Life's Amusing Musing

Man Has Heart Attack at "Heart Attack Grill"

2012-02-16T06:29:00.000-08:00

As the story said, this is almost too bizarre to be true, but it is.

A man suffered a heart attack while eating at the Heart Attack Grill in Las Vegas. Not only that, he had it after eating the "triple bypass burger"!

Millions of Americans watch what they eat. But one Las Vegas man has painfully discovered that where you eat can have a big impact on your health as well. In a story almost too bizarre to be true, a man suffered a heart attack after eating a "triple bypass burger" at the Heart Attack Grill in downtown Las Vegas, local affiliate Fox5 reports.

As comically tragic as that may sound, no one can sue the restaurant for not issuing fair warning. Its website proudly proclaims the menu offers, "Taste Worth Dying For!" (Fortunately, the man in question survived his attack.)

The good news is that this man is recovering. But now, will the notoriety of actually having someone get what they restaurant advertised will entice even more customers to it? After all, they are giving you what they promised!

Zz.

iPad2 at Goodwill For $65

2012-02-06T06:51:00.000-08:00

And no, before you make a beeline to your nearest Goodwill store, this was a fluke, a needle in a haystack, a once-in-a-lifetime find.

A man found a brand new 32 GB iPad2, still in the box, on sale at a Goodwill store for, get this, $65!

And this is a legit product too, not one of those "wooden iPad" either.

Good for him!

Zz.

Unbelievable Volleyball Rally

2012-01-13T06:13:00.000-08:00

Holy cow! I got tired just from watching it!

The sad part at the end was that, most of the crowd were cheering/clapping, but they were still stuck to their seats! If this were in the US or Europe, the crowd would have been on their feet giving these players standing ovations. What does it take for the Chinese fans to give a standing ovation? Someone has to die or something?

Zz.

Shoplifters Got Robbed While Shiplifting At Grocery Store

2011-12-20T04:42:00.000-08:00

Some time there is justice in this world after all, and certainly to these two losers.

Security personnel were in the process of questioning Korin Vanhouten, 47, and Eldon Alexander, 36, at an Ogden, Utah WinCo supermarket, accused of stealing makeup, energy bars and batteries. At the end of the interrogation, they left with a citation for attempted shoplifting.

However, they soon stumbled on to the scene of a successful carlifting, with the awkward discovery that while they were in the WinCo, someone--or several someones--had broken into their car.

I've always wanted to know how these perpetrators feel to be on the receiving end of the same deeds they do on others. Like pickpocketers being pickpocketed, a burglar's house got broken in, and worse still, a drunk driver having a loved family member killed by another drunk driver.

Zz.

In line for black Friday

2011-11-25T04:22:00.001-08:00

At jc Penney for the Disney snow globe and black Friday madness.

Missed opportunities

2011-11-23T04:28:00.001-08:00

So this is a big travel day before Thanksgiving. It is 6am. I'm on I88 at the de kalb oasis. Starbucks is closed! A few people were looking for coffee had to go to MacDonald instead.

Silly Starbucks Z

Random Picture

2011-11-01T05:21:00.000-07:00

A warm, summer day in a quiet, rural Iowa farm land.

Zz.

iPad2 Halloween Costume

2011-10-31T05:34:00.000-07:00

And incredibly clever idea for a Halloween Costume, assuming that you can get a hold of 2 iPads.

I chuckled at one of the comments that said that he looks like a Teletubby! :)

Zz.

Random Picture

2011-10-25T05:39:00.000-07:00

A gorgeous flower that I snapped a couple of weeks ago.

Zz.

Goodbye, Blackberry

2011-10-24T03:41:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally did it. I dumped by Blackberry phone. for the first time in, oh, 10 years, I no longer am using a Blackberry.

I mentioned earlier that I want an iPhone, but I also want to stay with T-Mobile. I was a GSM phone since I do travel out of the country periodically, and so far, my Blackberry T-Mobile phones have worked perfectly. So my only option for a GSM iPhone is AT&T.

However, my dislike for AT&T outweighs my desire for an iPhone. So instead got an Android phone, the Samsung Galaxy S II. Going from the Blackberry Bold 9700 to the Android Galaxy S II is quite a jump, especially in screen size. I'm quite familiar with the touch screen aspect of it since I've used other touch screen phones and also the iPad. But having a rather huge phone display after using the tiny Blackberry screen takes some getting used to, and I'm getting used to it rather quickly.

So far, I've been playing and exploring what it can do, and what apps/widget are available, almost every couple of hours. It's still a new toy, and I'm having fun with it.

The only drawback is, of course, the battery life. With the Blackberry, I often go for a couple of days (or even more) before I have to charge the batteries. With this Samsung, I have to do it every day, which is usually at night when I go to bed. But then again, with the Blackberry, I seldom make use of it to surf the web, or use the apps. So the use habit is different for each phone.

So I have all the Angry Birds, many card games, and a few neat stuff loaded already onto the phone. Quite happy with it so far, so much so I'm thinking that I don't miss the iPhone at all. At least for the next 2 years of my contract, I'll be staying with this one.

Not sure what the future will hold of RIM and the Blackberries. They make very good phones, rugged and dependable. But somehow, they lost touch with the progress in mobile technology and interface, and now they're playing catch up, rather than setting the trend. While other companies are also playing catch-up with Apple and making almost look-alike iPhone, they are at least trying to keep up with Apple and providing cheaper options with almost the same capabilities. I hope RIM can survive this rough patch and reinvent itself. After all, Apple at one time was on the brink of collapse before Steve Jobs came back.

Zz.

I Want Some Schweddy Balls

2011-10-21T08:43:00.000-07:00

Honestly, I didn't realize that Ben and Jerry's came out with this limited-release flavor, and I didn't know that it "offended" some people. But now that I have heard about it, I'll be damned if I'm not going to buy this.

But apparently some grocery store chains can, and so can supporters and members of the One Million Moms group.
That Mississippi-based moms organization has been putting the heat on retailers to keep Schweddy Balls out of their freezers and encouraging parents to ask the Vermont-based Ben & Jerry's to stop production of the item, saying the name is nothing but locker room humor that's not appropriate for young children.

So Ben and Jerry's should send a thank you letter to this "One Million Moms" group, because due to them, they got publicity that money just can't buy! And this Million Moms group must not have other bigger problems to deal with than worry about some name on an ice cream corrupting their kids. They must be really horrible parent for their kids to be so easily corrupted by such a mundane thing!

Zz.

1-612-206-0449

2011-10-14T08:12:00.000-07:00

I got a phone call this morning, on my cell phone, no less, with that caller ID number.

Now, I highly doubt that this is a valid number, or if this is the actual number of the 'scam artist'. The recording says that I can lower my interest rate on my credit cards, and to press "1" if I wish to speak to a representative.Sure, I pressed "1". It range for a few seconds, and then someone with a heavy .... er .... how shall I say this, "ghetto" accent answered and started mumbling some incoherent standard message. I asked him if he knows if my number was dialed randomly, or from a database. He replied but I could barely understood he said due to the slurring of his words, as if he just got up from sleep! I asked him to repeat what he just said, and of course, you can guess it. He hung up!

This is not the first time that has happened, and I'm sure many people have had this. I smells like a scam, and at some point, my guess is that this person would like info on your credit cards so that they can give you a lower interest rates. Sure, and I just rolled off the back of a turnip truck!

If you do a search on this number, you would have encountered many similar complaints about it, such as this. It is freaking annoying that, since they can hide behind some spoofed or fake numbers, one can't do much about it (even reporting due to violation of the Do-No-Call registry). Still, reporting it is all you can do.

Zz.

I Want An iPhone!

2011-10-12T12:48:00.000-07:00

... but I can't get one. Well, I can, but I don't want to switch carrier. I kinda like the plan and service I have now with T-Mobile. Of course as we all know by now, the iPhone 4S will be available to AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint, but no T-Mobile. That sucks.

I know Apple don't need me as a customer. I already bought, a long time ago, the iPod Classic. As of now, the contract on my Blackberry is up (and has been for a few months). If the iPhone were released on T-Mobile, I would have switched to it, AND bought an iPad on the same day. It was that easy.

But now, with no indication of an iPhone for T-Mobile anytime soon, and of course, with the possibility that big bad AT&T acquiring T-Mobile for no good reason other than to wipe out its only GSM competition, I am re-evaluating my plans. I may just get a mid-price Andriod phone and stick with it for the next 2 years. If AT&T gets its way and buys T-Mobile, I'll just jump to a different carrier at the end of the contract period. Maybe by then, Verizon's iPhone will also have GSM capability, or at least can easily switch to the GSM band that I can use outside of the US.

Zz.

2011-09-02T05:47:00.000-07:00

Some people should not be saved from themselves.

This woman paid $180, in a MacDonalds parking lot, to a couple of strangers who said they had extra iPads in their vehicle. She paid for it and took the package home without opening it, only to find later that it was a slab of wood.

I lost count how many things in that scenario that would ring warning bells. I disagree with the part of the article that tries to evoke some sympathy for this woman.

Before you scream, snort or snicker, let he who has not been fooled at least once in this life cast the first tablet of wood.

There are scams, and there are SCAMS. Most of us who were taken in by scams were the ones that were done in such an elaborate fashion to pass them off for being legit. This is not the case here. When you are approached by some strangers, IN A MACDONALDS PARKING LOT, for heaven's sake, and then to not even check and see if you're getting what you were paying for, there is just something terribly wrong with you. Sorry, but you deserve to be taken in, and you should not be allowed to propagate your genes for the sake of humanity.

Zz.

Darwin Award - First Nominee

2011-08-11T04:55:00.000-07:00

This will probably be a series of nomination for the Darwin Award - people who should be taken out of the gene pool.

My first nominee is a woman who is on oxygen, and then decided to smoke a cigarette.

A 51-year-old woman who uses oxygen tanks to breathe suffered face and inhalation burns this morning while she was smoking inside her Near West Side home.

Of course, the story doesn't say why she was on oxygen. Maybe her lungs isn't working well due to her addiction to cigarettes?

Zz.

25% of Traffic Accidents Tied To Electronic Use

2011-08-08T04:54:00.000-07:00

The use of cell phones and other electronic devices have been linked to 25% of all traffic accidents in the US.

The study by the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), a nonprofit group that works to improve traffic safety, assessed research from more than 350 scientific papers published since 2000.

It showed that drivers are distracted up to half the time and that crashes caused by distractions range from minor damage to fatal injury. Cellphone use raises the risk of crashing, but texting is likely to increase crash risk more than cellphone use.

I've mentioned before of numerous studies that showed that drivers using cell phones while driving has the same reaction rate as someone who is legally drunk. I am at a loss for any rational explanation on why using a cell phone while driving has not been banned. To me, it is more of an issue than someone not using a seatbelt. At least someone who isn't using a seat belt is a danger to him/herself. Someone who is using a cell phone is a danger to ME!

BAN CELL PHONE USE WHILE DRIVING ALREADY!

Zz.

Random Photo

2011-07-31T03:59:00.001-07:00

Dusk at Monterey Bay, California.

Zz.

Do You Have To Protest Against Fossile Fuel In The Nude?

2011-06-20T06:23:00.000-07:00

I guess doing it in the nude gets you media coverage that would otherwise have been another ho-hum event.

Cyclist in Portland this past week celebrated the, wait for it, World Naked Bike Ride event, by riding bikes, you guessed it, naked.

World Naked Bike Ride is a globally observed event among hard-core bikers designed, at least ostensibly, to promote the use of the bicycle for transportation. But Portland cyclists have been especially adamant about making it another of the Pacific Northwest city's quirky traditions.

"This is just a way of drawing attention to the need to be more green and replace fossil fuels with natural power," said Ken Johnson, who was completely nude and body-painted grey.
.
.
.
The purpose of the naked rides, SHIFT says, is "a light-hearted protest against fossil fuel. ... A comment on the vulnerability of cyclists. Choose your message, ride with us! As bare as you dare."

So, other than to garner publicity, I don't see any direct reason why one would want to ride in the nude. Besides, do these people aware on how those bikes were made in the first place? You don't think fossil fuel was used in the manufacturing of those bikes, do you?

Come to think of it, maybe they are in the nude so that they don't wear nylons and spandex, etc., all synthetic fabrics that could have been made out of hydrocarbons. Hum... why not do a World Nude Walking event? Use of less material that could have been constructed using fossil fuel.

Zz.

Random Photo

2011-06-18T07:28:00.000-07:00

Somewhere high up in the Smokey Mountain range.

Zz.

Random Photo

2011-06-11T06:04:00.000-07:00

High above Starved Rock State Park in Illinois. Flood water overflowing the Illinois river.

Zz.

It's The Little Things...

2011-06-07T03:55:00.000-07:00

Sometime, it's the little things you do for someone, or your family, that gets you famous and appreciated. This dad started this as a prank to embarrass his son on his school bus. But it has now made him quite a celebrity.

And so began Dale’s hazing ritual that continued every day for the rest of his son's school year. The first day may have been the most shocking for Rain, but in the days to follow, the surprises kept coming.

Since the fall, Dale has waved at his son in 180 different outlandish costumes. The second day of school he wore a football helmet and jersey, and in the months that followed he opened the front door dressed as a blushing bride, a superhero, a Star Trek fan, Michael Jackson, and a giant chicken. One day he even lugged an old toilet bowl onto the street and sat on it reading a newspaper, stopping to wave as the bus rolled by.

It certainly help to have a sense of humor in such a situation.

Zz.

Random Photo

2011-05-10T03:33:00.000-07:00

A tranquil, quiet morning along the Chicago lakefront.

Zz.

Geographer Had Predicted Osama In Abbottabad

2011-05-03T05:13:00.000-07:00

An amazing prediction by a UCLA Geographer and his students on the possible location of Osama Bin Laden as far back as in 2009.

...... predictions of UCLA geographer Thomas Gillespie, who, along with colleague John Agnew and a class of undergraduates, authored a 2009 paper predicting the terrorist’s whereabouts, were none too shabby. According to a probabilistic model they created, there was an 80.9% chance that bin Laden was hiding out in Abbottabad, Pakistan, where he was killed last night. And they correctly predicted that he would be in a large town, not a cave.

And it's not as if they were using some classified information or techniques to make such a prediction.

“It’s not my thing to do this type of [terrorism] stuff,” he says. “But the same theories we use to study endangered birds can be used to do this.”

A lot of knowledge is interrelated like that. So one could study endangered birds, and the same mathematical formalism can be used in a military operation. Or one could study transport phenomenon in solids, and apply it to the financial markets. Not unheard of.

Zz.

Random Photo

2011-05-01T06:43:00.000-07:00

Oooh.. that looks like a lot of fun.

Downhill slide near Gatlinburg, TN.

Zz.

Random Photo

2011-04-29T19:10:00.000-07:00

Sunrise at 30,000 ft.

Zz.

Random Photo

2011-04-28T14:22:00.001-07:00

Somewhere in the Smokey Mountain, Tennessee.

Men Used To Have Penises Studded With Hard Spines?

2011-03-11T06:18:00.000-08:00

OUCH!

An interesting new investigation has revealed a molecular mechanism on how human males evolved into having smooth penises, rather than penises studded with small, hard spines such as those in our closes cousins, the chimps {link open for free only for a limited time}.

They first systematically identified 510 DNA sequences missing in humans and present in chimps, finding that those sequences were almost exclusively from the non-coding regions of the genome, between genes. They then homed in on two sequences whose absence in humans they thought might be interesting — one from near the androgen receptor (AR) gene and one from near a gene involved in tumour suppression (GADD45G).

Inserting the chimpanzee sequences into mouse embryos revealed that the former sequence produced both the hard penile spines and sensory whiskers present in some animals. The latter sequence acted as a kind of brake on the growth of specific brain regions — with the removal of its function appearing to have paved the way for the evolution of the larger human brain.

This study is published in Nature (McLean, C. Y. et al. Nature 471, 216-219 (2011)).

Zz.

Five Amazing Cockpit Views

2011-02-10T09:32:00.000-08:00

This is an amazing collection of 5 cockpit views during landing approach and the landing itself. It's something most of us do not get a chance to see.

Well, I tell ya, those landings are at least not as frightening as the video of the landings at the old Hong Kong's Kai Tak airport. I would say that that landing would have been memorable but for different reasons! :)

Zz.

Not All 4 Wheels Came To A Stop?

2011-02-09T03:37:00.000-08:00

Well, this is rather hilarious. A women got a traffic ticket because, when she came to a stop sign, it appears that, according to the police officer, a few of her wheels didn't come to a stop. Or at least, that's how one could interpret what was said.

I was ticketed recently for not stopping at a stop sign. I was sure I had. When I questioned the officer, he said all four wheels have to stop. The implication was that one or more of my wheels stopped and the others didn't. Is this possible?

Read the rest of the news article to see how this could be interpreted.

Of course, the question is, what will she do?

RAY: But if you have time, you can go to traffic court and ask him to explain how one or more of your wheels stopped and the others didn't. It might get a laugh from the judge, and he might reduce your fine. Or he might double your fine for being a wiseacre. Good luck, Linda.

:)

Zz.

Smart Phones Foster Dumb Habits Among Pedestrians

2011-01-21T04:16:00.000-08:00

Don't tell me that you have never done this, or encountered stupid pedestrian walking along and busy looking at their smart phones for something. This news article describes such act of silliness by many pedestrians who should know better.

I have a smart phone, and yes, I do read my messages and sent e-mail/text message with it. But still, I really do not understand at all this obsession with using cell phones while in the middle of doing other things. The writer in that news article described people walking on the sidewalk while using their mobile devices. While that's bad (and can even be dangerous if that person doesn't pay attention to the traffic), another highly annoying location for such a habit is in the grocery store. Most of the people who are also on their mobile devices are totally oblivious to their surroundings while they are either texting or yapping away on their cell phones. This results in them or their carts blocking the aisle, or them moving slower than a turtle along an aisle, causing a backup behind them.

As we all would want to know, WHAT IS SO DAMN IMPORTANT THAT YOU CAN'T EITHER STEP ASIDE AND FINISH YOUR CALL, OR DO THIS ANOTHER TIME?

The only justice here is that one would hope that such a person would be inconvenienced by another cell phone addict .. but then again, he/she probably won't notice because he/she will be busy using a mobile device.

Zz.

The Marvels of Singapore Airport

2011-01-18T09:55:00.000-08:00

I mentioned earlier about the amazing amenities and facilities at Singapore's Changi Airport that would put the majority of major US airports to shame. Today, a CNET article are extolling the same praises for this airport.

You can test Microsoft's new Kinect motion controller, sit and rest in front of a 103-inch plasma TV, charge any number of mobile devices, shop for Rolexes, Hermes scarves, expensive Scotch, and the latest best-sellers, even see an exhibit of the 600 daily flights out of Changi, each represented by an individual paper airplane.

And lest I get too rapturous about the bathrooms here, I'd also scoff at your skepticism about this idea: it may actually be worth flying half-way around the world for a shower. For, those staying in the airport overnight can book a room in its transit hotel which, other than being a featureless motel-like experience right inside the terminal (no passport control needed), offers what I say confidently was one of the three best showers of my life. And not only because I'd just spent 19 hours on an airplane to get there.

In short, while I would never choose to spend 18 hours in an airport, I can't think of one where I'd rather do so than Changi. Clearly, the Singaporeans--who are very humorless about things like gum (you can't chew it in the small city-state) and drugs (the immigration form makes it clear that smugglers will be put to death)--want those who have to spend a few hours in their airport to be comfortable, entertained, and have no shortage of things on which to spend their hard-earned dollars (either American or Singaporean).

There you have it!

Zz.

Jeff Dunham's "Identity Crisis" Tour

2010-12-28T21:33:00.000-08:00

OK, just got back from a hilarious evening at a Jeff Dunham performance at the All State Arena outside of Chicago. It was hysterical, as expected. Here are a few brief summary/comments of the show:

1. I was surprised to hear the news that Dunham is now divorced from his wife. Walter was the one who brought out the topic with Dunham, and at time, it appeared that it might be going into a rather painful direction, but then, Walter being Walter, he brought the house down with the comedic angle to this. Dunham is extremely brave in using this material in his act, which I'm sure is still a rather sore subject.

2. The first female puppet, Diane, made her appearance. While it was a funny bit, it didn't have the same drop-on-the-floor-laughing level that we come to expect from Dunham's regular characters. I don't think this puppet will make that much of an impact.

3. Dunham ended his usual show and then tried out a new bit that he had just written involving Peanut and Jose Jalepeno. He said that parts of it were written just before he stepped onto the stage this evening, and he still needed to read it off the teleprompter since it hasn't been rehearsed. All I can say is, I can't wait for him to finish off this bit. It was very funny, especially the ad-libed bits!

4. He then brought out a surprising new character, and it was a GOOD one. He brought out Achmed's son, Achmed's Jr, or what Achmed like to call "AJ". Supposedly, this evening is the first time Dunham is introducing this new puppet. The bit between them was a total success and the audience were roaring like crazy. AJ has an English accent, and in the end, we also found out that he's Jewish! That last bit of information just killed Achmed! It was a tremendous act! (Ha, ha!)

A very enjoyable evening. If the Identity Crisis Tour comes to your town, go see it.

Zz.

Formula Rossa - World's Fastest Roller Coaster

2010-11-13T06:02:00.000-08:00

The new roller coaster to open at Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi is currently the world's fastest. You can get a first glimpse of the ride in this video.

Is it just me, or is the ride is a little bit boring? One can't tell how thrilling something is on a video, and one certainly do not get a sense of speed through something like this. The launch is supposed to top of at 150 mph, but I think because of the expanse of the surrounding area, you don't get a sense of speed. I guess they designed it without thinking of "theming", or using some sort of psychology or optical perspective to make the ride FEELS fast. I think they need to learn from Disney who knows how to squeeze every last drop (and penny) out of ride.

Zz.

The March of the Peabody Ducks

2010-11-01T16:30:00.000-07:00

Ah, to be pampered as these ducks.

I wonder if they get eaten when they get old? :)

Zz.

Early Photographic Images of Human Beings?

2010-10-28T05:51:00.000-07:00

Interesting find of what could be the first photographic images of people.

So the recent discovery of what appears to be two men near the river's edge in a photo of Cincinnati taken in 1848 is kind of a big deal among photography historians.

As reported by NPR's Robert Krulwich last month, the photo was taken by Charles Fontayne and William Porter -- who were standing on the other side of the Ohio River -- on Sunday, September 24th, 1848, 162 years prior to Krulwich's post about it. The photo is what's known as a daguerreotype -- an image developed via an early photographic process developed in France. When zooming in on the photo, Krulwich noticed what appeared to be two human figures.

Alas, this is not the first photograph of a human being.

In case you're wondering if this is the earliest photograph taken of a human -- as Krulwich himself did in a recent headline -- well, it's not. The credit for photographing a human for the first time is generally given to Louis Daguerre, the inventor of the daguerreotype process. In an 1838 photo he took of Paris, Daguerre caught an image of a man who appears to be getting his shoes or boots shined at a street corner. You can see the figure -- together with that of the shoeshiner -- in the bottom left of the image

The article gives links to all the relevant pictures.

Zz.

Paul The Octopus Died

2010-10-26T04:33:00.000-07:00

Paul the octopus, who gained fame and notoriety during the last World Cup tournament, died at the age of 2 1/2.

Paul enthralled millions of people around the world by correctly predicting the outcome of several World Cup matches this year.

His caretakers set him up to make predictions for a particular match by draping boxes in his tank with the national flags of teams that were set to play each other. The boxes contained food for Paul. The caretakers divined his pick by watching to see which box he opened first.

I wonder if he could have predicted his demise....

Zz.

Atheists and Agnostics Top Religion Poll

2010-09-28T02:01:00.000-07:00

The result of a new poll on religion (i.e. basically Christian religion) shows a very amusing conclusion. Atheists and agnostics tend to know more about religion than Christians!

On average, people who took the survey answered half the questions incorrectly, and many flubbed even questions about their own faith.

Those who scored the highest were atheists and agnostics, as well as two religious minorities: Jews and Mormons. The results were the same even after the researchers controlled for factors like age and racial differences.

“Even after all these other factors, including education, are taken into account, atheists and agnostics, Jews and Mormons still outperform all the other religious groups in our survey,” said Greg Smith, a senior researcher at Pew.

This poll was also reported in the LA Times, which had a similar take on it and also offered a possible reason.

So why would an atheist know more about religion than a Christian?

American atheists and agnostics tend to be people who grew up in a religious tradition and consciously gave it up, often after a great deal of reflection and study, said Alan Cooperman, associate director for research at the Pew Forum.

"These are people who thought a lot about religion," he said. "They're not indifferent. They care about it."

Atheists and agnostics also tend to be relatively well educated, and the survey found, not surprisingly, that the most knowledgeable people were also the best educated. However, it said that atheists and agnostics also outperformed believers who had a similar level of education.

Now, if this is not amusing to you, I don't know what is....

Zz.

Children of Gay and Straight Couple

2010-08-26T05:13:00.000-07:00

Children of gay and straight couples do equally well in school.

This is consistent with many other studies that have concluded that children who grow up with gay parents do not have more disadvantages than straight parents. Those who continue to deny gays from adopting have no scientific data to support such denial other than their own personal prejudices.

Zz.

Not Something You Want To See Near A School

2010-08-11T11:23:00.000-07:00

An embarrassing typo right near a school. Not as bad as having drug dealers outside the fence, etc., but still....

Zz.

Fate of Paul, the Psychic Octopus

2010-07-12T09:28:00.001-07:00

Now that the World Cup is over and he had done so well, the owner of Paul, the psychic octopus is pondering what else that creature can do.

Sea Life, which operates 32 aquariums across Europe, said it hoped to make an announcement on Tuesday about Paul's future. However spokesman Mark Oakley stressed that the mystic mollusc would certainly be staying in his tank in Germany.

"We've been inundated with offers -- from a betting conglomerate that wants to use him to predict sporting events to a Japanese fortune telling company that wants to use his image on the sides of booths," Oakley told CNN. "There have also been many offers from media worldwide for Paul's lifestory.

I'm surprised the owner hasn't asked it to pick a lottery number. Or maybe he has, and the octopus didn't do well? Maybe he's only good at sports betting.

Grilled octopus with a squeeze of lemon is delicious, by the way....

Zz

Prince is Obsolete

2010-07-06T12:31:00.000-07:00

The artist Prince, was the artist formally known as Prince (or as Rosie O'Donnell fondly called, much to his chagrin, TAFKAP), and now is back to Prince, thinks that internet music is 'dead'.

Prince is currently set to release his latest album, “20Ten,” for free through various European print media, including the Daily Mirror and its Scottish affiliate, the Daily Record. Fans can snag their copy this Saturday via the different press outlets, but you they certainly won’t find any of the new material online.

Prince has banned both YouTube and iTunes from using his music, calling the web obsolete.

“The Internet's like MTV,” he told the mirror. “At one time MTV was hip and suddenly it became outdated. Anyway, all these computers and digital gadgets are no good. They just fill your head with numbers and that can't be good for you."

Anyone else caught the irony there? Filling your heads with numbers can't be that good for you, yet he called his latest album "20Ten"? What are those, oh honorable Prince? And his albums are going to be released on .... wait for it ..... CDs, which are encoded in digital bits!

You're right, Prince. Your music can't be that good for me.

Zz.

Michael Buble on Graham Norton Show

2010-06-23T13:51:00.001-07:00

There have been many amazing moments on Graham Norton show, but I think this has to rank as one of the top. Michael Buble's appearance on it was very funny and enjoyable. But he capped it off with an amazing performance of his tune "Haven't Met You Yet".

It will hard to top this one. I still watch these two videos regularly even this was from Fall of 2009. Michael Buble is one amazing performer.

Zz.

"Jesus" Struck By Lightning

2010-06-15T05:39:00.000-07:00

If any article qualifies as one of life's greatest amusing event, this would be it.

News reports indicates that a 6-story tall statue of Jesus Christ at the evangelical Solid Rock Church along I-75 in Ohio was, get this, struck by lightning!

The sculpture, 62 feet tall and 40 feet wide at the base, showed Jesus from the torso up and was nicknamed Touchdown Jesus because of the way his arms were raised, as though reaching out to catch a football. It was made of plastic foam and fiberglass over a steel frame, which is all that remained early Tuesday.

The fire spread from the statue to an adjacent amphitheater but was confined to the attic area, and no one was injured, police Chief Mark Neu said. The fire department would release a monetary damage estimate Tuesday, he said.

Travelers on Interstate 75 often were startled to come upon the huge statue by the roadside, but many said America needs more symbols like it. So many people stopped at the church campus that church officials had to build a walkway to accommodate them.

Now, don't misunderstand this. I'm not having a glee moment here. It is a statue and has no meaning to me. However, many misguided and so-called religious followers often attach meanings to symbols. Just read about people seeing images of Jesus or the Virgin Mary on things ranging from expressways underpass to potato chips! And morons such as Pat Robertson even attaches natural calamity to sins committed by people befallen by such unfortunate events. So I am rather curious as to why none of these people have attached any meanings to such a dramatic destruction of a religious symbol. They always bring out instances when a church or other religious symbols somehow remained standing or unscathed after a natural disaster, as if that is god's sign of something (forgetting that god sent down that disaster in the first place). So this is a clear instance that maybe god didn't like what you're worshiping?

Like I said, it is certainly is amusing.

Zz.

Is Google Responsible For Giving Bad Directions?

2010-06-02T07:04:00.000-07:00

This is a rather interesting review of a lawsuit filed by a woman who used Google "Walking Directions" on her Blackberry.

The case, Rosenberg v. Harwood, was filed in Utah, in the US District Court’s Central Division (Gary Price of ResourceShelf tipped us to it today). Harwood is Patrick Harwood, the person who actually hit Rosenberg, according to the suit. Both Harwood and Google are being sued in the same case, for damages “in excess of $100,000.”

Rosenberg used Google Maps on January 19, 2009, via her Blackberry, to get directions between 96 Daly Street, Park City, Utah and 1710 Prospector Avenue, Park City, Utah. Google provided these, telling her as part of the route to walk for about 1/2 mile along the calm-sounding “Deer Valley Drive.”

That’s an alternative name for that section of Utah State Route 224, a highway that lacks sidewalks, the case says. Rosenberg wasn’t warned about this, putting Google directly at fault in the accident, the case claims:

There's of course, a lot of things going on here, including what is being displayed on the web versus the mobile version. And the same route is also being given by other map applications.

In the end, we all have to use a bit of a common sense in these situations. I've used GPS's and other maps where the directions being given make no sense. Still, I guess if one doesn't know where one is going, or one is in a very unfamiliar territory, how is one to know if something makes no sense? In this case, my guess would be the lack of a pedestrian sidewalk.

It would be interesting to see how this plays out in court.

Zz.

Understanding Fish Reactions to Their Reflection

2010-05-20T03:41:00.000-07:00

Amazing what you can learn by simply watching a fish looking at itself in the mirror.

Zz.

Pets Listen Better Than Husbands

2010-04-28T05:58:00.000-07:00

A survey of pet-owning married women reveals a very hilarious revelation. A third of them says that their pets listen to them better than their husbands! But this also works the other way, although not as much. 18% of married men say that their pets listen to them better than their wives!

A third of pet-owning married women said their pets are better listeners than their husbands, according to an Associated Press-Petside.com poll released Wednesday. Eighteen percent of pet-owning married men said their pets are better listeners than their wives.

Now, when do we get to do a comparison with pet rocks?

Zz.

Sushi Restaurant Tuna Has Highest Mercury Level

2010-04-22T05:20:00.001-07:00

This is depressing.

It appears that the bluefin tuna that is very sought-after for sushi also has the highest mercury level, when compared to cheaper supermarket tuna.

The team found that restaurants sold tuna sushi with higher levels of mercury than supermarkets. Bigeye tuna or lean bluefin tuna, which are more common in restaurants, had concentrations that approached or overshot by about 4% the FDA limit— of 1.0 parts per million. The study gives another reason to avoid eating bluefin, which is a threatened species, Gochfeld says. Regulatory agencies should specifically mention bluefin and bigeye tuna in mercury advisories, he says.

Yellowfin tuna, a cheaper and more plentiful species found in supermarket sushi, contained less mercury. Yet samples from all species exceeded the daily EPA limits (more conservative than those of FDA, which also incorporates the nutritional benefits of fish) and the concentrations permitted by Japan’s health ministry. What’s more, measures of mercury concentration in bigeye and yellowfin tuna samples surpassed previous FDA estimates.

Sigh....

I've consciously limited my consumption of "big fish", going for smaller tilapia and the likes. Still, I love sushi, especially tuna, even though I know these fish are under distress from over fishing. So I try to limit tuna consumption. Now this.

Maybe I just won't have tuna sushi as often anymore.

Zz.

Another Dumb "Religious" Cleric

2010-04-21T06:19:00.001-07:00

Ah, this shows that stupidity knows no religious boundary.

Just so he could outdo Pat Robertson's stupid remarks on the Haiti earthquake, a cleric in Iran (a country that is already well-known for having leaders that don't care that they make stupid statements) is blaming earthquakes in Iran on, get this, "... women and girls who don't dress appropriately ... "

"When promiscuity spreads, earthquakes increase," he says in a video posted Monday on YouTube, apparently of him leading Friday prayers in Tehran, Iran, last week.

"There is no way other than taking refuge in religion and adapting ourselves to Islamic behavior," he adds in the video.

You can go find the video yourself. I will need a lobotomy to view any more of such filth.

It is hard to understand these things when you look back at the Dark Ages and realize that there are some people who are still stuck there. And it isn't about these dumb morons, really. It is the people who actually follow them and bought lock, stock, and barrel of the garbage that they are spewing. If these are the people they wish to follow and obey, then they deserve what they get. It is difficult to save people from themselves.

Zz.

Brain Games Don't Make You Smarter

2010-04-20T11:42:00.001-07:00

There goes your excuse for playing more of those "intelligent" games. It turns out that you might as well be playing Super Mario Brothers, because those brain games that challenge your cognitive skills do not make you any smarter.

Researchers recruited participants from viewers of the BBC's science show "Bang Goes the Theory." More than 8,600 people aged 18 to 60 were asked to play online brain games designed by the researchers to improve their memory, reasoning and other skills for at least 10 minutes a day, three times a week.

They were compared to more than 2,700 people who didn't play any brain games, but spent a similar amount of time surfing the Internet and answering general knowledge questions. All participants were given a sort of I.Q. test before and after the experiment.

Researchers said the people who did the brain training didn't do any better on the test after six weeks than people who had simply been on the Internet. On some sections of the test, the people who surfed the Net scored higher than those playing the games.

So I'll just go back to my silly games.

Zz.

Blackberry Users More Likely To Defect

2010-04-01T03:26:00.001-07:00

An interesting survey of mobile phone users.

Conducted by the online market researchers Crowd Science, the survey results show that Research in Motion (RIMM) BlackBerry users are more likely to abandon the brand than iPhone or Android users. When asked of the likelihood of buying a particular brand of cell phone or smartphone if the purchase was made the following day, 39% of BlackBerry owners said they "definitely or probably would" nab an iPhone. And roughly one-third of the participants claimed they'd snatch up an Android phone.

That's kinda prophetic. I'm a Blackberry user (Bold 9700), and while I do love the phone (finally, a 3G connection on T-Mobile!), I think I've outgrown it. About a month ago, I decided to really look at Nexus One. If it weren't for the silly contract on the phone service, I would have switched over to that. So while I didn't participate in this survey (no one called!), it reflects what I would have done.

If RIM doesn't get their act together, they might end up the same way all the big dinosaurs ended up simply by relying on their existing market share.

Zz.

Florida Farmers Destroys Strawberry Crop

2010-03-28T14:45:00.000-07:00

Can you believe this? The strawberry farmers in Florida are purposely destroying their crops because it is cheaper than harvesting and selling them.

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?cl=18854240

Now, I can understand about limiting supply and the fact that it'll cost them a lot more for harvesting them than what they can get by selling the crop. But they've used up so much resources to get to this point already! I can't believe they won't even let other people harvest the crop themselves. And it is strange that they're afraid of letting the public come in and pick those strawberries. Strawberry picking is such a common activity out here in the upper midwest. I've never heard of these midwest farmers being afraid of being sued because someone got "injured".

I'm glad that there are already farmers letting the public, especially those who provide food for the poor, pick their own strawberries, for free. I wish I know which farmers are destroying their crop, so that I'll make sure that I never buy anything from them ever again.

Zz.

Clinton Becomes Bush's Hand Wipe

2010-03-26T03:51:00.000-07:00

OK, this is too hysterical to pass up, so you can look for yourself in case you missed it.

I'm not a big fan of G.W. Bush, but he has provided some of the most hilarious acts of any politicians since Dan Quayle!

Zz.

Indian Military to Weaponize World's Hottest Chili

2010-03-23T11:55:00.000-07:00

... and to think that people do eat this.

The indian military is going to use the bhut jolokia, which is the world's hottest chili pepper, as its latest weapon - they're calling it the chili grenade! :)

The bhut jolokia was accepted by Guinness World Records in 2007 as the world's spiciest chili. It is grown and eaten in India's northeast for its taste, as a cure for stomach troubles and a way to fight the crippling summer heat.

It has more than 1,000,000 Scoville units, the scientific measurement of a chili's spiciness. Classic Tabasco sauce ranges from 2,500 to 5,000 Scoville units, while jalapeno peppers measure anywhere from 2,500 to 8,000.

"The chili grenade has been found fit for use after trials in Indian defense laboratories, a fact confirmed by scientists at the Defense Research and Development Organization," Col. R. Kalia, a defense spokesman in the northeastern state of Assam, told The Associated Press.

This would certainly a very "hot" weapon!

Zz.

Phoenix Restaurant

2010-02-21T13:37:00.000-08:00

I went to Phoenix Restaurant in Chicago's Chinatown today for dim sum. Bottom line: HIGHLY DISAPPOINTING.

I've been there for dinner before. The food was wonderful, and so was the service. I've never done dim sum there before, and at this point, I never will. It is just not worth it.

First of all, we probably arrived at the wrong time. Got there around 11:30 am, and there's a long wait. Typically, this means that it is good. We certainly had high expectation because the place was recommended by someone. So we didn't mind waiting. After all, it was Sunday, and it is around Noon. A restaurant in Chinatown that isn't packed at that time isn't worth going to. So we got our number, and was told it will be about 40 minutes. Fine. We went walking around Chinatown a bit to pass the time.

When our number was called, we were all excited (and hungry). The restaurant is on the 2nd floor, so we walked up. Guess what? There's ANOTHER waiting area! This makes no sense. If they have called us, shouldn't they have made sure a table is ready? But no, this is like a Disney attraction. There's another waiting/holding area, which is in an even less convenient location than the one downstairs. We, and everyone else in this area felt like we are always in the way of everyone else, especially the staff, that have to go though this area. OK, so far it sucks. But still, if it is this busy, the place must be good, right?

We waiting another 15 minutes before our number was called again and we finally get to sit at our table. This is when things really become disappointing.

The food was SCARCE! There were very few dim sum carts going around! Some of them even missed us because the persons pushing the carts were busy either yapping away or simply didn't look at our table, and we were next to an aisle! But the disappointing part is the very, VERY limited selection of dumplings and offerings. The chicken feet cart came by at least 3 times, but where were the shumai? The shrimp dumplings? I'd be surprised if we saw more than 15 different offerings.

I've been to many dim sums before. The one I like the most is on Broadway near the New Chinatown near Argyle street - Furama. Now THAT'S a place to have dim sum. Again, it is crowded, and sometime you get the cart pusher that can't speak English. But that's never a problem. The selection of dumplings is always plentiful.

What was disappointing about Phoenix was that, I expected more. One would think that with the large crowd and long wait, there's something remarkable about it. Not only did not it fill that expectation, it also produced significantly LESS than what I expected to be the norm for a dim sum place.

I will not go back there for dim sum. It has also soured me a little bit on going back there for regular dinners, even though I had good food and service there last time. The whole experience simply made me want to go back to Furama next week for good dim sum.

Zz.

Stinky Passenger Kicked Off Flight

2010-02-19T03:40:00.000-08:00

A passenger on Jazz Air was kicked off the plane for having a really bad body odor.

A man on Jazz Air, a regional airline in Canada that also serves U.S. cities, was reportedly kicked off a plane earlier this month because of his strong body odor.

"People were just mumbling and staring at him," said a woman who sat near the man, according to The Guardian, a newspaper in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, where the flight originated on February 6. It was a very uncomfortable situation, she added.

Another passenger described the smell as "brutal."

Just imagine if you have to sit right next to him!

One really has to smell really, really, BAD to get kicked off a plane. I'm surprised he didn't get stopped while going through security! What? We don't have odor detectors? What do you call those damn police dogs? Oh, I get it, those dogs ran the other way when this guy walked through security.

Smart dogs!

Zz.

Smoke Level At California's Indian Casinos

2010-02-17T14:26:00.000-08:00

An undercover investigation and research from Stanford.

Synopsis: Smoke levels at California's Indian casinos can exceed health benchmark levels during peak attendance hours and many non-smoking areas offer incomplete protection, a Stanford study finds.

And you thought only TV news do undercover investigation! :)

Zz.

Woman Falls And Rips Picasso Painting

2010-01-25T06:52:00.000-08:00

A woman, attending an art class, ".. lost her balance .. " and fell into Picasso's "The Actor" painting at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

DOH!!!

The unusually large canvas, measuring 77.25 by 45.38 inches (196 by 115 centimeters), sustained a vertical tear of about six inches (15 centimeters) in the lower right-hand corner in the accident on Friday.

The museum, located on the eastern edge of New York's Central Park, did not elaborate on why the woman fell.

Take it to the Antique Road Show. I want to know how much the value of it has come down due to this tear/repair. :)

Zz.

Terrorists Accidentally Blew Themselves Up!

2010-01-06T05:42:00.000-08:00

Oh, there is justice after all in this world! These bunch of moron accidentally blew themselves up in a bus that they rigged with explosives.

Fourteen suspected terrorists died Tuesday night when the bus they rigged with explosives blew up prematurely, police said.

The explosion occurred as the suspects were riding the bus in the province of Kunduz, said police chief Abdul Raziq Yaqobi.

Now THAT is a amusing story!

Zz.

US Postal Service SUCKS!

2009-11-27T05:56:00.000-08:00

... and they wonder why they keep losing money.

Here's a friendly advice for anyone who's about to file a change of address: DO NOT DO THIS ON THE USPS WEBSITE! You might as well not file a change of address - it is that ineffective.

I moved to a new house and decided to file a change of address on the USPS website. I got all the confirmation number, and even got a letter from the USPS with coupons that I've checked.

Guess what? 2 weeks on and I had received NO forwarding mail at all! A check with our former landlord indicated that the mail person had been returning all of our mail back to sender since there were no forwarding address on record! We made a phone call to the USPS customer service, and she couldn't find ANY record of a change of address request, even when we cited our confirmation number! It's as if we never filed anything, and everything we entered on the web just went POOF!

Note that this happened for BOTH of us, and we did this on separate days too. I have no idea what mail we missed that never got forwarded. We refiled our change of address with the customer service person on the phone, but hey, who knows if THAT would get through as well!

This is a joke! And I'm not taking this lying down. I have all the documents printed out that indicated that we did file for a change of address online, and that they screwed up big time. I'm going to write a complaint to the Postmaster General and ask for my $1 back! They charged $1 on a credit card to verify your identity online. And yes, I want my damn $1 back because it did NOTHING and I'm royally pissed!

I've had mail being delivered 2 weeks late, and other poor services that I'm willing to overlook. But this is just plain stupid. You promised a service, and even with all the technology, you have morons running it. I'm not sure how many people have been taken in with their website, but I certainly will make sure enough people know about this. It may not do much to change their stupidity, but I certainly won't just sit here and take this. They lied, and did not provide the service that they promised!

Zz.

Stupid Black Friday Failure

2009-11-27T05:32:00.000-08:00

So I was out at Coral Ridge Mall in Coralville, Iowa, this morning along with throngs of people shopping their heads of for the early morning Black Friday sale. The big stores at the mall such as Yonkers, Sears, JC Penney opened at 4:00 am, while Best Buy and Target opened at 5:00 am.

Now, the inside-mall entrance to Target is next to the food court. There was already a long line of shoppers way before the doors opened for both Target and Best Buy, which is next to Target. Now, one would think that you got this long lines of people waiting to get in, and with the big stores in the mall already open, you have this large number of potential customers who haven't had their breakfast and their coffee that morning. If I were a proprietor of one of these eating establishment at the food court, it is a no-brainer that I would open my store to serve breakfast. Guess what? Only ONE counter serving breakfast/coffee was open early in the morning, and even they had very limited menu (no breakfast burito). Other establishments, especially Panera Bread, didn't open till 6:00 am, waaaaay after the lines getting into Target was long gone.

One doesn't need an MBA degree to realize that there was a missing opportunity here to make money. In this tough economic times, you'd think that someone would do a little bit of thinking on how to take advantage of such a window of opportunity to make money. Even considering the salary they have to pay to get people to come in early that morning, I'd think they'd make enough to cover those within the first 15 minutes of opening. It boggled my mind that in all of that mall, only ONE place was open by around 5:00 am to serve coffee/breakfast. Even with a limited breakfast service, that counter service was having non-stop lines servicing bad coffee and mediocre rolls and bagels. Imagine a Panera Bread opening at the same time. It'll clean up big time simply from all those people standing in line to get into Best Buy and Target, not to mention, the shoppers coming in from Yonkers, JC Penny, etc.

Have people lost the instinct to recognize a golden opportunity here?

Zz.

Last Night In The City

2009-11-11T13:35:00.001-08:00

We had just spent our last night at the old apartment, where we had lived for the past 16 1/2 years. Starting tonight, we will be living at our new home in the 'burbs.

It was bitter sweet this morning as I drive into work heading south on North Lake Shore Drive. The sun hadn't risen yet over the horizon, but there was already pink and red hues in the sky. I've always wanted to wake up early one fine morning and ride to the lakefront to snap some pictures, but never got around to it. Now, it's probably too late. I savored that last early morning drive by the lake.

Oh sure, I'll miss the city. But I'm at the point in my life where I just want to get away from the city noise, and more importantly, have a quiet backyard large enough for ample outdoor living and entertaining, not to mention, gardening. Priorities change, and mine certainly have. That's why we make our choices, and different choices, at different stages of our lives.

I'm now officially in suburbia.

Zz.

Another Hypocrite Gets Taken Down

2009-11-05T05:56:00.000-08:00

Former Miss California Carrie Prejean has settled all lawsuits between her and the Miss USA Pageant. Why the sudden change of hearts? Apparently word leaked out that there's a rather explicit sex tapes starring our do-gooder Prejean herself!

So she opposed gay marriage based on such high moral grounds, eh? Well guess what? Those same "moral grounds" are taking her down as well! Another hypocrite gets gets taken down!

Zz.

Another Reason To Eat Curry

2009-10-29T02:49:00.000-07:00

Not wanting to jump onto the bandwagon here since medical research tends to require a bit of time to "digest" {pun intended} and be verified, but new research suggest that the tumeric in curries may fight against esophageal cancer cells.

Researchers at the Cork Cancer Research Center in Ireland treated esophageal cancer cells with curcumin -- a chemical found in the spice turmeric, which gives curries a distinctive yellow color -- and found it started to kill cancer cells within 24 hours.

The cells also began to digest themselves, they said in a study published in the British Journal of Cancer.

Previous scientific studies have suggested curcumin can suppress tumors and that people who eat lots of curry may be less prone to the disease, although curcumin loses its anti-cancer attributes quickly when ingested.

They don't have to sell it to me, since I love curries and indian food anyway. I just wish that the curries that I like don't have that much salt and that much calories and fat. So yeah, they fight cancer, but they make you obese! So not sure if this is fair trade-off!

But all this blogging about curries makes me crave for indian food....

Zz.

Suburbs Here I Come!

2009-10-26T12:07:00.000-07:00

I first lived in Chicago in 1985. I'd say it was love at first sight, even though back then, the Loop was NASTY, especially after dark. I mean, it wasn't mean and nasty like Times Square before it turned Disney, but still, people try to get out of the Loop as soon as work is done.

Now, the city is marvelous, and there's life in the city even during off-hours. And I've lived within the city limits ever since. So it is with quite a bit of trepidation that I decided to buy a house out in the suburbs. Yes folks, I'm one of those people who finally decided to take advantage of (i) the $8000 tax credit for first time home buyers (ii) the "historically low" mortgage rate and (iii) the very attractive house prices. We bought a house, and will close this week.

But oh the anxiety! And not just due to the burden of owning a house and almost emptying out my savings. It is the anxiety on life in the suburbs. I wanted a sizable house, with ample storage, a family room, a spacious kitchen, and more importantly, a nice backyard that's quiet, where I can spend many days outdoors. To get that, and within a reasonable price, I had to leave the city limits.

I plan to move out in mid November. I'll miss the city, but plan on being back many times, especially when I crave for good Vietnamese food, or good Ethiopian food, or good Korean food.

Zz.

Your Poo and Piss Are THAT Heavy?

2009-10-08T03:31:00.000-07:00

So, the All Nippon Airways of Japan (a very well-respected airline, I might say, so this is not some rinky-dink airline) wants you to go to the bathroom before you board one of their planes. They do not want you to use the airplane's washroom during the flight, if you can. Why do they want you to do that? Is it because they have limited bathroom facility? Because they want minimal disruption to the in-flight service?

NO! They want you to go so that you'll make the plane LIGHTER! Your poo and piss are heavy! I'm not making this up!

"Asking passengers to go to the toilet (before boarding) is just a small part of the program," said spokeswoman Megumi Tezuka, which includes using recycled paper cups and plastic bottles instead of glass.

"We are making these items lighter -- and making the passengers lighter, a little bit," Tezuka said.

The airline estimates that if 50 percent of passengers relieved themselves before boarding, it would reduce carbon dioxide by 4.2 tons a month.

I suppose this may make sense in Japan where on average, people are smaller and not overweight. Here in the US, if everyone just stay away from that doughnut, why, all the airlines would make a huge profit from using less fuel in a year, with or without that pre-board bathroom break! :)

Hey, I just had a thought. Maybe they'll have a toilet seat and a urinal right at the gate and make passengers relief themselves before they board! :)

Zz.

2016 Olympics Bid

2009-10-02T03:41:00.000-07:00

So many people here in Chicago are paying a very close attention to today's vote on the city that will host the 2016 Olympics. Being a Chicagoan, and knowing how much I love the city, of course I have a vested interest in the decision. Am I rooting for Chicago to win? Hum..... good question!

On the one hand, of course I am! It would be a tremendous honor to host the Olympics. I'm proud of the city and hope more people can come and visit and discover all the amazing things about the city itself. It can be as big, as busy, and as hectic as New York, but without the attitude and with pedestrians still obeying the pedestrian traffic signal (well, most of them anyway). Many first-timers to the city are always surprised at how friendly and how beautiful the city is, especially if they get to Grant Park and the lakefront.

But on the other hand, I'm dreading the traffic gridlock. While this may not be a factor for me by 2016 (I'm in the process of buying a house and moving out of Lakeview and into the near 'burbs), I can only imagine how it might work out, especially in the downtown area. And I still want to know how the public transportation (with the CTA trains and busses) are going to handle all the heavy volume of people. Riding the CTA trains, for example, can be a frustrating experience.

Oh well, we will know in a few hours if Chicago gets the bid or not. I think Rio makes a very strong case that it is time for the Olympics to make its first visit to South America.

Zz.

What You Should Do When Pursued By Zombies

2009-09-30T05:36:00.000-07:00

I will now perform a very valuable public service. I will present a clear instruction on what you should do to increase your chances of surviving when you are being pursued by zombies. And no, I don't mean crazed shoppers banging at the door of a Walmart the day after Thanksgiving, and you're the store manager.

When you're being pursued by zombies, run to a shopping mall!

Though the paper itself does not specifically refer to fleeing from zombies, it describes "the survival probability of immobile targets annihilated by random walkers." The conclusions suggest that the people trapped in a mall in "Dawn of the Dead" may be better off than the folks stuck in a farmhouse in "Night of the Living Dead."

Cassi found that the likelihood of survival when threatened by predatory random walkers is closely related to how complex the prey’s hideout is. The more twists and turns, the safer you'll be. In structures that are highly complex and irregular, the chances of the predator coming into contact with its target shrinks down to almost zero.

What better place can there be? You can hide from the zombies, eat a piece of Cinnabon, and get that 50% off on off-season sweater from JC Penney all at the same time!

Zz.

Cubs Going Nowhere This Year

2009-09-27T06:09:00.000-07:00

Sign of the times. The souvenir stores around Wrigley field are trying to dump their Cubs merchandise. The Chicago Cubs aren't going anywhere this year after a dismal season.

So if you want at least 20% off of Cubs merchandise, this is the time to get it!

Zz.

Tired of Phony Psychics?

2009-09-14T05:28:00.000-07:00

I had a chuckle when I read the title for a Google web advertisement for a psychic website. It asked "Tired of Phony Psychics?"

Isn't that like thieves asking "Are you tired of being robbed by amateur thieves? Well now, you can be robbed by professional thieves!"

I feel so much better now.

Zz.

British Govt. Apologizes To Alan Turing

2009-09-11T05:16:00.000-07:00

This isn't part of life's amusing event since it is rather tragic.

After the tremendous call due to an online petition, the British government today finally and formally apologizes posthumously to Alan Turing for his inhumane treatment. This despite his significant contribution not only to the computing knowledge and mathematics, but in his war effort to decipher the German's secret code during WWII.

In a statement on the British Government Web site, Prime Minister Gordon Brown acknowledged Turing's "outstanding" contribution during World War II.

"He truly was one of those individuals we can point to whose unique contribution helped to turn the tide of war," he wrote, adding, "The debt of gratitude he is owed makes it all the more horrifying, therefore, that he was treated so inhumanely."

Turing is considered one of Britain's greatest mathematicians, a genius who is credited with inventing the Bombe, a code-breaking machine that deciphered messages encoded by German Enigma machines during World War II.

He went on to develop the Turing machine, a theory that automatic computation cannot solve all mathematical problems, which is considered the basis of modern computing.

One would hope that in this day and age, such treatment would no longer occur. But the human being capacity for stupidity, and for cruelty, has never ceased to amaze me.

Zz.

Multitasking Muddles the Mind?

2009-08-26T05:56:00.001-07:00

Not that this is surprising, but a new study has indicated that the more we multitask, the more what we are doing suffers. It clearly indicates that our cognitive ability drops while we are multitasking.

The HMMs (heavy media multitaskers) did worse than the LMMs (light media multitaskers) across the board. Surprisingly, says co-author and sociologist Clifford Nass, "They're bad at every cognitive control task necessary for multitasking." They were more easily distracted by irrelevant stimuli, and although their memories were no worse than those of theLMMs, they had more difficulty in selecting stored information that was relevant to the task at hand. In one filtering test, for example, the LMMs took 323 milliseconds to discern the correct answer, but the HMMs averaged 400 milliseconds.

Nass says the study has a disturbing implication in an age when more and more people are simultaneously working on a computer, listening to music, surfing the Web, texting, or talking on the phone: Access to more information tools is not necessarily making people more efficient in their intellectual chores. Also disconcerting, he notes, is that "people who chronically multitask believe they're good at it." The findings are reported this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

In other words, if you think that by doing many things simultaneously will make you more efficient and finish those things faster, you're wrong.

Which brings us back to driving while talking on cell phones. This only confirms earlier findings that such multitasking should not be allowed.

Zz.

Guilty Pleasures

2009-08-20T16:04:00.000-07:00

Against my better judgment, I will admit I've watched and listened to this video more than a couple of times. Not only that, I've even tapped my feet to it!!

I feel so dirty!

:)

Zz.

World's Largest Truck Stop

2009-08-11T06:04:00.001-07:00

We travel this stretch of I-80 quite often when we drive between Chicago and Iowa City. So I've seen this truck stop many times. It is the world's largest truck stop, and it has been featured in at least a couple of shows on the Travel Channel.

Strangely enough, I don't stop here very often. In fact, I think of all the years that I've passed by it, I've only stopped there 2 or 3 times. This past trip last weekend, I stopped and finally took a picture of the big sign they have right by the highway.

It is quite large, and I think I've explored maybe about 1/4 of the place.

Zz.

More 2009 Halsted Street Market Days

2009-08-02T06:44:00.000-07:00

We went back to Market Days later in the afternoon, and of course, the street fair now is totally packed. The sky was still overcast, and there was rain in downtown Chicago. But it appeared that, other than a few strong gusts of wind, the fair has been sparred with any significant rain.

Usually, getting dunked on a hot day in August is a good thing. But it has been cloudy and a bit chilly all day. So this isn't that much fun as it could be.

I think the go-go boys dancing high up in front of Minibar booth were quite a hit with the crowd. :)

The various stages at the fair were also filled with performers already. This is one of them, in front of the 7-11 at Roscoe.

2009 North Halsted Street Market Days

2009-08-01T10:01:00.000-07:00

The 2009 North Halsted Street Market Days is going on this weekend (Aug. 1 and 2) in Chicago. This is the largest 2-day neighborhood street fair in the Midwest.

We walked down there (we live a block away) right when they opened at 11:00 am. Many of the vendors were still setting up, and it was crowded yet. We always like to scout around this early in the day before it gets VERY crowded later in the afternoon just so we can get a feel for what's around and where. We usually go back to it several times a day, especially around meal times since we usually buy stuff there to eat over the 2 days.

So we just got back after walking around for about an hour. Grabbed a bite to eat - my favorite grilled chicken-on-a-stick with fried rice. Yummy, and easy to eat while you walk. Here are some early pictures of the street fair before the big crowds arrive. The weather is a bit overcast, and there's some rain in the forecast for this afternoon. It should clear up by late afternoon/early evening, and it should be nice tomorrow.

Zz.

The Old Kai Tak Airport

2009-07-19T08:48:00.000-07:00

I posted about the amazing Singapore Changi airport a while back. Well, last week, a friend and I were talking, and we ended up chatting about some of the horrifying airport that we have flown into. The old Hong Kong Kai Tak airport came up right away. Imagine hills and high rise being either along your approach or your take-off, and you get the idea.

In fact, to give you some more visualization of how horrifying the airport approach is, you should look at this video.

I've flown into Kai Tak a couple of times, and it is disconcerting to see people's faces in their buildings looking at your eye level as you're about to land! I'm glad that airport is now gone!

Zz.

Goodbye, Sears Tower!

2009-07-16T06:13:00.000-07:00

Today is the first official day of the significant name change tot he tallest building in North America - the Sears Tower. It will now be called...... wait for it .... Willis Tower.

Willis Tower will be introduced to Chicago by Mayor Richard M. Daley and others on Thursday during a public renaming ceremony hosted by Willis Group Holdings. The London-based insurance brokerage secured the naming rights as part an agreement to lease 140,000 square feet of space, and has said it plans to bring hundreds of jobs to the city.

I know many Chicagoans will resist the name change, some even dislike it. Still, the city has had several building undergoing such name change (Standard Oil building to Amaco building to... er.... what is it now?). It will probably take a generation or so for the name to stick, and by then, who knows, Willis might be gone!

So for now, as a stubborn Chicagoan, I'll still call it the Sears Tower. Or, I may change my mind and just call it the "Big Willie".

Zz.

The Joy of Re-gifting

2009-07-15T05:17:00.000-07:00

Some of my friends think that I'm a bit odd whenever I bring a gift to them. I always tend to say something like "Now, if you already have this, or don't have any need for it, you are more than welcome to give this to someone who might want it, or to sell it on ebay."

I always say that because, while I certainly would love it if what I got for them is something they truly want, I do not want them to keep something simply because they feel obligated to keep it because it was a gift. I've seen way too many instances where something is kept simply because it was a gift from someone and the person simply does not want to "offend" that person by either giving it away, selling it, or simply donating or throwing it out, all the while the object is collecting dust and occupying storage space. I would feel horrible if someone receives something he/she doesn't have quite the use for it, or don't find it to his/her liking, but somehow feel obligated to continuing keeping it. That's why I always say such a thing. I hope that the person appreciate the thought and effort in the gift, but should feel free to pass it on to someone if he/she has no desire to keep it. I would not be offended at all!

This issue came up because a couple of nights ago, I had a conversation with a friend. She felt horrified (and maybe slightly offended) that the candies she got for me were being "shared" by my co-workers at work. I told her that I brought the candies to work and put it in my candy jar. While I do sample the candies now and then, I also share it freely with everyone at work. Somehow, she wasn't too pleased with that information. I think she wanted me to "cherish" it and enjoy it, because she went out of her way to get those for me.

While I certainly didn't mind receiving the candies, I also don't see how I was expected to eat every single piece of it whether I like them or not. Besides having no desire to consume that much candy in the first place (think of all the calories!), I also did not realize that such gifts come with an implicit obligation. At what point does the gift becomes mine, and I can do whatever I please with it? If I wish to share it with other people, shouldn't I be allowed to do that? After all, those candies WERE mine!

So I am one of those who truly believe in re-gifting. If you receive something, and it isn't quite what you want, or what you can use, then I find nothing wrong in giving it to someone who you think might appreciate it more. Of course, it is bad form and etiquette to re-gift something to the person who originally gave it to you. Even *I* don't do that. But other than that, I think this is a perfectly acceptable practice, and it is a prime example of recycling. Not only are you not wasting something, but you also save money!

Zz.

Social Security Numbers Are Easy to Guess

2009-07-07T05:24:00.000-07:00

This is rather disconcerting.

This report discusses the fact that many of the things that the Social Security Administration does to prevent fraud, and what some people put out (such as their birth dates) on social networking websites such as Facebook, may allow crooks to make a good guess at their social security numbers!

On the surface, the process seems like it would lead to randomized--and thus secure--numbers. But it doesn't. When economist Alessandro Acquisti and computer scientist Ralph Gross of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, compared SSA's public death records with birth data, they found that area numbers are not rotated until all 9999 serial numbers have been assigned. So instead of each of New York's 85 area numbers being the possible starting three digits for any Social Security number on any given day, Social Security numbers are assigned essentially in order: 576-32-0001 is followed immediately by 576-32-0002, etc. That means a potential thief can narrow down a number simply by knowing the date (often some 6 to 11 weeks after birth) on which one received it. After 1989, individuals started receiving Social Security numbers at birth, rather than at their discretion (often when they began their first job), so pinpointing these people's numbers is especially easy, says Acquisti.

So easy in fact that Acquisti and Gross were able to do it themselves. Using fairly standard computer algorithms, the duo predicted the first five digits of Social Security numbers for people born after 1989 44% of the time on the very first try. On a handful of attempts, they managed to get all nine digits on the first try, but at the very least they could predict the full numbers of 8.5% of those born after 1989 in fewer than 1000 tries, they report online today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Horrors!

This paper is an open access article which you can get from here.

Zz.

Teen Outsmarts Doctors In Science Class

2009-06-15T14:04:00.000-07:00

I am so impressed by this teen, who managed to find what's wrong with her, no thanks to her doctors.

"Not knowing much about a disease you're growing up with is not only nerve-wracking, but it's confusing," Terry told the Sammamish Reporter.

So when local pathologists stopped in to teach students in her Biomedical Problems class how to analyze slides, the high school senior decided to give her own intestines a look.

What she found? A large dark area showing inflammation, otherwise known as a granuloma--a sure sign of the intestinal disease.

It's too bad they didn't go back to her previous and asked them how could the lab missed something like this, even if it is difficult to spot. I mean, if she could find it herself using a class microscope.....

Zz.

Best Airports in the World

2009-06-10T03:05:00.000-07:00

A survey of airline travelers has revealed the top airports in the world. Seoul's Incheon airport was voted as the best airport, followed very closely by Hong Kong International Airport, and Singapore's Changi Airport. Not surprisingly, not a single airport in North America made it into the list.

Having flown in and out of Changi Airport a few times, I can certainly understand why it is rated very highly. In fact, the survey revealed that the top 3 airports list could easily come out one way or another since the scores were very close. Changi Airport was just jaw-droppingly gorgeous, with amenities most of us in the US can only dream of. Here are some pictures that I took the last time was there waiting for my flight back to the States.

TV lounge, you say? They have several of these lounges with very comfortable seats, showing everything from movies, to news channels, etc.

There were also several of these quiet and tranquil area for someone to take a nap.

Free internet kiosks.

A very pleasant seating area next to the food court.

More seating area around the food court.

There's a freaking shopping mall right at the gate!

You want a fish pond, you say?

Now, it made for a very contrasting and embarrassing comparison when one left a very modern and efficient airport, and flies into Bradley international terminal at LAX. It looked like an airport from a third world country, with wires hanging out of the ceiling panels, and the area perpetually boarded up under construction (a construction that so far has lasted 10 years?). I'm surprised more Americans are not utterly embarrassed that for many visitors, this run-down terminal is the first thing they see when they arrive in the US.

Zz.

The 2009 Tony Awards

2009-06-07T17:19:00.000-07:00

Memo to the Academy Awards Producers:

Date: June 7, 2009.

Dear Mr. Producers,

I've just finished watching tonight's opening number on the Tony Awards, and it was a showstopper. It was lively, concise, fun, glorious, and nowhere near a dud. They are performed by amazing talents who can dance and sing. This is entertainment at its best. How come you guys can't learn from these people who produce the Tony Awards shows?

It's not as if this is the exception. Almost every year, the Tony Awards shows are a lot more intriguing, fun, and certainly not a yawner, and they showcase these amazing stage drama and musicals without being a bore. There's a feeling of looseness in the show, not stiff and rather stogy the way the Oscars have been.

So please, LEARN from the Tony Awards. I don't want to spend another agonizing evening watching your Oscar award show and cringing at the bad musical number that sometime is embarrassingly bad!

Sincerely,

Zz.

Best Kept Secret of Chicago 1

2009-05-24T06:50:00.001-07:00

So periodically, I'll post what I consider as some of the best-kept secret of Chicago that most visitors do not know of, but the locals certainly do. As the risk of changing these things as no longer being secrets by revealing them here, I still think that if I were to put myself in the shoes of these visitors to our great city, I would want to know such a thing.

This series will start with, what else, but food! If you are in downtown Chicago, there are a gazillion places to eat, with as many variety. So I will choose just one particular, narrow niche - food court. It is convenient, there's a huge variety (so that various people in your party can get whatever they like), it is quick, and more importantly, it is CHEAP! But since this is me, no run-off-the-mill mall food court will do. No sireee! There has to be something unique and a wide range of selection to be a food court that I would recommend.

One of the most overlooked food court for many visitors (because it isn't obvious since it is at on the top floor), is the food court at the North Bridge shopping mall. This is the mall inside a building just south of the Chicago river on Michigan Ave, and connected to a Nordstrom. There are many eating establishment in the mall, but the food court itself is on the top level, Level 4. So many visitors to the city probably would not venture into it, much less, go all the way to the top level, but many locals certainly do.

You will not find the regular food court chain here. Many of the vendors at the food court I've never seen elsewhere. The available food choices range from typical burgers, to roast turkey dinner (with the actual whole roasted turkey being carved in front of you), to standard chinese, to japanese noodle dishes and freshly made sushi, etc... etc. In other words, if you are tired of the typical mall food court meals, you'll be pleasantly surprised by the selection (and quality) that you'll find here.

I often go there for a quick lunch, especially when I'm out shopping or just walking along Michigan Avenue. People that I've brought to there have always been surprised that there's a food court up there, and the range of selection that they can get. So if you're in the city next time and want something convenient and fast, check out the food court at North Bridge. And no, I don't work for the mall or any of the businesses there.

Zz.

Best Pizza In America

2009-05-20T03:51:00.001-07:00

If you want to start a fight, just trying bringing up the question of the best pizza anywhere. You'd have a major fist fight just asking that question in New York City alone.

Still, Alan Richmond (didn't he used to be on the Food Network when it first started and had a show with another woman titled "TV Diners?") of GQ Magazine had the balls to rate the best pizza in the US. And to my surprise, he rated a place here in my own lovely city of Chicago as having the best pizza. And I've never heard of the place!

1. Great Lake
Mortadella pie

I phoned at 6:15 p.m., ordered a cheese pie, asked when I could pick it up. The reply: 8 p.m. When I arrived a few minutes early, two of the fourteen people seated in the tiny storefront shop were eating. The rest looked exasperated. Nick Lessins, the Polish-Czech co-owner and pizzamaker, seemed happily oblivious. I stood inside, watching for twenty-five minutes as he fashioned three pies, mine among them. No man is slower. He makes each as though it is his first, manipulating the dough until it appears flawless, putting on toppings one small bit after another. In the time he takes to create a pie, civilizations could rise and fall, not just crusts. His cheese pie, prepared with fresh mozzarella made in-house, grated Wisconsin sheep’s-and-cow’s-milk cheese, and aromatic fresh marjoram instead of basil, was slightly shy of unbelievable. The next day I returned to try the same pie topped with fresh garlic and mortadella, the dirigible-sized Italian sausage that looks like bologna, tastes like salami, and is usually cut into chunks. He sliced the meat very thin and laid slices of it over the pie the moment it came out of the oven. The mortadella, with its combination of burliness and creaminess, was a meaty addition to the earthy, bready crust. This pie—creative, original, and somewhat local—represents everything irresistible about the new American style of pizza-making.

Well, if it took him that long to get a pizza before, it will be utterly impossible to get a pizza from there now after this publicity.

Still, I'm rather curious to see how the pizza really tastes like. So maybe I'll venture out and get some sampling.

Zz.

The Earliest Porn?

2009-05-14T04:51:00.000-07:00

So what if you don't have the internet, you don't have DVDs, you don't have movies, you don't have magazines? What do you do for porn?

Why, you CARVE and make pornographic sculpture!

It appears that that's what our ancestors were doing way back then! Archaeologists digging in Germany have uncovered statues that may be pornographic in nature dated back at least 35,000 years ago, which makes it one of the oldest sculpture ever found.

The tiny statuette--just under 6 centimeters tall and 3.4 centimeters wide--was carved out of a single piece of mammoth ivory. It has dramatically exaggerated breasts and a detailed, enlarged vulva. The headless figurine is topped with a knob that Conard suggests might have been used to attach it to a thong or cord for use as a necklace or personal ornament.
.
.
There's no way to know what the statuette was used for or what meaning it carried, although scientists theorize that it might have been used in shamanistic rites or was simply pornography. Anthropologist Paul Mellars of Stony Brook University in New York state says the focus on exaggerated sexual features fits with other artifacts found from the period, including phalluses carved out of bison horn and vulva inscribed on rocks. "It's sexually exaggerated to the point of being pornographic," Mellars says. "There's all this sexual symbolism bubbling up in that period. They were sex-mad."

You go, Mr. Primate!

Zz.

Irish Student Hoaxes World's Media with Fake Quote

2009-05-12T11:38:00.000-07:00

Here's another reason why you should read and "believe" Wikipedia at your own risk. And considering that even the "established" media fell into this, one might want to consider even reading such sources with full caution.

When Dublin university student Shane Fitzgerald posted a poetic but phony quote on Wikipedia, he was testing how our globalized, increasingly Internet-dependent media was upholding accuracy and accountability in an age of instant news.

His report card: Wikipedia passed. Journalism flunked.

The sociology major's obituary-friendly quote -- which he added to the Wikipedia page of Maurice Jarre hours after the French composer's death March 28 -- flew straight on to dozens of U.S. blogs and newspaper Web sites in Britain, Australia and India. They used the fabricated material, Fitzgerald said, even though administrators at the free online encyclopedia twice caught the quote's lack of attribution and removed it.

A full month went by and nobody noticed the editorial fraud. So Fitzgerald told several media outlets they'd swallowed his baloney whole.

The sad thing here is that there are so many people who read Wikipedia and somehow accept what they read wholesale! There doesn't seem to be any more interest in the quality of one's sources of information anymore nowadays. It's all "convenience" at the expense of accuracy.

Zz.

Joan Rivers and Gay Marriage

2009-05-12T02:08:00.000-07:00

The funniest quote I've heard in a couple of weeks! It came from Joan Rivers as she was interviewed on Larry King Live after Donald Trump picked her to win the latest Celebrity Apprentice.

Gay marriage, I am so against it because all my gay friends are out. And if they get married, it will cost me a fortune in gifts.

:)

Zz.

Shadow Chair Defies The Law of Physics?

2009-05-06T15:01:00.000-07:00

Mind-boggling, isn't it? But it isn't as mysterious as it appears. The "shadow" is actually the base of the chair!

More info on the design of it can be found here. What is gravity-defying is its price : $1057. OUCH! Now I wish that could be an illusion!

Zz.

"Moost Have Been Something You Said"?

2009-04-25T07:24:00.000-07:00

OK, you have to have noticed this too and hung on to the back of your head. I'm sure you've heard Cutting Crew's "I Just Died In Your Arms Tonight". If not, here's a music video of the tune:

Now, didn't the vocalist actually said "Moost have been.... "? I know more than a few people who swear that that was what he sang! :)

Zz.

I Don't Get White Castle

2009-04-16T08:59:00.000-07:00

No, I don't mean that there are no White Castle joints around where I live (how can that be possible in Chicago, of all places?). What I mean is, I don't get the concept.

I did not grow up with White Castle. In fact, I didn't even know what it is until I was in my 30's. It happened one fateful day. I was hanging out with a bunch of friends when someone suggested that we buy White Castle hamburger and bring them back to the house for lunch. So I said (now, don't laugh!) "OK, I'll take one, with lettuce, tomato, onions, but no mayo".

So of course, I got strange looks coming my way and they said, among other things, that you don't just order ONE White Castle hamburger. Of course, I was curious and asked why. Someone said that they are small. I then asked how small. "It's small!" was all I got. So I said, whatever, just buy me enough for lunch.

So a couple of people went to get the burgers while the rest of us waited and shot the breeze. It was when they came back that I got an inkling on what's going on. When I opened my "bag of burgers" and took out one of them, I initially thought it was a colossal joke. I mean, really! Burgers barely the size of tennis ball, with a thin layer of "meat" with holes, and a sprinkling of chopped onions? You've got to be kidding me!

You see, my idea of a burger is thick, juicy meat on toasted buns, and topped with green leaf lettuce, thickly-sliced onions and tomatoes, etc., not this "micro" burger that barely had any meat in it.

But then again, I now understand why people orders a dozen of these things. Still, why not just make a bigger burger and order just.... oh, I don't know.... ONE?

Of course, a number of my buddies at that time just ate it up! I learned later on that some people actually have cravings.... CRAVINGS.... for these White Castle hamburgers. Yup, I don't understand that either. There have been stories of people looking for a White Castle joint at 3 am in the morning because of such cravings, or people coming off airplanes after being away for a while and heading straight to a White Castle.

I have a hypothesis which I've checked a few times and no one has shown it to be wrong. The hypothesis is that if you grew up eating White Castle hamburger regularly, then you'll still want it as an adult. If you never grew up with White Castle burgers, then you have no desire for it, or indifferent about, it as an adult. My point here is that only if you got "indoctrinated" by it as a child will you have a desire to eat it. So far, everyone that I've met and where I've tested this on have confirmed my opinion.

And no, I haven't had a White Castle ever since my first introduction to it many, many years ago, and I have zero desire to consume one, probably for as long as I live.

Zz.

A Gorgeous Day In Chicago

2009-04-12T16:10:00.000-07:00

It was a Chamber-of-Commerce weather here in Chicago today, even though it was quite a bit on the chilly side (high 40's F) with a gentle breeze from the lake. Still, we had a lovely time walking by the lake in the early afternoon and enjoying the weather.

The neighborhood looks very quite and peaceful, especially in this gorgeous weather.

Belmont Harbor is still empty, but won't be long before it is filled with boats.

Enjoying the sights and scenery on the lakefront.

This is the view from Diversey harbor. I know I'm bias, but it is a gorgeous city.

Zz.

India's Contribution To Global Warming - Cows With Gas

2009-04-12T05:12:00.000-07:00

This is a serious piece that is utterly (udderly?) hilarious. The cows and other livestock in India actually contributes more greenhouse gasses than motor vehicles in that country.

By burping, belching and excreting copious amounts of methane - a greenhouse gas that traps 20 times more heat than carbon dioxide - India's livestock of roughly 485 million (including sheep and goats) contribute more to global warming than the vehicles they obstruct. With new research suggesting that emission of methane by Indian livestock is higher than previously estimated, scientists are furiously working at designing diets to help bovines and other ruminants eat better, stay more energetic and secrete lesser amounts of the offensive gas.

Gee, I wonder if they could invent a hybrid cow..... ?

Zz.

Marriage to an 8-Year Old?

2009-04-12T03:08:00.000-07:00

Remember my rant against those "islamic nations" that opposed the endorsement of gay marriages because it might lead to the sanction of pedophillia? I exposed the hypocrisy of such claim because taking a child bride is a common and LEGAL practice in some of these muslim countries, including Saudi Arabia.

Well, this is one such example. A judge in Saudi Arabia refused to annul the "marriage" between an 8-year old girl and a 47-year old man. This man married this girl via an arrangement with the girl's father to, get this, settle his debt! But don't you worry, because the girl's husband has "... pledged not to consummate the marriage until the girl reaches puberty... "

Phew! Now that made us all feel a bit better, doesn't it?

UNBELIEVABLE!

No, it is not unbelievable that this happened. You'd expect something this stupid in a moronic society. What is unbelievable is that you'd get these countries to have the GALL to then turn around and oppose gay marriages based on the grounds that it will lead to pedophilia. What a load of hypocrisy crap!

Zz.

Hang Up And Drive, Before You Kill Someone!

2009-04-05T06:33:00.000-07:00

A woman was texting while driving when she slammed into stopped vehicles, killing one person when one of the vehicles burst into flames.

If this doesn't break your heart for a senseless and PREVENTABLE tragedy, then nothing will. I mentioned earlier about all the studies and statistics that clearly indicated that the use of cell phones, be it hands-free or not, has been attributed to so many accidents, and in fact, as dangerous if not more, than driving while intoxicated, that it is mindboggling that cities, states, and federal laws are not not in the books to stop this silly practice, AND to enforce it as diligently as drunk driving laws.

The state of Illinois just passed a law that makes it unlawful to do texting while driving. BIG FREAKING DEAL! The city of Chicago already has a law against using hands-on cell phones, and I see people yapping on their phones all the time! So if such a law is not, or can't be, enforced, how is another law in the books on texting would make any difference? How is one going to enforce it when it is less obvious than yapping on cell phones? The city has all these cameras installed all over the city trying to catch people running red lights. Maybe they should also train those cameras on the driver inside these vehicles to see if they are on their cell phones. You want extra revenue from fines? There's one there!

Zz.

You Steal, Then You Admitted To That On National TV

2009-04-04T06:29:00.000-07:00

So, if you have shoplifted many times, used your kids to do your dirty work, or even videotaped the unlawful deed, do you then go on national TV to brag about your crime? Most "rational" people (if you can call such people rational) would not.

These people are not rational. After they did their crime, they went on Dr. Phil and brag about it!

Are these people really THAT desperate for their 15 minutes worth of fame?

Zz.

No Decaf After Noon - Follow-Up

2009-03-21T06:05:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Matt for bringing this to my attention.

I wrote earlier of my complaint that a Starbucks at a Target store that I went to stopped serving decaf coffee after 12:00 Noon, which I thought was rather strange. Well, it turns out that this is a new Startbucks policy that I missed!

To cut costs, the Seattle coffee giant has instructed its U.S. baristas to stop automatically brewing batches of decaffeinated drip coffee after noon, according to a memo reviewed by The Wall Street Journal and confirmed by the company.

Instead, from noon on, baristas will brew decaf coffee only when a customer orders it, a process the company says will take an extra four minutes or so.

Stores that determine they have enough demand can continue to brew decaf regularly in the afternoon and evening. Starbucks spokeswoman Deb Trevino said the change shouldn't affect customers. "We're just saying brew it based on your store needs rather than a one size fits all," she said.

This makes very little sense! As I've said, one would think that people would want decaf coffee after Noon, and as the day progresses towards the evening. In fact, in that news article, someone mentioned the same thing.

I wonder if they're keeping track of how many people they turned away by this, and if they realize the amount of business they lost. Oh well. Looks like I'm visiting my Caribou Coffee joint more often now.

Zz.

US Endorses UN Gay Rights Text

2009-03-18T14:36:00.000-07:00

Some time, you read something that is full of hypocrisy, it makes your blood boil.

The US, the so-called champion of "human rights", finally endorses the UN declaration on gay rights after the Bush administration made the US the only western country not to sign it.

But what made my blood boil was this part:

Some Islamic countries said at the time that protecting sexual orientation could lead to "the social normalization and possibly the legalization of deplorable acts" such as pedophilia and incest. The declaration was also opposed by the Vatican.

The Vatican and the Catholic Church, of course, are experts in pedophilia and how to hide it. But how the "islamic countries" could actually be so uppity about such act while keeping a straight face is beyond me. Let's not forget that taking prepubescent child bride is alive and well in Saudi Arabia, the bedrock of Islamic religion where millions of muslims go for their pilgrimage. If this is not pedophilia, then what is it?

So maybe they just don't want protection for gays and lesbians (I'd like them to pull out statistics on how many lesbians have assaulted underaged girls) simply because they don't want competition for their pedophiles!

Zz.

No Decaf After Noon

2009-03-17T07:38:00.000-07:00

Nothing fits better into this blogs intention of life's amusing musing than this blog entry.

I was at a Target store last Saturday in Niles, Illinois (6150 W Touhy Ave. Niles). On the way into the store, I notice that they had a Starbucks, so I stopped over to get a decaf coffee (I only drink decaf coffee nowadays, even their latte). After I asked for a grande decaf coffee, I was told by the person behind the counter that they do not serve decaf coffee after 12:00 noon.

WHAAAAAT????!!!!!!

I thought I heard or understood things wrongly, so I repeated something like "You stop serving decaf coffee after Noon?". And yup, I got the confirmation. I then proceeded to say thank you and walk away.

Now, obviously this is not a common policy of Starbucks. I know for a fact that I can get decaf coffee any time I want at the Starbucks in my neighborhood. The many times I've been in many different Starbucks in the city (and across the country), there was never any thing resembling a policy of not serving decaf coffee after Noon. So it is my strong suspicion that this silly policy is only unique to this particular Starbucks.

{Aside: I also do not know if this is an actual Starbucks, or only one of those that serve Starbucks coffee and other items, but not really a full-blown Starbucks}.

Now, obviously they can make whatever policy they want, but think of the rational behind this. One would think that, of all things, you WANT to start serving decaf coffee later in the day. That's when people are trying to wind down, and especially in the early evening, if they want coffee and still be able to sleep, they'd want decaf coffee. It is in the morning that, if they don't serve decaf, it would have understandable, since almost everyone want that caffeine jolt.

My friend who was with me suggested that I ask for a decaf latte, since they have to grind the beans anyway. I said no. If they are that dumb in making such policy, then I definitely don't want to give them any of my money.

I wonder who decided to do something like this....

Zz.

A Night At The Museum

2009-03-15T06:55:00.000-07:00

Last Friday we spent the evening at the Field Museum of Natural History here in Chicago for their annual Members Night. It was our first attendance to one of these things and it was a great, great event. It is almost like the museum's open house, where the members not only get to see all the exhibits on display, but also get to go behind the scenes into areas that are not opened to visitors. We also get to talk to many of the staff and researchers doing various work at the museum, often in their own laboratories or offices. So that made it quite worthwhile.

Anyway, here is a photo essay of the evening.

This is the museum as we walk out of the parking ramp at the museum campus.

The museum was quite packed, since it was a Friday night. They had a cash bar right in the middle of the museum, and the food establishements were also open.

We couldn't go into their Pirates special exhibits since they have distributed already all the time slots for it, but we did managed to go do their Aztec exhibits. Sorry, no pictures for that since photos were prohibited.

We then walked around look at some of the areas that we seldom get to see during our earlier visits. One of them was the North American area that showed the natural habitat of N. America, and the native american lives before the arrivals of the Europeans.

We then walked into the bowels of the museum, which is the lower level that isn't opened to the public. This is known as the "CRC", which is the collections resource center.

The area that was most fascinating to us was the oversize anthropology collections storage room. This area stores large anthropological items that, I presume, get rotated to be on display. It's too bad that we couldn't get to see a lot more of the room beyond just the front.

This is one of the sculpture found in the room.

These HUGE jars were excavated at Pompei and were though to be storage jars for olive oil. They are really quite big, as tall as an average person.

More impressive sculpture. These and the previous one are in bronze.

Nice kitty....

A look at the areas that we couldn't go into in the oversize area storage room. There were several bowls and other artifacts that we could only see from a distance.

There were also a few Egyptian hieroglyphs carved on stones. We didn't get a chance to ask anyone there about them because it was very crowded and the staff there were quite engaged with the visitors.

Leaving the underbelly of the Field Museum, we then went upstairs to the 3rd and 4th floors, which again are typically inaccessible to the public. We essentially got to see the labs and offices where the staff and researchers work. We spent quite a bit of time in the anthropological area and got to talk to a couple of anthropologists about human evolution. There were replicas of the skulls and bones of Australopithecus Africanus, Homo Erectus, and Homo Sapiens. We would have stayed longer but our time for the Aztec tour was about to start, so we had to scoot out of there in a hurry. These are the view of the hallway in these upper floors.

It was a very pleasant evening spent at the museum. This event alone was worth the membership. Since it was such a gorgeous evening, we drove a short distance to the Adler Planetarium and parked there to get a view of the Chicago skyline at night. I never tire looking at this. It is a gorgeous city where I live.

Zz.

The Slow Death of Diversity In Wrigleyville

2009-03-01T05:19:00.000-08:00

We went out to dinner last night at a Moroccan restaurant in the neighborhood. The neighborhood is affectionately known as "Wrigleyville", which is in an area called Lakeview on the north side of Chicago. It is called Wrigleyville because it surrounds Wrigley Field, the Chicago Cubs' home field.

I truly believe that what makes going to a Cubs game more enjoyable is the neighborhood. There are plenty of sports bars, music clubs, and more importantly, eating establishments in the neighborhood. With a more welcoming and friendlier neighborhood towards visitors and tourists when compared to the neighborhood surrounding the White Sox field, baseball fans tend to linger a lot longer in the neighborhood. It is also a major attraction during weekends for people to come in, have dinner, and then hop on over to the various bars and clubs.

When we first moved into the neighborhood in 1993, there was a wealth of diversity of restaurants in the neighborhood. Off the top of my head, there were 4 Thai restaurants, 3 Ethiopian, 1 Caribbean, 3 Japanese, 1 French-Vietnamese, 1 Korean, 2 Indian, 2 noodles restaurants, etc... throughout the years, a few newer restaurants moved in such as a Moroccan, a Vietnamese, another Indian restaurant, etc.

Such diversity in food is what made this neighborhood such an eclectic mix and a major attraction to many visitors. I know that in my case, I thoroughly enjoyed going to these various ethnic restaurants and trying various new types of food. It is what made me want to stay in this area.

Sadly, during the past 5 years or so, many of these diverse restaurants have closed down for one reason or another, and most have nothing to do with the current economic crisis. Buildings are sold and the new owners want more higher-traffic establishments, or rents were raised beyond what these small ma-and-pa restaurants can afford. Whatever the case, there is a slow homogenization of the types of restaurants in Wrigleyville. Exotic ethnic restaurants are being replaced by generic pizza parlor, Americanized chinese restaurants, bars, and sandwich/hamburger joints. What made this neighborhood so unique and attractive in the first place is slowly being killed. The last of our Ethiopian restaurant has closed its doors. We went from having 3 to none in a span of just 3 years. We also lost an African restaurant last year. We have two Thai restaurants left, with one barely surviving at this point, and in an attempt to survive, had made "compromises" with its menu to appeal to the larger population.

I don't know whether there is a reason for such a trend. The eclectic mix seems to have moved out of the neighborhood and gone further north into the Andersonville neighborhood of Chicago, where exciting mix of restaurants are sprouting. And whether this is a coincidence or a reason for such a trend remains to be seen, but the gay population that had a major hand in revitalization of Wrigleyville has also been moving north into the Andersonville area, especially after housing and rental prices have skyrocketed to approach that of Lincoln Park.

I'm hoping our Moroccan restaurant makes it. If last night's dinner was any indication, they might just be able to do that. The restaurant was packed to the walls, and there were plenty of people waiting for tables. Of course, it was a Saturday night, and we have been there on weekday nights when they were barely 1/4 full. I really hope they make it, not just because the food is outstanding, but the neighborhood needs them to add color to the palette. It is one of the last few remnants of the vibrant diversity and cultural spectrum in the cuisine that this neighborhood used to have.

Zz.