Cats have more sex thanks to global warming

A pet adoption group thinks that global warming is to blame for the huge numbers of cats in animal shelters in the US. Global warming causes cats to have more sex which leads to more kittens and an overpopulation of stray cats. From Live Science:

“Cats are typically warm-weather, spring-time breeders,” said the group’s president, Kathy Warnick. “However, states that typically experience primarily longer and colder winters are now seeing shorter, warmer winters, leading to year-round breeding.”

“Basically, there is no longer a reproduction lull with cat breeding cycles, and unfortunately, it seems more people are bringing boxes of kittens into our agencies during winter now,” she added.

Studies have shown that global warming is altering the breeding seasons of other animals, such as migratory birds and penguins.

NEC's pink Hello Kitty laptop

NEC has launched its pink Hello Kitty laptop complete with 299 Swarovski crystals that depict four hearts and the Hello Kitty head wearing a pink bow and crown. The laptop is only for sale via the NEC wesbite. NEC hopes that with the introduction of the Hello Kitty laptop, more women will want to purchase laptops. I'm sure this will sell like hotcakes in Japan. The women there are crazy for anything that has Hello Kitty.

(Thanks xHino)

A tale of two erections

Two erection stories to share with you people. The Chinese has built the world's largest erection in an amusement park in Changchun city. The 30 feet erection called Sky Pillar is a totem of Shamanistic culture, which originated in the city. It does looks huge alright and it's circumcised too!

While the Chinese seem to be proud and happy with their record breaking erection, a man from New York isn't too happy with his. He is planning to sue the maker of a vitamin-enriched health drink because it gave him an erection that would not subside. The poor dude had to go for surgery to stop it. So guys, be careful when you consume a health drink next time aye.

Say goodbye to NETS

I wonder come July, retailers like this pub (pic above) will proudly put up the banner which says, "Good thing there's NETS!"

I would change it to "Good riddance to NETS!"

NETS has announced that from July, it will charge businesses between 1.5 and 1.8 per cent of the amount of each transaction. Previously NETS charge only 0.35 and 0.55 per cent. As you can see, this is no small jump and you bet that companies will be unhappy.

The Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) has a lodged a complaint to the Competition Commission of Singapore. It has questioned the actions taken by NETS:

Its president, Yeo Guat Kwang, said: "You are telling me, you know now Toyota has to also fetch the same price as a Lexus... is this a reason? I don't see this as a reason, you can't accept such a reason.

"If it is cost factors, then they must come out to justify what are the main reasons... what are the key cost factors which will make them think that the current fee that they are charging, 0.3 to 0.55 is too low. Too low in what sense? Can't cover all the cost, or is the profit not enough?"

CASE is also worried that businesses may pass the cost increase to the consumers.

Although existing regulations do not allow this, Mr Yeo said retailers could still tweak product prices if they want to.

We are all consumers and most of us use NETS to pay for our purchases so I'm very sure that this will affect us - we may have to pay more just to use NETS which I think is totally ridiculous. So if you are a consumer or a retailer and you are unhappy with this decision by NETS, I think the best way is to let them know. Direct an email to their CEO Poh Mui Hoon or jam their phone lines. Tell those people at NETS that you won't be using NETS if they insist on taking advantage of consumers and retailers like this. Remember there's always an alternative such as debit cards, credit cards and good old fashion cash! If NETS think they can just do this without any repercussions, then they are so wrong.

Good thing there's NETS? Good riddance man!

Update 26/06/2007 : The Competition Commission of Singapore said that the fee increase by NETS is not an infringement of the Competition Act. It added that there are alternative payment methods such as credit, debit and EZ-Link cards that consumers can use.

Photoblog: Together at the beach

Today on my photoblog Katoomba Syndrome: Together at the beach

Sunset, moonrise, the beach, two babes, my pair of Filas - perfect!

I've talked about the camera that comes with the LG Shine phone on my blog before and I decided I should do a photoblog entry using the cam. So here it is (the link above). It's really not a bad camera for a 2 mega pix! And the phone is lovely. Here's the review and all my LG Shine related posts.

The Real Simpsons Family

Watch as dude photoshops real people to make them look like the Simpsons. Doh! I'm just glad they are not making a real life Simpsons movie because I think it will look really odd and creepy with humans playing the characters.

(Thanks Adrian)

Flavoured water straight from the tap!

I got to have one of these in my kitchen! Procter & Gamble's PUR Flavor Options is a water filtration system that you can easily install on your faucet. Thanks to its flavour cartridge, every time you turn on your tap and with a push of a button, you get to enjoy flavoured water directly from the tap! There are three flavours to choose from - peach, strawberry and raspberry.


[This is basically the joys of an acquired taste. Not all can enjoy louis vuitton handbags as much as guess handbags or fendi handbags. In juicy couture handbags too we have a similar story. The marc jacobs handbags sell the most in couture.]

Perfect carrier bag for Great Singapore Sale

I love these carrier bags designed by Jamie Wieck. These bags will quite literally carry the shopping for you - perfect for the Great Singapore Sale! Talking about the Great Singapore Sale, don't forget that you can buy 2 cool tees for only $35 at Extreme Shop. They are selling like hotcakes so go over there and get yourself some tees aye.

Doctored Magazine Covers

Bloggers are not the only ones who photoshop their lovely photos. Ha! Some of the top magazines have been doing that too. This ABC News gallery provides some examples of doctored magazine covers. This cover on the left is of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie which is actually a composite of two different photos.

(Thanks Sir Thomas)

Dengue Hotspots in Singapore

The folks at SinGeo have been using data available from the National Environment Agency (NEA) to map out the various dengue hotpots in Singapore. Here's the Google Map for June 4 2007. Worth a regular look to find out if you're living in a dengue infested area.

(Thanks Mr Big)

Koreans back ads on blogs

Most internet users in Korea do not mind advertisements on blogs according to a new survey. From The Korea Herald:

According to the survey, 44.3 percent of the respondents were in favor of personal media being used as an avenue for advertisements, on the condition of users' consent. Another 17 percent said the idea is positive if the exposure of the advertisement brings in income to bloggers.

While a majority was in favor of advertisements on personal Web sites, 7.9 percent said they were neither for nor against the idea and the rest, 12.5 percent, said that ads on personal Web sites should be completely banned.

Interesting. I wonder what kind of results we will get if this survey was done in Singapore. I reckon the majority of the Singapore internet users especially those who read a lot of the local blogs are okay with the idea of bloggers putting advertisements on their blogs. Most of the top blogs here (ahem, mine included) have got ads anyway and I'm already starting to see more and more bloggers in Singapore, even the new and not so popular ones doing the same.