My 3 day report of the recently concluded Singapore F1 Grand Prix can also be read on Reuters: Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3. My original blog posts here, here and here.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
IZ Reloaded on Reuters: Singapore Grand Prix Reports
My 3 day report of the recently concluded Singapore F1 Grand Prix can also be read on Reuters: Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3. My original blog posts here, here and here.
Architectural Furniture: Furnitures for the space conscious
These Architectural Furnitures (video above) designed by Toshihiko Suzuki are so cutel! There's a Mobile Kitchen, a Foldaway Guest Room and a Foldaway Office. When they're not being used, you can fold them back into their original compact forms. I think they are great for homes that are tight on space.
Inside a North Korean arcade

New Obama and McCain comics

(Thanks Greg)
Transformers Mosaic

The Observable Universe

(Thanks Andrew Long)
Policing Flickr
The essence of Champ's job, she says, boils down to defending this imprecise but holy "spirit of Flickr." Indeed, imprecision is an art here. The list of community guidelines is an assortment of lawyer-vexing instructions like "Don't be creepy. You know the guy. Don't be that guy," and "Don't forget the children." If you've spent any time online, you instantly recognize these to be meaningful and clear edicts. Champ is only half joking when she says her is responsibility is to keep things from "encroaching on Flickr's serenity."
"The job always comes down to finding the fulcrum in the teeter-totter, the balance that benefits both the individual and the community," she explains.
Indeed, for all its color, the site is governed by gray. Take, for example, what I call the penis quandary, endemic to any operation like this: A photo of a penis will be flagged on Flickr as offensive and relegated to the site's version of an adults-only zone. But what about a photo of the word "penis"? What about a cloud that looks like a penis? What about a penis on a Greek statue?
Today's Singapore News
-Rise in number of beggars: The number of beggars and vagrants rounded up by the authorities rose sharply in the first six months of this year, with many being foreigners.
-Singapore opposition head Jeyaretnam dies: Joshua B. Jeyaretnam, Singapore's best known and most dogged opposition leader who fought a lone battle against the powerful ruling establishment despite being driven to bankruptcy, died at a local hospital of heart failure.
-Bills to go up 21%: Electricity bills will go up about 21 per cent tomorrow, the highest one-time increase in about seven years, according to the Energy Market Authority (EMA).
-National Heritage Board to Spend $8 Million on Art Projects: The National Heritage Board of Singapore plans to spend $8 million (U.S. $5.6 million) over the next five years to help fund commercial cultural projects in the city-state.
-Singapore GP can be improved: After the dust settles and looking back at the first ever night race, could things have been better? Or should the organizers sit back and rest on their laurels?
-Most travellers not extending stay after F1: A dramatic Formula 1 night race yesterday capped Singapore's praiseworthy hosting of the Grand Prix. But the Republic doesn't seem quite as successful in getting visitors to extend their stay beyond the weekend.
-Singapore hopes F1 will rev up economy: The first ever F1 night race disrupted traffic and will cost taxpayers millions of dollars but Singapore hopes the F1 glitz will give businesses a much-needed boost and help the city state promote itself as more than a staid financial centre.
-Nightlife industry benefited most during F1 weekend: Nightspots in the city benefited the most from the F1 weekend, with customer numbers boosted by some 40,000 tourists in Singapore for the race.
-Gradual reopening of roads around F1 circuit: There were still reports of slight traffic jams around the Beach Road and Suntec City area during Monday morning's rush hour.
-Radical structural separation in Singapore: Singapore is proceeding with what some have called "the most radical structural separation of fixed telecoms in the world" after awarding its National Broadband Network passive network contract to the OpenNet consortium.
-Flats in great demand: The 50-storey Pinnacle@Duxton in Tanjong Pagar has attracted 1,467 applications for the 428 four- and five-roomers on offer - that is about 3.5 hopefuls for each unit.
Monday, September 29, 2008
2008 Singapore F1 Grand Prix: Day Three Report with Videos
It began so well for Ferrari. They had Massa leading the pack and everybody including me thought for certain he will dominate the race. But it all went bad when Nelson Piquet Jr crashed his Renault (video here) and the safety car had to come out. The race went into chaos. Williams's Nico Rosberg and BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica went into the pitstop when it was closed during the safety car period and had to serve stop-go penalties. Then when it's Massa's turn to pit, his pit crew could not pull the fuel hose out in time when Massa hit the pedal (video below).
The fuel hose snapped and Massa with the fuel hose still attached to his Ferrari, had to stop 100m ahead while his pitcrew still in shocked, then ran frantically towards his car to pull the hose out. Incredible scenes! The pitstop howler slowed down Massa considerably and in addition, he was also given a drive-through penalty.
With Massa seemingly out of the running, Ferrari had to depend on defending champion Raikkonen to finish the race and get some points for them but he stupidly crashed his car (video above) towards the later part of the race. He was driving in fifth position during the crash.
The race was then won amazingly by Fernando Alonso of Renault who started at 15th position! But the biggest of smiles were reserved for Lewis Hamilton who finished third. He and his McLaren team must be happy that both Massa and Raikkonen did not get any points in Singapore - justice done, perhaps - as they look to win both the Drivers' and Constructors' Championship this year.
You can read all the drivers' comments after the race here and the full results here.
Previously:
2008 Singapore F1 Grand Prix: Day Two
2008 Singapore F1 Grand Prix: Day One Report with Videos
Samsung's Nabee connects cameras to PCs wirelessly but not to your father

Intel's Core 2 Duo as explained by Sony's weird elves

Also read: Sony unveils new VAIO direction with 3 new notebook models
Wikipedia Comics

Solar Light Cap harnesses sunlight to light up the night

PETA wants Ben & Jerry's to use breast milk for its ice cream
On behalf of PETA and our more than 2 million members and supporters, I'd like to bring your attention to an innovative new idea from Switzerland that would bring a unique twist to Ben and Jerry's. Storchen restaurant is set to unveil a menu that includes soups, stews, and sauces made with at least 75 percent breast milk procured from human donors who are paid in exchange for their milk. If Ben and Jerry's replaced the cow's milk in its ice cream with breast milk, your customers--and cows--would reap the benefits.
Using cow's milk for your ice cream is a hazard to your customer's health. Dairy products have been linked to juvenile diabetes, allergies, constipation, obesity, and prostate and ovarian cancer. The late Dr. Benjamin Spock, America's leading authority on child care, spoke out against feeding cow's milk to children, saying it may play a role in anemia, allergies, and juvenile diabetes and in the long term, will set kids up for obesity and heart disease--America's number one cause of death.
Chinese takes first steps in space
Zhai Zhigang became the first man from China to walk in space! He spent about 20 minutes outside his spacecraft as his fellow countrymen and the world watched him solidify China's status as a space power. You can watch Zhai as he climbs out of his spacecraft in this video (above, with English subs) which was broadcast live. He and his fellow taikonauts Liu Boming and Jing Haipeng returned to Earth safely yesterday. Let's see if the Chinese can take on the moon next.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
2008 Singapore F1 Grand Prix: Day Two
With overtaking difficult on the Marina Bay street circuit, grid positions are likely to be crucial - and Massa was understandably delighted to have pipped Hamilton at the death.
"The car was so nice to drive and it is so great that I managed to do a perfect lap," said the 27-year-old after his lap of one minute, 44:519 seconds.
"It was a great achievement. I made the corners perfect, so it is fantastic and one of the most incredible feelings a driver can have."
Hamilton insisted he was happy with second after he almost missed out on the pole position shoot-out, sneaking through in 10th, but warned that overtaking in the race will be almost impossible.
You can read more reactions from the top three drivers given during the post qualifying press conference here. The race tonight will start from 7.30pm and it is live on Channel 5. Massa for the win! Go Ferrari!
Update: 2008 Singapore F1 Grand Prix: Day Three Report with Videos
Previously:
2008 Singapore F1 Grand Prix: Day One Report with Videos
Inside the Williams F1 Simulator
Singapore Grand Prix Preview Video
1966 Singapore Grand Prix
2008 Singapore F1 Grand Prix Road Closure and Public Transportation Guide
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Bumblebee Birthday Cake

(Thanks mac96)
Japanese Steampunk Watchmaker

Best Science Images of 2008 Announced

(Thanks Marilyn)
2008 Singapore F1 Grand Prix: Day One Report with Videos
None of the drivers reported any visibility problems at all under the bright lights that lit up the circuit but some said that coping with the numerous bumps on the circuit was the most serious challenge for them. A team-by-team look at the early progress here.
Lewis Hamilton from McLaren-Mercedes should be pretty pleased with his performance last night as he topped the time during the first practice session. The two Ferraris came in second (Felipe Massa) and third (Kimi Raikkonen) respectively. For the second practice session, Lewis Hamilton looked set to set the fastest time again but he was pipped by Renault's Fernando Alonso. Massa came in at third. Full results here.
A report of the historic first day of the Singapore Grand Prix will not be complete without videos of the F1 cars in action so here are some clips from YouTube for those of you who were not there yesterday.
Watch the F1 cars in action here (video above), here, here, here and here.
It will get more serious tonight with the qualifying sessions set to start at 10pm.
Update:
2008 Singapore F1 Grand Prix: Day Three Report with Videos
2008 Singapore F1 Grand Prix: Day Two
Previously:
Inside the Williams F1 Simulator
Singapore Grand Prix Preview Video
1966 Singapore Grand Prix
2008 Singapore F1 Grand Prix Road Closure and Public Transportation Guide
Friday, September 26, 2008
Inside the Williams F1 Simulator

Previously:
Singapore Grand Prix Preview Video
1966 Singapore Grand Prix
2008 Singapore F1 Grand Prix Road Closure and Public Transportation Guide
My Little Stormtrooper Pony

(Thanks Suzy)
How to defend yourself against men: A Japanese Manual for Girls

(Thanks Rickie)
BigDog is the most advanced quadruped robot on Earth

Also read:
Videos of military bots in action at the Singapore Tech X Challenge
Singapore's Military Robot Contest
Which is the best Asian film ever?
'Infernal Affairs' ('Mou gaan dou') Hong Kong/China
(Andrew Lau Wai-Keung, Alan Mak Siu-Fai, 2002)
Hong Kong cop thriller following the parallel lives of an undercover officer who infiltrates a Triad gang and policeman who secretly reports to a ruthless gang boss. "Infernal Affairs" breaks the mould of much of contemporary Hong Kong cinema by steering clear of over-the-top-action in favor of a slow-burning build up of psychological tension. Engrossing.
'Mandala' South Korea
(Kwon-Taek Im, 1981)
In the film that is considered to be his breakthrough as a cinematic artist, Im follows the lives and interactions of two Buddhist monks in Korea, and takes a contemplative look at the nature of individualism, religious belief and enlightenment.
'To Live' ('Huozhe') China
(Zhang Yimou, 1994)
Much lauded but banned in Mainland China because of its satirical portrayal of the Communist government, this epic, sumptuous film traces the personal fortunes of Fugui and Jiazhen as they fall from wealthy landownership to peasantry over 30 turbulent years.
A Car's Life: First ever YouTube Game
Indian mobile entertainment company Hexolabs has found a clever way to use YouTube's Video Annotations as part of the gameplay for its YouTube interactive game called A Car's Life. Click on the Annotations (the click button) that appears in the video to move to the next stage. Don't let the car crash! From Hexolabs:
Our research shows the branding videos with interactive story telling features retains user's interest for a longer duration. The interactive features in the videos gives immersive branding value. We are currently engaged in a research on this new advertising media which levarages youtube as a gaming medium. Advertising through this medium guarantees more relevant brand experiences for the consumers.
China's Massive Earthquake: A Commemorative Exhibition

(via Walter Vasconcelos)
T-Mobile G1 Press Conference

Thursday, September 25, 2008
Miniature War Scenes

(via Neatorama)
Embroidered text messages

(via Make)
Motorola ROKR E6 transforms into a robot

Music from the Soviet era
The music submitted on this site - is an evident sample of a totally new culture, which completely differs from all that, with what Hollywood and MTV supply us so much. This culture, being free from the cult of money , platitude, violence and sex, was urged to not indulge low bents of a human soul but to help the person to become culturally enriched and to grow above himself.
Cheerful and optimistically by its nature, the Soviet music was spreading a cult of friendship, collectivism, mutual assistance and respect to the working people. Not all songs appeared to be praiseworthy; also some unsuccessful things came alone. But nevertheless it is possible to tell with confidence, that the purposes, which were set upon the Soviet culture, namely spiritual education of the new, Soviet person, were achieved in much ways.
Sony's 24.6-megapixel DSLR for megapixel hungry shooters
Sony's latest high-performance digital SLR, the α900 will be available in Singapore from end October 2008. Equipped with a 24.6-megapixel 35mm full-frame size CMOS sensor Exmor, the α900 is the world’s highest resolution full-frame DSLR.
Other notable features of the α900 include the SteadyShot INSIDE and the new dual BIONZ image processing engines.
SteadyShot INSIDE is a body-integrated anti-shake system which will allow photographers to capture sharp images with shutter speeds up to 2.5 to 4 stops slower than would otherwise be possible despite the larger and heavier sensor.
The BIONZ image processing engines enable the α900 to deliver the fastest image processing possible as both processing engines work in parallel to process the high amount of image data delivered from the 24.6-megapixel sensor.
The α900 also sports a full-size optical viewfinder, a dual-cross 9-point AF Sensor System and Intelligent Preview function, which allows users to capture a shot into the internal camera memory, and simulate the effect of various camera settings on it, such as exposure, white balance and D-Range Optimizer.
Also read: Sony unveils new VAIO direction with 3 new notebook models
Today's Singapore News
-Good business and bad business for shops during F1 season: Unlike other less lucky tenants in the Marina/Suntec area, retailers and food and beverage outlets at the underground CityLink mall have been savouring a boom in customers.
-Singapore escort girls cash in on Grand Prix traffic: Big spenders in Singapore for the city state's first ever Formula One Grand Prix this weekend have boosted business for high-end social escort agencies by a fifth.
-Only 3 of 11 trackside hotels booked fully: Just days before the Formula One race kicks off, a majority of the 11 trackside hotels are still not fully booked.
-F1 tickets sold online buck high price trend: People fishing for a quick buck are trying to sell their F1 tickets on popular auction websites such as Ebay just days before the race is flagged off this Sunday.
-Singapore firms get lucrative contracts for F1: At least 12 companies - including many small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) - have snagged lucrative contracts to help race organisers make this weekend's mega-event a success.
-Singapore says WSJ waging campaign against judges: Singapore's attorney general accused the Wall Street Journal of waging a campaign to tarnish the country's judiciary, but said he is not pushing for the harshest sentence in contempt proceedings against the newspaper.
-Tiger offers 50,000 free seats: Tiger Airways announced that it has received the all-clear to operate five daily flights between KL and Singapore. To celebrate, it is offering 50,000 free seats.
-Queues formed outside BEA: Queues have formed outside the Bank of East Asia building at Market Street. Some 80 to 100 people concerned about their deposits have made their way to the bank.
-Case and NTUC Income not anti-competitive: A regulatory agency has thrown out complaints by a private school group that the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) and NTUC Income were being anti-competitive.
-5 more China-made products found tainted with melamine: Five more China-made food products sold in Singapore have been detected to contain the industrial chemical melamine.
-Parents and students pay respect to Confucius: Thousands of students and parents flocked to temples yesterday to pay their respects to the Chinese thinker-philosopher Confucius, ahead of his birthday on Friday.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Singapore girls show off their bums (and more) for contest

Smart alarm clock for mobile phones

Metal for Monsters
Pinhole Skull Camera

(via Nerdcore)
Today's Singapore News
-Singapore still least corrupt in Asia: Just like last year, Singapore has been ranked the fourth least corrupt country in a global corruption survey.
-Carpark abusers deny genuine park visitors of parking lots: Car owners are exploiting the free parking services at public parks by leaving their weekend cars at the parks over the course of the day.
-Editor 'defamed' Singapore leader: Singapore's High Court has ruled that the Far Eastern Economic Review (FEER) magazine defamed Singapore's leaders.
-Security tight at Singapore's F1 Race: Almost 1,000 armed and unarmed security guards will patrol the Singapore Grand Prix circuit this week and the message is, leave bags at home.
-Budget hotel occupancy during F1 week disappointing: Budget hotels aren't doing any better than their high end counterparts when it comes to occupancy rates for the F1 weekend.
-Road closures due to F1 lead to traffic jams in some areas: The first day of F1-related road closures in the Marina Bay area has turned into a traffic nightmare for some, with road users stuck in traffic jams for up to an hour during the morning rush hour.
-Ensuring the safety of F1 racers: Close to 400 medical professionals and volunteers will be on standby to respond to any emergencies that may happen during the F1 night race in Singapore.
-Singapore unlikely to meet tourism target: Singapore - due to host tens of thousands of foreign visitors for its first Formula One Grand Prix this weekend - said Tuesday it is unlikely to meet its annual target for tourist arrivals.
-AVA allays melamine concerns: Singaporeans who may have eaten three tainted Chinese dairy products recently yanked from stores have little risk of falling ill.
-Singapore GIC earns 4.5pct real return: The Government of Singapore Investment Corp (GIC), one of the world's biggest sovereign funds, said it achieved a real return of 4.5 percent over 20 years to March but saw a tougher environment ahead.
Eric visits North Korea

(Thanks Sir Thomas)
Mini Guitar MP3 Player

Sculpted Beastlies

(via Mefi)
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
It's confirmed! Asian bloggers love advertising.
According to Day 1 of the State of the Blogosphere 2008 report, which will be released in five consecutive daily segments by Technorati, 60% of Asian blogs carry advertisements and these blogs have a median annual revenue of US$120. Asian bloggers are twice as likely to sell advertising through online ad network such as Adverlets and are three times as likely to have paid postings on their blog. Interesting.
Videos of military bots in action at the Singapore Tech X Challenge
Results of the Tech X Challenge organised by Singapore's Defense Science & Technology Agency (DSTA) are out. Surprise, surprise! No winner was announced so everyone shares a bit of the prize money. Looks like navigating around obstacles, climbing stairs, finding a lift and pushing a button are just too difficult for the robots. I guess we have to wait a little longer for Singapore to have its own Terminator to join our NS boys in battle. Videos of some of the bots in action and a report of the Tech X Challenge here.
Previously: Singapore's Military Robot Contest
Today's Singapore News
-Shoppers switch to non-China milk: Shoppers are already switching to milk products from Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, Europe and Japan, said a spokesman for Giant hypermarket.
-Milk scandal sparks confidence loss but effects temporary: China's tainted milk scandal has sparked further confidence losses in products made in the country. But businesses 938 LIVE spoke with feel it's temporary and given the products involved, isn't likely to affect sales too much.
-Major supermarkets recall over 15 brands of China-made food products: Over 15 brands of China-made products have been taken off the shelves, amid growing consumer concern in Singapore over the tainted milk scandal.
-Big brands ride on S'pore GP: The world's attention will be centred on the inaugural SingTel Singapore Grand Prix (SGP) this weekend, and many companies have jumped on the Formula One bandwagon for more eyeballs and branding mileage.
-Singapore GP book flying off shelves: Barely nine days after its launch, the first run of some 5,000 copies of "The Singapore Grand Prix: 50 Years in the Making" is almost sold out.
-Smooth traffic on KPE: Singapore's newest expressway handled morning peak-hour traffic for the first time yesterday, carrying about 5,100 cars from the north-east to the city.
-Smooth parking at Holland Village: The next time you drive into Holland Village, you will be greeted by marshals who will direct you to the nearest parking lot.
-5,000 policyholders terminated AIA contracts: Just under 5,000 policyholders have terminated their insurance contracts with the American International Assurance (AIA) so far, a small percentage of the over two million policies that AIA has in force in Singapore.
-Singapore Exchange tightens rules on short-selling: Singapore Exchange said late on Monday that it would tighten rules to discourage "naked" short-selling as part of a global move to stem the selling of shares by speculators who do not own the securities.
-Singapore wage growth to halve if recession hits-union: Wage growth in Singapore will probably halve to 2-2.5 percent in 2009 from around 4-5 percent this year if the country slides into a recession.
-Singapore's economic growth slows to below 4%: The Singapore government on Monday said that the country's full-year economic growth may dip below its earlier forecast of between 4 and 5 per cent
Star Wars Rebel Attack in Lego

Previously: Tim's Lego Star Wars Imperial Base
Takaratomy Air Guitar

Cleaning Instructions for the Boyfriend

Monday, September 22, 2008
Singapore's Military Robot Contest
The six teams participating on Sunday are sponsored mainly by Singapore universities, and half of them plan to compete with off-the-shelf robots developed by iRobot. Evolution's Uni-Seeker is based on ATRV Junior, a small robot designed in the early 1990s for research purposes. Ge's X-1 team, which consists of students and staff from the National University of Singapore and the Institute for Infocomm Research, and FANTASTICFOUR, another team from NTU, will both enter modified versions of PackBot, which has been successfully deployed in places like Afghanistan, where it clears caves, searches bunkers and crosses minefields. SP Freiburg, a joint effort by Singapore Polytechnic and the University of Freiburg in Germany, uses a modified German-built teleMAX robot, which is normally a remote-controlled machine that disables explosives. But Toh's AZROBOWAR team built its bot from scratch. The team is not affiliated with a university and is composed of friends who worked on the project in their spare time. TP Robotics, from Temasek Polytechnic, also built its robot from the ground up.
Although not a guarantee, it's a distinct possibility that one of the teams will be able to emerge from Sunday's contest with a lucrative government contract. "We've already identified certain technologies we want to explore with some of the teams," says DSTA spokeswoman Isabelle Lee.
GoateeSaver: Real men wear goatees

I Love You Mouse

Giant Subbuteo Inflatable Football Pitch

Singapore Grand Prix Preview Video
With the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix just four days away, Mark Webber of Red Bull Racing takes us on a computerized practice session (video above) around the street circuit of the first ever night race in Formula 1 history. Awesome video and great commentary by Webber! You can also watch it on the Red Bull Racing website here.
(via Autoblog)
Previously:
1966 Singapore Grand Prix
2008 Singapore F1 Grand Prix Road Closure and Public Transportation Guide
Today's Singapore News
-High-rise littering on the rise: The National Environment Agency (NEA) saw a 12 percent increase in the number of complaints on high-rise littering from January to June this year as compared to the same time period last year.
-Singapore's financial institutions stable: Singapore's financial institutions are well capitalised and regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), says Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam.
-3,821 jaywalkers caught: In the first half of the year, 3,821 people were caught jaywalking, up from 2,070 in the same period last year.
-For Indian students, Singapore is much more than a second home: It is the cost factor that first attracted them to Singapore for education, with the fee structure about one-third of that in the US or UK. But for Indian students, enrolled in educational institutes here, this cosmopolitan city state has become more than a second home.
-Drawn to the bright lights of Singapore: Talented academics from the US cite Asia's growing influence, coupled with the possibility of conducting highly innovative research and other factors make Singapore a compelling destination.
-New way of teaching math comes from Singapore: Chase Nielsen goes to school at St. Andrew's Academy in Mahtomedi and he said, "I'm doing pretty good with the Singapore math. It's kind of new, but I'm doing pretty well."
-Neighbourhood schools doing well: Schools that have done well in the new MOE Achievement Tables include neighbourhood ones like Yishun Town Secondary, Kranji Secondary and Hai Sing Catholic School.
-Singapore Biennale volunteers get trained: There are over 400 volunteers participating in this year’s Biennale, with nearly a hundred of them lending their time as tour guides.
-F1 volunteer race officials go through paces before race: Exactly a week before the world's first Formula 1 night race kicks off in Singapore, almost 1,000 volunteer race officials went through some of their final paces on Sunday.
-Tainted milk items in S'pore: White Rabbit Creamy Candy, a milk-based treat popular with children and adults here, has been found to be contaminated with melamine.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Star Wars R2-D2 Backpack

Previously: Yoda Plush Backpack
USB Rechargable Batteries

Xylish Wacky Boxer Briefs

(Thanks Rakuboy)
Star Wars condoms not for the Jedi in you

Dating Escort Girls
The first place I turned, naturally, was to the back pages of this very publication. I started dialing numbers from ads with photos of women who, for whatever reason at the time, I felt might be more likely to indulge their intellectual inquisitiveness — or at least humor me. I called girls with ads that said: "New to town! Show me around!" "Because I'm worth it!" "Just broke up with my boyfriend!"
I got turned down. Cold. Every time. "Hi. I'm a reporter working on a story about dating local escorts. There wouldn't be anything sexual, just a game or two of miniature golf. And I'll pay for this date, of course, but I really don't have any money to give you for — hello? Hello?"
After two days of ego-smashing rejections from prostitutes up and down the tricounty area, I decided to ditch the idea of enticing hookers to date me for free. My new pitch: "I've got $100, and I want to play miniature golf with an escort."
Also read:
Singapore Escort Ads on Yellow Pages
Invisible Trade II: Secret lives and sexual intrigue in Singapore
A Gallery of Phone Sex Operators
The day I joined a website looking for no strings sex
What happens when we die?
What sort of methods will this project use to try and verify people's claims of "near-death" experience?
When your heart stops beating, there is no blood getting to your brain. And so what happens is that within about ten seconds, brain activity ceases —as you would imagine. Yet paradoxically, ten or 20 percent of people who are then brought back to life from that period, which may be a few minutes or over an hour, will report having consciousness. So the key thing here is, are these real, or is it some sort of illusion? So the only way to tell is to have pictures only visible from the ceiling and nowhere else, because they claim they can see everything from the ceiling. So if we then get a series of 200 or 300 people who all were clinically dead, and yet they're able to come back and tell us what we were doing and were able see those pictures, that confirms consciousness really was continuing even though the brain wasn't functioning.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Wolverine vs Zombies comic

Wargaming with Plastic Army Men

My Sketchbook

Chinese Kampongs in Singapore
There were also a number of things in a Chinese kampong that you would not find in a Malay kampong. These were usually related to the difference in religious faiths; Malays being mostly Muslims. For example, in a Chinese kampong like Lorong Kinchir which I grew up in, pigs roaming freely was a common sight. Another thing which was mandatory in a Chinese kampong was the Tua Pek Kong temple and wayang stage. Depending on the size of the kampong, the size of these two features also tended to be different. During the Lunar 7th Month, opera shows would be performed. Another thing we had was the Chinese Medicine Shop. Practically all Chinese kampongs had one of these. Today, they are still a common sight in our HDB heartlands.(via Oceanskies 79)
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Robots expressing themselves

(Thanks Marilyn)
Microsoft's weird press kit for Internet Explorer 8 Beta

(Thanks NYker61)
Backflow the mobile game

1000km across the roof of the world to Everest on a Unicycle

Malaysia has the world's worst taxis
Abdul Razak, operations manager for Dubai-based Citicab which launched here (Malaysia) in January, said that even in poorer nations such as Thailand and Indonesia, taxis are smarter and the drivers far more courteous.
"I would say it is the worst in this region, undoubtedly. I have travelled to all countries in this region and our company operates taxis in many parts of the world. The situation here is the worst I have seen," he told AFP.
"The vehicles are in shabby condition, the driver will take you if he likes your face -- that is, if he agrees with where you want to go for the price he insists on."
The Malaysian Bigfoot Enigma
From Event 10 of Section 7 , we learnt from Alan (Kampung Punjut Shaman) that there was one encounter with a Bigfoot creature some 30km from his village at Batu 25, which involved allegedly three individuals (we realized later that the 'three' referred to by Alan actually meant a group, not necessary three.), who went there together. Among them was an Orang Asli named Herman Deraman, whom Alan and the press article called Along. The article by Bernama News cited Alan's account of his brother-in-law's (Along) encounter with a Bigfoot while driving along a logging track in Lenggor Forest. In an article by The Star, Amir Md Ali was reported to have met his Bigfoot while on his way to the Gunung Panti jungles. The same report also recounted Along's encounter with the Bigfoot at the usual place where he collected bamboo. In a Reuters' article, Hashim Yusoff, the Director of Johor National Parks Corporation had driven into Sungai Madek Forest Reserve to ask indigenous people of reported sightings of a 10 feet tall ape standing on two legs besides a river in a heavy rainforest in Johor State.
1966 Singapore Grand Prix
Everyone is excited about the first F1 night race which will be held in Singapore later this month but do you know that back in the 60s, there was already a Grand Prix in Singapore? Yup, back then Singapore hosted races for the Formula Libre and the Australian AF2 at its Thomson Road Grand Prix circuit which was located at Thomson Road encompassing Old Upper Thomson Road. You can relive the excitement of the old races by watching this video of the 1966 Singapore Grand Prix which was the motorsport event to watch in South East Asia during those years.
Featured Post
Singapore Haunted: Top 10 Most Haunted Moments Caught On Camera!
A flying ghost at Changi Hospital, a playful tree spirit at Bedok Reservoir and the ghost of a girl who died at the famous Yellow Tower at...

-
You can watch an almost live webcam (30 secs delay) of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant which suffered major damage from the 9.0 earthqu...
-
Meet Xu Rong . She's an Assistant Professor at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and judging from her photos posted on her blog an...