Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Deadwood Prostitution

People who long for the good old days- might care to study history a bit. In the good old days- there was no anasthetic - few antibiotics medicines. Life for most people was short, brutal, and harsh, esp. in 19th century China.

There's a show I like to watch- Deadwood. In one of the episodes, the show accurately depicts the lives of Chinese prostitutes. They were treated worse than animals. They were poorly fed. Caged. And subject to continous rapings and beatings. Usually they lasted 5 years before falling to disease and their harsh treatment.

Soiled Doves: Prostitution in the Early Years, a book written by Anne Seagraves, has a chapter called The Chinese Slave Girls: A Life Without Hope, that explains in
gruesome detail what these poor girls endured. In traditional Chinese society, the women were considered worthless. Even today, so many Chinese female babies are aborted or killed- that there will be a negative effect on population growth in China.

If you want to read about the lives of Chinese prostitutes during the mid to late 19th century, you could google Donaldina Cameron. She was a Christian activist who helped the Chinese prostitutes, rescuing them from their slave brothels.

It is truly sad to know that even today, many women are still suffering from similar situations.

Saturday, June 24, 2006

How to run on the tread mill and experience God

I used to think that running on tread mills was one of the most excruciatingly boring and meangingless activities. Negatives- you running on the spot- running nowhere fast. A bit like a metaphor for a meaningless life.

I beg to differ.

If you are just concentrating on the act of running on the tread mill- and thinking solely about it- you are missing out. Its a bit like saying "Gosh, breathing is boring, or good grief, does my heart have to beat on time? Why can't it stop for awhile? Or beat to a different style?"

Seriously, running on the tread mill - helps you to get in touch with yourself. To be at one with yourself. To experience for a brief moment- God, eternity.

Yeah, yeah, I know that someone of you are going: "OMG, yes, running on the trendmill seems like an eternity... I hate it."

But really- This is how you should do it.

Get good running music. What I really like to do is to run to a good "running music" which I load up onto my MP3 player.

It has to have a good steady thump-thump beat. Slow music to begin the walk/run phase/ And faster music with a fast beat tempo- to help quicken my pace.

I love classical music- but most of them have a varied beat. Its hard to focus. So I can't really use them.

However, I've found classical music from the soundtracks of Master and Commander, Last of the Mohicans, truly GREAT songs to run to.

I also like running to music taken from the Matrix trilogy series, Run Lola Run, etc.. I'm not referring to all of the songs in the soundtrack of course. Just a select few.

Other great music to run to are the songs from Linkin Park- "A Place for my Head" and "Faint", Evanescence, "Bring Me To Life Remix version" with Paul McCoy, singer from another group, 12 Stones.

Once I get into a steady momentem- I feel like I can run forever... well, usually 30 minutes to an hour.

Once you get into the groove everything else seems to fall into place- breathing, a steady running pace, etc.. You still need to focus on your running style, listen to your heart beat, think about your posture, how your feet land- minor but still important details.

But after you run for awhile- and you get into that steady pace- your heart rate increases, you really enter into a special place. Call it bliss. Call it eternity. Call it a zen-like state. Call it experiencing God. Whatever. But for awhile- you totally forget about all your problems- and you just enter into this marvellous state of being and euphoria.

One other thing, to help me getting started on the run- I usually depend on some light fun music. Music like Abba's Super-trouper- although Evanescence "Bring Me To Life Remix version" really wakes me up and get me going.

I think at the heart of it- pardone the pun- is that you increase your heart rate to a good steady pace. There is nothing worse- than to run irregularly and cause the heart to beat irregularly.

Thursday, June 22, 2006

Don't let the children get in the way of a good story

I found this quite disgusting. Gina Wilkinson, an Australian Broadcast Corp reporter wanted to report about the dangerous conditions that Iraqi children faced. So she got some Iraqi children to deliberately play around some dangerous missiles ammo so that she can get a better story of how Iraqi children are playing around dangerous missiles.

As the children are playing around the missiles she says:
Please God, don't let this thing explode now.


How utterly callous.

Read the story here


Frightful what journalist do for a living.

Don't let the children get in the way of a good story

I found this quite disgusting. Gina Wilkinson, an Australian Broadcast Corp reporter wanted to report about the dangerous conditions that Iraqi children faced. So she got some Iraqi children to deliberately play around some dangerous missiles ammo so that she can get a better story of how Iraqi children are playing around dangerous missiles.

As the children are playing around the missiles she says:
Please God, don't let this thing explode now.


How utterly callous.

Read the story here


Frightful what journalist do for a living.

Thursday, June 15, 2006

Early 20th century chess set circa WW1


Got another chess set. :) This one is suppose to be from the Great War era. Early 20th century. Makes it about 100 years old. Ya, ya - what am I going to do with another chess set ya?

I was hoping to get it for $67 but I bidded a minute too early it seemed- although I could have sworned that I waited til the eBay timer was down to under 1 minute before bidding. Someone put in another late bid at $105- and pushed it up to $100+.

My bid was stacked at $150. So I won at $107.

Hmmm.... my heart was pounding when I put the bid in. My emotions were really high. Let's hope the set is worth it.

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Got another chess set


Bought this chess set. I think I must have about 6 sets now. But only two chess boards.

This is the latest one. Its ok but some of the pieces have damaged or missing felt; the piece of cloth under each chess piece.

Here's a photo of the knight. He's got a nice smile. Some versions of this knight look pretty ghastly.

Anyhow, its nearly 3am- I can't seem to go to sleep. I cut my finger opening up the chess box. Golly, I'm bored.

Saturday, June 10, 2006

Fuel Prices causes man to use sled dogs for transport


Due to the rise in fuel prices- a man living in Shepperton has decided to use his dogs for transport.

Read the story here.


LOL.

Friday, June 09, 2006

Running- Stinky Shoes

Whenever I feel the need to get rid of nervous energy- running always helps.

I used to run with a CD player- now MP3 player...

In my song list I have -

songs from Master and Commander soundtrack, Linkin Park, Run Lola Run, Last of the Mohicans, Matrix3 soundtrack, even Abba (Super Trooper).

Mostly heart thumping stuff- mixed in with a few slow stuff. Usually I end the run with a song from Bryan Adams' Heaven. Althought the slow trance dance music from Matrix3 is quite nice too.

Had to take a bit of a break this week though.

Found that my running shoes STINK!!!! Usually its caused by bad foot odor - which is a bacteria infection. Then I remembered that one of my friends with stinky feet came over not too long ago- and borrowed my running shoes.

You can always prevent foot odor by changing your socks regularly- if you don't -sweat builds up- then it gets into your shoes- then your shoes start to stink- bacteria blooms- then your feet get infected... totally yuck!!!!

Now if your feet stink- and you wear someone else's shoes- you pass on the foot germs to them too!

Thankfully, last I checked my foot smells ok!

One more week

One more week has gone by... in my small world- it went quite badly. I'm working as a sharetrade in the stockmarket. And things didn't exactly go according to plan.

Actually, I didn't really plan- I wished- I hoped.

The best share traders know how to fold their cards- sell out - take a loss- walk away.

The maxim is- Keep your losses small. Protect your profits. Sell your losers. Keep your winners. Set concrete stop loss/stop profit markers.

And above all else- keep your emotions in check. Remain as cold blooded and calculated as humanly possible. You need to THINK not react!!

Well, I forgot my training and allowed my decisionmaking to drift- as I listened to various commentators - hoping for the best results.

At some point- I lost sight of reality. And abandoned all planning- all sense of reason- acted like a bloody amateur. DAMNIT.

Now I'm goddamn stuck like an elephant in a tar pit.

Course, I can hold on. But boy am I going to be totally screwed if the market takes a downturn.

The funny thing is that I saw the crash coming. Yet, I choose not to react in a rational way. Instead of taking a small minor loss at the bloody start of the crash. I sucked in my breath like a fool and waited for ... what???

Totally feel like an idiot now.

Thursday, June 08, 2006

Chess Queen forces wrong move



Making moves ... Arianne Caoili and, inset from top, Danny Gormally and Levon Aronian. Main image as seen on Ms Caoili's website.

The British dude- Danny is the wimpy geeky looking guy. Levon is the brooding looking dude.

At the centre of the biggest scandal in the chess world since ... whenever... is teenage Australian chess champion Arianne Caoili, dubbed "the Anna Kournikova of chess". Um... considering the number of hot chicks who play chess- she's more like the hottest thing that came onto the chessboard since the introduction of the Queen.

British chess grandmaster Danny Gormally had reportedly been seeing and emailing her. Hmmm... seeing as in- they go to the same chess tournaments??

But when Danny saw her dancing with the world's No. 3 player, Armenia's Levon Aronian, in a Turin nightclub during the World Chess Olympiad he made a move with his fist.

Apparently to her mom = she was doing a 'Salsa crazy ... and looking a bit sexy'

"She's salsa crazy and was probably dancing salsa and looking a bit sexy and that's why [Gormally] got upset,'' she said.

"[Arianne] was a bit scared and shocked and was wondering what was going on.''

The trio were at the Bermuda party, which is a regular event at the World Chess Olympiad.

"[The Bermuda party] is always organised by the Bermuda team because they are one of the world's worst teams but they run the best party,'' said Graeme Gardiner, a former Australian Chess Federation president who has coached Arianne since she was five years old.

"She's a 19-year-old, very attractive girl. She's probably got the guys queuing up for her.

(Well duh.... when was the last time you saw a hot babe playing chess???)

Gormally quickly left - probably before the Armenian teams decided to pay him a visit to show them their version of the Russian Gambit.

Anyhow, back to the hot babe who plays chess.

She likes Cream and Cuban cigars!

Caoili, 19, has listed her likes on her website as: "Funny stories, The Cream, arguing, getting up to no good, shopping, quotes, tea, Pink Floyd album covers, dancing (all forms), chocolate, blitz, theatre, Karpov's games, Oreo's, black and dry humour, singing, good music, gravity (without it we're doomed), sunsets, sunrises, fine food (and fine boys), stars, moons, water, Edward Norton and Johnny Depp, grace, green lights, cooking, pina colada's, vodka, red wine, Kahlua, dwarfs and the odd Cuban cigar."

Wonder whether she'd be interested in checking out my chess sets? :)

Hello Ladies

From the Age- This is an edited version for brevity purposes. Read the rest here

Keanu Reeves says he's ready to ditch his "vagabond" lifestyle and have a family.

June 7, 2006 - 11:03AM

Keanu Reeves says he's lonely and wants to get married and have children, in an upcoming issue of Parade magazine.

The 41-year-old actor says he continues to mourn the loss of his stillborn daughter in 1999 and the death of the baby's mother, Jennifer Syme, in a car crash in 2001.

"When the people you love are gone, you're alone," he tells the magazine.

"I miss being a part of their lives and them being a part of mine. I wonder what the present would be like if they were here - what we might have done together. I miss all the great things that will never be."

He adds: "It's not fair! It's absurd."

"I'm trying not to be alone so much," Reeves says. "And man, it's a struggle. I want to get married. I want to have kids. That's at the top of the mountain. I've got to climb the mountain first. I'll do it. Just give me some time." But Reeves says he's reached a "turning point" in his personal life.

"I think, after loss, life requires an act of reclaiming," he says.

"You have to reject being overwhelmed. Life has to go on."

He has bought his first home, a step in a new "makeover" to establish roots in one location. In childhood, he watched his mother, Patricia, move the family many times and adopted that way of life.

"I've had a vagabond life," he says.

"There is a bit of the gypsy in me, and living that way seemed to make sense. I couldn't settle down. ... Then I turned 40. That birthday is hard, perhaps because you know you're grown-up."

Powerful statement

This is a comment re the recent arrest of Muslim terrorists in Canada. The MSM (Mainstream media) took careful pains to avoid mentioning their race- middle Eastern - or their religion (Islamic).

This softly softly sensitive approach angered one commentator:

Read the rest here

By saltydog
This tippy-toeing around the fact of reality doesn’t protect us from would-be homegrown terrorists. It guarantees that we will have homegrown terrorists.

I will give the bastards this: they have studied the North Vietnamese strategies very carefully. They have gone to our universities, where they became acquainted with the weaknesses eating away at our foundations. They have studied the contradictions we have tried to impose on Enlightenment Individualism and seen just how to undermine us using those contradictions. Once you acceed to the idea of group rights, you’ve blown the premise out from under the idea that we are all equal before the law. Now some people, if they can qualify for the privileged group, are more equal than others. When your laws become completely subjective, where someone’s feelings constitute the basis for the use of force, and your society becomes one, not of individuals with the same rights, but of a bunch of separately privileged collectives, no one is safe. How is this any different than competing tribes? Or competing religious ideologies? Or the gangs of LA?

We’ve disarmed ourselves, and it wasn’t just the leftists who did it. Every group has seen some advantage of seeking that special legislation, usually based upon some type of victimhood, to give it a hand in the government till. Even religion, which used to understand why they ought to be strictly separated from government for their own protection, has allowed itself to enter into the game. If you give the proper argument why ignoring the fact that these people are a part of a religious ideology that is out to enslave us, you risk someone pointing out that the same arguement could be made against your own little group. All that had to be done for this to be accomplished is for the idea that the individual doesn’t necessarily own his own life, or his own home, or indeed have any rights at all if it can be shown to be detrimental to some group. Someone can always find some detriment to somebody, real or imagined. What else can follow but the same kind of gang warfare that typlified the Middle Ages.

So, we are now to the point where otherwise reasonable people allow themselves to be bullied into not stating the obvious - and who believe that it is the right thing to do. It is happening in the middle of a war that we’ll fight, but only so long as nobody names what it is we are fighting. We can talk about the method involved, but not who is using that method and why.

The first article I read today was about Bush offering nuclear technology to Iran. Then I got a call from my sister that my nephew was killed in action today. I came here, thinking to take a break, and I see this article. The thing that allowed Bush to even consider such an obscene gesture, and the thing that told that policement it was “politic” to take care of his language, also killed my nephew. We’d better start asking ourselves why we won’t fight to win. Otherwise, all we’re doing is pissing in the wind. We are wasting precious finite resources in men and treasure that we are going to need down the road. We are wearing out our finely trained warriors by using them as policemen and social workers. They’ve done a splendid job of what they’ve been asked to do, and they’ve done it in the face of a losing propaganda war at home. How long before the Iraqi government starts demanding to have some kind of control over them, and what will we answer?

I apologize. I thought I could just visit and get my mind off of things for a bit. I can’t. Sorry.

The truth sometimes hurts

Read this today. Seems to make a lot of sense. I'm not too sure why but every generation seems to produce an idealistic misguided lot. 700 years ago, the Christians were busy sending hordes of its soldiers down to the Holy Land to kill Muslims and Jews. But wait... duh... didn't Christ tell you to love your enemy?

Then to make matters worse the stupid Crusaders invade Constantinople- the Great mighty Christian city and sack it TWICE. Thus enabling the Ottoman Turks to invade the city and conquer it killing, raping and enslaving all of its inhabitants- and turning it into Istanbul- and reversing 1000 years of Christian rule. You can imagine the Christians in the affected lands living back then- reading the Book of Revelation and going "Ooooohhh crap."

Good going Christian Crusaders! Score a own goal twice. Mind you, the Christians back then were also busy fighting amongst themselves too much to notice the Mongol Army Horde screaming down from the East- butchering everything in sight. By some miracle, the Mongols turned back because their leader got so pissed drunk on vodhka that he had a heart attack and died. Remember that the next time you drink a Lemon Ruski.

Wait let's talk about our grandparent's generation. Unfortunately, they were saddled with leaders who thought that talking with a bully would solve everything. Talk it thru, reason with him, yeah that would work! And so Hitler managed to score the whole of Europe until half of his goose-stepping army died in Russia from frostbite.

So now most of the Western world has ditched Christianity. As the saying goes- If you don't believe in God- you'll believe in anything. Seems that most people have a Star Trekie view of the world- ie that all cultures are equal - except for Christian culture which is so passe. Anyhow read on: From James Lelik.

Self-Loathing and the Denial of Terrorism
BY JAMES LILEKS
c.2006 Newhouse News Service

You're an enlightened world citizen. Your T-shirt says "9/11 was an inside job." You're pretty sure we're living in a fascist state, that President Bush taps the Dixie Chicks' phones, Christian abortion clinic bombers outnumber jihadis, and the war on "terror" is a distraction from the real threats: carbon emissions and Pat Robertson. Then you learn that 17 people were arrested in a terrorist bomb plot. How do you process the information? Let's take it step by step.

Gosh, that's horrible, you think. But no -- that's what they WANT you to feel. Recall the prime directive: Question Authority (unless he's a college professor). The plotters must have been impoverished olive farmers radicalized by the removal of Saddam Hussein. Why, if someone came in and toppled your president, you'd go to their country and ... well, you'd thank them. Unless they did it for the wrong reasons! Then you'd blow something up. Like an SUV dealership. At night. Anyway, you understand; you care a lot about Iraqis these days. You think about Iraq more than China, to be honest, but it's not as if you'll scrape off your "Free Tibet" bumper sticker -- unless it's to make room for "Free Darfur." Or "Hands Off Darfur," depending.

Wait a minute: The "terrorists" were Canadian? You can understand someone blowing up trains in Spain and London. They sent troops to an illegal war cooked up by neocons who want to kill brown people for Exxon and Jesus, or something. You can understand, reluctantly, blowing up teens in an Israeli pizza parlor, because the Jews took the West Bank from the sovereign, ancient nation of Palestine. (How can a liberal socialist country behave so poorly? The world is full of mysteries.) But Canada? Isn't Michael Moore from Canada? You can get medical marijuana from married gay doctors in Canada, and no one has guns. You console yourself: Maybe they were really planning to attack the U.S.

You realize the suspects were all Muslim, and you dread the inevitable pogroms. Haven't been any yet, but any day now. You read that a mosque was vandalized in Toronto after the arrest, and you feel a certain grim relief. Finally, racism! Banners. If you're going to have a march, you'll need banners.

Read the rest here

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

How not to influence people

Read this in the news: Double-parked mother cuffed over outburst

June 6, 2006 - 11:29AM

A mother swore at police and accused them of being pedophiles before she was handcuffed in front of hysterical children for double parking outside a Queensland school, a court has been told.

Yvette Green, 38, of Riverview, today appeared in the Ipswich Magistrates Court charged with being a public nuisance, disobeying a police direction and obstructing police as she tried to drop two of her children at Collingwood State School in Brisbane's west on January 25 this year.

Sergeant Carmont told the court Ms Green refused to provide her details despite being asked up to 14 times and became aggressive after police approached her BMW.

"She said 'I know all you f---ing c's are corrupt, haven't you got anything f---ing better to do, you should be out arresting murderers and not harassing mothers'," he quoted Green as saying. "The only reason you hang around schools is because you're a f---ing pedophile c--t."

Sgt Carmont said Green was eventually forcibly removed from the vehicle and handcuffed after another police officer arrived and they had to apply her handbrake and unlock her seat belt. (Meanwhile, her youngestn child looked on in total horror).

Later in the police watchhouse Green was apologetic for her behaviour at the school, he said.

However, he said that police were unable to tape what Magistrate Matthew MacLaughlin described as "all the colourful language" because his recording device was corrupted.

The trial continues.

******************************************************

Generally speaking, police just try and do their job. However, I have met cops who are really into chicken shit stuff and love to lord it over civies.

Once I was driving in the middle of nowhere- it was a fairly big road- and had a slight decline- I think I was doing 50mph. The place is totally deserted. As I acclerated up the hill- a cop flags me over and hands me a fine for doing 5mph more- $200 fine. Sure, I could have got angry with him- but he was well within his rights to fine me. But I couldn't understand why he was targeting road users except that it was dead easy to catch a good number of ordinary citizens going a few km above the speed limit- the sign was nowhere in sight. Meanwhile, the local hoons and toughs are doing illegal drag races down my street- doing 100mph- and loud burn outs- but the cops don't dare come.

Anyhow its just worth remembering to keep your cool and not let them aggravate you. Write a letter to the RTA, move on. Go grab some tea, have a danish cookie, run 10km.

Don't let the shites get to you. You'll only end up doing something stupid and allowing the buggers to take advantage of you.

Friday, June 02, 2006

Hell hath no fury like an eBayer scorned

Ever bought something off the internet only to find out its a dud- broken - piece of crap?

Feel unhappy ya?

Well check this out- this dude (claimed) he got cheated on ebay- bought a computer that had the wrong specs and also wasn't working.

Unfortunately for the seller- the dude took out the hard drive and got it working- and lo and behold he struck paydirt- and promptly posted it on the internet for all to see.

Check it out here. Warning: Doesn't contain anything too terrible. But might not be safe for office or children's eyes.

Anyhow two things we can learn from this:

NEVER buy thing off an eBay Seller who has a poor (in this case 50%) or zero rating score. That's the ratings sellers/buyers give everytime u buy or sell stuff off eBay.

Preferably deal only with eBayers who have a large (50 or more) perfect or near perfect score (95 - 100%).

So far touch wood- I've had a pretty ok run with eBay. No dramas.

The other thing- if u are intent to sell your computer- make sure you format the hard drive - then load it up with files (junk stuff) to 100%. Then format it again. That way you guarantee that the important data gets scrubbed. But considering that most HDs are now 100+gig it might be simpler and fun to smash it or dump it into a bucket of oil/dirty water and throw it onto the floor several times.