It Was An AccidentLook at today's Straits Times, Home section, front page. An untimely death is always a sad and unfortunate event. What made me really think when i read this article was how the victim's family members blame everything else except themselves. They claim that their 55 year old sister, who fell down a flight of stairs in the Esplanade theatre, met with that unfortunate accident due to the poor lighting at that moment. This immediately brought back memories about the article where a child was cut while running around in a hawker center. The child's mother questioned if there was a need for sharp corners in the hawker center and asked why nothing had been done about the sharp corners. We all know that its the mother's fault. You can't blame it on that sharp corner. Are you going to ban hot soup if her child has instead ran into a man carrying soup and got scalded? Or if her child got cut by knives is she going to ask why knives in hawker centers don't come standard with plastic sheaths? This is nonsense. Pardon my seemingly lack of sensitivity to the affected family members, i just simply can't accept the fact that they are blaming the Esplanade for this accident. The stairs were lighted up sufficiently, and it was carpeted, thus it was difficult to slip. Hundreds of people throng the theatres each week, how often do we hear of someone slipping? Her eldest sister, Mdm Wong Mui Ling, "...questioned whether the lights on the stairs - although complying with regulations - provided enough light for a person of Miss Wong's age". Wait a minute, why are you blaming the lights? Are we going to brighten up the stairs enough such that even a 99 year old with cataracts can see the steps? Well in this case we should, you'll never know when a 99 year old will watch a performance won;t you? If the family members want to use her age as an excuse, I don't see why they don't blame themselves. IF your sister is 55 years old AND you feel that she is too old to see the lights that the majority of people CAN see, WHY DIDN"T you accompany her when she left her seat? You obviously felt that there was NO NEED. Why, i can now say, we should ban the family members from going to esplanade, as they have shown irresposibility towards their own. Stop blaming other people, or the places. Ask yourself, where were YOU when she fell. This article is really trying to say what I'm spelling out here. But it obviously can't write it the way i have written it. If I were to fall down my lecture hall's carpeted steps while carrying my schoolbag, i pray they won't ban carpets, school bags, books, steps and turn the light up to the maximum. There are other students to consider.... Savant at 3/27/2007 02:30:00 pm ; (0) comments BoredA Bizarro-inspired comic by me...  Yes i'm bored Savant at 3/26/2007 12:22:00 am ; (0) comments depression. how do you know if you have it? Savant at 3/23/2007 11:45:00 pm ; (0) comments
why we jump in our sleep...Many of you have experienced a falling sensation or a 'jumping' sensation while falling asleep on a few occasions. I'm sure parents and friends have come up with a host of explainations for this phenomena. What i would like to do is to dispel any supernatural notions associated with 'jumping' in your sleep. I believe i have found out the reason why we jump in our sleep. I'd like to ask you to be patient with me and read my post till the end.  Why do we jump in our sleep?: Do any of you realise that the 'drop' or 'jump' feeling is very similar to the feeling you get when you unknowingly miss a step while walking down a staircase? Or when you unexpectedly walk into a hole in the ground, this sudden 'shock' sensation pulses through your body? I'm sure the brilliant amongst you will understand when i say that it's the way our bodies deal with unexpected situations. The 'shock', or 'jump', or 'drop' sensation is a result of our nerves firing rapidly to pull our leg back up from the hole or the missed step. This is where is gets interesting. I may be no brain expert, but I do know my own brain. Just before falling asleep at night, people tend to think of things. People also think of 'situations'. Sometimes people retrace their steps to a particular situation, but then our brains do something amazing. Our brains sometimes CREATE a new outcome to that situation! Your brain pieces together past experiences with recent ones, sometimes nerves fire and they meet head on to piece together a slightly different picture from what actually happened recently! Why do i know this? Because i HAVE EXPERIENCED IT! Jumping/falling in your sleep is not due to spirits, or restless souls. It's due to your brain piecing together an instance of you "walking unexpectedly into a hole or missing the last step on a flight of stairs" with an event that happened recently(or in the past, depends on what you are thinking). Some might say that it isn't true. Remember, you are trying to fall asleep, you are in a sedated state. You won't be able to remember alot of things. The only reason why i know why we jump in our sleep is that in my adult years, after an episode of 'sleep jumping', i remember what i was thinking prior to the 'jump'. And it was always due to me thinking that i've walked into a drain. Our brains are working even though we are sleeping. And i believe we do dream every night. It's just a matter of if you remember or not. That is probably why we sometimes experience deja vu. Deja vu occurs when we are faced with a situation which we seem to have encountered before. This could likely be due the fact that your brain has dreamt up that situation before and you couldn't remember it. If, one day, a brain scientist finds evidence that why we jump is due to what I have written, then guys, please remember you'd seen it here first. Comments? Savant at 3/23/2007 09:11:00 am ; (0) comments curious eyes
Savant at 3/22/2007 05:36:00 pm ; (0) comments Hear ye! Hear ye!In my March 10th post, i forgot to mention that this whole "volunteering idea" was the brainchild of my girlfriend. She was the one who dragged my half-caring arse to the YMCA to volunteer for the "Volunteer Programme". Yup, just so all of you know... Savant at 3/19/2007 01:09:00 am ; (0) comments Its a good day... It has been a good day for me. Jesus answered my prayers, Buddha accepted my incense, Allah accepted my sacrifices and Ji Gong accepted my wine. I managed to get gold today for IPPT.i am a happy man. The highlight of the day was my 2.4km. I was aiming for 9min 40s, but strangely, i hit 9min 02s. This means this is the fastest time i've ever gotten for 2.4km run. My fastest during my NS days were 9min 10s, and that was at my peak as I was still in ASLC. Funny. Oh well, i'm a happy man. Savant at 3/17/2007 10:31:00 am ; (0) comments Ban granite imports to Singapore?The indonesian ambassador to Singapore, Mr Wadarna, said on tuesday that "Up to now there's no decision related to the banning of granite, but this afternoon.....in Jakarta, I think they had a discussion related to the matter because of our concerns related to the environment aspect of this (granite) mining.....The cost[sic?] of the environment is also very big....the value of the export of sand in 2005 was only US$6 million for the whole year, incomparable to the damage to the environment." Wait a minute. The Indonesian "government" is concerned about harming the environment? Have they forgotten how their haze have caused so many health problems to their citizens and to people in neighbouring countries? The haze has and is a yearly problem, but up till now, the Indonesian government does not seem to be capable of handling this problem. You might say that Indonesia's a vast country, made up of countless large and small islands. But let me ask you this: The haze has been ongoing for so many years, what has the Indonesian "government" done so far? Why is it always recurring? Did they educate their people? Did they ban the slash and burn method of clearing forests? No, they didn't. Yet they claim they are concerned about the environment. Well, let me tell you what I think. Indonesia needs money. It leaders need money. (It is also well known that most of the people in the government have a history of corruption.) "the value of the export of sand in 2005 was only US$6 million for the whole year, incomparable to the damage to the environment." Since we have already established that Indonesian doesn't care about the environment. I can safely assume that Indonesia is holding Singapore ransom. They want us to pay more than what has been agreed on. They want to bully us, tiny little Singapore. Indonesia needs to assert its authority over Singapore. It needs to feel that it has the most say in the region. Nevermind its corruption within the ranks of the government, nevermind the rebels in east timor or bandah aceh, nevermind the impossible amount of debts they have incurred over the years(haze is one of them) and last of all, the money that Singapore lent. How many earthquakes and tsunamis does it take to humble you Indonesia? http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/263743/1/.html Savant at 3/14/2007 02:35:00 pm ; (0) comments How long does it take you to read this post?
Savant at 3/10/2007 11:55:00 pm ; (2) comments
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