The Funky Way to Self-Defence

The new breakthrough in Personal Defense - the i-Taser.

I was gonna say that I was looking forward to the day where it plays MP3s and takes videos as well.

Then I realized that the good folks at Taser International have already anticipated this. Introducing, the Taser-Cam.

The folks at You-Tube are gonna have a field day.

The Lost Art of Conversation

Just for laughs, I decided to run a test on mIRC. Yes, THAT archaic chat program.

Here's the test. I'll go in with a female nickname and let's see what happens to females on the net. The results are not exactly unexpected.

Total private messages in 5 min - 29

Hi and MAYBE an a/s/l - 18
Long, descriptive propsal of the sex acts he likes - 1
Hi, and the equivalent of "wanna fuck?" - 7
Asking for paid sex - 2
Something vaguely resembling the start of a conversation - 1

And immediately this begs the question. Have we forgotten how to talk to people we do not know yet?

I remember when I was a kid, I could go into a playground and even if I didn't talk to somebody, somebody would come and talk to me and 10 minutes later, we're all best buds?

What was it that we did that allowed us to connect so quickly?

Can't be an abundance of conversational topics, all we knew were sweets and toys. Can't be interpersonal skill, only thing I knew about people dynamics at the time was how to ellicit a scream from a girl in 25 seconds or less.

My guess, is a complete lack of self-consciousness and self-preservation, and not caring what the other person thought of me. That, and a lack of pre-conceptions of what the other person is.

Maybe, through knowing too much is getting in the way of converstaion and rapport. Maybe, just maybe, to find the lost art of conversation, we gotta forget what we "think" we know, and just be children again.

The Mine-Mine Mentality

There are some instincts in life we do not grow out of.

Remember when you got yourself a new toy, and you spent all your time playing with it.

Remember how when you spend the most amount of time and energy with the newest toy, and the old ones lie forgotten in the cupboard.

UNTIL, your neighbour pops over to your house one day, and picks up a toy you haven't touch for years. And suddenly, THAT toy, the same one you have not touched or played with for years, become your most TREASURED possession.

"Mine, mine!" you cry. "You can't have it!"

"But you're not playing with it anymore, you don't even like it,"says your neighbour.

"Yeah I do, it's MINE! And you can't have it!" you scream.

Fast forward a few decades and whilst the toys have changed, and the reactions may have grown more subtle, but the essence is still there isn't it?

In relationships, in work, in life even, we seek something, not because we want it, but to deprive others of the chance to have it. The OWNERSHIP of the item becomes more valuable than the item itself.

Don't make sense? Well, that's humans for ya, eh?

And the Verdict Is

Went for my second Brazilian.

Conclusion: Regrowth's a bitch.

The Congruence of Music

This duel from Crossroads (NOT the one with Britney Spears in it) is the one, that apparently spawned an entire generation of guitar players.

Mortals beware.



The surprising thing, is that it's actually inspired from a CLASSICAL violin piece. Paganini's Caprice No. 5. Who says rock is shallow?

To Live or Not To Live

The year started with the death of someone, while not exactly a close friend, but someone I am used to seeing.

I don't know him all that well, don't know his family, his dreams and aspirations, even if he has a girlfriend or his favourite food or type of whiskey.

Even then, the suddenness of his departure hit me bad.

Friday night, I wasn't suppose to club, and for once I kept my promise. But an sms of over indulgence brought me to the old hangout. Banter, banter, jokes, and 5 minutes of bullshit. Leave.

Saturday night, after my cousin's wedding. I was exhausted. "But you gotta come! I'll be leaving Singapore for 2 weeks straight and I won't be clubbing. You MUST!" Fine, fine. I promised myself a hi, bye and then it's off to bed. That's not to be.

It's just as well that none of the party people turned up. The bouncer downstairs broke the news to me. I thought he was shitting me. The cashier confirmed it. Sat there, talking to the 2 of them, while waiting for one more person I relayed the news to.

Bike accident, hit-and-run. Died instantly, and the body flown back in the afternoon.

Shock.

Just as well that nobody else who wanted to party came, cos all the mood's gone.

Funerals are for the living, I always believed. We all remember him in our own ways I reckon. It's good that so many people are affected by his passing, I guess. A testimony that his life touched many of us.

One more person that I have known, and left suddenly. It's not that I knew him well, but he left suddenly. And the emptiness needs time to be filled.

And a reminder that the best way to honour the dead, is to live, and to live well.

May all your dreams be fulfilled but one.

Hacking a 9-V battery

Another inane piece of information that has a one-in-4.5 billion chance of using in every day life.

Incidentally, I do carry around a spare 9V battery.

Remember the Name

I'm not big on Fort Minor, but THIS, shall be my theme song for 2007.



This is ten percent luck, twenty percent skill
Fifteen percent concentrated power of will
Five percent pleasure, fifty percent pain
And a hundred percent reason to remember the name!