Recently, I received an email about health... You can tell your health condition based on pimples location, finger nails, lips, etc.
Based on this email, my heart (心), liver (肝), lungs (肺), kidneys (腎) all have problems. (O_O；) Is my health really THAT bad?? I don't think so... ＼(>o<)／
The New Scientist magazine has compiled a list of Top 10 bizarre experiments of all time. Those experiments are fun and weird... :P
1) Elephants on Acid
A curiosity-led experiment from the 1960s, in which Warren Thomas decided to inject an elephant named Tusko with 297 milligrams of LSD — about 3,000 times the typical human dose — to see what would happen. The idea was to determine whether the hallucinogenic drug could induce musth — the state of temporary madness in which male elephants become aggressive.
The result was a public relations disaster: Tusko died. The scientists claimed in their defence that they had not expected this to happen — two of them had taken plenty of acid themselves, they said.
2) Terror in the Skies
Another 1960s experiment, in which ten soldiers on a training flight were told by the pilot that the aircraft was disabled, and about to ditch in the ocean. They were then required to fill in insurance forms before the crash — ostensibly so the Army was not financially liable for any deaths or injuries.
They were actually unwitting participants in an experiment: the plane was not crippled at all. It revealed that fear of imminent death indeed causes soldiers to make more mistakes than usual when filling in forms.
3) Tickling
In the 1930s Clarence Yeuba, a Professor of Psychology at Antioch College in Ohio, formed the hypothesis that people learn to laugh when tickled, and that the response is not innate. He tested it on his son — the family was forbidden from laughing in relation to tickling when he was present.
Leuba’s wife, however, was caught some months later bouncing the boy on her knee while laughing and saying: “Bouncy, bouncy.” By the time the boy was seven, he was laughing when tickled — but that did not stop Leuba trying the experiment again on his sister.
4) Headless rats and painted faces
In 1924 Carney Landis, of the University of Minnesota, set out to investigate facial expressions of disgust. To exaggerate expressions, he drew lines on volunteers’ faces with burnt cork, before asking them to smell ammonia, listen to jazz, look at pornography or place their hands in a bucket of frogs.
He then asked each volunteer to decapitate a white rat. While all hesitated, and some swore or cried, most agreed to do so — showing the ease with which most people bow to authority. The pictures, however, look quite bizarre. “They look like members of a strange cult preparing to offer a sacrifice to the Great God of the Experiment,” Mr Boese wrote.
5) Raising the dead
Robert Cornish, of the University of California at Berkeley, believed in the 1930s that he had perfected a way of raising the dead. He experimented by placing corpses on a see-saw to circulate the blood, while injecting adrenalin and anticoagulants.
After apparently successful experiments on strangled dogs, he found a condemned prisoner, Thomas McMonigle, who was prepared to become a human guinea pig. The state of California, however, refused permission, for fear that it would have to release McMonigle if the technique worked.
6) Slumber learning
In 1942 Lawrence LeShan, of the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, attempted subliminally to influence boys into stopping biting their fingernails. While they were asleep, he played them a record of a voice saying: “My fingernails taste terribly bitter.” When the record player broke down, he stood in the dormitory repeating the phrase himself.
It seemed to work: by the end of the summer, 40 per cent of the boys had stopped biting their nails. Mr Boese, however, has another explanation: "'If I stop biting my nails,’ they probably thought, ‘the strange man will go away.’”
7) Turkey turn-ons
Martin Schein and Edgar Hale, of Pennsylvania State University, devoted themselves to studying the sexual behaviour of turkeys in the 1960s, and discovered that the birds are not choosy. Taking a model of a female turkey, they progressively removed body parts until the males lost interest.
Even when all that remained was a head on a stick, the male turkeys remained turned on.
8) Two-headed dogs
Vladimir Demikhov, a surgeon from the Soviet Union, revealed his surgical creation of a two-headed dog in 1954. The head of a puppy had been grafted onto the neck of an adult German shepherd. The second head would lap at milk, even though it did not need nourishment — and though the milk then dribbled down the neck from its disconnected oesophagus. Both animals soon died because of tissue rejection — but that did not stop Demikhov from creating 19 more over the next 15 years.
9) The vomit-drinking doctor
Stubbins Ffirth, a doctor training in Philadelphia during the 1800s, formed the hypothesis that yellow fever was not an infectious disease, and proceeded to test it on himself. He first poured infected vomit into open wounds, then drank the vomit. He did not fall ill — but not because yellow fever is not infectious. It was later discovered that it must be injected directly into the bloodstream, typically through the bite of a mosquito.
10) Eyes wide open
In 1960 Ian Oswald, of the University of Edinburgh, sought to test extreme conditions for falling asleep. He taped open volunteers’ eyes, while placing a bank of flashing lights 50cm in front of them, and attached electrodes to their legs that administered electric shocks. He also blasted very loud music into their ears.
All three subjects were able to fall asleep within 12 minutes. Oswald speculated that the key was the monotonous and regular nature of the stimuli.
China is currently holding the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) (中國共產黨第十七次全國代表大會), which starts on Monday Oct 15th. This is a big event! Reporters from all over the world are in China reporting this event. Surprisingly, the reporters area has something funny to entertain the reporters. The "r" in "Journalist" is missing and becomes "Jounalist".
This is ridicules! "Journalist" is such a simple word! Having a misspelled word in such an international event is simply a big joke! As a Chinese, I do feel very sad. :(
I've found another reason why I want to travel to China... I want to visit Bailong Elevator (百龍觀光電梯)!!
This 326m high elevator is located in Zhangjiajie, China (張家界, 武陵源風景區). It has three Guinness World Records:
World’s tallest full-exposure outdoor elevator
World’s tallest double-deck sightseeing elevator
World’s fastest passenger traffic elevator with biggest carrying capacity
Going from bottom to top of cliff only takes 2 mins. Other means (e.g. cars) will take 4 hours.
However, due to the potential harm to the surrounding landscape, this elevator's future remains uncertain. I hope I'll have a chance to visit it before it closes down.
Sony's latest Bravia TV commercial "Play-Doh" is finally out!! It includes lots of Play-Doh Bunnies hopping through New York. Those bunnies are so cute!! Ever since I read the news in August about Sony filming a new commercial with Play-Doh Bunnies, I've been waiting for the commercial to come out... And it's finally out!! :D
A team of 40 animators spent three weeks choreographing the models to produce the 90 secs commercial. 2.5 tons of plasticine were used. The bunnies effect and other effects (including the 200 square foot purple plasticine wave, the whale "swim" through the streets of Manhattan, etc) were done while New Yorkers went about their daily lives. It's amazing!!
Comedian and mom Anita Renfroe has condensed "What a mom would say in 24 hours" into a 2 minutes and 55 seconds William Tell Overture. "William Tell Momism" song is part of her "Total Momsense" DVD.
It's funny!! The best part is "You don't need the reason why... because... because... because... I said so... I said so... I said so... I am the Mom... the Mom... the Mom...". It's so true. Moms always make children follow what they say. Any why? It's because they are the MOM!!
It seems dark chocolate is very good for human. Other than the fact that it will lead to weight gain. Well, this is just like a famous saying: If you gain something, you'll lose something.
In addition to the previous chocolcate advantage, new research finds that high-cocoa dark chocolate could ease symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome. Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), also known as ME, is a condition with a diverse range of symptoms but particularly characterised by profound muscle fatigue after physical exertion. The research found that patients with this condition experienced significantly less fatigue after eating 45 g of dark chocolate a day.
Prof. Atkins explained that polyphenols are present in large quantities in dark chocolate. Polyphenols have been linked to reductions in blood pressure, as well as other health advantages. Atkins and team believe the polyphenols are having an impact on levels of serotonin in the brain.
I don't have muscle fatigue, but I do feel very sleepy at work... May be it's time to buy some dark chocolates...
Today is the offical opening of my office building!! All employees have to wear the Rogers red t-shirt to form the "sea of red"!
Ted Rogers (President and CEO of Rogers Communications Inc.) came here to officially open Rogers Park. He came with Susan Fennell (Brampton Mayor) and Linda Ford (President of the Brampton Board of Trade) through the Main Entrance. Since they are important people, they, of course, don't have to walk to the Main Cafeteria (opening ceremonies location). They sat in a balloon-covered Rogers Golf Cart and drove to the Main Cafeteria. Susan was the driver. Ted sat in the passenger side and Linda sat in the back.
Employees were standing along both side of the Golf Cart waving flags and cheering. Of course, I was one of them! I also took lots of photos along the way.
The ceremonies began with a short speech from Alan Horn (Chairman of Rogers Communications Inc.). Then, he introduced Linda.
"Rogers has had a very strong and long-standing connection to serving and supporting the Brampton community," said Linda Ford. "Having Rogers become one of our city's major employers is not only a significant welcome addition to our local economy, but also a wonderful testament to Brampton as a great place for business to locate and employees to live."
Linda presented a plaque to Ted.
Susan was the next person to give a speech. She presented a painting to Ted.
Ted was the last person to give a speech.
"Brampton is where I started my Cable business, so I am very happy to be back with Rogers employees working in an incredible building in a great city," said Ted. "When we purchased Rogers Park last year, we knew we were getting more than mortar and bricks: we gained a modern and truly imaginative workplace that is designed to inspire."
He donated $100,000 to the City of Brampton.
After the opening ceremonies, all employees got a complimentary, light lunch. The lunch included a cold sandwich (ham & cheese, egg salad, tuna salad, or veggie), a bottle of Montclair Natural Spring water, and a small bag of Lays chips. This reminded my of airplane food!
I'll add more information and photos later!
News about the opening:
680 News and Canada NewsWire were the first to report this news on internet! 680 News Canada NewsWire
World's first "Animal Sales Street" (動物售貨一條街) just opened in Shenzhen Safari Park (深圳野生樂園), China, on September 25.
Inside this street, you'll see a lot of animal sales: parrot the cashier, elephant the fruit seller, bear the security, monkey the bartender, etc.
If a customer wants to buy gift at the birds gift store, a smart cashier parrot will follow trainer's instructions to fly over to the customer, collect money from the customer's hand, and fly back to the gift store. Then, another delivery parrot will deliver the gift to the customer's hand.
There is also a bear in security suits and caps protecting customers. It carries baton and walkie-talkie.
This place is very interesting! But Shenzhen is too far... Why can't we have something similar in Metro Zoo??
Yesterday was August 15 in Chinese Calendar (農曆八月十五日), which is 中秋節 or Mid-Autumn Festival or Moon Festival. All family dinners were held previously, so I didn't do anything special last night. However, I did go out to front yard to look at the moon (賞月).
Imagine this... You are looking up at the moon on a cloudy night... The pale yellow moon is in front of you but more to the right... The sky is black... The clouds looks grey... The moon is covered by slowly moving clouds and only appears intermittently... Suddenly, lighting appears beside the moon on your left hand side... There is no thunder and no rain...
This is kind of scary, but this is exactly what I saw last night. It reminded me of "My Date with Vampire" (我和殭屍有個約會).
The only thing missing is the bat. Well, technically speaking, the moon is very small compared to the one in the show. But the feeling is the same. It's like a vampire will appear any minute. Last night was a perfect night for Halloween!!
Tonight is for chasing the moon (追月). I wonder what the moon will look like tonight. ;)
Do you have tons of money and no where to spend? For me, this only happens in my dreams.... :P Anyway....
The Fortress Sri Lanka, an award winning luxury resort in Galle, has created the most expensive dessert in the world called "The Fortress Stilt Fisherman Indulgence". This dessert is priced at US $14,500.
A combination of a gold leaf Italian kasata, flavoured with Irish cream and served with a mango and pomegranate compote and a bubbly-based sabayon enlighten, forms the mouthwatering base of this delicious desert. The finishing touch is the 80-carat aquamarine stone nestled on the handmade chocolate stilt fisherman.
Legend has it that an aquamarine has the power to calm, sooth and heal. Its blue colour is often reflective of the ocean and the life giving properties of water and has been used over the years by sailors and fishermen for protection and luck. It also has a soothing effect on relationships and is said to endow the owner with foresight, courage and happiness, the recipe for a long and happy marriage and the perfect gift for those looking to surprise their loved one.
The dessert is available only on special request, but no one has ordered it yet.
I am not surprised that no one has ordered this dessert yet. Who wants to spend a fortune on a dessert?
Japan has all kinds of cool vending machines. It even have vending machine for bread in a can. It's so convenient! People in Japan can have hot, fresh bread anytime! This is especially good for people going to work in a hurry. ;) Why can't we have such vending machine in Canada?
Researchers, from the University of Warwick and University College London, have found that lack of sleep can more than double the risk of death from cardiovascular disease. However, they have also found that too much sleep can more than double the risk of death.
The study examined the sleep patterns of participants aged 35-55 at two points in their lives -- 1985-88 and 1992-93 -- and then tracked their mortality rates until 2004. The optimal amount of sleep for the average adult is seven hours.
Individuals who cut the duration of their sleep from seven hours to five hours a night had a 1.7-fold increased risk of death from all causes. They also had twice the increased risk of death from a cardiovascular problem. "Short sleep has been shown to be a risk factor for weight gain, hypertension and Type 2 diabetes sometimes leading to mortality,' said Francesco Cappuccio, an author of the study.
Individuals who increased the number of hours they slept per night from seven to eight hours or more were more than twice as likely to die as those who kept sleeping for seven. They were also more likely to die from non-cardiovascular diseases.
Personally, I don't believe these kind of reports completely. I'll probably believe 30-40%. Just like coffee or other food reports... One report will say that it is good for you... Another report will say that it is bad for you. Even though the researchers take into account other possible factors (such age, sex, marital status, employment grade, smoking status, physical activity, alcohol consumption, etc), there are many things that they couldn't account for. People are not robots. They don't do the same thing over and over again. People's habits change from time to time. I don't think researchers can take all factors into account. Furthermore, 10,308 people out of 6.7 billion people in the world participated in this research. The sample size is extremely small. Hopefully, more sleep related researches will be done in future.
A TINY key that could have saved the Titanic was sold in London at auction for £90,000 (Cdn $182,312) to a Chinese jeweler.
This tiny key was never once mentioned in Titanic movies. I never knew such a tiny key could make such a big difference. Such an important key... Why was it never mentioned?
This is an interesting piece of Titanic history...
Titanic sank on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York on 15 April 1912 with the loss of 1,522 lives. This tiny key opened a locker containing the crows nest's binoculars and was held by David Blair, 37, of Broughty Ferry, near Dundee.
Blair sailed on the Titanic from Belfast to Southampton on April 3, 1912. He had been due to be the second officer for the Titanic's voyage to New York on April 10. But the White Star Line, the ship's owners, removed David at the last minute. Henry Wilde was assigned to Titanic because of his large liners experience as Chief Officer aboard sister ship, the Olympic. The remaining officers' ranks were changed. Blair was the one removed to make way for Wilde.
Blair forgot to hand the key in, meaning none of the lookouts could use his binoculars. Lookouts had to observe the surroundings with their naked eyes when the ship was sailing across the icy waters of the North Atlantic. By the time they spotted an iceberg, it was too late to avoid it. The 46,000-ton Titanic struck the iceberg in the north Atlantic at 11.45pm on April 14 and sank at 2.20am on April 15. Wilde was among those who perished.
A surviving lookout, Frederick Fleet, testified that if he had binoculars he would have seen the iceberg in time to save the ship.
* * * * * Senator Smith, chair of official US inquiry into the sinking, asked Fleet: "Suppose you had glasses ... could you have seen this black object [the iceberg] at a greater distance?"
Fleet replied: "We could have seen it a bit sooner."
Asked "How much sooner?", he said: "Well, enough to get out of the way."
In Mr Blair's defence, Mr Aldridge added: "Blair would have been rushing about tidying up his loose ends before then.
"In his rush it slipped his mind to hand over the key so the fate of the Titanic was in his hands in a round-about way.
"But in terms of blame then you have to look at the captain, EJ Smith. The ship was going too fast in an ice field which he had warnings about."
He continued: "There was a pair of binoculars on the bridge and a pair for the crows nest because Blair had them just days before.
"But the failure to provide the lookouts with them could have been down to Lightoller [who replaced Blair as Second Officer] not knowing where they were.
"He would have found them had he been able to open the locker.
"So in the end all the lookouts had were their own eyes."
* * * * *
A year after the Titanic disaster Blair was awarded the Kings Gallantry medal for saving life at sea. He kept the key as a memento and eventually passed it on to his daughter Nancy who gave it to the British and International Seamans Society in the 1980s.
Who's fault was it? Since Blair was taken off the crew at last minute, it's not completely his fault that he forgot to hand in the key. The people who made the decision probably didn't know about the key. So, it's probably not completely their fault as well. I guess nobody knew at that time such a tiny key made such a difference. Why didn't the new Second Officer look for the binoculars? May be he looked but couldn't find it? No one knew the binoculars were in the locker? Unless we travel back in time, we'll never know the answer.
Many small mistakes eventually accumulated to become one big consequence.... Titanic sank!
Do dinosaurs look like what we think they look like? Do dinosaurs look like the ones in the movie Jurassic Park? May be.... May be not.... Scientists recently found that velociraptor looks different....
First of all.... Velociraptor was portrayed in the movie Jurassic Park as 6 feet tall rather than the true 3 feet (1 meter) tall.
Velociraptor fossil was found in 1998 in Mongolia's Gobi Desert, buried in 80-million-year-old sandstone deposits. The fossil showed that the animal was probably about 5 feet (1.5 meters) long and weighed about 30 pounds (15 kilograms). "If people saw this animal now, they would think it's a really strange-looking bird," said study lead author Alan Turner, a paleontologist at the American Museum of Natural History in New York and a graduate student at Columbia University.
Secondly.... Instead of the reptilian look in Jurassic Park, velociraptors had feathers in real life.
Turner and colleagues found the forearm fossil had regularly spaced bumps that would have held the quills of secondary feathers. The Mongolian fossil had six bumps about 0.2 inch (0.4 centimeter) apart. The raptors' feathers was certainly not used for flying. They might be a leftover of their ancestors. They might also be for display as seen in birds like the peacock, for temperature control, to shield nests or to help maneuver while running.
If you believe in the theory of evolution... Scientists believe birds, which first appeared roughly 150 million years ago, evolved from small feathered carnivorous dinosaurs. Velociraptor was a very close relative of birds.
This news is very strange and unexplained. No one knows for sure what causes people's illness...
What happened?
On Saturday (Sept 15) night locals saw a fireball falling from the sky and heard it smash into the desolate Andean plain close to Carancas, near the Bolivian border. (Carancas is about 1,300km / 800miles south of Peru capital Lima.)
The orange streak and loud bang were initially thought to be a plane crashing. When villagers went to investigate, they discovered a crater around 13 meter wide and 5 meter deep. (Note: different articles have slightly different crater sizes.)
After the meteorite struck, small rocks rained down. Water in the meteorite's muddy crater boiled for approx. 10 minutes giving out gases. Villagers had also smelled a sulfurous odor for at least an hour after the meteorite struck.
Soon after, many began to complain of headaches, vomiting and sore throats. Farm animals were also affected - left staggering, gasping and with eyes watering.
At least seven police officers were affected after they collected samples from the landing site.
Jorge Lopez, director of the health department in the state where the meteorite crashed, said on Sept 18 that 200 people suffered headaches, nausea and respiratory problems caused by "toxic" fumes emanating from the crater. Mr. Lopez said that despite wearing a mask while he approached the crater, fumes irritated his nose and throat.
"The odour is strong and it's affecting nearby communities. There are 500 families close by and they have had symptoms of nausea, vomiting, digestive problems and general sickness," said Mr López.
(Note: The number of people got sick is different in different news articles. Some articles mentioned 200 people. Some articles mentioned 500 families. Some articles mentioned 600 people.)
Is it really Meteorite?
Jose Mechare, a scientist with Peru's Geological, Mining and Metallurgical Institute, said a geologist had confirmed that it was a "rocky meteorite," based on the analysis of fragments taken form the crater created by the crash.
Volcanologist for Peru's Geological, Mining and Metallurgical Institute (INGEMMET), Luisa Macedo, confirmed that a chondrite meteorite had caused deep crater when it landed on earth.
Astrophysicist Jose Ishitsuka of Peru's Geophysics Institute recovered a 7.6-centimetre magnetic fragment and said it contained iron, a mineral found in all rocks from space. The impact also registered a magnitude-1.5 tremor on the institute's seismic equipment - that's as much as an explosion of 4.5 tonnes of dynamite, Ronald Woodman, the institute's president, said.
Any Radiation?
Doctors told an Associated Press Television News cameraman at the site that they had found no sign of radioactive contamination among families living nearby.
Peruvian Nuclear Energy Institute engineer Renan Ramirez said a team of scientists found no radiation at the crash site and confirmed that the crater was not created by a fallen satellite. "If it had been the case (a satellite crash), the strike would have let out radiation and contaminated the area," he said.
What caused the sickness?
The illnesses that struck the local population may have been caused by sulfur, arsenic or other toxins that may have melted in the extreme heat produced by the meteorite strike.
But a team of doctors sent to the isolated site, 3 1 /2 hours from the state capital of Puno, said they found no evidence the meteorite had sickened people. Modesto Montoya, a member of the team, was quoted as saying doctors also had found no sign of radioactive contamination among families living nearby, but had taken blood samples from 19 people to be sure. He said fear may have provoked psychosomatic ailments. "When a meteorite falls, it produces horrid sounds when it makes contact with the atmosphere," he told the paper. "It is as if a giant rock is being sanded. Those sounds could have frightened them."
Meteor expert Ursula Marvin said that if people were sickened, "it wouldn't be the meteorite itself, but the dust it raises."
Witness?
Justina Limache, 74, told El Comercio that when she heard the thunderous roar from the sky, she abandoned her flock of alpacas and ran to her small home with her eight-year-old granddaughter. She said that after the meteorite struck, small rocks rained down on the roof of her home for several minutes and she feared the house was going to collapse.
"Even before it fell, there was a strong sound, like an airplane," recalled Marina Llanqui Mamani, 53. "And when it hit, it felt like an earthquake. Everyone was terrified. Even my animals were running all around. ... Then there was a loud noise and a lot of smoke."
Any aliens?
Local news reports said two "calcium life-forms" were found in the crater. One excited radio reporter said: "They think they've found spacemen." The bodies turned out to be the remains of dead animals buried before the object hit.
What does other people think?
#1 Dr Caroline Smith of the Natural History Museum in London, said: "It's the third incident like this in Peru in the last few years - and none have turned out to be meteorites. "It's far more likely to have a been caused by the explosion of gases that build up naturally under the ground. "In that part of Peru, you might get a build up of methane or hydrogen sulphide, both of which have an eggy smell and which could cause health problems." She suspects the light in the sky seen around the time of the crash was unrelated and was probably caused by a fireball - a large meteor that produces a spectacular display as it burns up in the sky.
#2 Based on Wired Science, mid sized meteorites are not hot. First, meteoroids are naturally cold. They've been out in the frigid blackness of space for many billions of years -- these rocks are cold down to their very center. Second, because of its size there's a good chance that this meteorite was originally part of a larger meteor that broke up anywhere between 60 and 30km above the surface. If that is the case, the larger meteor's cold interior would become the smaller meteor's cold exterior. Since hardly any surface heating takes place lower than about 30km, this cold surface doesn't warm up by any appreciable amount. Some meteorites, located soon after landing, have actually been reported to have frost on the surface due to their still cold interior. And even if the meteor didn't break apart, it would have about 3 millimeters of hot fusion crust on the surface being rapidly cooled down by 100kgs of cold stone. It is very rare to find a meteor that's too hot to be picked up with the bare hands right after landing. As a result, the boiling water at the crater site is strange.
I always get confused with the classification of generations. It is so confusing and I can't find any precise definition of years for each generation. Here is what I found so far based on a couple of internet articles:
Seniors also called Silent Generation (1922-1925) - (1942 - 1945)
Baby Boomers (1943-1946) – (1957-1964)
Generation X also called 13th generation or MTV Generation (1958-1965) – (1975-1981)
Generation Y also called Nexters or The Millennials or The Internet Generation or Echo Boomers (1976-82) – (1995-2001)
New Silent Generation (1996-2002) – (pressent)
Am I Generation X or Generation Y?? Oh well... I'll consider myself Generation Y.... I am part of the Younger generation... hee hee... ;-)
A new study suggests youths are taking longer to grow up these days. The Statistics Canada study says young adults took longer to "make key life transitions to adulthood" in 2001 than the same group in 1971.
The study found that young people in 2001:
Took longer to achieve independence;
Left school later;
Stayed at home longer;
Entered the labour market later;
And postponed conjugal unions and parenthood.
1971 vs 2001:
In 2001, 40% of men and 27% of women aged 25 were living at home, compared with 22% of men and 11% of women of the same age in 1971.
True... New generations spend money on luxury stuffs (such as sport cars, video games, entertainment systems, etc.) instead of houses or apartments...
Also, married couples now only have 1 or 2 kids. The kids already have their own rooms. Why spend money renting a room elsewhere?
On average, a 25-year-old in 2001 had gone through the same number of transitions as a 22-year-old in 1971. A 30-year-old in the later generation averaged the same number of transitions as a 25-year-old in the earlier generation.
Parents like to say: When I was at your age, I've already done this and that... Well... We are approx. 5 years behind!! Next time when parents say that sentence again, we should just say: According to Statistic Canada, I'll do this and that in 5 years! Hahahahaha..... :P
In 2001, half of all 22-year-olds were still in school; only one in five was in a conjugal union such as a common-law relationship or marriage; and one in 11 had kids. In 1971, by contrast, three-quarters of young adults had left school by age 22, almost half were married and one in four had kids.
In current job market, if we don't have a high education, we can't get a job!!
Young adults tended to space their transitions more closely together in 1971, reaching most of the milestones to adulthood between their late teens and mid-20s, and fewer transitions in their early 30s. By 2001, the time period had increased, with more young people stretching the process out from their late teens to their early 30s.
Wow... People in their early 30s are still late teens.... ;-) Who said we are immature?
Men vs Women:
Men, both in 1971 and 2001, were more likely to leave school and start full-time work at an earlier age than young women.
Well... I guess guys don't like school...
Men three decades ago matured faster than the 2001 cohort, because they were more likely to be in a conjugal relationship and to have children. Women by age 34 in 2001 had made just as many transitions as 34-year-old women in 1971, although they were more likely to have gotten full-time work and less likely to have gotten married and had children.
Well... I don't really agree with this.... Married and having children shouldn't be the guidelines for maturity... A person can be married and have children but still immature...
Women:
Many more women in the more recent generation were university-educated. In 1971, 7 per cent were university-educated. That number rose to 29 per cent in 2001.
Only 29%?? I thought the percentage should be higher... :(
In summary, HK Stars do the following to keep fit:
忍口，戒口
三戒 - 戒鹽，戒油，戒澱粉
戒吃甜味食品
吃烚菜和烚白肉
晚上睡前５小時不進食
吃飽飯後至少要站立半小時
每天做兩個小時運動
每晚在睡前做仰臥起坐20次
每天舉啞鈴100下左右
持之以恆
But can we do it? Most of us probably cannot.... Who can eat food with no taste for the rest of our life?? That's why we are not as fit as actors and actresses!! :(
Vocaloid is a technology and application software developed by Yamaha that enables users to synthesize authentic-sounding singing by just typing in the melody and the lyrics of a song. Vocaloid 2 singer, just released by Crypton, features the voice of Hatsune Miku, a 16 years old virtual Singer. According to her official bio, she is 158 cm tall, weights 42 Kg and loves pop and dance music.
This software is very cool!!
This technology is very good. In the future, we might be able to plug in any person's voice to this software. If we have a deceased singer that we really love, we can use this software to listen to his/her voice again. We'll always have new songs from that singer. :D
I do have one concern. The songs generated by the software may not have enough emotions. The software might be good for fast songs, but slow songs generated by the software will have no emotions at all. :(
After 31 years of being the world's tallest free-standing structure, CN Tower has demoted yesterday to the world's second-tallest free-standing structure. The Burj Dubai tower has now reached 555.3 metres, which is now taller than the 553.33 metres CN Tower.
It's a fixed feelings, happy and sad. On one hand, I am happy that we, humans, can build a structure that is taller than the previous world's tallest building. On the other hand, we, Canadians, loses the title of having the world's tallest building in our country.
Should I laugh about this? Or, should I cry about this?
Facts:
The CN Tower was built in 1976 by Canadian National (CN) who wanted to demonstrate the strength of Canadian industry by building a tower taller than any other in the world.
CN Tower opened to the public on June 26, 1976
CN Tower holds the Guinness World Record for the World's Tallest Building
Tallest buildings:
Eiffel Tower (Paris) - 324 m
Empire State (New York) - 381 m
Sears Tower (Chicago) - 442 m
Petronas Towers (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) - 452 m
Taipei 101 (Taipei, Taiwan) - 508 m
CN Tower (Toronto) - 553 m
Burj Dubai (Dubai) - Current height = 555 m; Projected height = 800 m
Twice as many girls as boys are being born in Arctic villages because of high levels of man-made chemicals in the blood of pregnant women, according to scientists from the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (Amap). In the communities of Greenland and eastern Russia monitored so far, the ratio was found to be two girls to one boy. In one village in Greenland only girls have been born.
The scientists measured the man-made chemicals in women's blood that mimic human hormones and concluded that they were capable of triggering changes in the sex of unborn children in the first three weeks of gestation. Such man-made chemicals includes PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) and DDTs. When the mother has an average of two to four micrograms of PCBs or more per litre of blood, she will bore on average two girls for every boy.
Now, this problem only affects Arctic communities. However, sooner or later, this problem will affect the rest of the world as well. As our environment gets more polluted each year, I am afraid that, one day, only baby girl will be born into this world. Imagine this world becomes 《西游記》中的“女兒國” (the female country in the book "Journey to the West")... Scary!!
Chocolate lovers.... Good news!! We have one more excuse to eat chocolates!! Eating dark chocolate can prevent heart disease!!!
Flavonoids, which occur naturally in cocoa beans, cut the risk of dangerous blood clots and relax blood vessels, stimulating the flow of blood around the body. Flavonoids tend to be higher in dark chocolate, as it has a higher cocoa content.
According to Professor Roger Corder, University of London, Chocolate should be part of a balanced diet. He says that an ounce, or 25g - around two or three squares - is best. He does have a few suggestions: "Lindt 85 per cent is what I have been eating. Their 75 per cent Ecuadorian chocolate is also very good."
Last night, my Mom asked me: "Do you know what's MMP?" and my answer was "hummmm". Well, I am not really into elections, but I am curious about MMP.
There are two things happening on Oct. 10: - choosing the next government - the referendum, where we're choosing how we're going to choose governments from now on (The next provincial election will be in 2011.)
Current Electoral System - First-Past-the-Post
Ontario is divided into 107 electoral districts. In each district each voter gets one vote to choose which candidate they feel should win a seat in the provincial legislature. One vote. One ballot.
In an election using the First-Past-the-Post system, the candidate with the most votes wins and will be the representative for the electoral district in the provincial legislature.
After the election, the political party that wins the most electoral districts is normally asked to form a government.
New Electoral System - Mixed Member Proportional (MMP)
Mixed Member Proportional is called a mixed system, because it combines two voting systems: a First-Past-the-Post system and a Proportional Representation system.
If this system is accepted, Ontarians will have two votes in future elections: one for a ‘Local Member’ and one for a political party.
The provincial legislature would have 129 seats: Local Members’ would fill 90 seats while ‘List Members’ would fill 39 seats.
The political party with the largest number of seats in the legislature, including ‘Local Members’ and ‘List Members’, is asked to form a government.
I went to see my family doctor again on Sat. My eye is 100% back to normal!!
Below are parts of my conversation with my family doctor. (I = Me; D = Doctor)
Conversation #1: I: What causes pupil infection? D: Pupil infection is caused by immune system not functioning correctly. I: Why is my immune system not functioning correctly? D: It's very complicated! I: Can you explain it in simpler terms? D: If I explain everything to you, then you can open an office beside me and steal all of my patients. I'll be out of business! (In my mind: ) I: Even if I open an office beside you, I can only specialize in pupil infection!! I won't steal all of your patients! D: True, but it's going to take very long to explain and you won't understand. (In my mind: He probably doesn't remember the details of pupil infection...)
Conversation #2: I: Since I got pupil infection, does it mean my immune system is not strong enough? I do workout in Gym twice a week. D: It has nothing to do with immune system being weak or strong. Your immune system could be very strong. It's just not functioning correctly. Your immune system could be so strong and so sensitive that it is fighting its allies, instead of fighting enemies. (In my mind: ) I: Oh! I see... It's just like US army killing Canadian soldiers in friendly fires. D: Yes... something like that...
Is William Shakespeare (famous English poet and playwright) really William Shakespeare (the one from Stratford-upon-Avon)? Who actually wrote Shakespeare's plays and poetry?
"Isn't it odd, when you think of it, that you may list all of the celebrated Englishmen, Irishmen, Scotchmen … clear back to the first Tudors — a list of five hundred names, shall we say? — and you can … learn the particulars of the lives of every one of them. Every one of them except one — the most famous, the most renowned — by far the most illustrious of them all — Shakespeare!" Mark Twain (1835 – 1910)
"In the work of the greatest geniuses, humble beginnings will reveal themselves somewhere, but one cannot trace the slightest sign of them in Shakespeare … I am not concerned with who wrote the works of Shakespeare … but I can hardly think it was the Stratford boy. Whoever wrote them had an aristocratic attitude." Charles "Charlie" Chaplin (1889 – 1977)
Two of Britain's most distinguished Shakespearean actors (Sir Derek Jacobi and Mark Rylance) along with Dr William Leahy, head of English at Brunel University, have launched a formal 'Declaration of Reasonable Doubt' about the identity of William Shakespeare.
According to the site, "We have nothing against the man from Stratford-on-Avon, but we doubt that he was the author of the works. Our goal is to legitimize the issue in academia so students, teachers and professors can feel free to pursue it."
The document argues that a body of literary works which displays an understanding of law, history and mathematics could not have been written by a mere commoner from an illiterate lower-class household in Warwickshire. Furthermore, no literary works or letters have been found in his handwriting and there is no record of payment for producing plays or other writings. Shakespeare's detailed will, in which he notably left his wife 'my second best bed with the furniture', fails to refer to any theatrical legacy.
Who could be the real Shakespeare?
EDWARD DE VERE, 17th Earl of Oxford (1550-1604): Knowledge of aristocratic life, the military and background in the theatre, along with the similarities between his life and the plays have led to theories that he was the "real" writer.
MARY SIDNEY, Countess of Pembroke (1561-1621): Had "the means, the motive and the opportunity". Though she published writings appropriate for a female writer, a male pen name could have granted more freedom.
CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE, playwright (1564-1593): Inconsistencies around accounts of Marlowe's death have fuelled conspiracy theories that it was in fact faked and he continued to write on under another name.
SIR FRANCIS BACON (1561-1626): It has been suggested that the inscription on one Shakespeare bust concealed the sentence: "FRA BA WRT EAR AY" - an abbreviation of: "Francis Bacon wrote Shakespeare's plays."
Well, I don't know Shakespeare enough to give any comments. However, what if... just what if... the William Shakespeare from Stratford-upon-Avon is not the real William Shakespeare... Everyone in the world has been praising the wrong person... This would be the biggest joke in literature world... hahahahaha....
Luo Cuifen (羅翠芬), a woman living in rural Songming County in Yunnan Province (雲南) of China, has 26 sewing needles embedded inside her. Some of these needles have penetrated vital organs, such as the lungs, liver and kidneys. One has even broken into three pieces in her brain.
The needles were discovered when she went to hospital complaining of blood in her urine. She was given a routine X-ray, which revealed the needles. Up until then she had been in good health.
The needles might have been inserted into Luo Cuifen's body when she was a baby by her father and grandparents, because they were upset that she was not a boy. This could not be confirmed since they had all passed away.
A team of 23 doctors, including five from the United States and Canada, are debating how best to remove the needles at the Richland International Hospital in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province.
Story: Ian Turner, deputy head warden at Longleat Safari Park, left his camera in the enclosure after taking images for a new brochure. Then, one of the meerkats, called Monty, managed to operate the camera and taken pictures of his meerkat friends. Ian came back after 5 minutes and found three of "his" photographs on the camera's digital memory card. Full Original Story
Reality: The camera was a 20-year-old Canon EOS 650 film-based SLR and therefore has no digital memory card. Monty didn't take any photos. The Truth
Even thought the meerkats photo report is a hoax, it's still nice to look at photos of Monty playing with the old camera. Those meerkats are very cute!!
Researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas have discovered a gene that keeps worms and mice slim and trim. They have found that the gene called Adipose (Adp) is present in fat tissue and keeps animals slim by its increased activity. Animals that do not have this gene become fat and obese.
The adipose gene is like a volume control knob that can be turned up or down along the weight spectrum. "If you turn up its function, you get skinny, and if you turn down its function, you get fat," Dr. Jonathan Graff, who directed the research, said in a telephone interview.
I hope the researchers can find a way to turn up the function of this Adipose gene in human. Then, all of us can be skinny without doing lots and lots of exercises... hahahahaha.... No need for diet anymore.... hahahahahaha.... All diet pills companies will go Chapter 11... hahahahaha... :D
I went to see family doctor today... still not 100% recovered yet... woo woo woo... I have to see doctor again on Sat...
After seeing doctor last Sat, I have stopped using Cyclogyl. However, it takes forever for my left eye pupil to shrink back down to normal size. When I look into the mirror today, I think my left eye pupil is still slightly bigger than my right eye pupil. Why is it taking so long? Doctor says that this is normal... but I just don't like to wait...
Why is my immune system not function properly?? I don't want pupil infection any more!!
A group of us went to the Ranch for horseback riding: Linky, "Ma Fay", Fiona, Danielle, Teresa, "Tai C Hung", Angela, Anna, Wen, and I
Since we were all over 18, helmet was not mandatory. Some of us wore the helmet. Some of us didn't. That riding helmet looked just like a bike helmet. I wore the helmet for safety, which was a big mistakes. My helmet (size = L) was either too small or didn't fit the shape of my head. I started to get headaches towards the end of the ride.
The trail ride was mainly walking with a few minutes of jogging. The jogging part was definitely too short. We rode into the woods and beside electricity tower. The scenary was average.
Since it is 1 hour (beginner?) ride, I guess I can't expect too much. Next time, we should ask for a more advanced ride.
My brown horse is called Jane. She likes to eat. When she sees yummy leaves and grasses during the trail ride, she will first turn her head to that direction for few seconds. If I don't stop her immediately, she will start eating. No matter how hard I pull the reins backwards, she still keeps eating. I have to give her a big kick before she will continue the ride.
Also, Jane doesn't like to listen to me. According to the instructor, I have to pull the reins backward and say "wu" to stop the horse. However, when I do that, Jane just keeps going and ignores my command completely.
Some people have leg and butt pains after the ride. Fortunately, I don't have any pain. Horseback riding is fun! I want to do it again!!
唔想做... 想起好耐冇寫過blog... 依家再唔寫... 可能要等到明年... 
唉! 我都一個多月冇寫啦... 呢排工作好忙... 忙到放緊假都check住blackberry reply emails... 我唔係天生工作狂... 只係有責任心啫... 哈哈哈哈哈哈... 
到現在還未完全康復... 好咗七成左右... 醫生話可能會病三個月... 現在一個月就好咗七成... 醫生都話我好得快... 不過最慘係沒藥食 (止痛藥不算)... 要靠自己抵抗力好... 唉! 真可憐... 
Well, this is just like a famous saying: If you gain something, you'll lose something. 
I also took lots of photos along the way.
(ham & cheese, egg salad, tuna salad, or veggie), a bottle of Montclair Natural Spring water, and a small bag of Lays chips. This reminded my of airplane food!
)
He probably doesn't remember the details of pupil infection...)
)
I have to see doctor again on Sat...
I don't want pupil infection any more!!
