Air filter... and the rude workshop owner.

Our Five Seasons Portable Air Cleaner broke down. And I am looking for people to repair it. It's been with us for 18 years.

I've been looking for repairman or workshop dealing with electrical appliances, since Monday. So, this afternoon I was overjoyed to find one, with the help from some parking coupon officers. Don't get me wrong, I was looking for such services online but it turn futile. The number could not be reached, and there's little option. My brilliant father thought that Yellow Pages are obsolete so he threw them.

Feeling that there's still hope with the air cleaner, I am happy.

But it doesn't last long. The shop is owned by a rude woman.

So it goes like this

"Do you repair air filters? Mine is having some problem"

I didn't bring along the air filter, it's in the car. I was just looking then.

"Air Purifier ka?"

• "No, just a simple air filter, with static filter and fan... apparently the switch is not working, can you fix it?"

"Air Purifier is difficult to repair!"

• "Oh Ok"

"What's the brand and how long have you had it?"

• "It's Five Seasons and we have it for 18 years"

"18 years? And I never heard of that brand, I advise you to just throw it away, anything more than 5 years is hard to fix, no component"

"Just throw it away and get a new one, China brand would not last long, get a new one..."

FIVE SEASONS is a CANADIAN company, MADE IN CANADA! I really want to yell at her but I just kept it to myself.

So any foreign brand is made in China... which is another word for inferior quality. And looking at their website, they still produce the air cleaner, some for KENMORE.

So I asked her if she would repair KENMORE products since the component would likely to be the same.

"KENMORE? What China brand is that?"

Stupid lady. She's of Chinese descendant and looking down at her 'homeland'.

What electrical shop doesn't know KENMORE?

Frustrated, I went to the Landline Telephone Service Provider and get myself a Yellow Pages.

Searching through it and called more companies.

Apparently, nobody is willing to repair an air filter. Now I feel like I am living in a 3rd world country. Well, it is a 3rd world country, disguised as developing nation, showcasing only the developed part of the nation to the world. Yes have tall buildings (used to be the tallest in the world after 911), a national pride, but our highway is mediocre.

Tsk tsk tsk...

Vape vape vape...

Last Tuesday, my brother in law was in town. His first question, Where do folks around here buy Vape?

I'm not sure whether vape is similar to e-cigarette. They look like compact shisha.

I know a place where vape are sold. A place some would call 'Texas' or 'smoke house'

Texas? Maybe because of the barbecue. And I thought Aussies like BBQ more. Let's the Aussies and Texan decide among themselves who like Barbie more.

That place is strategically located. Away from the CBD, near housing estates, where 'off-shoremen' live.

On payday, that place would be very full. The 'off-shoremen' enjoying themselves, akin to sailors entertaining themselves at port of calls. The people from nearby Sultanate also like it there. Low-key, accessible and near.

With that, if I were to sell vapes or contrabands, I would open my business there. Imagine rum drinking pipe smoking sailor.

Returning home, I got headache from the vape.

Then yesterday, my brother asked me the effect of nicotine on brain.

AFAIK, if nicotine refers to just nicotine, and brain as brain itself, I would say the effect would be addiction.

Brain damage? Not that I heard of. Most haemorrhage is due to other components in tobacco.

Nicotine is also good for Parkinson's Diseases. Something that the health department all over the world conceal.

I never knew it, thinking our lecturer was pulling my legs. Well, if the PSA in telly said smoking is bad, we believe the TV more. So I was brainwashed by the TV that nicotine is bad. Until... the fact came out in our MCQ's.

Smoking has protective factors towards Parkinsonism. In other words, the prevalence of a smoker getting Parkinsonism is less than non smokers.

We thought that statement is false. And we are wrong. A majority of us did have the misconception that smoking is always bad. Our lecturer was shocked that we did badly on that question. So he told us to go back and read more. And yes we deserved the scolding.

I am not encouraging people (non-smoker) to smoke e-cigarettes. But I do think it is a better alternative to smokers.

oh that manipulating bitch!!!

I was watching Gone Girl because... let me admit. I like Ben Affleck very much! My man-crush.

I've watched almost all his film since The Town till now... except for Runner Runner... well, he's not the main character in Runner Runner. Prior to that, I've watched Daredevil, Reindeer Game and Surviving Christmas... Armageddon

I just like him so much, I wish he's my elder brother whom I can hang out with (jealous of Casey for having him as a big brother)

While I am a feminist, I also hate manipulating bitch. Well, I hate wicked manipulative person in general, be it women or men. While feminist would hate Hans Christian Andersen or the Grimm Brothers, (for making the main antagonist in fairy tales women... e.g. witch, evil stepmother, evil stepsisters, evil Queen etc...) they seems to have legit reason behind it. Women can be manipulative. Met with some and they made me look evil.

One is a friend's girlfriend, and the other one is a infatuated crazy girl. And they told their friends I'm gay. I am gay towards my friend? Oh no! She just jealous of our friendship. And the other girl, sour grape case. Couldn't hook a guy like me, end up making up stories on why I didn't reciprocate her feelings.

Yes, those manipulating bitch. Had I not met them, I probably would not get PTSD, and there's less thing to think about, leading to me quitting that stupid course at the stupid faculty.


Aaaaaargh! I'm just venting out. YES I HATE MANIPULATING BITCH!

If I could slap Amy, I would for harassing/framing my big brother Ben/Nick.

Yes, it's kinda like Clueless where Alicia Silverstone played a manipulating bitch character.

A reader from Israel? exited!

Reading the Bible, I wish I can travel to Israel. However, being born, and a citizen of one of the most anti-Israel nation, my mother told me to forget it. Another reason why I hope to migrate. I guess you know where. The country I mentioned most in this blog, and in fact it obvious.

Having a Hebrew name, observing the Sabbath, although not always, not eating pork (initially an obligation, but now I developed allergic reaction if I eat any), some of my friend laughed at me when I told them I am a Christian (that was years ago). Well, while our concept of clean and unclean animal is the same, the preparation is not. I do cook meat with milk... so it's not Kosher. Probably due to this, some resorts to vegetarianism.

I wish one day I could travel to Israel, seeing how the Jews observe their Sabbath. Learning their culture and so on. All the information I get about Israel if from Wikipedia and Youtube. In this nation, Jews are depict as monster. Jewish Liverpool player was banned, Jewish orchestra conductor (or is it composer) banned from entering this country. This was made worse by our own version of Papa Doc Duvalier, blaming the Jews on economic recession which happens decades ago. 

Ask anybody about Israel here, all you'll hear is 'lakhnatullah'. Yes, we were taught to be as hostile as possible to the Jews, which is wrong. Is it only here, or everywhere that people hates Jews so much? 

In my opinion, the Jews become what they are (or at least how they are perceived) because of how they are treated. The Ghettoes and Nazi.

Even while watching Merchant of Venice, I do empathize the moneylender, Shylock. They lived in a ghetto, could not own anything, so they could only be dealing with money. They were oppressed. Something that history textbook failed to mention (I mean our school history textbook). 

Yea, I do feel this nation is so f*****ked up, hating Jews like the Jews raped their mother. (just a figure of speech)

BTW, one of the national anthem I knew (I think I can sing fairly well) is Hatikvah. It's one of the six national anthems I can sing well, by well, without looking at the lyrics. 

Yes, I am exited to have Israeli to read my blog. At least they know, not everyone here is anti-Israel. 

Reader from Philippines? Who could he/she be?

First of all Mabuhay.

There are 2 views from the Philippines. Yayyyyyy!

Who could he/she be?

Jason Godfrey, the handsome and funny man with cute smile (bigsmilenoteeth?)

or Gerard Panahon? Sarap! Nice! Delicious!

or Mikey Bustos, the funny singer.

I'm a big fan of these 3 men.

or Diether Ocampo? (while others think Jerico Rosales, or Dingdong Dantes or Piolo are better looking than him, I think Mr. Ocampo is the most handsome...)

Maybe my cousin's cousins.

Or somebody looking for Tubig jokes, or any of my aunt's jokes.

or food posted here (well, I have polvoron from the sari sari shop, and bangus and buko salad and espagetti or saluyot? eh, We have a saluyot plant, but I don't know how to cook them. Is it like pinakbet? with bagoong? I have to ask the pro, my Auntie P)

Whatever their reasons, thank you for reading my blog.

p/s Auntie P is from Pangasinan. She's my aunt not our amah. And she's an excellent cook.

p/s/s I can sing some verses in Lupang Hinirang....

Why block the whistle blower, not punishing the crime/injustice?

There's a big hoo-haa going on. I would not describe further because the chief police might read this blog and put me in lock-up. Yes, our chief police likes twitters and social medias. Attacking bloggers and oppressing freedom of speech.

An independent news was blocked. A whistle blowers to be exact. Which is my favourite.

The site was exposing something (which again, I'm not going to disclose, risky) and the site was blocked for defaming the 'Big Boss'.

Injustice. The Big Boss is not God. Well, if this still happens in the next few decades, North Korea might be milder than us. Any form of speech against the government is 'illegal'. The Big Boss is a demigod. And we are more concern about impressing the other nations with our towers and such, but our people are oppressed.

Anti Israel, with media condemning Israel 24/7 in the national news, saying that they oppressed the Palestinian (While they are robbing us like how they tell everybody how Israel is stealing Palestinian's land) To the extent of worshiping Der Fuhrer.

_______________________________________________________

A day to celebrate the province's own independence day. Kinda like our own Cinco de Mayo (if we were from the State of Puebla). Except, it was not recognized in the nation. Well, the auspicious date wasn't mentioned in the History Textbook (with the education system politicized, what more could you expect? of course the ruling party would do anything to cover their ass and to brainwash the students that our independence day is in the following month, their independence day)

It's an important day albeit a working day. So true blue (insert the demonym for people from my province) would join the parade or walk as we called them to commemorate our neglected but the real independence day.

But the chief police was not happy. Saying that was against his order.

IT IS A CRIME TO JOIN A WALK TO COMMEMORATE OUR INDEPENDENCE?

The independence day that we've been celebrating all this while is actually another regular day for us. Nothing significant to us.

______________________________________________________

At least the whole world know that we are serious in getting what we demand. Autonomy as agreed half a century ago. Fulfilling the agreements.

The Province Big Boss told the media that he understands the sentiment (well, he's our people, of course he understand). Well, I hope the Province's Big Boss would walk the talk into more autonomy and better infrastructure.

Speaking of infrastructure, we have incomplete highway, while in the other part of the country, they are making more. Not enough highways? Oh B**lsh*t! They have limited resources, but their infrastructures are better (but still not enough) While our rich in resources state looks poor, with less than satisfactory infrastructures. Where does the money goes? Of course to the other part of the country. The western part. Sucking our resources from unfair royalties.

_______________________________________________________

Imagine a modern world French Revolution

The Big Boss(es) are like Marie and Louis. Living an opulent life, while the citizen is in dire.

I can't wait to see Marie and her big hair and Louis executed in public.

Let's bake cakes... gateau...

________________________________________________________

p/s this post is either a fiction or real. I don't put any names or exact places, so it could be a place in my imagination or the reality.

p/s/s who eats Jalapeno feel hot (direct translate from a popular adage)

I'm a feminist... don't expect me to be a gentleman...

We were hiking this afternoon. Jerry, his girlfriend Deb, and another 2 more girls... and I.

It's my third time hiking the trail and the first for the others. So I have to slow my pace. Well, I'm not that fast anyway. I usually hike at noon, when nobody is around. It's hot in a hot humid island, so nobody of a sane mind would hike. Heatstroke hazard.

It's different in the late afternoon. There are lot's of fellow hiker hiking the hill.

Jerry's girlfriend was not feeling well. Menstrual pain. Cramp. She has a strong will to finish the track. Very determined. Which is why I respected her. And Jerry is not into PDA. So it's less awkward to hang out with the couple.

She was fine until the end of the trail. Well, like I said very determined. She had menstrual cramps, and headache. Well, imagine an anaemic huffing and puffing up and down the hill. I didn't know that she was not in her best condition until she crouched in pain. Had Jerry told me earlier, I would at least slow down or use the easiest trail. Maybe Deb doesn't think that's a big deal. So she kept mum.

Upon realizing that she is not well, I asked her what's the matter. She had vomitted. And I just sat there staring at the vomitus. The others are looking away. Yes, it's disgusting to see vomitus, but I've seen a lot worse. Scooping poops and examine them under the microscope. Water broke and splashed on my trousers, Bloods everywhere. Yes, I sat there and watch and encouraged her to vomit more.

And of course, taking a deep breath to ease her cramp. Increase oxygen demand, because she's hiking and a bit anaemic, losing blood from menses to add spiciness into this situation. Well, I've always have paracetamol handy.

That's not even the highlight of the story. See, nothing relates to feminism.

A few minutes later, a gentleman told us to call the ambulance. To him, I am not gentleman enough to care about my unwell friend.

I was close to sass him. If I were, this is how I would do it

"Eh uncle, she still can stand it ok. And this is not an emergency to call an ambulance. And the medical assistants in the ER would not entertain us. Ok"

Well, I've been posted to the ER. A granny was sick, just a 'minor' one, but she demands to be seen the first. She was then scolded by the medical assistant for making a scene. I was a student then, so I don't dare to go against the medical assistants. In this region, medical assistants think that they are the doctors, sometimes exceeding the doctor's ego. They don't study medicine like doctor's but they are respected like the doctors by the community. Hence, their ego.

So I sat there, comforting Deb, asking her to take a deep breath to compensate the high oxygen demand and not hesitate to vomit. She did apologized for vomiting in front of me though, but seeing people vomit is less disgusting than watching the local drama. Too cliche, and too cheesy.

Before proceeding with his hiking, the 'gentleman' uncle told us (sarcastically) "She might be fine now, but in the next 4-5 years, it could get worse"

I was close to ask him if he studied medicine before... or is he trying to cast a spell on us. F***k you Uncle McConcern holier-than-thou-wiser-than-thou...

I hate such attitude.

Women are weaker... they said, so gentlemen need to protect them. HELL NO! Women can defend themselves. Only men with bad intention makes them seem weak. So instead of being a gentleman why not make the world a better place for women... instead of protecting them from the wicked world?

So much with their damsel in distress. That's patronizing. Yes, we have a lot of so called gentlemen, but they are pervert too. Like that man who complaints on a certain gymnast's attire. Too revealing, too sexy. Yes, instead of looking there, why not turn your gaze. And those men said that they are there to protect women? You should protect women from yourself, not for yourself. Women would be safer if such men respect women as somebody as capable as men and if such men stop objectifying women.

What, you think women are so frail, so stupid, could not stand pain, that I need to call an ambulance? That's so dramatic, for a menstrual cramp. And you think that's she is the weaker sex, that the cramp is life threatening? I women could not withstand pain, how do you explain your mother giving birth to you? Obviously, he's never been to the labour suite, seeing women in labour pain, but still strong enough to push babies out. Very strong, very determined. That's weak? And that couldn't compare to tattooing pain (yeah, that gentleman have tattoos, not full sleeve, on his arm. Maybe he could not tolerate pain... but showing off the tattoo to impress girls?)

I'm not a woman, but I'm a feminist. If I were a girl, I would wave my hand in front of the man (kinda like the Ghetto gesture... the 'Puta' gesture) and told the man to stop acting gentleman and mind his own business.

Yes, gentleman and bimboes, those are people whom feminist hates. Bimbo for degrading their own sex, acting like they need men's help... everytime.

PTSD turned me into a monster???

Hmmmm... If I were given the chance to turn back time, I would return to my pre-PTSD years. 

Yes, PTSD changed me. But not all are bad.

For instance, having PTSD taught me to empathize. Considerate.

Now, I live in time, not in future. Cherishing life, because life would not always be the same. We get older, matured, and wiser? I hope. 

So monster? Yes, if I am on the road driving alone. I would turn into a monster. Well, just cursing and giving off my middle fingers. Just to that extent. But very frequent. Yes, reckless driving ruined my life. Not, me. The evidence was circumstantial. Just because I exited the junction, I'm wrong, while the other party was hogging the lane. Using children to make me guilty. And I start to have flashback on the incident which put me into this mess. I just wish I had installed videocam as an evidence.  

C'est la vie...

Library... borrowing architecture books.

I was at the library.

I live in a tropical climate and we are too frugal. No AC. So I am looking for ideas to control the climate.

I borrowed Cuban architecture, Singaporean architecture, Living Wall and Roof etc.

The Librarian asked me

"So, you're building a house?"

I replied "More like building castle in the skies." Being sarcastic.

Well, if I live in a perfect world, I would be an architect.

You people are so AC dependent. Yes, we build nice beautiful houses... modern looking or western, without verandah. No verandah, hot house. Hot house = AC.

Vernacular architecture exists to adapt to local climate. So, I like vernacular houses more. Queenslanders are cute. With wrap around verandah. So is Southern Houses, Charleston Houses on stilt with verandah.

Speaking of Cuba, yayyyyyyyyyyy. Cuba is a nice country, rich in culture. It's a good move. And Canadian could not brag about vacationing in Cuba to Americans...

Americans... first legalize same sex marriage, then Cuba... now, who's copying who...

(p/s Obama is a Canadiophile??? yes? no?)

Why playing firecrackers at midnight?

It's funny, considering the facts that in Islam (even in Judaism or Adventism) the day starts as soon as the sun sets.

I was raised as an Adventist, so our Sabbath starts Friday night, so no TV on Friday night. Growing up such way gave me the insight in Islam and Judaism. Our concept of day is similar.

My bestie told me in Islam, dark comes before light(day). Well, in Genesis, there was darkness before God made light. Yes, the idea seems similar.

So practically, Eid starts like 6 hours ago (now it's midnight) Why are we playing fireworks at midnight? IT'S NOT NEW YEAR!!! AND STOP DISTURBING MY SLEEP!!!

Fail!

Well, my bestie's ex colleague was not aware of the facts, even some of my cousins are not aware of it. Her ex-colleague didn't know that the day starts at sunset. He was wondering what is his birthday in Hijri. (Which month which day). So we asked him, when was he born, the exact time, after sunset or before sunset. He got puzzled. After some explanation, then realized that the day in Hijri calendar starts after/during Maghrib.

My cousin got puzzled when I wished her 'Happy Sabbath' on a Friday night.

"Don't we go to church tomorrow? Then tomorrow is Sabbath?" Later did she realized why the strict no TV rule on Friday night.

So, I don't see the need to play firecrackers at midnight. It's not new year (because new year, the Gregorian Calendar starts at midnight...)

Happy Eid, it's a day of forgiveness. So I forgave them for ruining my peaceful night. And instead enjoying the fireworks.

Coconut stealer

Again!

The funny thing was, the duo gave me the excuse that they wanted to ask for permission but nobody is at home. I was at the backyard when I listened to a thud. So I confronted them. So if there's nobody at home, you have the permission to steal? Yes they avoid at all cost not calling their action stealing in this holy month, (okay last month,) Their rationale was, they were asking for permission but nobody is at home. Well, there was no permission. No one was giving them the permission. 

"So, if there's nobody at home, it's right to take without permission?"

They apologized, one of the duo sang a song on forgiving each other... yeah Eid. So I left the scene to get my phone. While I was away, they took the coconuts. Oh, that coconut would be 'haaram' it's stolen goods. So that coconuts are as haaram as porks and alcohol. First attempted stealing, then cheating.

The initial agreement was to not getting the coconut becomes the opposite. They have the audacity to ask for forgiveness and then do the same mistake in less than a minute? 

Yeah in their mind, crooked idea of right, they have the permission. 

Am I stingy? No, they are carrying a sack of coconuts, which I think should be enough. Maybe they took the coconut and then selling them at the bazaar. They get the money, while we who owns the tree gain nothing... losing coconuts in facts. 

Is the Ramadhan Bazaar a good idea? No! Yes it helps the honest men to get more income, but at times, encourage stealing? Which is opposite to the idea of fasting? And it also encourage gluttony. An acquaintance I knew, Mr McClingy, once bought a lot of foods from the bazaar for himself. I asked him why fasting in fasting month when you eat like for 5 person yourself. The idea behind Ramadhan is empathizing the poor. But you eat like a king?

And coconut water sold in the bazaar are tasteless. Know I know some of it is stolen. It's HAARAM!

Well, I wish that the men stealing the coconuts couldn't pass urine for days... and ruptured their bladder. And their penis turns into pussies. Like real pussies. 

Wahahahahahahaaaaaaa... wicked laugh!

Fasting month is almost over, Eid is nearing.

It's a school holiday. Unfortunately, I still have Business Law exam tonight.

This morning, I sent my mother to the airport. It's an airport, so one can expect non-local to be there. Be it Westerners, or 'westerners' or even people from the neighbouring sultanate. They probably start their holiday earlier than us.

I am not feeling well, coughing. And it's hot. So I need to hydrate myself very often.

Then come this westerner (with his cockroach attitude) sneering at me while I was having a sip of water. As if he is telling me to respect the fasting month. A telepathy.

Local are more tolerable. We get along very well regardless of race and religion. There is no restriction for non-fasting individuals to drink or eat in public, unlike the western part of the nation. There, non-fasting individuals (a non-direct way to address certain group of people) are considered as immigrant, and those who fast are the natives. So, the 'natives' would impose rules on other races. And as always quoting their supremacy in this land.

Our local people are very nice. Very tolerable and there's acceptance among each other's culture. When I was 7, I refused to drink in front of a trainee teacher because he is fasting. He encouraged me to drink, and not to feel awkward drinking in front of him. My act of drinking in front of him is actually a blessing. A test, which he gains for not tempted by my action. And it's my right to drink too. Which he thinks that it is not right to deprive others just because they can't drink.

Even so, I still ask my friend before I drink or eat. My friends are okay with it. Bonus blessings... Almost everybody in this state is okay with me drinking in public, and we also don't just drink in front of them, unless necessary.

Sore throat, so I took a sip, very discreet, except that this 'Cockroach' saw me. Did I gulp the whole bottle of mineral water? No, Did I drink it publicly, yes, but discreetly, facing the wall, actually. And I need to drink. So he wants me to drink outside the terminal? Absurd! And he's an adult, matured enough not to be tempted.

Maybe they are privileged in his state where other races kow-tow with them the majority. there's always news where non-fasting students have to take their lunch in less desirable places such as toilet, which they deny calling the toilet a changing room.

Here, students are free to have their lunch in public, and my fasting friends would join, just to accompany us. She's not eating though, she's there as a friend. According to her, her act is to strengthen the bond of friendship among us, (we are from different backgrounds).

Yea, some people think that they are privileged, imposing absurd rules on non-practising individuals, whereas here, we are at liberty to do anything we want. Though we 'live on trees' we still could respect other people. And minor things such as drinking in public during fasting month is not an issue.

Funny, very very funny. Maybe those so-called civilized citizens should learn respect from us 'tree dwelling barbarians'.

Maybe I was wrong for drinking in public, but I have my own reason (unwell) and this is my homeland. And I considered a lot of factors before drinking. Drinking facing an empty blank wall. He's 'kay-poh'ing thinking that he a religious police, policing other people who don't respect the fasting month. God would surely retract you fasting month blessing for being prejudice and judgmental.

Or maybe he is staring at me but other things. But this situation is also a throw back from an incident occurring last year. In a bigger airport. More cockroaches. More leering.

Maybe I am wrong for prejudging this man, he might not meant to stare at me, but such incident occurs.

Well, I am very proud of my fellow comrades (meaning people from my state) for being very understanding all this while. Giving us the liberty to do our things. Not imposing irrelevant rules. Seeing the bright side of other's action. Considerate. Yes we are indeed brothers and sisters, a big family. This whole large state is a one big family.

Wishing my fellow comrades celebrating Eid, a happy festive day, drive safe, and eat moderately.

#I love my state and my fellow 'comrades'. I wish we could co-exist for eternity in harmony. Yay!

I wish I could swin.

Neri... Ocean Girl. I wish I could swim without breathing apparatus.

After months of keeping fish, I observed that my bettas are very responsive to my presence. They would greet me.

Sometimes I wish I live underwater and have a dog sized bettas. Beau is very cute when it comes to feeding time. Dancing, or pleading for more food.

1,2,3,4 underwater....

Measles and antibiotic???

I was listening to one of the popular radio station in this country. And the highlight of the day is always the prank call. I bet you know how the format is. If not, here, a wikipedia link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Jacintha_Saldanha

In a nutshell, a husband (the host's gym trainer) wanted to prank her wife regarding their child's appointment with a doctor.

Basically, the host assumed the role of a rude doctor, and the wife told the 'doctor' that she missed an appointment because her daughter had fever, measles. The 'doctor' being rude calling the 'victim' an irresponsible mother.

What caught my attention was, the mother told the prankster (doctor) that the other doctor gave her antibiotic for measles?

Antibiotic for viral fever? Maybe for secondary bacterial infection. I wasn't there. But what worries me is the rampant usage of antibiotics to treat viral fever. And this leads to antibiotic resistance.

Currently, we heard of MERS coronaviridae and in the past MRSA outbreak in a rural hospital (which is actually in my parent's hometown)

Don't we learn for past history? Do we think antibiotic an elixir for all infectious diseases?

Doctor's should be careful when prescribing antibiotics. or maybe patients are so adamant on having antibiotic. Doctors should advise the patient their rationale. Well, doctors think that they are so 'brilliant' not having the time to advise the 'stupid' layman.

And if the patients are unhappy with the doctor for not prescribing antibiotics, then comes the social media. "Dr. X is so cheapskate... he wouldn't want to prescribe antibiotic for my fever..."

Rather than losing patient (read client and $$$$) they would rather please the patient, putting them at risk for antibiotic resistance.

Again, I wasn't there. I don't know the rationale behind prescribing antibiotics for viral fever, but this is just a comment on our doctor prescribing antibiotic like it's a standard operating procedure. I'm not sure about the current Clinical Practical Guidelines (CPG) though. I would check them later after I'm done with Business Law exam. Why would I read the CPGs when I am already a 'layman'? Well, it's a good-to-know information. And I think patients or any layman should read the CPGs so that they are well informed... and our doctors are 'apparently too busy' to explain.

New organic food store...

Yesterday, on the way back from the bazaar, I saw a new, brightly lit, signage in a nearby shop building. It's an organic store. At last, an organic store within a walking distance. Not a big surprise since most of the demography here is of upper middle class (not my words... it's my friends word, when I told them where I live, all they listen is ka-ching! ka-ching!) and of course... slum dwellers... contrasting much. 

So, this afternoon, I visit the store. The owner is Mdm. O. And I spent 45 minutes chitchatting with the owner. She is very friendly.

One would always associate organic food with high price. Yes, old Asians are quite cheapskate. I could imagine if my mother was with me. She would comment on the price.

Honestly, there's a bit difference compared to regular food. Of course if one were to comment about the honey, or maple syrup, it's more expensive. By maple syrup, I mean the original maple syrup from Quebec, Canada... not maple flavoured syrup, which is regular sugar cane syrup infused with maple flavour. And the honey is organic honey, imagine how much nectar to collect. And regular honey bees are sometimes fed with syrup. Yes, a bit expensive, but for the flavour, why not.

I told Mdm O that I buy organic foods only for the taste. They taste different, well, better. I told her, I don't really care about GMO's but sometimes opt for organic foods for the taste, variety (yup, regular honey vs alder honey and wilderness honey and acacia honey... more variety). And sometimes, I use organic goods for cosmetics and fish keeping, such as organic sea salt. 

She started the business this week. She did it to cater more people with organic foods. And this area is a strategic place as it is situated near a slightly upper class neighbourhood, and it's on the way to the new township. People would stop by on their way back home. And she consume mostly organic food for health reason. According to her, it's worth her money to feed her family with organic food than to use the money on medication. Good point. She added that, she used to suffer from hair loss (alopecia??) eating GMO food.  

It's good to have a place to buy brown sugar or organic ramen or extra virgin coconut oil (my staple... it's food and cosmetic in one bottle) or vinegars nearby. Prior to this, I have to drive further to get this stuff. The distance is nothing but the parking coupon is what I dislike. Well, at least our parking fee here is less complicate than inn the big city. So, I have to call that store to confirm if what I need is available and the price. Other than that, another store would be Dr. Transgender franchise. Not that I am against transgender, it's very expensive. Well, considering the rent in town, in the shopping mall. But I still get my brewers yeast from Dr. Tranny's store.

I bought aloe vera jelly from Mdm. O. It's konjac. Sometimes called as konyaku. I asked her if she had tried gelatine before. As she haven't tried one, I told her gelatine jelly is less QQ than agar or konjac. And we love our QQ texture. I've tried aeroplane jelly and that port wine jelly, I like the taste, but not the texture. It's flimsy, kinda like our tofu curd, except tofu curd is creamier (like!!!). Agar is less QQ than konjac but still better than gelatine. What is QQ? Basically, it's firm, you can bite into but not as hard. Chewy. But not like chewing gum. Another QQ thing would be tapioca pearl. It's hard to describe in one word. One have to eat agar/konyaku jelly, or nata de coco to feel it.

It's good to talk with business owners especially new ones. They are more than happy to tell you about their products as it's a mode of promoting their business. That is, if they are not busy. And to me, it's an exchange of idea. I told her that I substitute margarine with chilled coconut oil (they are solid if stored if the fridge). And buzzfeed video on coffee and coconut oil. Yeah, it's a win win situation. They get new ideas from customers and customers get new ideas from the business owners too.

So support your neighbourhood business.   

Am I funny??

Last night we went out for a drink. Jerry brought his missus and his missus brought a friend.

To cut the story short, the girl thought that I am funny.

Yes, some do find me funny or bubbly. But I think I am a nerd. A funny nerd? Sounds oxymoron. A nerdy hunk isn't an oxymoron (yes, a hunk wearing glasses will get girls wet...) Funny nerd? I imagine someone wearing thick glasses with buck tooth. And unibrow. I'm not wearing glasses though despite the fact that I am a nerd.

So funny nerd... an atypical nerd? Good looking and funny? Well, you'll be the judge on good looking. I'm not. Seriously. A person who envy Matt Bomer for his good look and charm? Yes, my standard on good looks is very high.

And I got teased by my friends after that. Apparently funny is the new in for a guy. According to some research (and I am too lazy to quote, but you can just google it online... or maybe you know it already) girls like funny guy. Hmmmmm... I don't think I am hot funny, just annoyingly funny... kinda like Annoying Orange. Or Phoebe Buffay... weird funny... or Chandler Bing... funny witty. Prince Philip... Trevor Noah... Huh?

Although being funny is an attractive trait, to me, it's kinda annoying to be not taken seriously. I like being funny (if I were) but please listen to my opinion. Back in medical school, nobody takes me seriously. They thought I am just pulling their legs. Being funny in medical school is akin to being blonde or bimbo. And Patch Adams is a misleading every doctor-wannabes.

Some even think that my PTSD is a made believe diagnosis. Because I don't look like a grumpy, gun-loving Nam veteran. (Actually, at home, I am grumpy... a dark secret that only my family and ex-housemates know). Yeah, Robin William commit suicide is another example, so is Jim Carey... yes, sometimes, our mental disorders makes us creative or funny.

So, I am funny. No, I'm not. Really!

Jurassic World...

Yes, finally, watching it with my chums.

I would rate it 9 over 10.

First the actors. Both hero and heroine portrays a genuine acting. The sexual tension seems real. And I almost forget that Chris Pratt is married to Anna Faris... at least on screen. Yes, the sexual tension is very convincing. Good acting Mr. Pratt (he's still with Anna... and very romantic the two) Well like what Joey of FRIENDS said, if the sexual tension on stage is convincing, the possibility of cheating is lower. Yes, I take Joey's words for this.

Scenery, it's not Costa Rica, it's Hawaii. Anybody watching Hawaii Five O would notice the terrain... like seriously. But a nice scenery though.

Storyline is perfect. The velociraptors are loyal to Owen. Which is true. If you love the animals, they would love you back. Did I tell you the story of my friend's grandma and her pet crocodile? No my friend is not Angela Anaconda... and her grandma's pet is an alligator. Another lesson is, not to make something bigger, cooler and better without weighing the cons... and trust. And don't be greedy.

The funniest character is Lowery. He's witty and sarcastic... like Nick Miller. And cute? Too bad, he didn't do his turtle face. That turtle face is cuteeeeeeeeeee!!!!

So would I recommend it? DEFINITELY.

Jamie Costa is funny

Diva cup...

I was watching my favourite Indonesian YouTuber... Sacha Stevenson

I was watching this

Basically, it's about feminine hygiene. Sharing. Considering that some of my readers are female, so it's good to share.

It's not relevant to me, but hey, I like new information. In this region, it's quite a 'taboo' for a men to discuss about feminine hygiene. Just watch the video in YouTube and you'll see a lot of men are 'offended' by this... offended??? by blood? or by vagina? Maybe those guys are delivered via LSCS. Vagina? Well, maybe because I had delivered babies in my life, so seeing or talking about vagina is not awkward.

If I were a girl. I would use this. Economical, green... no I mean it's the greener option... not the colour of menstrual. (Green... Beta haemolytic bacteria... actually alpha haemolysis is greener than beta)

Asians in particular are very conservative when discussing about virginity. Try to sell tampons here, I bet only a handful would buy them. Apparently, one can lose virginity to a tampon.

Over here, virginity is 'measured' with how intact the hymen is. So, tampons could ruin your hymen? Well, I'm not a girl, but it's tampon, not a dildo... tampon is small, short, and I doubt it could affect on hymen. And guys, be open minded. Torn hymen doesn't mean that the girl is not virgin. And how do you inspect one's hymen? Or you are too ego to admit that your dick isn't the first thing to be in your girls vajayjay... Guys, always want to be the first to... ah you know it.

There are some concern regarding to Diva cup... most are from the comments by the viewers.

How to pee when using Diva cup? Hey, do girls even know that they pee from different hole? Maybe we Asians should explore our vaginas better. (by we/our I meant the girls) So you can pee as usual. Well, it's anatomy 101.

Does it hurt? Or uncomfortable? Well, I don't have the answer. But Sacha has been using them for more than a decade.

Would it get stuck? I seriously doubt it. It's a cup, held inside the vagina. And vagina is not that deep. It's not the Indian Ocean where a large jetliner could gone missing...

Again the main issue here is virginity. Personally, I think, if it's not sex, you are still a virgin. And I doubt men know the difference between a virgin and not virgin. Unless if you have a label on your forehead telling the world that you are not virgin? Or brag about losing them to certain man.

Well, you could just go to the link that I've attached, and ask Sacha personally. She's Canadian, so you can just ask her in English.

Hating Jews without meeting one...

In this country, anything to do with Jews are frown upon... except Facebook, which is used to spread hatred towards Jews, Christians and the West.

It's hard to find Jew here. Used to have Jews living here years ago, but due to growing anti-Jewism (anti-Semitic is a misnomer...) they left.

Funny thing is, without any encounter with Jews, how did we first hate Jews? Based on stereotypes? Earlier this year... or late last year, a boy 'like' Israel on Facebook, and the whole school mocked him.

And, also last year, a couple decided to make their wedding more memorable by inviting their guest to step on the Israeli flag. Some defend their action as a protest towards Israel.

Boycotting is another thing that we excel in. Boycotting Americans and Israel. Last year, a worker in McD's was assaulted because of the 'alleged' link between McD with Israel. Baseless accusation but it happens. Well, the easiest way to boycott things here is to tell the public that the product helps/made by/anything to do with... Israel, or it contains porcine DNA... despite the process of istihalah etc etc. (Funny, alcohol is OK but pig?)

And the most amusing fact is, we worship Hitler because he killed Jews? Hitler is a hero here. He don't drink alcohol... he kills Jews... so he's a hero. Little did we know, if we were living in Germany at that time, we would be gassed to... Do you think Hitler would consider us Aryans? No... no matter how much whitening products we use, we are still non-white to the eye of Hitler. No matter how many Hail Hitler you said.

So, do the majority have power on who we support? Is it compulsory to hate Jews and help the Palestine? Anybody sitting on the fence is considered heartless. Heartless because apparently, we don't care their plights. They would spread pictures of Palestinian children killed or any gory pictures... blaming Israel.

First question, are we there to witness first-hand to judge? It is not right to stereotype. But the stereotype we have is Palestine is predominantly Muslim/Arab and Israel, Judaism/Jews. Being good brothers, we support our people. The media plays the news almost everyday (and nobody cares about Boko Haram... or ISIS until lately... media bias).

By calling Israel laknatullah or Nasrani laknatullah, does it means that we are pure, right and the truth? So the Israeli and Christians and the West would surely go to hell (according to popular belief here) but not our corrupt politicians... well, the politicians are not Jews or Christians or Western. Dangerous assumptions. Who knows that we were to be put in hell because of our baseless accusation and Jew bashing.

Before going into action, do some research. There are Muslims and Arabs in Israel. Are they laknatullah? And why is Fatah and Hamas always fighting? Fatah and Hamas doesn't seems to care about the plight, but fighting for power. Why are we helping Palestinian, if their government seems not to care. Publicity? Not against the Palestinian but there are many poor people in here. Aren't we supposed to help our people first. It's like "breastfeeding the monkeys in the jungle when our own child died of starvation at home..." Well, helping the locals don't bring much attention globally. We want to look good, even how crappy we are... crappy infrastructure, crappy management... but at least the Arab world respects us for helping the Palestinian (again I doubt that the Arab give a damn about Palestinian). Why aren't the Arabs helping Palestinians when they speak the same language, have similar culture than us. Ah yes, we are trying hard to be Arabs. Ya Habibi...

I think the mass media should give the facts... only the facts... world news should cover the world news, not only the Middle East. And instead of putting ideas into audience mind, let the audience think for themselves. Hell, our brain is rotting from the spoon-fed input/brainwashing. So Jason Lo is right about the news...

 Break prime time with surprise and lies

You're signed and sealed

With what you see with anybody else's eyes

You're talking the talk

But you ain't walking the walk man

One mike, one camera

And you become an educator

Can I trust you with my own

Give me time to believe

Those with too much power they fall down in history

Yea you might have us hanging onto your every breath

So be responsible

Learn to preserve, protect and respect

Not to destroy

Not to deplore

The angles of truth are so much harder to explore

And living your life is about waiting for the next test

So live for the moment

Cos it never turns out like you expect

And the majority should tone down on their supremacy agenda... ooooppppsss... I forgotten that they are Nazi/Hitler wannabes... Hitler is their God/Hero. Hence the overinflated ideas on supremacy. Think of it like Brain of Pinky and the Brain.

Yes, we are always the best. Everything is possible. No matter how crappy we are. Well, it's easy to have crappy things here, just blame them on Israel... potholes? Israel agenda to conquer the world... bad economy... blame Soros... missing craft... Israel...Even obesity, smoking/cancer, or drought... blame Israel. So basically, anything good is from us (yes us first, then God) and all bad things are from Israel and her allies i.e Western and Christians.

Well, what confuses me is Jews and Christians are people of the books... but at the same time the enemy?

Hating other race/religion blindly... because of stereotypes...

"Don't know so don't love" like the old sayings... Why don't we get to know any Jews, Palestinians, Arabs, Westerns, Eastern or Christians, Hindus, Buddhist first before we make our conclusion to either love or hate them? I mean at a personal level? Don't we like to know more about a person before hating that person?

Yes, we are weird... really REALLY WEIRD

*by 'we/us/our', I meant those who are anti-Jew, because they are the majority. So 'we/us/our' is used to represent the whole (insert my country) for the ease of writing this blog. Again, this is based on observation. Deny all you can, but it's happening.

_________________________________________________

And today, I went to McD, there are booklets, telling the customer how they are not anti-Palestine and so so... Does our anti-Jew sentiment that bad? Or is it just a boycott. Well KFC isn't affected by it despite being an American establishment. Yeah, funny. very very funny the way we think.

Double standard... homophobes who gets orgasm when looking at Matt Bomer.

Yes, Matt Bomer is cute. Yep, he is. (read this in an envious tone...)

I like watching his movies or TV series. He's quite a good actor. And gay. I like him. He's my dream man??? Well, like I said earlier, I am very liberal. Say if a man loves me and I loves him back, there's no reason not to get married. So yes, I am pro LGBT. No law should prohibit a person to love another person. Even if they are of different religion. I'm just saying. There's no need to hate the gays. They are fun, witty and smart.

In the past, I got offended if people mistook me as gay. Now, I think it's a complement. Like they said, hot men are either taken,  or gay. So using Boolean Logic, I'm hot, because I am definitely not taken. Don't get me wrong. I'm not getting out of the closet. I just think, nah, it's good to have gays. Less competition to straights. Am I gay or bisexual or straight? I love girls, I love boys... but not in an erotic way. Platonic. Maybe asexual? But I had a girl crush... and also man-crush... Haha... Maybe I am Q... questioning...

Putting my sexuality aside... So gay bashing. A friend of mine thought that the US legalizing gay marriage is another step into doomsday. Apparently, gays are the reason behind all the disasters. Kinda funny. I kinda think that God love everyone. He would not hate the gays. He made them? Even if He hates the idea behind gay relationship, He still loves us. Sodom and Gomorrah? Maybe? I may be wrong, I may be right... Sometimes, it's funny when the minister said that God loves everyone... and the next moment, God hates the gays... Contradicting.

But being gay could not be the reason behind all misfortunes in this world.

So hating gays, but loving hot gays... is a double standard. Just because a gay men is handsome, good-looking and dashing, suddenly you like gay men??? Eh girl, even if you like them, they would not turn straight just because of you. Another misconception is being gay is a choice. It's like hmmmm... today, let me be gay... and the next day, how about straight today. Even a hermaphroditic organism would not change their sex as fast as a second.

So, do I hate gays? I LOVE them... unless if they are annoying me. Yes, some are annoying... like straight men too, some are annoying.

What I did... online quiz

full mark for the Canadian quiz... yay!!! 

New Zealand is considering a new flag...

Heard it on CBC radio.

Well, I anticipated the new flag. What would it look like.

Honestly, the New Zealand Flag looks similar to her over the ditch neighbour's.

Hence the confusion

I laughed because I know both anthems, and it's the wrong one. How could you ask the Aussies to sing God Defend New Zealand. Waltzing Matilda maybe...

Clearly, some of the players smiled in amusement because it's silly. And the host, apparently, couldn't find Advance Australia Fair track. Maybe they should play 'Land Down Under' as a last resort... Jk.

Back to NZ blue ensign, some are against the change because the Kiwis fought the world wars under this flag. Quite a deep sentiment.

Well, having a new flag to represent your country has it's pros and cons. Money spent on the change would be remarkable. Imagine how many flags to be replaced. And what would you do with the old flag. Some other thing would change too, such as signage, and all things with the current flag. ANZ would have to paint new flag on every aircraft to correspond to the change. So yes, that's a significant amount of money. Not to forget the sentimental value.

However, a change would be a good thing too. The new flag could represent the country better. A good example would be the maple leaf. Whenever one sees a maple leaf, they would surely think about Canada. Maple leaf on Space station (Canadarm) for example. Canadians are very proud of their maple leafs. Almost everything link to Canada have maple leaf emblem. The red ensign, was something in the past. Yes, it's their former flag, but they are better represented with the maple leaf. And the red ensign is too elaborate. With it's lilies, maples, harps... lions... The new flag is easier to draw. 11 pointed maple leaf, 2 to 4 ratio, 1/4 red on each sides.

There are many designs submitted to the committee, most are beautiful. ferns, mountains, clouds... and the good old Southern Cross. I personally think those elements represents the New Zealanders better than the blue ensign.

Anyway, the one thing I respect most about New Zealand is their strive to preserve their identity. Starting to display more Maori culture. The anthem for example could be sung in Maori and English. Our national anthem comes with only one version. The dominant race language. They claim supremacy over all country, sidelining other natives of the land. And boring too. A copy from a French song. Ironically, France never colonize the country.

http://www.govt.nz/browse/engaging-with-government/the-nz-flag-your-chance-to-decide/

Who knows fishkeeping can be addictive

And today I bought 5 more bettas.

3 males and 2 females. Still in the introductory phase. So expect a bit of fighting there.

It's a big container, so they'll sort out their territories later.

So now, I have 13 bettas. 6 males, 7 females.

I am worried if they don't get along. So crossing fingers. (and PETA activist would storm into my house with SWAT team)

There's a big misconception about bettas. They would kill only if its crowded. Most of the time, they would just nip their friend's fin. Kinda like our *cough* lovebites... ehem...

death, same day same cause...

2 years ago, my late cousin died of pancreatic cancer. Early morning.

So when I thought of her, I crossed my finger that nobody died today.

Which proved me wrong. Despite crossing my fingers very hard, my former English teacher died. Apparently of liver disease (I don't know the exact cause, stated on the Facebook page sent by my brother, it's liver disease)

Maybe it a special day for those suffering of hepatobiliary diseases to die today. A slot. Just like TV program. A special slot for patents of these diseases to die.

Sounds like I am making fun of people's death. I'm just hiding my emotion. It's sad. I barely recover from my cousin's death. Again I not the kind who wear my heart on the sleeve. I would like to think that my heart is a cold, void, dark space, maybe a ghost town (thank Adam Lambert for filling in the words for me). And I think those who click the like button on Facebook is wicked. They LIKE death?!!

It's shocking. She looks healthy when she taught us. And I argued with her several times. One of our argument was about viola and violin. She asked the students to list stringed musical instruments. I mentioned violin... and viola. (Here, violin is also called a viola... albeit different size and tones).

The other time was when she made a sarcasm at us for not cleaning our area, which is a plot of land on the school compound. Apparently, it's a misunderstanding. The prefect thought that it's our 'area' when it's not our. I was surprised that we neglect our area. When I was there with some of my classmate doing our work earlier that day. The area in question was in fact other class' area, which is on our way to the rubbish dump. We always collect trash on our way to throw the rubbish, even though it's not our area. Responsibility. Which the prefect mistook that area as ours.

The prefect went to our class during English period, and when we were about to leave the class, our late English teacher reminded the class in a sarcastic way,

"Next time, do your job before entering my class. Don't disrupt my class"

She had a point. But she directed the sarcasm to the wrong person. Off we went... and returned a few minutes later.

"Madam, apparently the 'holier than thou, authoritative, and power-hungry' prefect mistook the said area with ours. I know it's not our because we've collected the rubbish this morning, with other prefect."

The only person to blame on disrupting the class was the prefect. She should have known which plot was whose. Instead of assuming that the plot was ours. Yes we picked up trash in that area, just because we passed by that area every morning. It's called a responsibility. And apparently, that plot belonged to her class (which is our rival class...)
So
1) being nit picking... just to pass the blame on rival class
2) not doing her job. Had she supervised the area that morning, the incident wouldn't happen and we were to be blamed by our teacher for not doing our job???
3) slandering??? she should have investigated who's in charge of that place.

Well, in our local jargon, the prefect is 'ACTION'... using her power to order people. I was elected as one but declined. I just want to have more time with my friends. And live like a normal school boy.

Yes, we argued, but no hard feeling towards Mdm H. I would do the same if my class was interrupted  by silly, avoidable disruption.

Do you ever experience bossy prefect, who thinks that they rule the school... or the most popular being in school? I personally think that prefect are the most uncool person in school. But the rest think the opposite. Perks? What perks? an excuse to police around? bossing people. And my ex-schoolmates, who used to be my friends... I just don't keep in touch with them. They are judgmental, bossy and nit-picker. So I avoid them at all cost. And also the Math's project fiasco.

And which task do you like the most? Well, in this region, school are maintained (at least the cleanliness) by the students. We don't have janitors or groundskeeper... or any cleaning staff. (cheap skate???) So we sweep the floor, or clean the window panes (louver/jalousie windows... that's a pain in the ass) or arranging the tables or emptying the bins. At some school, students could opt to work outside, collecting trash in their respective area. I like the latter the most, if there is any. More freedom. Not confined in the class. A good exercise too.

p/s RIP Mdm H.

District cooling...

My sister is complaining about the hot weather. Even with air conditioner, her house is hot... at night. Luckily I don't live in that big big city.

My friend Simone told me that the big big city is indeed very hot, the water is not as clean as our water. Hot spot maybe? Too many tarmac, less trees and poorly planned 'world class' city? I've never been there so don't take my words.

According to my sister, her apartment (eh, what's the difference between a condominium and an apartment?) has low ceiling. Split unit air conditioner, but no ceiling fan. Without the fan to augment the air movement, it's unbearable.

Well, in this region, there are 2 school of thought when it comes to fan and A/C. Some, including me thinks that the fan help moving the cool air, making it efficient. Chill factor like snowstorm.

Some like my uncle thinks that by doing so, makes the room hotter. Which is hard for me to comprehend. Maybe that's the typical Asian thinking. I read quite a lot on keeping the cooling cost lower in summer, be it in America or Australia... most would recommend setting the thermostat a bit higher than usual and switch on the fan... to summer mode.

Yes, to Asians living in the tropics, our fan is built to be in summer mode, permanently. So the fact that one can flip the blade or reversing the air flow is strange to us. And switching on the fan in winter sounds absurd to us. Do you really need to cool the house in cold weather? one might ask. Well, I used to laugh at the idea of switching on the fan in winter. I was reading Popular Mechanics and there it was, a HUNTER fan advertisement. I was 10 then.

Back to air conditioning. Why aren't there district cooling in our housing. I think that district cooling is more efficient than having individual A/C unit. There is one company which produce efficient district cooling unit. Basically, the unit 'store' ice. It produces ice at night when there is low demand on electricity (for the compressor). On hot day, the ice acts as heat sink, only running on pumps and fans on hot day. It uses less energy, but why our housing isn't using one. Or absorption chiller, using heat to produce cool air. Something to do with halide evaporation thingy thingy... Too bad I don't study physics at tertiary level... (damn biology)

Almost all house have their own ugly outdoor units. Yes it's ugly. And noisy. One for each room. So if one house have 5 rooms (5 indoor units), they would most likely to have 5 separate outdoor unit instead of 1 big outdoor unit, strategically placed outside, easier to hide. The outdoor unit would be mounted on the wall directly outside the indoor unit. And the noisy compressor is just outside, and the windows are thin. It makes no difference in term of noise with window units or through wall units. So it negates the purpose of installing a split unit. Funny.

Think of it as a reverse of district heating. Some cities have district heating. There's a big heat generator, and the hot water produced is piped to houses to heat the house...

Even a conventional one is more efficient. Well, one can harvest the hot air produced by the A/C to heat water (like hybrid water heater) or use the hot air to dry clothes. So less energy loss.

Maybe the main issue here is how to get fresh air. Again in this region, energy recovery ventilator (ERV) or heat exchange is a foreign idea. So it is quite common to have stale air in air conditioned house. Like really really stale air. Another reason why I hate air conditioned room. I can install ERV, of course, but the price is prohibitive. No demand on such appliances. Less demand, high price... same goes to dishwasher, or gas dryer (any dryer in general).

No, I am not against air conditioning. I wish I could. My slum neighbour is very noisy. Right now they are revving their motorbike, actually moped... again, nobody here would know the difference between a moped and a motorcycle, anything with engine and 2 wheels are motorcycle... or scooter. With air conditioning, I could just shut the windows, eliminating the unnecessary sound pollution, produced by those bastards. So cross ventilation is the cheapest and greener way. It's better actually if you have good considerate neighbours and not construction nearby. I have to mop the floor more frequent now. Last night it was very windy and the living is dusty. I just mop the floor yesterday morning.

I just wish the inconsiderate, coconut and mango stealing slum dweller move far away from here... or a big fire razing their house. Of course sparing those good, God fearing slum dwellers... they are very pleasant to live with.

p/s Winter mode pushes hot air downwards right? And that's how our fan works. Engineering fail! Well, we have low expectations on fan. As long as it creates breeze, it's working. No wonder my granny told me her ceiling fan draws hotter air than her table fan. Again, her ceiling is lower than ours.

Free betta food - blood worm?

I was waiting for Jerry when I spotted blood worms and mosquito larvae in the drain. This picture were taken this afternoon, after I 'unclog' the drain. Still dirty but at least the water is flowing and mosquito larvae magically diminished. Well most of it. The bane of living near the slums. I cleaned the drain last month and it clogged again. Those urchins are throwing rubbish into the drain. I feel like stuffing rubbish into their anus. To give a hard but definitely effective lesson. 

This afternoon, one boy gave me a middle finger for no apparent reason. Yeah. I do wish a fire would raze down the slums. But again, some are good peoples. Those people whom I could easily distinguish form the rest. Those who dressed properly on Sunday to go to their church. They are the least annoying of all slum dwellers. 

I do hate the rest. Making public nuisance with loud revving. They could buy loud motorbikes but not a proper home? Some would get drunk every weekend, making noises at midnight. They get municipal water illegally, and the council collects their rubbish, when we paid our municipal tax while they don't. We are paying the municipal to collect those urchin's rubbish, and they still litter. And their brain is dirty too for giving me middle fingers.

Urchins!.

Forget about them. Let's go to the main agenda of this topic (and I sound like a chairman in the AGM).  Whoops! Sorry for the bad picture. I looks good just now. Apparently too much reflection. If you can see the red objects in the top middle, that's the blood worm. More pictures below. 

My apparatus. A fish net attached to a broom handle, and a pail full of water. 

Yesterday, I did some harvesting too. But it's too tedious. I scooped the water into the pail, and then separating the worms from the drain water. Not efficient! So finally, I just let the fish loose in the pail and they do the harvesting themselves. 

Today, instead of separating them in the pail, the separating was done in situ. The fish net is to scoop the blood worms only. Not with the filthy water and the organic matters. So, I dip the net in the drain, scoop the worms which is actually larvae. Release them in the pail by shaking the net. 

This is how they look like.

Again

And again

After I cleaned the water. Well, actually replace and filter and replace again. Mind you, the drain water is smelly.

Beau enjoying his meal. Little did he know it's from the drain... and free! Shhhh!

Imagine foods on you roof. Manna? Well, Beau had his first hand experience. (Actually, I gave his twice his actual meal today... so literally a manna, falling more on Friday, but none on Sabbath)

Today I only harvest the blood worms. They can survive flowing water, mosquito larvae survives only in stagnant water. Since I've cleared the drain, the water is flowing. Yesterday I do get a lot of mosquito larvae. And put them in a sealed bottle. A few hours later, some larvae hatched into a juvenile mosquito. Which I drowned and feed hem to Beau. And Beau belly looks significantly larger, like a pregnant lady. Oh dear! I overfed him again. Crossing fingers. 

While I was harvesting the larvae, some of my neighbour looked at me in a strange, confused manner. To me, this is some sort of a science experiment. A lot of observation needed. I bet entymologist would do this for science. Having some basic in entymology, I know the mosquitoes are of Mansonia species. No distinct stripes/marking like the Aedes. Yes, medical student's in tropical countries need to know the vectors. So entymology is part of the syllabus.

To other Asians, I am just playing with dirt like crazy man. In Asia, science related job is a clean, sterile, lab-like job.  With white coats. But I don't really fit into typical Asian standards. First of all, I quit medical school, which is the most 'unAsian' thing to do.

And Asians really hate crazy people. Like really. Tell any random people you have mental disorder. The next moment, nobody would be in a hard reach radius from you. Apparently, Asians think it's contagious. 

Well, they should thank me instead for controlling the mosquitoes population. My next door neighbour is not at home. Uncle PCK is away for more than a month. So nobody scoop the dirt from the drain. He's an avid gardener, and he uses the drain water to water his plant. Yes, we the pioneer in recycling the grey water (now I brag like a typical Asian... thinking that we invented everything). Now not everybody do this. Nobody really do gardening. They prefer playing games in their air conditioned homes and passing judgement on people who scoops/clears the clogged drain. 

Disruptive flights...

I am listening to CBC 1 radio.

What appalled me is the WestJet bomb threats (5) and a disruptive passenger on Air Canada.

What's wrong people. Flying used to be enjoyable.

Most people I know are very cautious when it comes to flying after the shootdown and missing aircraft. 2 Canadians are still missing with the aircraft and one medical student died in the shootdown.

When I told the class that my 'real' ambition is to fly aeroplanes, their face turned blue.

I just wish there would not be another horrible air accident. I was worried when Air Canada crash landed in Halifax earlier this year. Luckily no one died.

Why do I care about Canadians when I am not a Canadian? Well, they could be the kind granny's relatives. That's why.

I hope the kind granny is healthy.

Jo is looking for a typewriter...

Jo and I had a brunch this afternoon, a legacy from the past. A decade ago, we had a group brunch every Friday afternoon. Keeping up with each other's stories.

So, Jo told me she is looking for a typewriter. I thought she was kidding, or maybe using the typewriter as a home decoration, a conversation piece.

I was wrong. She is serious. Even looking for them online. She wants to start writing. So I suggested blogging. Blogging is not an option. A hassle she said. Switching on the computer, logging in, internet connections... All she wants is to write or actually type her thoughts. And also the nostalgic tapping and dinging sounds. Like how I miss the scratchy sound quality of gramophone. Which I would buy if I have enough money.

Like me, she wants to start writing to vent out her frustrations or ideas, without hurting other's feeling. Privacy is her other concern. Actually, that's why I use modified names, don't disclose where I am or my identity. What I type might bring me to court. And also I just don't trust the government. Saying so might lead me into imprisonment. hence the anonymity.

Typewriter is not an option for me, because I'm dyslexic and I really need to spellcheck. Another reason is, it's my way to tell the world albeit anonymously. This is my version of social media. And maybe a little bit of personal pride. I like watching the stats in this blog. Thanks for reading. I have some Indonesian readers recently. Makasih ya! Kerna sudi baca blog saya. And Canadians... maybe Sacha Stevensons.

Well, I would encourage people to blog. It is indeed therapeutic...

Barnett v Chelsea and Kensington Hospital... an ex-medical student's view on Business law.

It was Business Law class. We were discussing on Tort. Negligence to be exact.

It's a case of a doctor refusing to treat a patient, and the said patient died the next day, of arsenic poisoning. That's the gist.

Well, the full story, a man was gravely ill. And he went to see a nurse. And the nurse called a doctor.  However the doctor asked him to see another doctor in the morning.

The next day the man died.

The patient's family brought the case to court, but didn't win the case because the doctor held a remote causation to the death.

The class, think the doctor is evil, for not treating the man. But I don't think so. He did ask the nurse to tell the patient to see another doctor. Maybe he is engaged to another assignment. He may not be able to cure the man too. Arsenic poisoning, like other heavy metal, needs chelation. The process takes long time and lots of side effects.

He would die even if the doctor treats the patient. And I do see it is too remote to sue the doctor. Maybe, they should look for a murderer.... probably his wife, or sons... or... but not the doctor.

When I said, the doctor did no wrong, my classmates would surely think that I am a wicked man...

And when I looked up in Wikipedia (to attach the link to this blog), apparently the judge and I share the same thought.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barnett_v_Chelsea_%26_Kensington_Hospital_Management_Committee

It sounded like a divorce custody...

Yesterday, Jerry, his brother Jason and I were having a road trip. Jason was offered a job in a school, so we went to a nearby small town as Jason needs to report himself there.

During the trip, Jerry asked me why isn't my brother in this small city?

Jerry was my brother's schoolmate. So they knew each other. My brother is with my father in our village house. I am here with my mother.

I replied him with "He's with my father. Maybe my father did not let him go back, here..."

And then I realized... "Wow! We sound like siblings being separated because of a horrible divorce..."

My parents are together. My father built a new house in our village. And he lives there, to oversee the house. By village, I meant my parents' hometown... I would not say it's my hometown because I was born and raised here. But to some, hometown is where one is originated from. So when people asked me where is my hometown, I would ask them "Do you mean my hometown as in the place I was born and raised or where am I originated from?"

But I always speak like I am a child of a separated couple. I even tricked my friends into thinking I am. And I enjoy it... the prank of course, not the divorce.

What if I do OOTD?

My friend Joy was taking a selfie. I asked her jokingly, if it's for her outfit of the day... Speaking of outfit, sometimes I envy my friends, they always have a friend who would buy then new outfit... Joy was wearing a new pants, bought by her friend. (But seriously, I won't trade my friend for anything... I'm not complaining, I'm commenting)

"So an OOTD selfie?" I asked.

What if I really am really into social media and pose for my OOTD videos/post/pictures

I guess, nobody cares because I wear the same outfit every week. I won't wear 2 same shirt in a week, but every week, there's a repetition in my outfit. In the past, yes, I have a huge collection of shirts where doing laundry once a month is possible. Just kidding, it's a hyperbole.

Gaining weight, I won't fit into most of my shirt. Damn PTSD... and anti-depressant.

Today's random photos... (what I do on a Canada Day...)

Hiking trail... ferns everywhere...

Trail 

Steep descend

Cute log bridge. 

Snyder's and Port Wine Jelly. Port Wine!

Assam tea is one of my favourite... and 50% off ice mold, I should have bought 2! 

The covered atrium. Hot and humid tropical

Hot tropical sun...

Happy Canada Day!!!

Happy Canada Day. Wishing all Canadians a great day.

Here's a list of Canadian whom I subscribe on YouTube...

1) Matthew Santoro - fun and quirky facts
2) Melisa Maker @ Clean My Space - nice cleaning hacks
3) Brad Gouthro - motivational
4) Sacha Stevenson - a bold Canadian born living in Indonesia... very funny
....................

There are more, but these are the people whom I update with the most.