Forget CO2!

Attention everyone! Our world is in grave danger from a very real threat - DHMO. Forget the whole ruckus about CO2 (carbon dioxide), DHMO (dihydrogen monoxide) is at least a thousand times more abundant in our atmospheres than CO2 ever will be. read the following article for more info. Lastly, don't forget to boycott all products that use DHMO! Together we CAN make a difference!


BAN DIHYDROGEN MONOXIDE!
Dihydrogen monoxide is colorless, odorless, tasteless, and kills uncounted thousands of people every year. Most of these deaths are caused by accidental inhalation of DHMO, but the dangers of dihydrogen monoxide do not end there.
Prolonged exposure to its solid form causes severe tissue damage. Symptoms of DHMO ingestion can include excessive sweating and urination, and possibly a bloated feeling, nausea, vomiting and body electrolyte imbalance. For those who have become dependent, DHMO withdrawal means certain death.
Dihydrogen monoxide:
· is also known as hydroxl acid, and is the major component of acid rain.
· contributes to the "greenhouse effect."
· may cause severe burns.
· contributes to the erosion of our natural landscape.
· accelerates corrosion and rusting of many metals.
· may cause electrical failures and decreased effectiveness of automobile brakes.
· has been found in excised tumors of terminal cancer patients.
Contamination is reaching epidemic proportions!
Quantities of dihydrogen monoxide have been found in almost every stream, lake, and reservoir in America today. But the pollution is global, and the contaminant has even been found in Antarctic ice. DHMO has caused millions of dollars of property damage in the midwest, and recently California.
Despite the danger, dihydrogen monoxide is often used:
· as an industrial solvent and coolant.
· in nuclear power plants.
· in the production of styrofoam.
· as a fire retardant.
· in many forms of cruel animal research.
· in the distribution of pesticides.
· as an additive in certain "junk-foods" and other food products.
Even after washing, produce remains contaminated by this chemical.
Companies dump waste DHMO into rivers and the ocean, and nothing can be done to stop them because this practice is still legal. The impact on wildlife is extreme, and we cannot afford to ignore it any longer!
The American government has refused to ban the production, distribution, or use of this damaging chemical due to its "importance to the economic health of this nation." In fact, the navy and other military organizations are conducting experiments with DHMO, and designing multi-billion dollar devices to control and utilize it during warfare situations. Hundreds of military research facilities receive tons of it through a highly sophisticated underground distribution network. Many store large quantities for later use.
Oh btw, to those who don't quite get it, try writing out the chemical formula for DHMO. This goes to show you shouldn't believe everything you read from emails or blogs nowadays. Well, except for this one, of course.

Cheers, and have a good day :)

GG-ed!

Everyone's stressed out by an insane Math paper, except those who've practically memorized the answer scheme. Never mind, it's picture time!

I seriously ROFL, LOLed, BBQed, DVDed, whatever. I just love Lolcat, don't you?

The Making of a Sciencey Person

I have a friend who is an artist, and he sometimes takes a view which I don't agree with. He'll hold up a flower and say, "Look how beatiful it is," and I'll agree. But then he'll say, "I, as an artist, can see how beautiful a flower is. But you, as a scientist, takes it all apart and it becomes dull." I think he's kind of nutty.


First of all, the beauty that he sees is available to other people-and to me, too, I believe. Although I might not be quite as refined aesthetically as he is, I can appreciate the beauty of a flower. But at the same time, I see much more in the flower than he sees. I can imagine the cells inside, which also have a beauty. There's beauty not just at the dimension of one centimeter; there's also beauty at a smaller dimension.


There are the complicated actions of the cells, and other processes. The fact that the colours in the flowers have evolved in order to attract insects to pollinate it is interesting; that means insects can see all the colours. That adds a question: does this aesthetic sense we have also esxist in lower forms of life? There are all sorts of interesting questions that come from a knowledge of science, which only adds to the excitement and mystery and awe of a flower.


It only adds. I don't understand how it subtracts.

 -Excerpt from 'What do YOU care what people think?' by Richard P. Feynman

The short excerpt was taken from the a book compiled from the memoirs and interviews with Richard Feynman. He is sort of a hero to me, representing everything I've wanted and still hope to be.

The main reason I felt like sharing the extract was because a lot of people, I'm sure have a certain preset notion about the 'Sciencey' breed of people in the world. We're supposed to be boring, dull people who spend the rest of their days cooped up in some lab somewhere. We take everything apart, so there's really nothing left to appreciate. So it really struck a chord with me when he says, "It only adds (beauty). I don't understand how it subtracts".

A good friend of mine once told me that as a kid, he would gawk in awe at the rainbows in the sky. They has an ethereal, magical property to them. Then progressing up the ranks of study, science broke down the beautiful rainbows into nothing more than the refraction of light through water particles acting as lenses. In that sense, it removed the mystery, the wonder of something you didn't understand.

But then again, after the rain has fallen, I still look up to the sky, hoping to catch a glimpse of the multi-hued arches in the sky. I understand how a rainbow is formed. I understand it on a deeper level than the average passerby. It's almost like an exclusive secret I can keep to myself. It is still magical, it is still beautiful.

It only adds. I don't understand how it subtracts.

Of running, fasting

I'm now a volunteer for World Vision's annual 30-hour famine!

Click for more info.

It's this nifty thing where you don't eat or bathe (honestly, I have no idea why) for 30 hours (hence the name). Somehow or other, it's meant for you to experience the hardship and poverty of the impoverished people of the world. It's a great idea, really! But for a ridiculous bunch of people who have just as ridiculous metabolism rates (like me!), die loh. No, really. I don't know how I'm going to last 30 hours. I don't think properly if I don't have my second breakfast. I get moody if I don't get my lunch. How? HOW LAH TELL ME WEI. I thought I could get away by being a volunteer.

'Alrighty now, everyone start fasting! But since I'm a volunteer, obviously I need my energy to volunteer properly, so I won't be joining you *snicker*.'

But that didn't work. Turns out volunteers have to fast too. Bah.

I'll just have to deal with it when I get there. Stay awake all night and sleep through the 30 hours? Maybe. Play COD for 26 hours straight? Maybe. Options, options.

Speaking of which, on the exact same day of the famine countdown, there is this other event I would have reeeeally liked to have gone to. It's the (also) annual SAFRA Singapore Bay Run! The coolest thing about it is the sheer number of participants. If I remember correctly, there were about 10 to 15 thousand runners for one of the previous years. And also, Singapore has a good reputation for organising enjoyable runs.

And Singapore is a lovely place to run. I mean, all island with no place else for the smog and pollutants to go to. Lovely, lovely indeed. All urban landscape with close to zilch greenery. But let's not forget the other spectrum of the view - the girls!

I mean, honestly, probability dictates that at least some of them will be acceptably gorgeous. And they'll be running! Flushed red cheeks, windswept hair! What more could you ask for?

Oh wait.

PB and Jelly it. I can't run because I've volunteered to starve myself and deprive myself of food. GAH! NO! I can't believe the alternative. It's either Run With Pretty Girls or Starve Myself For 30 Hours.

Sigh, persevere, Jonno! It's for a good cause. Think of the little kids in Somalia, starving! Or Zimbabwe, think of the poor kids who have to lug around back-breakingly huge mounds of money just to buy breakfast only to find that the price went up due to their hyper-inflation rate, pegged at about 2.2 million % due to the power crazy splurges of their evil dictator leader who does not want to negotiate in talks with the opposition leader but oh why am I telling you all this, lets just get back to the point!

Zzz....

Dilemmas, dilemmas, but I'll keep you posted. Good night world!