

And Mum just reminded me of My Girl quotes:
唯独爱情是靠缘分
谁能阻挡得了缘分

逃到很远的地方前
先逃到很高的地方

사기꾼이 하는 말에 속다. (Sagiggun-i haneun mal-e sokda) Be deceived by the words of a swindler.

Can't believe she is watching the show now haha. She is as WOLS as me hahahah.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Genting in a different light (18th July 2009 - 21st July 2009)

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Usually people link Genting to casino and theme parks.  Well because I don't really like 2nd-hand smoke thus I tried to avoid the stuffy indoors.. so begin my trail of a different Genting...  (Okok, I know that I'm not the first to showcase that, but at least this is an update of the different Genting as I met with a few disappointments while in Genting.)

While checking into Genting Hotels, I saw this picturesque wall scene.  



Afterwards I went to check out the Awana Skyway but found out it was closed for maintenance, together with Genting Skyway.  That was the first disappointment.. and I ended up taking lots of models to indulge myself with the skyway haha. 



The second disappointment is that the 18th floor observatory is no longer available and thus I did not have a topdown view of Genting.  Although I am already very high up in Genting, but I guess it never hurts to get higher right?  Besides I do have a penchant for
逃到很远的地方前
先逃到很高的地方
- Source: My Girl
The next day, I went to visit the Chin Swee Temple which seriously took me half a day (and can still be prolonged if I was reading everything on the spot).  Took alot of photos of the main attractions e.g.

如来佛祖 is the main attraction because it was really very gigantic.  I went behind the statue to find out what is the feeling of being able to hide behind the Buddha.  Ozz.. a very warm and fuzzy feeling..


观世音神像.  I took different angles but am lazy to upload haha.. Each angle presents a different feel.. but I like this best because of the herons.

九层高的万佛塔.  Upon reaching the top level, you will be greeted with this sign - 九重天.

I find that such places seem to attract a lot of birds flying around too.  At the top level of the pagoda, I saw this bird and its nest.  Then while roaming around, I saw another species of the bird in the evergreen trees.
 


I like the leaves...

Turtles and their pond is another main attraction.


给我一杯孟婆汤,
让我忘却过去。
Sometimes I really wish to meet  孟婆婆 ... because I'm too backward looking for my own good.


清水祖师神座 - The dragon pillar in front.  I did take photo of the 祖师神 but because I don't really have the habit to use flash especially on deities statues so the effect isn't good.  The dragon pillar on the other hand, looks good haha.

I was searching for the 24 Filial Stories wall too but it was only after lunch while I was randomly climbing down stairs that I caught sight of the wall.  So happy.  Sharing Story 19 - Cooling and warming the bed as it was mentioned by BJ's sis when she was telling me about 弟子规 and that she forgot what he did in summertime.
Han Dynasty - Huang Xiang, aged 9, lost his mother at an early age, he frequently lamented how much he missed his mother. In summer, he would fan his father's bed to keep it cool. In winter, he would sleep on the bed first so that his body heat would warm the bed.

I always like the intricate design of the window "grills".

The spiral incense and the humungous incense stick ..

Then is back to explore Genting.
After seeing the Energizer model, I went up and down to search for a good view to capture the real thing.  Unfortunately on my last day when I did find a full frontal view of Energizer, the weather has turned cloudy (and rainy later on).  So this is the next best shot.


There is the Outdoor amusement park.


And the Indoor amusement park where I like this Eiffel tower lookalike best haha.  Of course, I still wish to go Paris. 

I had planned to visit the Snowcity actually but I ended up having not enough time to go in haha..   

I did however made time for a movie session to watch Harry Potter - The Half Blood Prince.  It is amazing that when I first watched it with my then best friend, it was a decade ago already.  With each subsequent sequels, I watched with different people and this time I watched in a different country even haha.  I wondered the last 2 sequels, where will I be?

And I visited Ripley's Believe it or not.  Saw alot of interesting exhibits (I had at first thought it would be a waste of money but thought otherwise at the end).  E.g. the sidewalk telling you not to spit on it, the luckiest chair in the world because it is made purely from horseshoes or a coconut letter without a stamp.

Activities I do regularly in Genting include swimming, shopping (lots of stuff to see.. and there is this long stretch of Vietnamese products e.g. these smileys haha)

Drinking cooling tea (bitter)...


Eating buffet or in mushroom farm.

 But I find it a waste of food to use as display in such long cylindrical casings.  Tsk tsk!

Taking photos of rubbish bin... I always have a tendency to take photos of rubbish bins haha.. (I have a friend who likes to take photo of toilet signs too.. at least I'm not the only weirdo hahahaha.)

AND admiring the nature...  So misty.. so cooling.. so blissful..

On the way back...

Kinda miss the Genting air now..

Related articles:
Visit Genting theme park
Visit Chin Swee Temple in Gentings
Ride Skyways in Genting