Amen

You wake up this morning, did you say...

Hallelujah, if you are a Christian.

Hallelujah is a Hebrew word meaning praise for jah, or “praise Jehovah” the hebrew name for God.

Allahu-Akbar, if you are a Muslim.

Allahu-Akbar Arabic word showing praise to God.

Namo Amitabha, if you are a Buddhist.

Namo Amitabha 南无阿弥陀佛 Sanskrit word, means Infinite light, infinite life, infinite wisdom.

Amen. Amin.  Amitabha.

Tornado

Today, 2 pm a tornado wannabe formed off the Pasir Panjang coast.

Tornados do not usually occured this part of the world.

Waterspouts are more common. They formed due to warm temperatures in the lower atmosphere along with high humidity.

The differance between a waterspout and a tornado is that a tornado is on land, a waterspout is over water.

A tornado is more dangerous. Waterspouts are generally not as dangerous although boaters should seek safe shelter immediately.

Cancer No Entry

Dr. Mehmet Oz  known on TV as Dr Oz have just made everyone's day.

He put the question: which is better to prevent Cancer: beer or milk ?

The answer is beer because it protects against bacteria that has be linked to Stomach Cancer and Ulcers. 

He cautioned to say that 2 or more drinks a day can increase other types of cancer though, so limit yourself to 1 glass of beer a day!

Doctor Oz also bring comfort to those who drink coffee.

Just 2 daily cuppas can reduce your chances of getting Colon Cancer and Uterine Cancer.

Tau Huay

Tau Huay 豆 花 is a Chinese dessert made from Soybeans, most likely Genetically Modified.

Queques for the many brands are commonly seen around Singapore.

What is GM ? To put it simply, GM foods have had their DNA altered in a way that does not occur in nature. The technology was invented to produce plants that would have increased resistance against plant diseases, insects and herbicides.

Critics have declared they are not safe to eat as they had foreign genes forced into their DNA, such as bacteria and viruses, which have never been in the human food supply.

In lab tests, GM soy altered mouse liver cells. The changes reversed after their diet switched to non-GM soy.

Author Jeffrey Smith puts it this way: "A pig can mate with a pig and a tomato can mate with a tomato. But there is no way that a pig can mate with a tomato".

 

silky smooth soya beancurd

USA, the world's leading soybean producer estimate soybean production for this year at 83 million tons, a large part Genetically Modified. They approved GM cultivation in 1994.

Brazil, world's No. 2 producer expected to match or exceed the US. Also a large portion of the crop is GM.

Surprisingly China imports soybeans.

Japanese longevity is well known hence they are alarmed as 50,000 tofu shops across Japan greatly relied on the American soybeans and have launched a variety of campaign groups opposing GM foods.

It's X'mas Again

Once again, at super speed in a super world, Christmas is here upon us.

It's also the time to be joyous

 

It's also the time to be nostalgic

And it's also time to be dancing

Bone of Contention

The phenomenal explosive growth of keeping pet dogs is common causes of friction between neighbors. 

The reason ? Barking dogs.

In bursting at the seam Singapore, neighbourliness is gone with the wind.

Computer Headache

Have you ever encounter instances when you want to resize the window in your PC or laptop and found a black border and not able to see the window as it is being resize ?

You could have unintentionally made changes to the graphics or settings recently.

Here’s how to rectify the situation.

note the black border

 Click anywhere in the desktop. Then Properties.

Next click Appearance.

Then Effects.

 

Lastly, check "Show window contents while dragging" Then OK.

And Windows is back to normal. Or is it ?

At the next startup and the same problem repeat itself, the culprit could be the broadband USB modem.

It disables "show window contents while dragging" and messes with Windows Media Center too.

There do not seem to be a solution to this hiccup. And Huawei the maker of such device, has this to say.

This is our intentional setting to avoid some problems.
It's not only foy your version, every mobile partner has this feature. I think this 'issue' will not bring you much trouble when you use it surf the Internet.

Made In Japan

Japan television makers are in troubled water.

Sony is cutting 10,000 jobs and selling assets after racking up hugh losses selling TVs.

Sharp lost a record US$5.6 billion and said there is “material doubt” about its survival.

 

Panasonic will post a loss of US$9.5 billion and retrenching 36,000 of its workforce.

  

In the 1980s Japan thrashed the US television makers to become the global leader.

Ironically they are now at the mercy of the Koreans, particularly Samsung.

The wheel of fortune is still turning.

The Money Month

After the durians come the chinese 7th month.

For the entire period form 17 August to 15 September, this occasion is an opportunity to rake in the money for the industry players.

For others it is a time of forced break from work resulting in loss of income.

The getai singers will be making the mad dashes from stage to stage, even changing show outfits in the car.

Like the durian sellers the income from this period will see them through for a good part of the year.

Not so for the renovations workers though.

Superstitious home owners tend not to carry out any renovation during this period.

The brandy producers are also laughing their way to the banks since 97 out of 100 bottles of cognac are consumed outside France.

Singapore is the 3rd largest importer of cognac worldwide breaking the EUR500m mark which is equivalent to 3 million cases. The bulk of the consumption during the 7th month period.

Hennessy remains number one – having shipped 4.6 million cases worldwide.

Number two is Remy Martin, who shipped 1.9 million cases. Asia is their number one destination, accounting for 50 per cent of their market.

Water For Health

While on the subject of water, it is never too bothersome to stress that...

2 glasses of water after waking up - helps activate internal organs

1 glass of water 30 minutes before a meal - helps digestion

1 glass of water before taking a bath - helps lower blood pressure

1 glass of water before going to bed - avoids stroke or heart attack

Water

Lonnie Johnson invented the pressurized squirt gun.

Larami Corporation and Johnson signed an agreement. Within two years of its introduction in 1990, Larami had sold over 10 million of the toys.

  

 

Fast forward 2012, Japanese and Taiwanese ships shot water cannon at each other on Tuesday in the latest confrontation over tiny islands in the East China Sea.

What little boys (or girls) doesn’t love playing with water?

The Humble Banana

As a banana ripens, the antioxidant content increases, Dr David L. Katz, explains in the June 2009 issue of The Oprah Magazine.

Researchers from the University of Innsbruck reported in the 2007 issue of Angewandte Chemie that the ripe fruit contains nonfluorescing chlorophyll catabolytes, or NCCs, highly active antioxidants.



Don't throw away that banana because it's turning brown. It turns out that the brown is a sign that the antioxidant levels have risen.

According to a Japanese Scientific Research, ripe banana with dark patches on yellow skin has the ability to combat abnormal cells.

Hence, the riper the banana the better the anti-cancer quality.

Royalty In Queenstown

Prince William and Princess Kate arriving at Dawson.

Skyville in Background

And who does not want to have a close up view and feel of the royals.

multi storey carpark

Then it is time to meet the locals.



The residents are loving every moment of the fairy tale visit.

The Gambler

Promise me son, not to do the things I've done

Walk away from trouble if you can
It won't mean you're weak if you turn the other cheek
I hope you're old enough to understand
Son you don't have to fight to be a man

The man who sang this is coming to town.

Hear his classic and meaningful songs at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on 21 October 2012.

Now that the two casinos are up and running at full steam, the words of wisdom...

You got to know when to hold them, know when to fold them
Know when to walk away and know when to run
You never count your money when you're sitting at the table
There'll be time enough for counting when the dealing's done

Homo Sapien

This is how it all started...

A Durian Tale

Durian is derived from the Malay word “Duri”, which means thorn.




Mao Shan Wang is known in Malaysia as Musang King because it originated in Gua Musang district in Kelantan.

Registered as D197 in 1993 the Mao Shan Wang, aka the Musang, is a civet cat that likes to eat durian. But the durian derived its name from its birth place, and not because of the Mao Shan cat.



Durian farm owner Tina Chong 40, is the very few woman in the durian trade, traditionally run by men.

Tina was a former Beauty Queen who retires to the durian farm in Gua Musang to grow Mao Shan Wang, the King of Malaysian Durian.

She is very successful, her 20 acres farm produces 100 tons of he best durians annually.

Gibson Fined

Guitar maker Gibson has agreed to pay a hefty fine of US$300,000 for illegally importing exotic wood from India and Madagascar.

Gibson will also make a "community service payment" of US$50,000 to the US National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.




The settlement frees Gibson from the criminal charges as long as the company doesn’t violate the agreement over the next one and a half year.



Now back to making the best guitars in the world.

The 2012 Parade

When they say time fly, it is.

The 2012 National Day Parade is here again.



The giant flag hangs from the Chinook and escorted by Apaches enroute to the parade.

The reserve flag helicopter following close by.

Flying over the heartland neighbourhood of Redhill.



Arriving at the Sands Casino and the parade proper.



The reserve flag helicopters returning to base.

Discovery Era

Mars is just a speck of light in the night sky.

Landing a roving vehicle by remote control 56 million km away is an unprecedented feat of technology, say President Barack Obama.

Mars in the August sky

USA is the only country who has twelve people walked on the Moon from 1969 to 1972.

The Iconic Beetle

Iconic brands are instantly recognizable.

now

Mercedes-Benz is arguably the most iconic car in the world.

then

The humble Volkswagon Beetle scores in that department as well.

There are mostly old Volkswagen Beetle taxis at the holiday town of Acapulco.



Most taxis in Mexico are green Volkswagen Beetles which accounted for almost half of all taxis in Mexico City, with about 50,000 cruising the streets.

But the city's famous Beetle taxis will be taken off the streets soon.



The last of the Beetles will have their cab licences expired by end of this year.

The King, Durian

Durians has joined the ranks of "outlaws" to be banned in publc buses and trains.

Some taxi drivers would chase passenger off their cabs for carrying the "offensive" fruits.




Naza Talyya hotel in Penang, Malaysia has become the first in the country to allow durians within its premises.



The Jakarta Post carries an article today on the fruit here.

The Handkerchief Tree

Driving or walking along Singapore roads the handkerchief trees will catch your attention.



The new leaves of these trees hang at the tip of the branches and looking like handkerchiefs.



The scientific name is Maniltoa Browneoides.

It is a native of New Guinea.