Wednesday, March 26, 2008

The most cutest thing!! Pygmy Pink Seahorses

Wow check out the photos at Edvin's site! Photos from Mabul, near Sipadan.

Click here to goto Edvin's Photo site!


This type of seahorse is very tiny. Measuring about 2cm, no bigger than your thumbnail.

Totally adorable, they were only discovered recently due to their excellent camoflage.

Update:
Pardon me- they aren't mini - they are pygmy seahorses; otherwise known by the cool name of hippocampus bargibanti.

More information can be found on google. Click here.





Sad Woman

You can call it a moment of clarity or a moment of depression. But what this woman has done is epic.

Hu Ziwei, an anchor for one of Beijing's TV station, upset a public televised Olympic speech day by condemning her husband for having an extra-marital affair and going one step further by comparing it with the decline of morals in China.

Hu: (struggling continuously) I will finish my last sentence. Let’s be polite. But that French foreign minister said, 'Until China can export human values, [it] won’t become a great country.' In front of us, [we] face such a sanctimonious … when Zhang Bin can’t face himself … even can’t face his wife whose hurt by him. I feel, China, as a … become a great country… In the end do you have any conscience?! Still too far away from a great country."

You can see the video here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqF7rnl8748&eurl=


She's going to be in big pit of pain for doing that. Knowing how the Chinese Govt operates, I hope they don't torture her.

But to them, she has brought great shame to the nation, and no doubt will suffer a great deal of pain.

I don';t think she did it out of any political motivation but more due to her sadness of her husband's infidelity.

Anyhow what is the exact point of the Olympics? In its original incarnation, it was meant to be a day to bring people (Greeks) together and to promote peace and harmony. Now its just a big advertising and media event and a big nationalistic event.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Lost 4.8 Meet Kevin Johnson Back from the Dead

I thought of doing reviews on the tv series. Lost. Don't read this if you don't like spoilers.

Anyhow the latest episode is Lost Episode 8 Season 4. Meet Kevin Johnson

Or as I prefer to call it - the Dead wanting to be dead.

This episode is based around the wretched Kevin Johnson, the obsessed father who killed two women and rescued Ben, the sinister manipulative leader of the Others- or as as I like to call him Spooky Ben.

When we find him, the nutcase has been ostracized by his own son, Waaaalt. Both of them are unable to lead normal lives because technically they are dead- and Michael wants to cover up the secret of the Island- in case perhaps Spooky Ben takes revenge and kills him and his son.

Kevin also seems to have an Island Ghost friend, Libby, Hurley's Island girlfriend who got shot by KJ when she went back to get blankets for their picnice. She pops up to bother him a few times- Michael being the idiot that he is- ignores her.

Whether its actually Libby, or the Island's Spirit masquarading as her is another issue. See what happened when Mr. Eko the Big Black dude's dead brother showed up and started behaving strangely when he didn't "repent".

Anyhow, dead Libby has come back to join the ranks of the Island's spirits- which seems to include Jack's father, Charlie, Spooky Ben's mother, Mr Eko's brother, etc..

Michael tries to kill himself a few times. He fails. He trades in Jin's watch for a cheap gun and tries to shoot himself ffs. What doesn't he check whether the firing pin is actually in place? If I was there, I'd have advised him - if you succeed, try, try again. OD, jump off a building, take a bath with a radio or something. FFS man! You're living in New York. Be creative!

He's advised by Tom, the fat creepy Other guy - whose on a gay shore leave lol - that the Island won't let him die. Or maybe Spooky Ben owns the gun shop.

We get to hear Spooky Ben's take on the Sunda Trench hoax where they found the missing jetplane with dead passengers. It seems Widmore is the one who planted it there. Oh great, yet another pausible reason to trust the murderous lying creep.

Tom told Michael that Widmore staged the hoax. But Gault, the Captain, said that Ben was behind it. Maybe Widmore told Gault to lie whose to know?

Ben had the audacity to ring Michael on the boat and tell him that he doesn't kill innocent people, and Michael being the gullible fool that he is - believes him. We already know that Ben is not adverse to mass murder since he planned the massacre of the entire Dharma Initiative community on the island including his sorry father. Honestly, if Ben doesn't die a horrible death or fate at the finale end of the series, I'm going to be really really pissed.

As it is, conflicted Michael has joined the ranks of Spooky Ben's Other Club.

Meanwhile, expect Jin's watch to be found by his powerful Korean father-in-law. Who perhaps organizes another search party for his beloved daughter?

The next episode of Lost airs in America on April 24. Groan, one month to wait!!!

Monday, March 24, 2008

There Will Be Blood

Rating:★★★★
Category:Movies
Genre: Drama
Spoilers warnings.

I wouldn't really read too much into this film and create fantastic metaphors, ie. its an allegory of the war in Iraq or whether the oil miner (Daniel Plainview played by Daniel Day Lewis) is supposed to represent Bush or Osama. Its basically a story of a strong willed man who is determined and extremely competitive than it causes him to go basically nuts after a period of time. Maybe its a commentary on the American Dream. If there's a morale to this story its this: getting material wealth, doesn't make you fulfilled; that was the main goal of Plainview - to strike it rich and to build a big house for his children to play in.

The only thing that keeps him relatively sane and humane - was the love for his only son. There are many moments where this is displayed, esp. the moment where he left his son on the train and walked away, hunched, and in great emotional pain.

His love for his son is one of the reasons why the powerful tirade that Plainview gives at the end - where he disowns him - is so painful to watch. If he didn't care for his son, if they didn't have such an emotional bond, that scene at the end wouldn't have meant much.

Plainview isn't a monster, he even cares for the daughter of the farm owner - and told the latter off for beating her up for minor infractions- who later gives him a moving hug at his baptism. (His defense of the young girl makes an interesting juxtaposition to the meeting with the other Standard Oil lawyer- where the latter made a condescending remark about Plainview's family during negotiations that enraged the miner.)

Plainview got ALL he planned for. A huge oil mine, massive wealth, beating the the megacorp Standard Oil and Railroad Trusts, a beautiful mansion by the sea, and triumph over his "enemies". But along the way, he somehow alienated his own son and turned into a cold blooded murderer - not to mention a crazy drunk.

However, as he admitted to his "brother", he had an extremely competitive spirit. He badly wanted to win and he hated seeing other people succeed. He especially wanted to humiliate people who got the better of him, esp. the preacher Ely and the Standard Oil.

It is this competitive selfish spirit that drove him to hate his son and to despise his love for him. Love can be a very humbling experience as you are giving something of yourself to another person, it is an unselfish act. However, that love detracted from his main goal: making oil, making money. And in the end, his goal consumed him utterly and horribly.

Even after he had made it all - he just couldn't let go.

Powerful performances by Daniel Day Lewis.

Its worth watching for this reason. I was particularly moved by DDLewis' performance as he reminds me a lot of my own father, a strong willed man with iron willed determination yet with the capacity for great affection.



On the mirror image side, there's the pentecostal preacher, Ely, who is deluded and whose behavior mirrors the crazy obsession and determination that Plainview has. Notice the attack on his own father whom he curses and physically assaults.

Friday, March 21, 2008

TF2




Amazing Team Fortress 2 photos. I play it with the name - deafnblind. Most of these game photos were taken by other players though.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

One of the best artist of all time - Julian Scott

Hero, Soldier, Painter, that was Julian Scott. Not only was Julian Scott a brilliant artist- but he was also a Congressional Medal of Honor holder. He was awarded the medal for bravery as he ran through heavy fire to rescue his wounded comrades.

He was wounded in the rescue mission and whilst he was convalescing in hospital, he started drawing for fun. A kind merchant noticed his exceptional art work and gave him a scholarship to learn how to paint in the best European art schools.

I absolutely love and love his artwork. They are extraordinarily and wonderfully detailed and are very sensitively drawn - conveying a lot of emotional depth.

I'd rank his artwork a vast distance higher than any of the modern artists like Picasso etc..



Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Marriage Proposal 10 feet under

Watch it!! Its so cute. And the music is lovely.


Kid makes $24 million for her drawings

I like modern art. Truly. Then I see the price tag and I go "WTF?" There seems to be a big disconnect between art, quality and price. I don't know why people pay millions of dollars for this sort of art.

Its suppose to be a painting of an aquarium - it looks to me like a fish chewed up by the filter system. Drawn by a four year old child - its fetching prices upwards of US$40,000.

Is that art? But who cares? If people want this sort of stuff and are willing to pay for it - whose to say it isn't?

Why they would pay loads of cash for this is beyond me. I'm particularly annoyed by the local town councils who spend millions of dollars of public funds onto extremely "cutting edge" types of modern art. To me its just junk - but to others, its has a post-modern analysis intermingled with a distinct feminist discourse against the male patriarchy framed with the pan-socialist thesis of (a leading philosopher), especial regard to the War in Iraq and the Chinese imprisonment of the Dalai Lama, in a neo-colonial world. But honestly, look its just a big rusty nail welded poorly to a park bench.

Anyways, I prefer more traditional art be it Da Vinci, Copley, Rembrandt, Renoir, Monet, Reuben, Waterhouse, Art Nouveau the pre-raphaelite artists, etc..

Doing this sorts of art masterpieces takes real skill - the rest is just conjecture.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Diving in Bali

Short of leaving for outer space, diving is one of the best experiences you can have feeling weightless. Its quite surreal being 20 - 30m underwater breathing clean fresh slightly intoxicating air. Its like you're flying. And the sort of things you see... millions of marine animals and fish in all the shades of the rainbow. Its like being back in Eden.

I also greatly enjoy looking at divers' photos- some of them are very very good. I thank God that he's given me the eyes that can appreciate this sort of thing. Some people just don't give a toss and would prefer spending their time shopping for branded goods or squander time at the casino or drinking themselves silly at the pub.

One great thing about Multiply.com are the quality of the photos you are allowed to exhibit. Friendster and other blogs aren't so friendly - frankly I don't think much about facebook - its just a massive spam fest.

Anyhow check out Tey Allie's photos of her trip to Bali. Oooo, look at that cute fish!

Monday, March 17, 2008

Students reunite with Pet Lion

These two people reared a pet lion in a suburb in England. Once it reached maturity, the authorities got them to send it to a wild life reserve.

Later on, they visited the lion and were told it wouldn't remember them and would probably tear off their heads and turn their entrails into pate.

See what happens. Click on the photo.

Friday, March 14, 2008

Going back to Singapore

I'm going back to Singapore in April 6th. Frankly I can't wait. I'm bored out of my mind here - doing the taxes and stuff. Some of the friends I used to hang around with seem to have moved on - to a baby and mummy style. I seem to be an aberration.

I need to go for a good long run. There's a beautiful park nearby. But the weather here has reached record highs - it's constantly over 35C here in Melbourne and its Autumn for crying out loud.

There are two big scuba dive trips waiting for me in Singapore. One to Sipadan and the other to Maldives. Spencer is trying to organize a trip in early May to Manado. So possibly three!!

Frankly I'm feeling depressed - a few things have gone wrong since I've come back. Mostly out of my control, the stock market, some family issues etc..

When I'm back in Singapore next - I'll see about doing something different apart from this trading. I've been toying about writing a book or a film script for ages. Time to do something about it.


 

Thursday, March 13, 2008

A modern red riding wolf story

I've learnt one thing in life. Its hard to make money. But its even harder to keep it.


Its worse when you have smooth talking charlatans who worm their way into people's hearts and take their money.

Here's another story that illustrates this point...

A life of mansions and Mercedes has landed a woman in court, Kate McClymont reports.

AS THE sheriff's officers approached bearing handcuffs, the woman in the designer suit carefully removed her diamond earrings and placed them in her brown Gucci handbag before she was taken away.

Minutes earlier, Downing Centre Local Court had heard that Naomi Anderson, 52, a Double Bay restaurant owner, had breached her bail conditions. Anderson, also known as Naomi Park, Naomi Fukaura and Eun-Gyoung Park, is alleged to have perpetrated one of the country's largest frauds, costing her friends, shop owners, her husband and his relatives up to $20 million. While on bail, police told the court, she continued to take money from investors.

Six single mothers and elderly widows have been left destitute after selling their houses and giving the money to Anderson to invest. One woman, who lost $1.4 million, is cleaning houses, another is looking for boarding house accommodation.

Anderson's former husband, Wayne Anderson, 42, whom she met when he was a doorman at the then Ritz Carlton in Double Bay, lost his house and was bankrupted in February, two days after she was arrested and charged with obtaining money by deception.

For eight years Anderson was Imelda Marcos on wheels, with a vast collection of designer clothes and shoes. She was chauffeured around in her $200,000 Mercedes, with a Honda and Toyota Prado as runarounds.

One former friend, who lost nearly $1 million, told the Herald this week Anderson had hundreds of designer shoes, glasses, bags and clothes. "Double Bay would have closed down without her," she said. Another described Anderson's five-bedroom Vaucluse waterfront house as having two rooms full of racks of Prada, Versace, Louis Vuitton, Gucci and other designer clothes. Another rack was crammed with fur coats.

As well as the 200 or so pairs of shoes in the house, another 300 pairs were gathering mould underneath it.

"I've lost $460,000 and I'm a single mum who's worked my whole life and never spent money on myself and now I am back to square one. I'm destitute," said Jody, who didn't want to give her surname.

Now living on the South Coast, Jody was working as a landscaper in Sydney six days a week to make ends meet. Anderson, whom she met through friends, convinced her life did not have to be so hard.

"She made me sell my home and give her the money. I know that sounds really weird - 'made me' - but she led me to believe that was the right thing for me to do financially."

For a while the promised interest payments came, but then dried up.

Read here for more

Tonight look up at the sky

And tonight and tommorow night, we may see the Space Shuttle Endeavour chasing the IISS Soyuz Space Station.

You should be able to see it - however it will just make one good pass.

9.22pm, comes over SW horizon at 231 degrees
9.27pm, nearly directly overhead (77 degrees elevation) slightly NW @ 319Deg
9.31pm, will go over NE horizon at 47 degrees

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Chuck Norris' facts

Chuck Norris, the actor and martial artist, has apparently gained a cult status amongst the Allied troops in Iraq. He visited them many times esp. during the more tense moments - and his friendly easy going nature and willingness to share in their hardships won him many fans.

Someone has gone out of their way to compile a list of Chuck Norris' "facts".

Check it out and have a laugh. Here's some that I like.

  • In the beginning there was Nothing...then Chuck Norris roundhouse kicked that Nothing in the face and said "Get a job". That is the story of the universe.

  • Chuck Norris invented black. In fact, he invented the entire spectrum of visible light. Except pink. Tom Cruise invented pink.
  • When an episode of Walker Texas Ranger was aired in France, the French surrendered to Chuck Norris just to be on the safe side.

  • Chuck Norris played Russian Roulette with a fully loaded gun and won.

  • Chuck Norris has a deep and abiding respect for human life... unless it gets in his way.

  • Chuck Norris eats beef jerky and craps gunpowder. Then, he uses that gunpowder to make a bullet, which he uses to kill a cow and make more beef jerky. Some people refer to this as the "Circle of Life."

  • When Chuck Norris sends in his taxes, he sends blank forms and includes only a picture of himself, crouched and ready to attack. Chuck Norris has not had to pay taxes, ever.

  • The quickest way to a man's heart is with Chuck Norris' fist.

  • Faster than a speeding bullet ... more powerful than a locomotive ... able to leap tall buildings in a single bound... yes, these are some of Chuck Norris's warm-up exercises.





Sunday, March 09, 2008

Scuba Dive in Sipadan April 2008


Hi friends,

One of my friends, Wendy Mok, from the frisbee group is organizing a scuba trip to Sipadan.

Just checking if you might be keen to join us for our dive trip. Details below.
 
If you're keen, do let me know by end Feb. We wanna get flight tickets asap.
 
Our travel dates tentatively = 11 (Fri) -15th (Tues) April . Est cost per diver = SGD1,300 or AUD $1,000 (Non-diver price = SGD1,000) - flying from SINGAPORE.
 
(AUD $1  = Sing$1.30 at current prices in Singapore banks and money changers)

KAPALAI DIVING PACKAGE INCLUDES :


*Meet and land transfer from Tawau Airport to our Private Jetty at Semporna ( 70 mins ) & return transfer.

*Boat transfer to Kapalai Island & return

*Accommodation on a twin/triple sharing basis on the Resort.

*3 boat dives daily except on arrival and departure days

*Unlimited dives in front of Kapalai dive centre

* Provide diving around Sipadan, Kapalai and Mabul.

*Fresh Food Cooked by our Chef on buffet style.

*Afternoon snacks served after 3rd dive.

*Tea/Coffee, Cold Water and Cordial served throughout the day.

*Tanks, Weight and Belt are provided.

*No extra charge for night dives in front of dive centre for advanced diver or diver with night dive experience

*Limited dive gears are available for rental.  

*Unlimited  dives for the resort reef.

EQUIPMENT RENTAL AT THE RESORT  Per Day

1. BC JACKET                                          RM30.00/DAY (AUD$12)
2. REGULATOR/GAUGES/OCTOPUS        RM30.00/DAY
3. TORCH WITH BATTERIES                     RM20.00/DIVE (Not really necessary)
4. MASK, SNORKEL & FIN                        RM25.00/DAY (Get your own would be better)
5. WET SUIT                                             RM25.00/DAY  

(One Aussie Dollar will get you nearly $3 RM Ringit Malaysian.)
This is the Chalet Accomodation in Kapalai... It will fit a couple or if you want 4 friends - in each chalet with individual beds, modern toilets, bath, shower, bar fridge and daily laundry.


 


   
 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Sipadan Dive Sites
http://www.divetheworldmalaysia.com/sipadan-scuba-diving.htm
"The Best Shore Dives in the World"

Ever since diving celebrity Jacques Cousteau raved about Sipadan's diversity of marine life, this dive mecca has been indisputably the most famous scuba destination in Malaysia. It is located off the east coast of Sabah, Malaysia's eastern most state, and lies on the north-eastern corner of Borneo, the world's third largest island.

The Sipadan diving legend has passed through the world's dive community to the extent that all divers with an interest in visiting the best sites in the world, have this small island near the top of their wish list.

Pulau Sipadan Island was at the top of Rodale's Scuba Diving Magazine Gold List for 'The Top Dive Destination in the World'. In fact the island shared its top spot with two other destinations known for the amazing diversity of their marine life - the Galapagos Islands and Truk in Micronesia.

The list of attractions is quite staggering and all the more exceptional as it involves plenty of big fish encounters - at Barracuda Point you can find yourself surrounded by a spiralling vortex of barracudas, so large that the sunlight is often clouded out. At South Point there are scores of reef sharks, large schools of passing trevally and herds of massive marauding bumphead parrotfish. This is one of the big fish capitals of the world!

When diving in Sipadan everywhere you turn you'll see turtles, munching on the sponges and algae, or lazing on the wall ledges. If you take the time to look closely at the walls you'll see a wealth of macro life and fish species to rival most destinations, although this is often overlooked due to the other major attractions vying for your attention.



How to Dive Sipadan



For environmental reasons this tiny island has now closed its resorts. This means the best way to dive here is by staying in on one of the resorts on the nearby islands of Mabul or Kapalai.

The resorts also boast some excellent macro-diving which is a great complement to the breathtaking big fish action of Sipadan Island.
Diving Season

You can dive here all year round. Overall, the best conditions at Sipadan Island exist from April to December, especially July and August. January to March can see some unsettled weather and a decrease in visibility but the resorts still see plenty of guests at this time as the diving can still be fine.
Reef Basics

Great for: Large animals, wall diving, drift dives and advanced divers
Not so great for: Wrecks, beginner divers and non-diving activities
Depth: 5 - >40m
Visibility: 10 - 30m
Currents: Can be strong
Surface Conditions: Can be choppy
Water Temperature: 26 - 30°C
Experience Level: Intermediate - advanced
Number of dive sites: 12
Distance: 12 km (25 minutes) south from Mabul and 10 km (18 minutes) southwest from Kapalai
Access: Diving from Mabul and Kapalai resorts
Recommended length of stay: 5 - 14 days, including the nearby islands
The Drop Off

The Drop Off is in many ways the signature dive of Sipadan Island. When Sipadan had resorts stationed on it, this site was a mere stroll off the beach where a 600 metre drop would welcome you to the underwater world.



The diving site is widely regarded as the best beach dive in the world. The photographs of Pulau Sipadan always include schools of fish (jacks / trevallies or barracudas) circling above the diver and you may think that this is purely for the benefit of the promotional literature. However within five minutes of entering the water you are likely to see several hundred jacks circling overhead and a squadron of bumpheaded parrotfish charging around. These can prove a serious distraction from the ubiquitous whitetip sharks, grey reef sharks and green turtles.

The wall itself has a wide variety of coral and sponges and although there is an astonishing line-up of large fish around, you will find the Drop-Off to also be a great night diving spot as every nook and cranny in the walls is worth investigating for crabs, shrimp and various other nocturnal sub-aquatic wonders.





The Drop Off Reef Basics: Wall dive
Depth: 5 - >40m
Visibility: 15 - 30m
Currents: Can be strong
Surface Conditions: Can be choppy
Water Temperature: 27 - 30°C
Experience Level: Intermediate - advanced
Number of dive sites: 1
Diving Season: All year round
Distance: 12 km (25 minutes) south from Mabul and 10 km (18 minutes) southwest from Kapalai
Access: Dive Sipadan from Mabul and Kapalai scuba resorts
Barracuda Point

There may be no guarantees in diving, but let's just say there is every chance that you can find yourself in the middle of a swirling vortex of chevron or blacktail barracuda at this north coast site, one of the most treasured spots at Sipadan Island.



Normally divers roll in to the top of the wall here at about ten metres. There may be some current but that means there is lots of food which duly brings in tons of fish. Grey reef sharks are always patrolling the perimeter here, hunting for lunch. Cruise along the wall dropping down as far as you wish, and keep an eye out for a herd of bumphead parrotfish and turtles in every nook and cranny. A word of caution though, don't venture too deep to the north of this site as the currents can get very strong and sweep you downwards, out and away from the island.

Even without the barracudas this is a most colourful and entertaining dive but just when this thought flashes through your mind, you may be engulfed in a tornado of barracudas – more than the eye can take in. A superb moment in an outstanding dive. It is little wonder that visitors that come for scuba diving in Sipadan Island leave with so many "Barracuda Point" entries in their log-books. You should have one too.

 

Barracuda Point Reef Basics: Wall then valley
Depth: 5 - >40m
Visibility: 20 - 30m
Currents: Can be strong
Surface Conditions: Can be choppy
Water Temperature: 26 - 30°C
Experience Level: Intermediate - advanced
Number of dive sites: 1
Diving Season: All year round
Distance: 12 km (25 minutes) south from Mabul and 10 km (18 minutes) southwest from Kapalai
Access: Sipadan diving from Mabul and Kapalai scuba resorts
Turtle Cavern

Turtle cavern is a complicated site with the entrance to the cavern located at about 18 m. Sipadan diving is famous for its population of both green turtles and the smaller hawksbill turtles.



It was at one time speculated that the cavern was their mausoleum and that they came to this site to die. However, a more accurate representation, is that the turtles became lost in the caverns at night and drowned. Sipadan Island's resort operators insist that all Borneo divers to this system of interconnecting caverns must be accompanied by a local dive master.

Inside the cavern you will see the skeletons of those previous entrants who failed to find the exit and perished. Deeper penetration of the system reveals the cavern as home to shoals of fish specifically adapted to the low light environment of the further reaches.

 

\Turtle Cavern Basics: Cavern
Depth: 14 - 22m
Visibility: Zero if silt is stirred up, please be careful!
Currents: Gentle
Surface Conditions: Calm
Water Temperature: 26 - 30°C
Experience Level: Advanced Borneo divers only
Number of dive sites: 1
Diving Season: All year round
Distance: 12 km (25 minutes) south from Mabul and 10 km (18 minutes) southwest from Kapalai
Access: Boat diving in Sipadan from Mabul and Kapalai scuba resorts
South Point

This is a good place to get a bit deeper in the morning as long as you don't mind a thin layer of narcosis-on-toast for breakfast. South Point is one of the most likely sites for the more rare sharks such as hammerheads and thresher sharks, both of which tend to stay at depths here of forty plus metres.



On this Sipadan dive you will descend down to a ledge and then fin out gently into the blue, scanning the waters for a glimpse of action. If you are lucky enough to encounter hammerhead sharks or threshers you will be the toast of the resort and the object of envy.

Then, often you'll hear them coming nearer, long before you see them. The noise comes through the water like a riot in a school dining room, the enormous bumphead parrotfish grinding and munching the corals for the algae. At 85kg and easily more than one metre long, the fish have humped and scarred heads, small eyes, and jutting teeth-like fused beaks. They excrete white exhaust plumes of pulverised coral sand, like a locomotive train. Watch as they take pizza-sized bites out of the table corals and then march on by.

The wonder of Pulau Sipadan is that visitors get used to countless turtles, white-tips, bump-headed parrotfish and massive schools of other fish, that the crossbar is always raised, and South Point is often the site for the crowning glory.

South Point Reef Basics: Coral heads and steep wall
Depth: 20- >40m
Visibility: 20 - 30m
Currents: Can be strong
Surface Conditions: Can be choppy
Water Temperature: 27 - 30°C
Experience Level: Advanced only
Number of dive sites: 1
Diving Season: All year round
Distance: 14 km (30 minutes) south from Mabul and 12 km (23 minutes) southwest from Kapalai
Access: Sipadan diving by boat from Mabul and Kapalai scuba resorts



Background Checks on Doctors

You would have thought that all the amount of money going into medical care and insurance, the medical system here would spend a little more time veting the background of doctors (and dentists).

But in this case, its gone extremely badly. This doctor keeps on moving whenever he gets a review. What is he? A Catholic Priest? Heads should roll over this. However, the suspected incompetent is still working in Frankston Hospital despite having his license suspended in NSW and Queensland.

Dr Ramesh Vasant

Doctor stood down over botched births
Sunday Mar 9 09:21 AEDT

An obstetrician involved in three botched births in New Zealand was this week stood down at a Melbourne hospital.

Dr Ramesh Vasant left New Zealand in February 2005 as the Medical Council was about to begin an inquiry into his competence, the Sunday Star-Times reports.

The Melbourne hospital where Dr Vasant works on Thursday stood him down from managing women in labour.

A Frankston Hospital spokesman said the hospital and college of obstetricians would more closely supervise and support Dr Vasant. "This will result in Dr Vasant developing stronger patient management skills," he told the newspaper.

(WTF????)

While working in New Zealand University of South African trained Dr Vasant oversaw three problem births in Auckland, Rotorua and Whakatane.

In each case, the babies were born unresponsive and not breathing. The ACC found medical error in each case.

Health Commissioner Ron Paterson found Dr Vasant's delivery of the second of twins at Whakatane in 2002 was risky and inappropriate. The baby girl died.

In November 2002 Dr Vasant was involved in the delivery of a brain-damaged baby girl at Rotorua which Mr Paterson concluded breached the rights of the mother.

In the case of the baby boy born with cerebral palsy at Waitakere Hospital in September 2003, the ACC found Dr Vasant unnecessarily delayed a caesarean despite ominous heart tracings and the pleas of the mother and her midwife.

Mr Paterson said medical error findings were "of great concern" they meant the doctor had been negligent.

During his 10 years in New Zealand, Dr Vasant worked in Greymouth and as a locum at Middlemore.

The Medical Council said it was aware of concerns "from several sources" about Dr Vasant, and advised him of the competence review in October 2004.

When he left the country in February 2005, the council abandoned the review but notified medical authorities in the UK and South Africa the last two places he had been registered of the concerns.

Last month Mr Paterson's report on the activities of Dr Roman Hasil at Wanganui Hospital raised alarm among medical authorities on both sides of the Tasman.

Dr Hasil botched eight out of 32 sterilisations at Wanganui Hospital.

His registration in Queensland and New South Wales has been suspended.

No Country for Old Men

Rating:★★★★
Category:Movies
Genre: Cult
This film is more like watching two boats collide, sink and people struggle and drown.

Its not as easy film to watch... or rather its not the usual standard sort of film where there's a logical plot development and story. Like I said, its like watching an accident. It sort of like happens - it doesn't make sense - but you just still have to watch.

There's plenty of violence so if you're sensitive- don't watch it.

I thought the Spanish actor, Javier Bardem, who played the psycho assassin - was superb and gives a bone chilling performance. Even if you hate cult films - you have to go watch this movie just for his performance, totally frightening - pure damn nasty evil - a force of malevolent nature.

The ending - with Jones giving a soliloquy on death - doesn't make sense but adds to the atmosphere of the film. If you aren't more lateral minded - you won't like it.

But that is just one way of looking at it - another way to describe it - is a boring pretentious piece of crap by bored philosophy students dreamt up after a dope session.

Whilst such people would be analyzing each part of the film and attributing deep and meaningful conclusion or anti-conclusions to it, and discussing issues of fate and the supremacy of evil over good, most movie viewers - and I'm TALKING TO YOU JEREMY - would probably be wondering "If Hannibal Lector and Anton Chigurh were locked in the same cell, who would get out alive?"

Lol.





Thursday, March 06, 2008

BBC knew of terrorists but did not report to police

Shocking. A BBC producer knew of the July 21 terrorist but decided not to report them to the police because she felt it was not her obligation. Shocking.

What is more sickening - is that the BBC exists due to funding from the British public. Yet, it and the Aust Broadcasting Corp, seem to loathe the very people and society they serve.

A long time ago, the BBC served as a beacon of truth and hope to Europe during the dark days of Nazi Occupation. Now they just serve as mouthpiece, a propaganda machine for disenfranchised minority groups and socialist flunkies.

Read the story here.

BBC knew of link to failed 21/7 bombers

Last Updated: 2:39am GMT 27/02/2008

A BBC producer failed to give police information that would have helped track down the July 21 bombers, the trial was told.

Don't Panic, I'm Islamic, which featured the group paintballing and an interview with Mohammed Hamid, was shown on BBC2 on June 12, 2005.

Called as a defence witness, Miss Suleaman admitted that she had spoken to Hamid in the days following the July 21 attacks and found out he knew the wanted men.

She said she thought he was scared the fugitives might try to call him but did not contact the police because she felt under "no obligation" to do so.

Miss Suleaman claimed she told BBC managers of the situation but no one passed on the information to the authorities.

She looked visibly shaken when told that two of the July 21 bombers, had joined Hamid on another paintball trip two weeks before the bombings.

Miss Suleaman saw Hamid a few days after July 21, 2005 and he seemed "very shocked that the men he knew were accused of this".

Duncan Penny, prosecuting, said: "Did you tell him to go to the police?"

Ms Suleaman replied: "I don't think I needed to."

In my humble opinion, the BBC ought to be privatized and the proceeds used for hospitals and schools. The BBC has quit being a neutral reporter of facts and news events - they don't even know the meaning of "Truth" and justice to them means supporting some feral terrorist organization against the establishment.



Wednesday, March 05, 2008

Melb Motor Show 08




More photos. I love the Lotus Elise.

Back to the Motor Show again

Went back to the motor show on Monday with my friends, Jeremy, Andrew and Uncle Teck.

Hurray no crowds - no queing. And cheaper with the RACV discount card! Only cost $14 entry.

The show people were also very friendly and more than accommodating - as you can see in the photo.

Thanks to Andrew- we even got into the Lamborghini enclosure and were allowed to molest the $1,000,000 dollar cars... haha.




MMS Lamborghini tour




Went back to the motor show on Monday night. Being a working day, there was no crowd and no ques. It was a breeze to get through. The show people were also more helpful and friendly. My friend Andrew was almost catatonic with delight when we were allowed into the exclusive Lamborghini enclosure.

Boys and Cars. Girls and Shoes. Each to their own I suppose.

Photos taken with a Fuji fd31 compact camera

Monday, March 03, 2008

Melbourne Motor Show March 2008

Went to the big motor show here at Melbourne over the weekend. Got a headache due to the traffic jam mess and the big crowds.

The usual suspects were there as usual - Ford, BMW, Holden, Mitsubshi, Hyundai...  parking lot variety mostly.  But Hyundai had a few impressive models - I mean the cars :) I also liked the new Lancer, with that flashy fire engine red paintjob, it breaks speed limits just standing still.

I had some problems with my Fuji F31 compact. A few of the shots turned up blurry and hazy for some reason. Not too sure why.

Sunday, March 02, 2008

MelbMotor Show08




Went to the motor show. I was quite impressed with the Hyundai Genesis. Wow! They've really improved their models! Amazing how far they've advanced since the late 1990s when they nearly went bankrupt.

Pumpkin Dad Caught with His Pants down

Lol. This is funny. The fugitive who is suspected of killing his wife and dumping his 3 year old daughter, nicknamed pumpkin, at a train station was caught in Atlanta.
Read the story here :

Pumpkin Dad Caught with his pants down in US

If he was caught here in Melbourne, the idiot human rights judges here would award him compensation and release him on a good behavior bond.

Excerpt from "The Australian"
Before he lived in the shadowy world of the fugitive, Nai Yin Xue was a big-noting, violent man whose short temper and martial arts prowess could intimidate and terrify.

But when police finally caught him yesterday after a six-month international manhunt, Xue - wanted for the suspected murder of his wife in Auckland and the dumping of his daughter at a Melbourne train station - was at a drifters' flophouse on the outskirts of Atlanta, Georgia, trembling with his pants around his ankles, begging for an ambulance.

"There wasn't a spark of fight left in him," said Chamblee assistant police chief Mark Bender. "We didn't have no trouble with him at all."

The arrest came after six Chinese Americans jumped an overweight and shaven-headed Xue when he made one visit too many to a building used by transients in Chamblee, an outer suburb of Atlanta.

"There were five Chinese guys and one Chinese woman and none of 'em can speak a lick of English," Mr Bender said. "They recognised Xue from a photo run in the local Chinese newspaper here and somehow they were able to subdue him by getting his pants around his ankles. Then they took the belt out and secured his hands behind his back. They actually tied him up real good."

Saturday, March 01, 2008

Team Fortress Epic Journey

The numbers say it all... :)


For some reason, maybe a recent Orange Valve tweak, but  the pyro really rocks now.

Started at 10am with a decent score of 200+ points.




I was going to stop at 500... then I thought... ah what the heck... lets keep on going... maybe pass 600.

2am




5am

I decided to play the engineer for awhile but I lost my lead to "sandstorm" - switched over to pyro and managed to catch up. But never regained the lead.


6am

Finished up with over 1000 points.

6am.... oh dear...