World Cup Winner

The world cup games is coming to an end. The winner is slowly emerging among the soccer giants.

Is the winner from the past winners list ?

Or is there a new kid on the block ? Find out on 11th or 12th July depending which side of the earth you are on.


The early winners from this competition are the vuvuzela makers.

Vuvuzela manufacturers are struggling to keep up with demand. The Vuvuzela Branding Company says its vuvuzela sales have climbed from 20,000 a month to 20,000 a day.



A shop owner from Shantou of south China's Guangdong province, where the horns are made, sells an alarming 2,333 pieces in the past 30 days.



The manufactring cost of each vuvuzela is reported to be between 0.65 yuan to 2.5 yuan (about 10 cents to 36 cents US), but is mostly sold at more than 10 yuan.

Persimmons Danger

Persimmons season is here.



It is important to wait until persimmons are fully ripe before eating them, because unripe persimmons can cause gastric bezoars.

More than 85% phytobezoars are caused by ingestion of unripened persimmons.

To ripen them put them in a plastic bag with a banana to hasten the ripening.

End of a Landmark

The demolition is nearing the end.

Queenstown prison will only be a memory...



Almost gone.

Dawson Queenstown

The Queenstown Prison opened in 1966 and its notable inmates include American vandal Michael Fay in 1994.



Fashion house cK Calvin Klein showcase its Spring 2010 collection in the building before it is demolished.



Demolition has began.



This is part of the Dawson Remake that will transorm the area into a hub of activities.



Also closing its door after 40 years of cuppa servings is this coffeeshop at block 27A nearby.

It cease business on 25th June 2010.

Vuvuzela, What's That ?

Thanks to the 2010 World Cup, South Africa has introduced the vuvuzela to the world.



This type of plastic horn or trumpet has been used in Mexican stadiums since the 1970s.

The vuvuzela became popular in South Africa in the 1990s.


They have been associated with permanent noise-induced hearing loss, the sound level of the instrument has been measured at 131 dB.



A German company has produced the vuvuzela in three sections and the instruments can display a huge range of possible colour combinations.



Germany has prohibited the use of the horns in several German cities for the masses of fans who watch the games.



One good thing has surfaced from the "irritating" noise though. Whenever a player is off form or played badly, or put the ball into his own net, well there is the vuvuzela to take the blame.

Legends Then and Now

The 2010 World Cup is here.

M.C. up, productivity down. Human Resources headache. Bosses nightmare.

Here are the soccer legends the world has known.

Pele

Johan Cruyff

Franz Beckenbauer

Gerd Muller

Maradona

Zico

Paolo Rossi

Michel Platini

The Yellow Mushroom

Leucocoprinus birnbaumii.
Pronounced luke-o-kuh-PRY-niss burn-BAUM-eee-eye, is a common mushroom in house plants and greenhouses or any other place with organically rich soil where the temperature is warm.

This deep yellow species has been seen around the country recently particularly in potted plants.




Mushroom experts have declared that Leucocoprinus birnbaumii won't poison you, unless you eat it.

This plant can appear at any time of the year, and do not harm the plants in the pot. Treat them as a colorful pleasure so long as no one is likely to eat them.

Doomsday Fear

Five months of the Tiger year have passed in a flash.
And true to forecast many big tickets events add to the doomsday
soothsayer predictions.

The BP oil well accident is one.

It is estimated that the leak from the Macondo well is 5,000 bpd.
BP can only take the next step until August, by which time half a million barrels would have blackened the gulf region.

Energy experts say sending a small nuclear bomb down the leaking well is "probably the only thing we can do" to stop the leak.
President Obama has sent a team of nuclear physicists to help BP plug the "catastrophic" flow.



No one knows how this disaster is going to end.