Climate change warnings

I'm curious as to why England/Tony Blair is providing all the evidence of climate change and Dubya has ignored them. He even neglects American scientists as though every mention of global warming is a certain political suicide. What else is needed to be done to put his pride aside. Is pride the right diction? I'm trying to be nice here. The report indicates there would be dramatic consequences on nature and humans. There are technologies for renewables and energy efficiency options.

Rising concentrations of greenhouse gases may have more serious impacts than previously believed, a major scientific report has said.

The report, published by the UK government, says there is only a small chance of greenhouse gas emissions being kept below "dangerous" levels.

Reuters also warn about the dangers of global warming.

LONDON (Reuters) - The world must halt greenhouse gas emissions and reverse them within two decades or watch the planet spiraling toward destruction, scientists said on Monday.

Saying that evidence of catastrophic global warming from burning fossil fuels was now incontrovertible, the experts from oceanographers to economists, climatologists and politicians stressed that inaction was unacceptable.

Here's a Q&A tibit on climate change. Contact your congressmen and give them the updates, maybe then Pres. George W will reconsiders.

Head Day

First morning wishes to my readers:
Uống nủớc nhớ nguồn (drinking water from a spring, remember the source of it);

Ăn quả nhớ kẻ trồng cây (eating fruit, remember the person who planted the tree);

Chim có ổ, ngủời có tông, cay có rể, nủớc có nguồn (It is natural that the bird has its nest, the man has his clan, the plant has its root, the water has its source.)

Tết is all about playing firecrackers. I am guilty of that. Loud explosive stuff sometimes thrills me. Though, I try my best to keep traditions: (1) tidy up the house before Tết; (2) visit friends and relatives, giving them greetings for healthier and wealthier in the coming year. Thank goodness for rechargeable phone cards! (3) Finally, a visit to a Buddhist monastery. This is to pay respect for the ancestors and remember beloved ones' lost. This one is tough, but instead of talking about beloved ones’ lost, I can tell you about a Buddhist temple I visited right here in the DC area!

It’s Chùa Giác-Hoàng, a Vietnamese zen/pure land temple, also called the Buddhist Congregational Church of America. I find the name a bit conflicting, but what do I know about nameology to comment. The temple stands out amid the neighboring houses. Right across the street is a couple of evangelical churches, and the whole block is filled with really really nice residential homes. The building has dark brown roof with arches at the four corners. Immediately entering the front yard, there’s a large white statue of Kwan Yin (Quan Âm) in the middle. She is holding a water pitcher pointing downward as if pouring water into the fountain. Although, the fountain with lotus is not there anymore, probably due to the winter maintenance and the risk of abuse from my silly cohorts, tsk tsk *head shake*. Right in front of the temple on the patio is a smiling Buddha (symbol of Good Luck) on the right and on the left is a liger (no I’m sorry…a white statue of a mythical beast that guard the house from demons).

Anyhow, at Giao Thừa (New Year’s Eve), my companions (K,C,M,T,T,K) and I went to this temple to seek lộc/ linh xâm or fortune reading. A couple of friends had other things in mind, such as cua gái (flirting). I didn’t get lộc, partly because the crowd was massive and violent. Instead, I hung out in the archway watching the dragon dance and firecrackers. It was short-lived because the horde was unforgiving. When the crowd starts to diffuse, I light a stick of incense and bow my head and pray to Quan Âm. I dunno why I did that. I had never done such rituals, except when I was three (!) with my beloved grandma. Holy crap, I’m on my way to hit rock bottom. I never bow to statues!

After two hours of unsuccessfully getting a fortune reading and phone numbers from hot men, I insist that we leave because the authorities and sirens are wailing nearby. NQ informed me the next day that there was a fight there, once again *head shake*. Instead of going to my folk’s home, I hung out at Chi Hoa's house and drink myself 'til dawn. The next day (or that same day), I gave Buzz-cut nephew a hefty li xi (monetary gift in a red envelop), one to Quibbling niece and another to Gorgeous-eyes nephew. Their grandmother (mother’s side) ask if I could start a trust fund account for the kids, where I give them $50/each (that’s $150) monthly into the account so that they can have money available by age 18 (that’s $21,600 for Gorgeous-eye alone! *sigh*). I smiled and looked at my crappy shoes and nodded silently. Did she not get the memo that I was on the verge of hitting rock bottom!? I’m sure she means well for the kids, but I’ll have to pass. I love them, but this is asking a bit much for me. Sorry, someday, but not today.

I wanna go kayaking to the end of the horizon, wheee!

We’re still celebrating New Year, so drop by with a red envelop, haha. Thank goodness the Year of the Cock is over! Now how about them red envelops?

Happy Lunar New Year!

Cung chúc tân xuân, năm Bính Tuất

Tám năm rồi mới lại ra đường đón Tết, cảm giác thật vui vẻ ...đúng là quay lại thói quen của tuổi 16 có khác. cây nêu, hoa đào, Hoa Mai, Cay tắt là những đều em thích về tết. Một bài thơ nữa, nhé:

Anh nè by Thiên Kim

Anh ơi, em nói anh nè!
Anh ra ngoài phố mua chè em ăn…
Mua thêm một mớ…cóc xanh
Rồi anh gọi sữa đậu nành cho em…
Xong rồi ta ghé quán kem,
Đi qua bò bía mua thêm…
Anh hết tiền!

Chúc mừng năm mới!

Cung hỉ phát tài!

Kung hei fat choi!

Gong Xi Fa Cai !

Learn about Tết or be reminded of the tradition here and here. Happy New Year everybody.

Smallest vertebrate found

Scientists found the world’s smallest fish, toothless, scaleless, colorless (except for its black eyes/head). The fish is only about 7.9mm (just over a 1/4 of an inch) long.

Correction: 7.9mm is 0.31 of an inch. Also, someone actually found a smaller fish of 6.2mm short!! He was not recognized because his discovery was published at a lesser-known periodical. Hooray for Dr.I-forget-your-name.

Researchers have found the smallest known fish on record in the peat swamps of the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
Individuals of the Paedocypris genus can be just 7.9mm long at maturity, scientists write in a journal published by the UK's Royal Society.
But they warn long-term prospects for the fish are poor, because of rapid destruction of Indonesian peat swamps.[...]
Widespread forest destruction, drainage of the peat swamps for palm oil plantations and persistent fires are destroying their habitat.

Geesh! More to ponder about.

Furthermore, Donat Agosti argues that publications describing new species should be made freely available so scientists in developing countries can access them, nontheless. I agree.

Sprinkles of technical stuff

Ok, so some characters on my posts, the Viet fonts will not display properly on some compooters. An anon reader brought this to my attention. Your computer has to set to Unicode (UTF-8).

(1) If you are using Internet Explorer, go to Preferences/WebBrowser/Languages/click Viet language box.

(2) If you are using Mac, go to Preferences/Appearance/change Default Encoding to UTF-8.

(3) If you are using Mozilla Firefox, go to View/Character Encoding/click Unicode (UTF-8).

Are there any other browsers out there? Also, if you wish to have Viet font on your computer (and why not?), the same anon reader suggests Vietkey 2000 installation in Shoutbox. If you would like to converse in Vietnamese with tones, go to Support.vnn.vn and click on the first download link. The text after it says "Bộ gõ Vietkey mới bao gồm". Good luck!

If you are one of the two people that normally read what I throw up here, by all means convert the encodings. I don’t know any web services that translate from Vietnamese to English or vice versa. Sorry.

The basement is slowly drying up. Now, we have to look at the monetary damages. Speaking of looking and squinting, I have yet again saw a plummer butt. Pants sliding down and butt crack showing, arrghh, I just got the mental image, and I can't poke out my minds eye!! Ok, must.revert.mental.vision to something better. Sigh. Things will only get better, right? Yeah…

Oh I have to share this quiz, which was shamelessly stolen from here.

I'm a Chevrolet Corvette!

You're a classic - powerful, athletic, and competitive. You're all about winning the race and getting the job done. While you have a practical everyday side, you get wild when anyone pushes your pedal. You hate to lose, but you hardly ever do.

Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.

Water water everywhere!

I came home late (23:00) yesterday from tutoring Buzz-cut nephew and Brother-in-Black and found my bathroom two inches of water. Housemate Mary was watching LifetimeTV movies, again. After noticing the flooding basement, I took a mad dash upstairs and asked her if she was aware of the overflow. She calmly relied, "yes, it has been flooding for a couple of hours" (in Vietnamese). Gosh, how I wish I have her sense of tranquility, even for a little bit so that I can "live longer". Anyhow, the water remain high right outside the bathroom door. There's a sump, but it doesn't serve to drain the water, so we have this slow flooding cesspool between the bathroom and Laid-back Mary's room. We have carpeting in the basement, so the flow was slowed down a bit.

I bolted outside in the freezing rain to get a bucket and ran inside to get plastic drinking cups so that I can deplete the water out as much as possible, manually. I shut off the water valves from the sink. I unplugged all electricals, because the last thing I want is another shock. Laid-back Mary finally joined me, and we emptied about 15 three-gallon buckets. By the 16th bucket, I was exhausted and stood back, "WTH!?" Finally, we realized that the water was oozing from the ground at a rate that alluded me from the original source (the sink pipe). Tammy came home after Mary had called her five hours ago. At this time, late in the night, neither of us are going to stop the flow. So Tammy went out to buy a pump to drain the water, genius! We took turn siphoning the water overnight, a 3-hour increment each.

I just called a YellowPage plummer to drop by today. I don't know much about water pipes, but I bet one of our water pipes is frozen and ruptured somewhere underground. The house is old. The previous owner just remodeled the surface for looks. The pipes aren't properly insulated, so that may be why we have this mess. Tammy said last winter, she experienced an overflow, but not as much as this winter.

I always imagine the worse case scenario in any dilemmas. You know, where pipes violently burst behind the wall and pass through the barriers and jab me in the heart. The hot cardiologist fails to resuscitate me. Now, that would suck! I'll stay tuned and fill you in if things gets worse. Ay yah!!

5 more days 'til New Year, woof!

Được cho một chữ Lạc đem về, hy vọng năm con Chó sẽ là một năm vui vẻ với tất cả những người thân yêu, và mình.
Bài thơ đón Xuân về:

Mùa Xuân, Tuổi Trẻ by Trịnh Gia Mỹ

Ta ngồi tang tình, ta hát đông dao
Ta lên nuối cao, ta về biểu lớn
Ta gọi gió nổi, ta mời trăng lên
Nầy anh, nầy em, mùa xuân đã tới

Ta báo muôn thú, ta báo rừng xanh
Ta báo suổi nguồn, ta báo mây trắng
Trên ngọn bình yên, lộc non vừa nhú
Trong lòng xuân sáng, tuổi trẻ hồn nhiêu

Mừng em, nầy tuổi, lồng lộng gió trời
Trăng soi ngập hồn, ngời đôi mắt trong
Ánh sáng lung linh, bầu trời nạm bạc
Cánh đồng bát ngát, tuổi mới mênh mông

Ta ngồi tan tình, ta hát đồng dao
Ta hát tiếng yêu, lời tình ngọt ngào
Ta mở lòng ra, ta mang ta phát
Nầy chị, nầy em, ta nhân danh ta

Ta hát tang tình, ta chào mùa sang
Tính tính tình tang, ta hát theo đàn
Chào em ngọt ngào, chào em tuổi sớm
Chào ta bình yêu, vui mùa mới sang.

The Year of the Dog. According to Chinese astrology, it is a year of generosity and justice.

A celebration of life...

On this day, a year ago, I received the saddest news that my friend (cousin-in-law), Trịnh Phi Quyên Linda was murdered, asphyxiated in her apartment at John Hopkins' University. A certain person is currently under arrest and charged with this and other crimes. He STILL awaits trial in Baltimore. (WTF!?) I stood facing Linda this morning to tell her the updates and to tell her that she is missed by everyone that know and love her or read her tragedy.

This certain murderer once had a relationship with one of Linda's close sorority friends. He was well-known at Linda's apartment building and was no stranger around the campus. At some point, I guess, things changed. But at what point of transition that drive a person to kill!? I don't understand this!! Until this day a year ago, I never truly understood how someone could affect so many lives and make those around her feel optimistic about the downs of reality.

This is the longest post I've written. I think the intention is to remind everyone out there to be careful and to look out for each other. Gut feelings are 9 out of 10 times correct when it comes to matter of life and death. The link above is a website dedicated to Linda's memory. It serves as a quiet memorial for anyone who wish to learn more about Trịnh Phi Quyên Linda. We miss you much. Rest.In.Peace

For your cute viewing pleasure

This is just too cute, absolutely adorable! Enjoy.

Wap!

Why haven't I post my grievences (in detail)?... my evening TV rituals? my random concert attendance? my family drama? my parent/teacher conferences? my crummy job? my social life? Well, this comic strip says it all. (via The Duplex by Glenn McCoy, click image to enlarge)

No, seriously. I just came back from a teacher/parent conference, and I am in total confusion as to who should be blamed for the progress* of Brother in Black. **Correction: progress or lack thereof. This is the third meeting this school year, except this time I requested Brother in Black be present, so that I can observe both perspectives. Not a great idea but a much better one than the last meetings because it was for my own pleasure and discretion. The faculty nailed Brother in Black. He wanted to fire back, but I keep giving him looks to control himself. I can see it in the teachers' eyes that they are exhausted, tired from the underpaid salary, the misbehaving students, the threats and all the turmoil. BHS is currently seeking a new principal. All textbooks have (FINALLY) arrived to the students. More securities have been approved and on its way to be implemented. Don't ask about transportation. Brother in Black has to walk 4.0 miles to school, crossing two major highways (Rt. 202 and Rt 450). In this day and age and living in Prince Georges' County, that's absurd! Ay yah! I'm confiscating Brother in Black's MP3 player and laying down a couple of school rules. He's being rebellious and experiencing his teenage phrase, the long greasy hair, the suffocating Axe bodyspray (this can't be good for air quality), the gothic wear, the heavy metal rock concerts, and so on. Mom and Dad are too busy with work. They see Brother in Black on average three hours a day with very little interaction. Whenever I yell at Brother in Black, they yell at me! He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named Brother is like a phantom. I see him on average 0.5 second a day. I see Brother in Black three hours a day after the shop job, usually just to ask about school and watch a comedy clip, then I head home, seven miles out. I feel like a spiritual being swing me a WAP! on the kisses everytime I head to my new home. On a better note, Buzz-cut nephew is doing well in school. Ms. Diamond says he's a good student. He just needs to calm down a bit in class, kinda like keeping an indoor voice. His grades are better than Brother in Black, and boy! he gloats about it! You guessed it! Buzz goes to Montgomery County school. At any rate, Buzz-cut is getting his green belt this week in Shotokan karate, yay! (However, he could not block Gorgeous-eyes nephew's arm swing, which only extends 1.2 foot in length!) Quibbling niece gets away with everything. She has a talent of evading the point. I get lost and confused in our short conversations. Then again, I get lost and confused in a lot of matters. Tsk tsk!

And now, an image link for you backyard composting enthusiasts. Mother Earth thanks YOU. Is that the largest terrestrial invertebrate you've ever seen or what?

News that ruin your day, again

I watched Commander in Chief last night. By the end of the epidsode, I felt relieved and content. Then I flipped the channel to CNN, and my night was ruined. This report hits you in the face every aired time. The fascist people we're fighting in Iraq have taken an American journalist hostage.

The captors say they will kill her unless all female Iraqi prisoners are freed.

The image in the last 24 epidsode comes to mind, and it's not pretty. The execution scene was so gruesome and nauseating that my housemate (we'll call her Mary) left the room. I don't know the details of the negotiations, but I fear that this captive lady might not make it out alive. I don't want to point fingers to who's responsible (because I know better), but for goodness sake, send in Jack Bauer for a rescue mission.

The greatest kick in the *ss

I'm super pissed. The greatest kick in the buttocks is (1) being ignored (2) being lied to (3) "We're sorry, but the budget has been pulled out of the program." Wicked. Pissed. Off. Then again, I'd "rather be pissed off than to be pissed on". I heard that from someone, I forget who, but the philosophy tickles a bit. You all have a nice day now because tomorrow will be another one. Ay yah!

In other depressing news, there has to be some other peaceful way. No country should have nuclear weapons. Why the hell for!? Maybe I'll tuned in for tonight's Commander in Chief for a female (strong and capable) President's perspective.

Even more depressing...so Joe Gibbs didn't take us to the SuperBowl. Wait 'til next year!! Like last year, I will look forward to those Bowl commercials. So far the playoff ads are quite amusing. I wonder what's in store for SuperBowl XL? Ay yah!

Lordy-lord, Monster Truck Racing is in town

I'm not sure why I agreed to go to this Monster Jam tonight. Feeling a bit under the weather but what the heck. I guess the attractive Mountaineer convinced me with its roaring 1200 horsepower engine and a Coan 2-speed transmission, whatever that is. I bet that big 50 foot tall truck can convert into a robot that shoots fire. Oh boy!! There will be vehicle crushing glory and the people going wild for such amusement. Oh yeah, bring on the white trash factor. It will be an interesting event. Thanks TP!!

In other news, this Friday the 13th has been declared Burgundy and Gold Day as the Redskins prepares to tackle the Seahawks tomorrow. Whatever the turnouts may be...Hail to the Redskins...Seattle weather will provide much entertainment. Oh gosh, please win. Damn you skeptical commentators, amateurs and friends alike. I shall hail to the Redskins despite your criticisms. Woo hoo!!

Frogs: first to go, dying out

Nature reports that global warming is killing world's amphibians. A skin fungus may be responsible. This fungus is believed to slowly suffocate frogs by attacking the skin through which they breathe. (Thank goodness for those intro Bio classes! Kudos to ES 212, too!) Why is our government still debating about this serious issue? What more evidence do we need?

The dramatic decline of some frog populations is directly connected to global warming, a new study claims.

The scientists looked at biodiversity hotspots in Central and South America, and found compelling links between frog extinctions and changes in temperature.

There may be other factors that lead to the decline of these amphibians. For instance, thinning of the ozone layer, destruction of habitat is certainly a problem, pollution is probably connected to the decline. Similar to the catfish as the keystone species of the river, these amphibians are considered the indicator species of the environment because they are the first to be affected by the degradation.
The graph on the left projects changes in global temperature: global averages 1856–1999 and projection estimates to 2100. The IPCC is the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that access the "risk of human-induced climate change".

Over the past century, the world has warmed by about 1.0°C. Many scientists believe that global temperatures will rise an additional 1°C–3.5°C by the year 2100. Although just a few degrees may not seem like much, a warming of this magnitude will have profound effects on the Arctic. The Arctic ice cap will melt completely, ocean levels will rise, the treeline will shift, and the permafrost will melt in many areas.

Politicians need to stop pussyfooting around this matter. We only have one earth.

Cognitive pressure

Brother in Black and Buzz-cut nephew are in trouble with school again. End of second quarter report cards have arrived, and I am stressed out. The schools wouldn't return my calls, and the Mustangs' staffs would not pick up the phone. Ay yah! I'm just trying to schedule a couple of teacher-parent meetings, that's all. I know I'm not their legal guardians, but I speak on the parents' behalf. I don't want to talk about the family's circumstances because it is so super scandalicious that the daytime soap opera shows ought to contact us, or so my friend incline. Anyhow, given the statistics that Prince George's County's schools are the second worst in Maryland and the worst in the Washington, DC, suburbs, I am quite optimistic that we can do better. What else can we do but better, right?

Of course, the bottom line to good education is how parents motivate the kids to learn. I am disappointed at Brother in Black and Buzz cut nephew, but I can not blame them entirely. I am not blaming the parents neither. Hey, shit happens. This sister and auntie will try to easedrop in your grade school educational affairs and even make humor out of the worse scenerios. The great Galileo Galilei once said:

We cannot teach people anything; we can only help them discover it within themselves.

I did a paper in college about gender and racial differences in standardized test scores and are Asian children smarter? I did well in the paper but not on the standardized tests. One of my conclusions was that populations with different economic status can result in increased test scores. Given our family economic background, or lack thereof, I turned out alright. Certainly, the stereotypic "Asians are smarter" threat is not good for young people . Although, I thank you for your observation. It is a good thing that these stereotypes and their impacts are readily changed.

Now, how about them meetings? I promise I won't bite.

Personality test, I'm an ISTP

ISTP - "Engineer". Values freedom of action and following interests and impulses. Independent, concise in speech, master of tools. 5.4% of total population.

Free Jung Word Choice Test (similar to MBTI)
personality tests by similarminds.com

Here is a more descriptive evaluation of ISTP people and here.

ISTPs have an adventuresome spirit. They are attracted to motorcycles, airplanes, sky diving, surfing, etc. They thrive on action, and are usually fearless. ISTPs are fiercely independent, needing to have the space to make their own decisions about their next step. They do not believe in or follow rules and regulations, as this would prohibit their ability to "do their own thing". Their sense of adventure and desire for constant action makes ISTPs prone to becoming bored rather quickly.

ISTPs are loyal to their causes and beliefs, and are firm believers that people should be treated with equity and fairness. Although they do not respect the rules of the "System", they follow their own rules and guidelines for behavior faithfully. They will not take part in something which violates their personal laws. ISTPs are extremely loyal and faithful to their "brothers".

Brother in Black recommended the site to me. Although I think the online test is unauthorized even though it's inspired by Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Followed from the theories of a Swiss psychiatrist, Carl Jung, the MBTI personality test has made popularity among individuals and companies. Like all trait tests, people mistakenly believe that their intuition is "more developed" than their sensing, or vice versa. This is a more accurate MBTI test than the above one; however, I did not have time to take it, so enjoy (and yes, it is pouring outside). Check out which of the 16 unique types you are. Maybe you and I are compatible after all. Hey, is that a new hair cut? It looks nice.

Deep sea trawling is harmful

Conservation groups are calling for a ban on bottom-trawling. Makes sense.

"Deep sea fish species in the northern Atlantic are on the brink of extinction, new research suggests.[...]
Allowing trawling in coral 'forests' is the worst thing we are doing in the ocean today. It should be stopped immediately until scientists can determine whether trawling in the deep sea can be justified anywhere.

"Nothing could be dumber than destroying the habitats that depleted fish populations need to recover. Governments must stop pussyfooting around and do something useful."

The Deep Sea Conservation Coalition includes Conservation International, Greenpeace International, World Conservation, the Marine Conservation Biology Institute, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the New England Aquarium, among others.

That's the first time "pussyfooting" put in context. Anyway, bulldozing the ocean's floor is wiping out the bottom dwelling habitat. It takes decades for the ecosystem to sustain itself again. The photo above is the before (top) and after (bottom) the trawlers have passed through. Yes, trawling is an effective fishing technique to catch fish, but everything else is caught too. It'll be interesting for me to interact with boatmen on the scallop-fishing vessel in a few days. I'm also fascinated with the swordfishing vessels. I'm not gung-ho; I'm just bored and frustrated.

Scandalicious side effects of beruit

"Hey, XYZ, wanna hook up?"

That phrase sums up my weekend. Although it was not directed to me. Darn it! But, come on! No foreplay? No "I think you look nice in that shirt"? Or instead, "Do you want to come to the kitchen for a post midnight snack?" Anyhow, thanks for the scandals. The party was great. I beat my archrivals in beruit. Woo hoo! that's one New Year resolution crossed off, thanx to my enthusiastic boob-grabbing drunken partner in crime, SS. I'm sorry you forgot your pizza at the house, truly. And I'm sorry that some guests didn't get their chance at the beruit table. Don't take it personally.

Gosh, I need to grow up. It's like I'm back in school again. With more and more college kids getting "bombed" playing drinking games, marketers want a piece of the action.

Drinking games have been around since Dionysus. But a whole new industry has taken off around them, making the games more popular, more intense and more dangerous, according to college administrators who say the games are just thin cover for binge drinking.[...]
Budweiser is not the only brand using games to sell alcohol. One recent Miller campaign featured spin the bottle, and its distributors have promoted beer pong tournaments as well, although the company says it has no corporate strategy to market the game.[...]
Beer pong seems to be the drinking game du jour. Legend has it that the game, also known for some reason as Beirut, started years ago at a Dartmouth College fraternity party. Now bars hold matches every week, often working with beer distributors who help advertise the events and supply the prizes.

We didn't have prizes, but instead a good company of old friends' "remember when..." and cheers were top notch. Well, I must start shopping/packing for the cold front out on the open water. My next adventure will be 400 miles away from home. Where will I be? I can not tell. What will I do? All will be revealed in due time.

Color test

Dude, I aced this test with flying colors. Who knew thinking could come in handy. Ay yah!

Happy birthday to my cool pals, NG and CS!! May you never be dubbed color blind cuz you both are quite bright and colorful. (I should be fired!)

Sharon and Palestine uncertainty

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has suffered an extremely massive cerebral hemorrhage. Many medicals thought it might not be survivable, or, if it is, he is likely to be profoundly disabled. Very unsettling news, although no doubt there are those who are celebrating. I am not among them; Sharon has been a far better Prime Minister than expected him to be. Let's hope that his health improves, not only for his sake but for the benefit of the whole worlds peace. Ehud Olmert remains Acting Prime Minister. I'm sure my friend NA has a lot to say about this news of uncertainty. Her home is in Jerusalem.

Just for tibits, here's a link on what is a stroke. I almost sufferred a cerebrovascular accident today when I called personnels about my application status, and the secretary lady said that my application didn't come through because "the mailman may have misplaced it" WTH!?

Bạn

• Khi gặp được người mà bạn thật sự yêu thương: Hãy nỗ lực giành lấy cơ hội trở thành một nửa của người ấy bởi vì nếu người ấy ra đi, tất cả sẽ không còn kịp nữa.

• Khi gặp một người bạn có thể tin tưởng được: Cần giữ quan hệ tốt với người đó vì trong cuộc đời mỗi người, gặp được tri kỷ không phải là điều dễ.

• Khi gặp người đã từng giúp đỡ bạn: Nhớ tỏ thái độ cảm kích đối với người ấy vì họ đã mang lại sự thay đổi trong cuộc đời bạn.

• Khi gặp người đã từng yêu bạn: Nên nở nụ cười cảm kích với họ vì đã giúp bạn hiểu thêm về tình yêu.

• Khi gặp người từng ghét cay ghét đắng bạn: Nên cười xã giao với họ vì họ làm bạn trở nên kiên cường hơn.

• Khi gặp người đã từng phản bội bạn: Nên nói chuyện với họ vì nếu như không phải họ, ngày hôm nay bạn sẽ không hiểu biết gì về thế giới này.

• Khi gặp người bạn đã từng yêu: Nên chúc phúc cho họ, bởi vì khi yêu, bạn chẳng đã từng mong muốn họ vui vẻ hạnh phúc đó sao?

• Khi gặp người đi qua vội vàng cuộc đời bạn: Cần cảm ơn họ đã đi qua cuộc đời này của bạn, bởi vì họ là một bộ phận sắc màu trong cuộc sống phong phú và đa dạng của bạn.

• Khi gặp người đã từng hiểu lầm bạn: Hãy nhân thể giải quyết sự ngộ nhận, bởi vì bạn có thể chỉ có một cơ hội này để giải thích mà thôi.

• Và cuối cùng hãy cảm ơn một nửa của bạn hiện nay bởi vì người ấy đã yêu bạn, vì bạn và người ấy đang hạnh phúc.

(Via my housemates)

Xin cảm ơn tất cả những người bạn của tôi. Và xin lỗi vì đã lâu rồi không gặp mặt nhưng vẫn luôn nhớ đến tất cả.


(Compooter's back on again. No more public librarians tapping my shoulders to get off)

Low-rider offenders, not cars, pants!

This story is hilarious.

Acquitting a Germantown man who exposed his buttocks during an argument with a neighbor, a Montgomery County Circuit Court judge ruled yesterday that mooning, while distasteful, is not illegal in Maryland.
"If exposure of half of the buttock constituted indecent exposure, any woman wearing a thong at the beach at Ocean City would be guilty," Judge John W. Debelius III said after the bench trial, reversing the ruling of a District Court judge.

Mooning is distasteful, but not illegal. Haha. Scarecrows do it all the time and they actually show well-rounded buttocks. Though pumpkin orange cheeks are quite unattractive.

Some states are fining people who wear low riding pants. What about flashers, people? Why are those people get away with flashing and people with low ride pants are being fined? I see nothing wrong with low ride pants. One just has to find a "cool" boxer to go with it. Mind you, I don't wear them! It's a new fashion. Hmm...maybe this should be the theme to this weekend shindig. Whadayathink, SG & NQ & CS? Mooning Marylanders-Birthday Babies.

My confession...

Forgive me Father, for I have sinned. I eat mealworms but only the little wiggly ones. They're sweet and crunchy as hell and I just can't get enough.

Or Bless me Father, for I have sinned. I'm in love! I have this crush on a certain man's writing style, humor and intelligence. He may be completely unsuitable for me in real life for whatever reasons, but I am dazzled by his charm and his stellar diction. My close friends don't know that he exists. What do you call it when we love everything on the inside of a person, but there are just too many physical and situational obstacles to ever start a relationship? Too many times I've lost my opportunities. Where's that fishing trip promised? When is that picnic we set? or What about that mountain hike? It didn't matter how these plans fell through; it was how he crafted the invitation, melt away!

Then again if the person's amazing writing personality turns out to be painfully shy in person (ahem!), it's still not gonna work out. For example, the greatest writers in history were demented (I'm sorry, 'were nuts?'). Ernest Hemingway was a violent drunk. Edgar Allen Poe was creepy. Nguyen Trai was a womanizer. Emily Dickinson was a recluse. I do like these writers. I dunno what I'm trying to say, but something sweet and crunchy sounds great just about now.

Rise n shine and a happy new year

Phew! Made it out alive. It turns out I didn't sit around at home. Mind you, there's nothing wrong with that! I would've gotten my family with extended young rascal members that will forever test my patience. I love them dearly. Shits happen, what are you gonna do but be optimistic. This year, I sat around with old friends from India and Romania, who are visiting DC. I took the Metro out to Court House, had some wine and champagne, wreaked havoc and saw the New Year's Eve ball dropped on TV. The metro stops running at 3 in the AM, so I had to frolic to the station to get back home in time. The train ride was quite entertaining, just like the old Friday nights at G'burg's Mama Ventura back alley. People watching is quite amusing, especially when the people are drunk. Seeing them get hurt doing silly stunts on the train's railings has made me feel giggly-snickery inside. What a fantastic show. I'd have joined them if I had another beer. Playing gladiator on the railings, haha.

Here's wishing you a happy new year to all the science and nature bloggers. Remember, it's two thousand six, not twenty oh six. And remember, among the anagrams for two thousand six are taxi dusts nohow and twist sound hoax, hehe.

Oh, the painting above is by Claude Monet called Impression, soleil levant or Impression, sunrise. Oil on canvas. One of my favorite painters.