McFarlane's Twisted Christmas

It isn't Christmas yet but hey it's Halloween so let McFarlane's Twisted Christmas figures (Santa Claus, Santa's little helpers, Mrs Claus, Jack Frost, Snowman and Reindeer Rudy) scare the living daylights out of you!

Dada Dolls

This is Eddy: "It was Eddy's first day on the beach with his new tattoo. Volleyball practice was probably not the best time for its debut. The guys were already teasing him and Rosemary would be walking by soon. Maybe he shouldn't have insisted on such large letters for her name, but at the time, he thought it would show his intentions better than the words he always managed to fumble..." Eddy is a Dada Doll, created almost entirely of recycled elements. Meet him and other Dada Dolls here.

Design your own USB blank cassette

Make A Mixa allows you to design your own USB blank cassette that comes with 1GB of storage. You can design the sleeve and label of your USB cassette by uploading your pics or you can pick any of the Mixa designs. Each Mixa USB cassette includes usb cables and a set of designer stickers for the extra pimpin'. Delivers worldwide. Yay!

Fantastic Planet rescored

Fantastic Planet is a 1973 trippy animated science fiction film set in the future, when human beings were brought by the giant Draags to their home planet and kept as pets. The video above is the entire film with the soundtrack rescored by everyone.doesntexist in 2003. Artists include Aphex Twin, Venetian Snares, Prefuse 73, Mu-Ziq, Freeform, Matmos, Isan, Autechre and Japanese Telecom.

China's Olympic Ticket Frenzy

A BusinessWeek writer finds out that buying tickets for the Olympics in China is not that easy, as ticket booking system crashed under unexpectedly huge demand shortly after sales started. From BusinessWeek:

I got the first clue when I got a text message from my sister—who also lives in Beijing—while I was in the middle of a meeting. Since I knew I was going to be busy this morning, I had asked her to see if she could get tickets for the men's basketball finals or semifinals. (Hey, I've got faith that Team USA will at least make it to the semifinals.) "Can't get on the Web site to buy tix," she wrote. "And I didn't bring my passport today to go to the bank." Without her passport as ID, she couldn't buy the tickets in person at Bank of China. Andrew Lih, a blogger in Beijing, preserved a picture of the Beijing 2008 error screen for posterity.

So, after my meeting was over, I popped over to the local Bank of China branch to see if I would have better luck getting tickets at the bank than my sister. I came prepared: Ever since the police made me write a self-criticism for not carrying my passport several years ago, I always have it with me when I go out. But the bank manager said Bank of China's system had crashed, too. The bank got a $22.5 billion bailout from the central government in 2003, so you would think they could have used some of that money to buy more servers.

Today's Singapore News

1. YouTube, Others Succeed In Singapore
2. Odex just won't quit
3. Singapore growth seen slowing in 2008
4. Singapore launches fund to for clean energy research
5. Chinese street opera struggles to keep curtain raised
6. Bikers beware: 6 danger zones identified
7. Singapore Airlines voted best long-haul carrier
8. Singapore to find out if island belongs to them
9. S'poreans 'whack' taxi drivers online
10. Speak Mandarin Campaign to reach out to sports, design

Read them all at Topix Singapore News, edited by yours truly.

Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker Pop-Up Mask

This is so cool! Here's how you can make this simple pop-up mask that changes you from Anakin Skywalker to Darth Vader in a flash.

(via Boing Boing)

The DM Of The Rings

The DM Of The Rings is a hilarious webcomic that uses stills from the Lord Of The Rings movies and tells the story of what would happen if the Lord Of The Rings were a Dungeons and Dragons game.

(Thanks GeekGod)

Space Stamps

This Flickr pool contains images of space related stamps. I used to collect a lot of these stamps as a kid, only to throw them away when I got older because of loss of interest.

Barbie Massacre

When Barbie gets massacred. Violent stuff. Poor Barbie. Where's Ken when she needs him? Oh wait. He's massacred too.

(Thanks Kriss)

No sex in Singapore Airlines A380

Couples who booked the Singapore Airlines A380 double suites (with double beds) are not allowed to have sex. Darn! There goes my fantasy of finally doing it in a plane. From Times Online:

The A380 may have the world’s first airborne double bed, but it won’t be put to the obvious use if Singapore Airlines has its way: “If couples used our double beds to engage in inappropriate activity, we would politely ask them to desist,” said the company’s Stephen Forshaw. “There are things that are acceptable on an aircraft and things that aren’t, and the rules for behaviour in our double beds are the same ones that apply throughout the aircraft.”

Previously:
Airbus 380: A Reporter's Account
Landing Videos of Singapore Airlines A380 in Sydney
Take a look inside the new Singapore Airlines Airbus A380

Today's Singapore News

1. Prostitute: Singapore men are stupid
2. Singapore Offers Safest Networks in Asia
3. PAP Town Councils revive Cleanest Estate Competition
4. Companies turn to more creative ways to raise funds
5. 100 bakeries to raise bread prices by up to 20%
6. Slow and steady for Singapore's Hindu firewalkers
7. Singaporeans "blur" on sex
8. Upbeat on Singapore economy
9. Secondary schools will play host if S'pore stages Youth Olympics
10. ERP rates on CTE hit a high of $5

Read them all at Topix Singapore News, edited by yours truly.

Joan Chew's "Violin & Radiohead" concert tomorrow lunctime!

My friend Joan, the uber cute violin player in UnXpected, is having her first concert, Violin & Radiohead tomorrow (Tuesday Oct 30) at 12.45pm in the Concert Hall of the Esplanade:

Mention “violin” and classical music will come to mind for most. In this concert, hear it taken out of that context and placed…not in fiddling, not in jazz, not in bluegrass but alternative rock.

Joan Chew learnt the violin the traditional way - classically. While she loves her Bach, Beethoven and Brahms, she has an open mind about music and digs alternative rock and jazz. She believes music should be an expression free of boundaries and labels.

In this performance, hear Joan and like-minded musician friends interpret the music of Radiohead.

She just text me saying that she's currently practicing (poor gal - at 11 plus at night!) and she's feeling excited and nervous about her concert. If any of you guys and gals are in the Esplanade vicinity tomorrow during lunchtime, do give Joan your support (and love) aye. Her concert is free of charge! I think it will be really cool listening to her violin renditions of some of the popular songs of Radiohead. Despite my begging, she won't be doing my favourite Radiohead number, Creep. I don't have the setlist but some of the Radiohead hits she'll be performing are Paranoid Android, Bulletproof and Where I End And You Begin.

Indian Condom Song

To prevent the spread of sexually transmitted infections and HIV in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, the Nrityanjali Academy produced this hilarious music video to encourage people to use condoms. I can't stop laughing at the condom men and some of the translated lyrics.

Got porn? Don't burn them!

A Tokyo man's attempt to dispose of his collection of porn magazines and books by burning them ended in embarrassment when his small fire attracted four fire engines. From fuckedgaijin:

A 26 year old unemployed man in Tokyo's Arakawa ward found recently he needed to dispose of over 20 pornographic books and magazines. Following an illness, he had moved back to his parents house and decided his collection might prove a little inconvenient. He was reluctant to get rid of them through a normal garbage collection because he thought it would be embarrassing if he was associated with the porn. Instead, he took himself off under a nearby bridge at around 6 o'clock in the morning and furtively attempted to burn some of them with old rags and a cheap lighter. His first run was successful and he got rid of around a kilo of smut. Feeling confident, he went back for a further five kilos and decided to incinerate this load in a local park. It took him several runs so by the time he started his second fire, it was around 8 o'clock. Unfortunately, he wasn't furtive enough at this later hour as someone noticed the smoke and called the fire brigade. In no time at all, four engines had raced to the scene followed by a small crowd who wanted to see what the fuss was all about. Police held the man for illegal garbage disposal but accepted a written apology as an end to the affair.

Haha! Really stupid. Now his parents are not the only ones that know of his porn stash.

Anatomy of a Balloon Dog

Pneumatic Anatomica is an insanely brilliant work by Jason Freeny of Moist Production that attempts to show the anatomy of an imaginary living Balloon Dog.

A model of Scrooge McDuck's money bin

Do you remember the Disney cartoon Duck Tales? Some dude built a model of Scrooge McDuck's money bin, using blueprints created by comic book writer and illustrator Don Rosa and his friend Dan Shane. The blueprints are a part of the Rosa story "The Beagle Boys Vs. The Money Bin" from 2001.

World Toilet Organization's own toilet game!

Urgent is a flash game created by Singapore's very own World Toilet Organization. In the game, you are a restroom officer who has to build a toilet, keep it clean and earn income from satisfied toilet users. I gave it a shot but I guess I don't think I'll make a good restroom officer.

Airbus 380: A Reporter's Account

Stephen Bleach, a British reporter with the Times was one of the many who sat inside Singapore Airlines' historic A380 flight. Here's the blow by blow account of his eight hours in the world largest passenger plane. From Times Online:

Takeoff: it just shouldn’t. It doesn’t seem credible that something this size should get into the air at all. Our takeoff weight today was 468 tonnes, which is the equivalent of 12 very surprised sperm whales. And when it finally comes, 50 minutes after we started boarding today’s 455 passengers (they’ll need to speed that up a touch), takeoff is a revelation.

Where other planes crank up the engines to a mighty howl and go for a death-or-glory charge to get airborne, the A380 feels more like an inter-city train leaving a station: silent, gentle, almost imperceptible. There’s a moment of anxiety when the lack of any roar, or bumping, makes you think something is terribly wrong. Then finally, after 40 seconds of smooth, quiet acceleration, this unlikely behemoth leaves the ground with a whisper and drifts quietly into the skies as if it were the most natural thing in the world. After a moment’s collective sigh, everyone breaks into applause. Taking to the air with the A380 does, genuinely, feel like a miracle.

Previously:
Landing Videos of Singapore Airlines A380 in Sydney
Take a look inside the new Singapore Airlines Airbus A380

Today's Singapore News

1. Extreme body modification slowly gaining favour in S'pore
2. She showed me how to touch myself
3. When you can withdraw from CPF before age 55
4. Free downloads for S'pore indie music
5. Noodle prices to go up in wake of rising flour costs
6. Singapore must adapt to change to stay ahead
7. One in three people in Singapore fears mental patients
8. Orchard Road to undergo S$40m rejuvenation
9. MediShield coverage will be automatic for newborns from December
10. Singapore Poly creates marine garden for corals to grow

Read them all at Topix Singapore News, edited by yours truly.

Pac-Man and Ghost Halloween Gourds

Here's some Halloween goodies for you retro gamers - Pac-Man and Ghost made from gourds! I think it will be cool walking around with one of these in each hand during Halloween. You can even reenact the Pac-Man/Ghost chase.

Star Wars Halloween Masks

Download and print these Princess Leia, Chewbacca, C-3PO, Wicket the Ewok, Darth Vader, Yoda, Gamorrean Guard, Bib Fortuna, and Admiral Ackbar masks originally from Random House Publishing's 1983 book, The Star Wars Book of Masks.

Car-baked Chocolate Chip Cookies

I know this may sound crazy but who ever thought that one can actually bake cookies inside a car? Crikey! Nicole from the food blog Baking Bites proves that you can. She placed a tray of unbaked chocolate chip cookies in her car for 2 1/2 hours and they turned out to be very delicious indeed. Here's her step by step guide (recipe included!).

Cereal Killers

Cereal Killers is a blog based on an upcoming "coffin table" cartoon art book featuring terrifying takes on some of your favorite breakfast cereals. Wouldn't it be great if these cereals actually existed?

Japanese Colonel Sanders

Look at what they did to Colonel Sanders in this KFC restaurant somewhere in Japan. He's dressed in Japanese traditional costume and they made him carry a watermelon! More pics here and here.

(Thank Aki)

Noel's Wonderful Halloween Pumpkins

Noel has an incredible gallery of halloween pumpkins from the year 2000 till 2006. He carved most of them himself. His Death Star pumpkin has to be my favourite. It's a 120 pound pumpkin and he spent 9 hours carving it out! I can't wait to see his creations this year.

Landing Videos of Singapore Airlines A380 in Sydney!

Watch this video of the historic Singapore Airlines' A380 landing in Sydney on 25 October 2007, completing its first commercial flight.



And here's one taken by a lucky passenger sitting on seat 53k!

For those of you who are interested to find out more about the A380, Discovery Channel Asia will feature a special encore of the five programmes chronicling the A380 project from conception to the crucial final tests and lastly the delivery to Singapore Airlines.

I've watched all 5 episodes and they were really amazing. Despite being a big skeptic of the A380, I've actually been following the development of the plane for sometime now - reading news, stories, reports - but watching the Discovery Channel's specials really provide me with a more in depth understanding of how they actually build the plane and all the problems that they had to face. And oh boy, trust me, they had lots of problems!

I also enjoyed watching the Airbus Sales Director while he tries to sell his planes to interested buyers. One of the most memorable scenes is when he did a sales pitch to an Indian tycoon on his yacht but instead of buying the A380, he decided to buy one of the smaller Airbus planes instead. I can tell that the Airbus director was disappointed but he did remarkably well to hide it infront of the cameras.

Catch the A380 specials on Discovery Channel tomorrow from 1pm till 6pm.

Reason why planes fly inverted national flags

I think this is the most educational posting ever on Stomp! Stephen Forshaw, Vice President Public Affairs of Singapore Airlines writes to Stomp to explain why planes fly with inverted national flags:

"The position and depiction of the flag is correct; the depiction of flags by airlines on the exterior of the aircraft has it origins in shipping, where the ensign of the country is flown off the stern of the ship.

"In shipping, as in aviation, precedence cannot be established as it would on land by flying a flag from the tallest point, so the stern (or in the case of an aircraft, to the rear of the insignia) conveys precedence (ie shows the country of origin).

"According to flag etiquette, which again traces its origins back to shipping – and was reaffirmed in the earliest days of commercial aviation – a national flag should never be seen to be travelling backwards.

"If the flag were replicated on the starboard side of the aircraft as it is on the port side, when the aircraft is travelling forwards, the flag would, then, be flying backwards.

"From the port side of the aircraft, the flag is viewed as you would expect to see it flying on a flagpost, and when the aircraft is flying, it will fly as it would on a flagpost in the breeze – with the five stars and moon leading, and the red and white sections following.

(Thanks Mr Big)

Today's Singapore News

1. Travelers to declare if they move over S$30,000 in or out of S'pore
2. Singapore, get ready to rock
3. WOW TV aims to wow Singapore
4. $6.3b solar plant to be set up in S'pore by 2010
5. Stockpiling of granite is of strategic importance: Govt
6. How KPE saved me two mins
7. Clean and Green Week Campaign morphs into Clean and Green Singapore
8. Govt calls for proposals to build permanent race track in Changi
9. Singapore to use F1 to develop motor racing industry
10. Premier and champagne send-off for SIA A380 return flight

Read them all at Topix Singapore News, edited by yours truly.

Have you grabbed your free 20 photo prints yet?

Eileen from Providence 1974, one of the many bloggers who are involved in the Snapfish blog advertising campaign, has collected her free 20 prints from Snapfish! Have you grabbed yours yet? If not, go sign up with Snapfish now, upload your photos and Snapfish will deliver your 20 free prints to your address.

Pac-Man Hair Pins

Hair pins featuring Miss Pac-Man and ghosts from the popular video game! Each made from shrink plastic and attached to silver toned 2-inch hair pins.

Update: The same designer is also selling Pac-Man bracelet!

Shaw Brothers Movie Posters

One of my favourite blogs Deadlicious, has posted several vintage Shaw Brothers movie posters. The Shaw Brothers Studio is the largest movie production company of Hong Kong movies. The Shaw Brothers were also one of the two key producers (the other being Cathay-Keris Studio) in the once-thriving movie making industry in Singapore.

Soviet Space Matchboxes

Dude bought these gems from eBay - a set of matchboxes depicting the soviet space program! This matchbox shows the two space dogs Belka and Strelka which spent a day in space aboard Sputnik 5 on August 19, 1960.

(Thanks Sir Thomas)

Related: Dead Chinese Marshalls Matchbox Set

Today's Singapore News

1. 65,400 new private residential units in the pipeline
2. Enter the Traffic Marshals
3. Private home prices up 8.3% in Q3
4. Big push to train 74,000 S'poreans for tourism jobs
5. S'pore's economy: Booming, bustling and bursting at the seams
6. Unlocked iPhones in demand in Singapore
7. Cheap S'pore-KL fares in sight?
8. Better pay and incentives for 13,700 civil servants
9. SIA A380 captain treated like rockstar
10. Singapore Airlines' A380 charity flight

Read them all at Topix Singapore News, edited by yours truly.

Nad Shot

Nad Shot is brilliantly conceived blog that features comic book characters getting hit in the crotch. Ouch! I'm quite surprised that there's a lot of nut kicking going on in the world of comics.

(via Boing Boing)

Who is the superest hero of them all?

The Superest is a cool drawing game: "Player 1 draws a character with a power. Player 2 then draws a character whose power cancels the power of that previous character. Repeat." Current champ is The Taste Burglar. But for how long?

(via Metafilter)

Pagan Island: 1 man and 30 beautiful women

This is the trailer for the badly written 1961 film Pagan Island, about a survivor of a shipwreck who finds himself on an island populated only by 30 beautiful women. "Watch these girls dance and MAKE UNASHAMED LOVE." Now that's one way to get people flocking to the cinemas to watch the film.

Comet erupts, now visible as bright star!

It has been quite awhile since the last time I got excited because of an astronomical event. Oh boy, am I excited now! I just received news that Comet Holmes (17P) has suddenly brightened by a millionfold from a very faint magnitude of 18 (October 20) to a magnitude of less than 3 now! The faintest star the human eye can see in a dark location is of magnitude 6.

"Comet Holmes is really an incredible object, like a new star in the middle of the thigh of Perseus. It's unbelievable to think that a few hours ago, this comet wasn't visible even with a good telescope, and now, it's easily visible with naked-eyes even in a town!" said Laurent Laveder, an amateur astronomer in France. You can view his pic of the comet (and by others) here.

For us in Singapore, the best time to view the comet will be anytime after 11pm when Perseus, the constellation where the comet is in right now, will be rising higher in the North Eastern sky. The comet should be easily spotted, even without binoculars. I've plotted the Comet's location on the map above (S&T Interactive Sky Chart), showing how the sky will look like at 11 pm tonight in Singapore, when facing North East, 30 degrees above the horizon. Click here to view a bigger version. To locate the comet, first you need to identify the constellations in that region. The easiest to spot will be the "M" of Cassiopeia. Perseus is next to it. Comet Holmes will look like an extra "star" or "planet" in Perseus. According to reports that I've read, there's no visible tail even when viewed through a telescope. The bright moon nearby may be a slight problem but if the comet is as bright as what the reports say, you should be able to spot it - even with the moon around.

I've been chasing comets for a long time now, and I have never encountered a comet that brightens up spectacularly all of the sudden like Comet Holmes. If the sky is clear later tonight, Comet Holmes will be my 16th comet! Let's hope it remains this bright for the next few nights.

Today's Singapore News

1. HDB offers 916 flats in Bt Merah and Punggol
2. 8 schools to offer new applied subjects at 'O' level
3. Singapore Airlines' superjumbo A380 leaves on maiden voyage to Sydney
4. Singapore is most globalised nation
5. "The Home Song Stories" gets 14 nominations in Australia
6. Gay debate takes ugly turn
7. Singapore gays unfazed by sex ban
8. Kallang-Payar Lebar Expressway to open on Friday
9. Singapore moves to tap 'silver hair' market
10. Singapore to host F1 race at night

Read them all at Topix Singapore News, edited by yours truly.

IZ Reloaded's Amazing ABC Adventure

Watch me fly in space, swim in the deep ocean, drive a train and much more in my amazing alphabet adventure.

(via GoodyBlog)

How to make a Giant Matchstick

I don't know why anyone would want a giant matchstick but hey, it sure looks cool! Here's how you can make one out of thousands of match heads. Now you can boast to all your friends that your matchstick is da biggest!

Brian Froud's Goblins! in Plush

Goblins! by renowned fantasy illustrator Brian Froud is one of my favourite books. I was delighted to find out that FAO Schwarz has successfully created these cute plush dolls based on the goblins drawn in Brian’s book. Just in time for Halloween aye.

Modified PEZ Dispensers

Dude has an incredible collection of many modified PEZ dispensers. I love the Mickey Mouse one, with PEZ candies strapped to the dispenser like a suicide bomber!

(Thanks Nick)

Grab your free 20 prints from Snapfish!

I've been working with the nice people at Snapfish over the past week or so to get their blog advertising campaign ready. You can see the Snapfish ad on the right side of my blog (and on other blogs too).

Snapfish is a free photo sharing and storage service provided by HP with over 40 million users already. They also do prints, at only 19 cents a print! If you sign up now, you’ll get your first 20 prints free! So what you waiting for? Sign up now with Snapfish! You can even create personalized gifts utilizing your own photos: including photo cards, T-shirts, mouse pads, mugs and key rings.

Here are just some of the blogs that are taking part in the Snapfish campaign: Chubby Hubby, East Coast Life, Mr Miyagi, Molemole, Lancerlord, Voguecrown, Providence 1974, Jamie Fan, My Life Chapter and In Search of Tranquility. Go read them aye.

Oh, and if you think any of your blogger friends will be a good match for this Snapfish campaign (especially those who run photoblogs or blogs with lots of photos), do ask them to sign up for Advertlets, and we can add them to the campaign as well.

(Disclosure: I'm the Singapore Blog Ambassador for Advertlets.)

Today's Singapore News

1. They are just 14 and 12 but the brother and sister from the Yip family score As in O Levels
2. Minister urges public not to give money to beggars
3. Singapore, Bangalore top mobile-readiness
4. Undergrad fined $15,000 for hacking into RJC computer
5. Overall dengue situation has improved but weekly cases still high
6. Terrorism law enables Singapore to work more closely with others
7. Singapore is IP safe
8. Singapore keeps ban on sex between men
9. 7 large charities to have their governance reviewed
10. S'pore submits Youth Olympic Games bid ahead of deadline

Read them all at Topix Singapore News, edited by yours truly.

He-Man is in New York!

According to the Find He-Man blog, He-Man has been found walking the streets of Manhattan! No word yet on where She-Ra, Skeletor and the rest of the Masters Of The Universe can be found. From Find He-Man:

Our mission, and yours, is one in the same. We must find He-Man. We must document his existence as much as is humanly possible. This effort has been started in the hopes that we can preserve his good will and intentions to the human race. If you live in the Manhattan area and have a He-Man sighting, we urge you to please send in any video, photographical, or even written evidence of this sighting. Please note that He-Man is not any man who simply fits the description of He-Man; he is one specific man. If you see him, you will know. Please do not let this stop you from sending in your sightings, and please do not let him know you have sighted him. For if He-Man were to find out about this website, the entire internet will instantly be destroyed, at the very least.

How to make Vodka Pills

Just what I need - vodka pills! Learn how to make some in 24 hours. Looks really easy to me. Requires cornstarch (serves as the casting mold and as a reactant) and vodka (forms the 'shell' upon contact with the cornstarch surrounding it).

Phone Fingers

The Phone Fingers are like condoms for your fingers. Just put them on and you will never have to worry about leaving fingerprints and smudges on your iPhone's touchscreen display ever again.

Charger Bracelet

This charger bracelet lets you charge your handphone, PDA, PSP and DS. Simply plug the usb cable from the bracelet into your device and let the charging begin. It's like strapping a powerpack on your wrist!

Gold and diamond C3PO brooch

Fine jewelery specialists Wartski is selling this beautiful C3PO brooch made of yellow and white gold and set with brilliant cut diamonds.

Today's Singapore News

1. Singapore visitors set new record
2. Fully numeric domain names can soon be used in Singapore
3. Singapore buys 12 F-15s to upgrade airforce
4. Eco-fashion show launched at NUS to raise environmental awareness
5. Group pushing for change in gay sex law wants greater clarity
6. Government does not endorse gay lifestyle
7. Prof Ho explains T-shirt incidents
8. First international brand-name hotel being built at Changi Airport
9. ERP helps more S'poreans to own cars
10. Terminal 3 may give S'pore an edge but race is ceaseless

Read them all at Topix Singapore News, edited by yours truly.

Turn your iPod into a Ouija board

I've always thought that it's just a matter of time until someone decides to use an iPod as a Ouija board. I guess spirits nowadays are high tech too - they rather manifest themselves in iPods! Now let me get one and try this thing out.

Michelle's Wonderful Cakes

Michelle Wibowo's cake decorating skills are some of the best in the business. Take a look at some of her work here. As a Star Wars fan, I cannot help but fall in love with her Millennium Falcon cake. Michelle actually graduated with an Architecture degree before enrolling herself in a course in Baking Science.

Optimus Prime truck for sale on eBay!

A replica of the Optimus Prime (movie version)truck is currently being sold on eBay. The working truck comes with a voice activated alarm, with the voice of Optimus Prime on lock and unlock mode, 17 inch LCD TV/DVD, a JVC JAVX33 Stereo CD/DVD player with Bluetooth and Satelite Radio ready, Infinity Sound system, speakers and subwoofer, and other goodies! Unfortunately, it can't transform to robot mode. Bidding ends in 13 hours.

(Thanks Mr Big)

Today's Singapore News

1. US blacklists 3 firms linked to Singapore
2. NUH, NUS medical boards to be unified
3. Will maids affect kids' growth? Study to find out
4. Chain of 18,000 hard hats built to spread workplace safety message
5. Child Prodigy Enters Singapore Book Of Records
6. Earlier payouts may win more S'poreans over to annuity
7. Group pushing for change in gay sex law wants greater clarity
8. Singapore's legal system attacked at lawyers' meeting
9. Singapore's longest lasagna raises S$33,000
10. A380 Takes First Lucky Fliers

Read them all at Topix Singapore News, edited by yours truly.

Mini Golfing Mario & Luigi

I hate golf but I think I won't mind playing these battery powered Mini Golfing Mario and Luigi toys. You use a Famicom style remote to control their's putting abilities. Comes with two golf balls and a green hole.

WWF Paper Dispenser

This paper dispenser cleverly designed by Saatchi & Saatchi for the World Wildlife Fund, sends out a clear message that the survival of our forests is directly linked to what we consume. The green foil (not paper) in the dispenser represents the trees in South America. Bigger pic here.

Bedroom 747 Simulator

Dude wasn't good enough to fly proper planes because of his poor math so he did the next best thing - he spent US$30,000 and 8 years to build a Boeing 747 simulator into his bedroom!

Japan's Most Beautiful Bum

This is a Reuters video report of 18-year-old Kaho Watanabe who now has the most beautiful bum in Japan after winning the Show Me Your Sloggi Japan Finals. She will represent Japan in the grand final to be held in Germany later this month and compete to win 10,000 euros.

Lunch in a Box

Lunch in a Box is a blog started by a housewife with a three year old preschooler now living in San Francisco. After living in Japan for nine years, she's obsessed with cooking and building a faster, better packed lunch. Her blog contains lots of tips and recipes to make the perfect bento!

(Thanks Jameson)

Chris Gilmour's Cardboard Sculptures

British born artist Chris Gilmour makes amazing sculptures out of ordinary cardboard. Some of his works include a typewriter, a car, a bicycle and a wheelchair.

LOLCat Bible Translation Project

LOLCat Bible Translation Project is a crazy project to get the entire Bible translated into kitty pidgin (the language of lolcats). Here's Genesis 1:

1 Oh hai. In teh beginnin Ceiling Cat waz invisible, An he maded the skiez An da Urf, but he no eated it.

2 The Urfs wus witout shapez An wus dark An scary An stufs, An he rode invisible bike over teh waterz.

3 An Ceiling Cat sayz, i can haz lite? An lite wuz.

4 An Ceiling Cat sawed teh lite, to seez stufs, An splitted teh lite from dark but taht wuz ok cuz cats can seez in teh dark An not tripz ovr nethin. an Ceiling Cat sayz u mus hav da moneyz 2 git da milkz.

5 An Ceiling Cat sayed light Day An dark no Day. Teh evning An morning was teh first day.

Penang Hokkien Podcast

I don't know Hokkien but I think the Penang Hokkien Podcast sounds really funny. The podcast is started by John Ong, who was born in Penang and now resides in the USA. It is the very first podcast entirely in Penang style Hokkien.

(Thanks Bengster)

Build Your Wild Self

Introducing I.Z. - the Ibex-rab-conda-ger-fly-bird! Cute aye. So what's so wild about me?

I have Ibex horns can grow up to three feet long. Unlike antlers, which are shed every year, I get to keep my Ibex horns for life. Animals like rabbits have to be on the lookout for danger all the time. My large ears help me listen for trouble. My forked anaconda tongue collects odor molecules from the air and brings them back to tiny grooves in the roof of my mouth, letting me "taste" the air. I have extra large Siberian tiger paws that work just like snowshoes and prevent me from sinking in the snow. My eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly wings are camouflaged to trick enemies into attacking the wrong end, so I that can escape unharmed. And lastly, my lesser bird of paradise feathered tail. Male birds of paradise use their brightly colored tail feathers in mating dances to attract females.

Build your wild self here.

This Dragon costs S$5,999!

I finally saw the HP Dragon ad while I was flipping a Best Denki flyer. The ad also reveals the price for the HP Dragon here in Singapore - a whopping S$5,999! Here's what's written down at the bottom of the ad:

"Every as aspect of this revolutionary entertainment centre, powered by Intel Centrino Duo Processor Technology, manifests unsurpassed style and power, starting with a unique dragon imprint that creates an air of majesty even before it's turned on. Then, its HD image quality will truly awe you on a mega 20.1 inch Ultra Bright View LCD screen - easily adjusted to the perfect viewing angle thanks to an innovative dual hinge design. And as its screen immerses you into the action, so will 4 Altec Lansing speakers, bolstered by a triple bass reflex subwoofer for a full surround sound experience. Eventually, when you learn to lean back and enjoy it all, you'll be able to access all your media effortlessly with a dockable Media Centre Remote. But be warned: once you enter the Dragon, it's almost impossible to leave."

Well said! I've been using the HP Dragon since August and I loved it! It is really "impossible to leave". I have three other machines at home but I've only used the Dragon daily for all my work stuff, blogging and entertainment. I have to hand it to HP - they have created one hell of a truly beautiful and amazing notebook!

Related:
The HP Dragon: Setting up its Integrated HDTV Hybrid Tuner
HP Dragon Video
HP Dragon Specifications
Enter the Dragon: First pics of the new HP Notebook PC

Today's Singapore News

1. 33 digital media projects win $14m funding
2. Singapore Airlines raises fuel surcharge
3. Racist Bloggers: Best to drown their voices
4. New pilot system may result in cheaper electricity for consumers
5. NParks to create healing garden next
6. The Singapore Sun Festival
7. Keep377a.com vs Repeal377a.com
8. New 'bra-zen' service to perk up shopping for underwear
9. Five from Singapore to be Beijing Olympic torch-bearers
10. Singapore Writers take on the World!

Read them all at Topix Singapore News, edited by yours truly.

Battle of the M&Ms

Dude holds duels for his M&Ms. And I thought I was the only one who did the craziest things. From Craiglist:

Whenever I get a package of plain M&Ms, I make it my duty to continue the strength and robustness of the candy as a species. To this end, I hold M&M duels.

Taking two candies between my thumb and forefinger, I apply pressure, squeezing them together until one of them cracks and splinters. That is the "loser," and I eat the inferior one immediately. The winner gets to go another round.

I have found that, in general, the brown and red M&Ms are tougher, and the newer blue ones are genetically inferior. I have hypothesized that the blue M&Ms as a race cannot survive long in the intense theater of competition that is the modern candy and snack-food world.

Occasionally I will get a mutation, a candy that is misshapen, or pointier, or flatter than the rest. Almost invariably this proves to be a weakness, but on very rare occasions it gives the candy extra strength. In this way, the species continues to adapt to its environment.

(Thanks jardyn)

Selk'bag: Sleep Wear System

The Selk'bag is perfect for those of you who need the comfort of a sleeping bag while you do your normal everyday activities. In fact, when you wear the Selk'bag you can lie down anywhere you like if you need to have a quick nap. Now everyone can call you a walking sleeping bag!

The Bumblebee Camaro Sweepstake

Chevy is giving away a new customized Camaro styled after the Autobot Bumblebee in the film Transformers to the winner of its Bumblebee Camaro Sweepstake. Open to Americans and Canadians only. Darn!

Related: Singapore Gala Premiere of the Transformers movie

Uniqlock

Grab your own Uniqlock for your blog. Uniqlock tells the time in an interesting way - with cute Jap girls! Check out my Uniqlock above. Click the music icon to listen to the background music (it's currently on mute) and click the alarm icon (go click it! go!) to view the wacky alarm system. There's also a screensaver version for your computer. Gosh, I can watch this all day and night!

Today's Singapore News

1. HDB glut shrinks in rising market
2. PM impressed with SIA's work on A380
3. 'Premium' mobile services: Tougher rules from Dec 16
4. Brazil labels Singapore as tax haven
5. Report shows job seekers expect higher salaries in Singapore
6. Home is hell for 10-yr-old girl
7. 80% of readers say ST is important to their lives
8. Singapore Slings at Night
9. Get ready for Broadband 2.0
10. 4 govt agencies conduct checks on retailers in Hougang

Read them all at Topix Singapore News, edited by yours truly.

Take a look inside the new Singapore Airlines A380

Here's a video showing the interior cabin of the new Singapore Airlines Airbus 380. No first class, only suites! I love it but somehow I think the colour of the furniture, seats, etc is just not right. Makes everything looks just a tad old.

(Thanks Johnny Q)

Download Football Manager 2008!

I'm a big Football Manager fan - it's the only computer game I play religiously! Two days ago, I found out that the Demo for the upcoming Football Manager 2008 game is out. Downloaded it and over two nights, I've taken Manchester United to the top of the Premier League and the Champions League. Then just midway through the season, I couldn't play the game any more - it's a demo only. Darn! Looks like I will have to buy the actual game when it hits the stands sometime later this month. There goes all my free time.

Sausage Food Blog

I've been adding quite a few good food blogs into my RSS reader lately but I think sausage. hotdog. bratwurst is really unique because it is the only local food blog that talks about nothing but sausages! The blogger profile says its best: "This blog was created to chronicle all the sausages that the blogowner has devoured and to showcase them to the whole world the beauty of these stuffed meat in long tubes. Another side goal is to motivate this girl to search for the best sausages in Singapore and to eat all the sausages that she can find in Singapore."

Animation Mentor Student Showcase Fall 2007

Animation Mentor is an online animation school where students take part in an 18 month animation program designed to teach the skills necessary to obtain a job in character animation. Students will have access to mentors from major animation studios such as Pixar, Sony and Dreamworks. The Fall 2007 Student Showcase is a video (quicktime) showcasing some of the works of the Animation Mentor students including a Singaporean student name Adrian Lim. Go watch it!

Today's Singapore News

1. Financial Times apologises to Singapore PM, father
2. Triathlete brings to court his demand for place in SEA Games
3. Italian company to light up Singapore
4. Motorists giving way to buses reduced waiting time by up to 80%
5. Singapore Lays Out Welcome for A380 Jet
6. Singapore's Youth Olympic Games Committee launches logo, website
7. NMP files petition to House on gay sex law
8. Massive fire guts Ang Mo Kio wet market, hawker centre
9. Singapore gives phones a tryout for contactless payments
10. Sharp drop in couples applying to adopt kids

Read them all at Topix Singapore news, edited by yours truly.

Vectors: Flight Simulator X Fan Film

Vectors is a short film shot entirely using the Flight Simulator X computer game. It's simply breathtaking! Here's how it was made.

Be a Kotex Ultra Babe

My friend Daphne Tay wants to be a Kotex Ultra Babe. Do vote for her. I was looking through the pics of the participants and saw a lot of familiar faces taking part. Didn't know so many girls want to be a Kotex Babe. Winner gets a free makeover and personal portfolio.