This Blog Is TWO Years Old Today

Yaay, two years old now.
I just realized how much I resemble my brother--love traveling, googling information, knowing new things, new culture, and writing.
Err... writing as in... typing.

Image: waitingfornextyear.com

Oh by the way I kinda like it when this blog reaches a milestone, like achieving 150th post, but it's not special anymore because I've written well over 300 posts now. Ed Yong, the science blogger that inspired me two years ago is still writing and I think he has written well over 800 posts already.

Climate Change Skeptic Confirms Climate Data

Climate change, a term we all seem to be pretty familiar with. But how many of us actually understand global warming? 

Most of us, I believe, can rephrase what Al-Gore famously said in 2006: global warming is REAL. But not a lot of us could come up with reliable data to back up the claim, apart from quoting bits and pieces of scientists-say-so newspaper quotes. That, my friend, is a seriously flawed method to convince climate skeptics.

Penang Bridge International Marathon

How could anyone spend up to 4 hours running in a competition 99% of us would not win (not forgetting the involuntary leg cramp and severe dehydration)?

Well, marathon is more than just a run--it's about the spirit of Marathon.

It came from the story of Pheidippides, a Greek messenger. Legend has that he was sent from the battlefield of Marathon to Athens (approximately 40 kilometers) to announce that the Persians had been defeated in the Battle of Marathon (in which he had just fought). He allegedly ran the entire distance without stopping and burst into the assembly, exclaiming "Νενικήκαμεν" (Nenikékamen, 'We have won.') before collapsed and died.

Tilapia Fin—Shark Fin?

The number is dropping fast. We kill 100 million sharks annually for the lucrative Chinese market; that’s 3 sharks getting killed every second. You don’t need to be a Nobel Laureate to realize the unsustainable nature of this massacre.

Unlike most bony fish, sharks reproduce and grow relatively slowly. Sharks have relatively few (zero to around 100) offspring each year, and the mother invests much energy in each to increase the chance that it will survive. Some female sharks put so much energy into a litter that they must take two years to recover their strength before breeding again. 

Where Does Your E-Waste Go?

When our old laptop, mouse, pendrives and handphones stop functioning, we dump them into the rubbish bin and the rest is history and most of us probably have no idea where they'd go next.

Well, like organic waste, these e-waste will be sent to landfills, i.e. local electronic graveyards, if your town or municipal happens to have one. Unfortunately, e-waste site is fairly rare due to its toxic nature, and hence most of them, if not all, will be exported to China.

Five Reasons Why Capello Shouldn't Make John Terry His Captain

To be given the captain's armband is a huge honor for any player. 

Parody - Ong Kim Swee Turned Down Request From Christiano Ronaldo

KUALA LUMPUR- Head coach of Malaysia Under-23 football team, Ong Kim Swee had turned down the request from the 2008 Ballon d'Or Winner Christiano Ronaldo to play for the side.

Ronaldo had earlier said in an interview with the Portuguese media of his admiration for the team, and how he wishes to play for the Malaysian national team.

移民，做模？

你有钱了吗？

中国近年来发展迅速，人民逐渐富有了起来。而中国也在去年正式取代日本成为世界第二大经济国。
最近一个由中国中央银行和胡润百富（一个位于上海的财富研究机构）进行的研究指出，在现今中国的九百八十名百万富翁中，有超过一半的人考虑移民。其中就有十五巴仙已移民或已开始移民程序。移民到的国家则是美国，加拿大和新加坡。

Publicity Stunt Over Laughable Matters Is Just Plain Stupid.

I guess most of us fans of the English Premier League have seen players and managers with poppies embroidered on their shirt around this time every year.

Peeing Your Pants

Have you ever peed in your pants? Why do people pee in their pants when frightened?

Mobile Phones Do Not Cause Cancer

This is the third time I blog about mobile phone and its connection to cancer.
A new Danish study of over 350,000 people, published recently, has found no link between using mobile phones and an increased risk of cancers of the brain and central nervous system.--- bmj.com

Image: b4tea.com

This is by far the best evidence yet to repudiate the claim. Unlike previous studies which was criticized heavily for exhibiting "recall bias"--relied on people who had already been diagnosed with brain cancers to remember how frequent they used their mobile in the past, the researchers for this study followed a group of mobile phone subscribers over a mean period of 10 years, and recorded new cases of cancer in the group and then compared this to cancer rates in the general population.

Why Do We Cry When We Cut Onions?

I hate cutting onions. 

But it is one of the most essential ingredients for good food, so I rarely let my eyes stop crying.

Palestine's Bid For Statehood

The long wait is over.
1.11.11, a date that will be forever remembered by all Palestinians, for this is the day the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) approves Palestine as its 195th full member.

Cheers filled the hall at UNESCO's headquarters here after the vote, with one delegate shouting, "Long live Palestine!" in French. The Palestinian foreign minister, Riad al-Malki, praised the organisation, saying that "this vote will help erase a tiny part of the injustice done to the Palestinian people" and will help protect world heritage sites in Israeli-occupied territory. - smh.com.au