Transporting High-end Athletes

• These are athletes competing in the upcoming Beijing Olympics 2008.

• With their superb training, million-dollar price tags and excitable temperaments, many are celebrities in their own right.

• They are seasoned flyers and they fly with an entourage, a fleet with grooms and veterinarians.

• Their flight attendants attend to the smallest of details, from providing these athletes with 6-star service to making sure they wear protective foam boots and occasionally, ear muffs to block engine noise.

OK....they are not human, but equine.

I discovered that these horses are receiving super star treatments, way more humane than we humans have been getting.

First and foremost, in order to ensure the whole transport of these high-end athletes as smooth and stress-free as possible, cargo plane pilots need to use the full extent of the runway and get air traffic controllers to approve a flight path devoid of sharp, unpredictable turns.

While on board, the flight groom pays full attention to their drinking preferences and make sure they do not show the slightest sign of dehydration. Water sweetened with Gatorade and apple juice is served from time to time without the need to ask.

"How do you like it Sir? You may nibble on wet hay, or take it dry"

Once they disembark in Hong Kong, they will be transferred right away (and I mean right away without delay) to air-conditioned trucks (temperature set at 73 degrees) for the 30-mile trip to the Hong Kong Jockey Club.

The journey from the tarmac to the stables cannot exceed 100 minutes. By that time, humans are basically still queuing in the immigration or at most, collecting luggage at conveyor belts!

The World Deserted By The Civilization That Destroyed It

I watched the film Wall E today. It tells a story of a world deserted by the civilization that destroyed it and robot Wall E - was left on earth to clean up the mess.

It is much more than a Pixar animated movie and it's different from any other Disney's Pictures, it has a good cause to it and I think it serves as a wake up call for us all living on earth.

The characters in the movie are all obese, constantly in communication with each other but only through video chat. They don't take the time to get to know people sitting next to them and the notion of getting up and talking to their mate next to them? Forget it - all they really need was instant messaging!

Sadly - this is not alien to us at all and we are resembling that increasingly fast. The arrival of the movie is here to remind us that we are all wrapped up in a cyber world and fast forgetting how to live in the real world.

We should all learn a lesson from this heartwarming animation. Every once in a while,

• Take out those ears and listen to the amazing sound of nature around you
• Let those text-messaging fingers rest and take a minute to shake someone's hand
  
• Watch a movie on a real theatre, not on an iPod
  
• Laugh with someone in person instead of LOLing in IM

CJD - As Mad As Hell

It's been more than a decade since I last donated blood successfully, and just now, I was glad to see a mobile blood donation counter set up right in our office building.

The enthusiastic me then made sure I stuff myself and be prepared for the transfusion after lunch. Only to find out from Red Cross once again, that I am still not eligible to donate because I spent (visited or lived) a cumulative time of 3 months or more in the United Kingdom between January 1, 1980 to December 31, 1996.

They claimed there's evidence from a small number of case reports that CJD can be transmitted through transfusion!

Symptoms of CJD or mad cow disease include: memory loss, personality changes and hallucination.

I seem to possess all of them from time to time.

May be it really is a safer bet to reject my generosity.

Real Cheap To Borrow, Where's The Catch?

I just received a call from my bank, luring me to accept an instant loan from them.

Knowing the economic equations, Banks always try their hardest to turn us into debtors and why on earth would I want to bear more debts than I should?

With the inflation rate staying at levels above the deposit rate, there really is a strong incentive for consumers like us to spend rather than to save. So this time, I thought why not and I listened patiently and waited for the catch.

USD100,000 Loan
USD400 interest per month
Repayment spread across 6 months

Where's the catch?

In an essay at the website of the monetary authority, it reads: "Generally speaking, negative real interest rate is an abnormal phenomenon that has implications for economic and financial stability. Given a choice, we'd prefer not to have negative real interest rates."

We don't have a choice, do we? Hong Kongers are bounded by the currency peg and must keep our interest rates low as the U.S., troubled by the fallout of the credit crisis, is cutting the cost of money to stave off a recession.

The catch is, we are currently in a negative real interest rate era. Be warned!

What Do They Have In Common?

Ratatouille (2007)
Cars (2006)
The Incredibles (2004)
Finding Nemo (2003)
Monsters, Inc. (2001)
Toy Story 2 (1999)
A Bug's Life (1998)
Toy Story (1995)

1. They share the same screenplay/story writer, Producer & Studio
2. I have watched all of them first time in cinema
3. Subsequently 3 times at least on DVD

Statistics tells me it will be no exception for WALL·E (2008).

USB Drive For The Paranoid

One of my USB Thumb Drives decided to wander away and I have not yet found it.

While I am still thinking where I misplaced it, or could it have actually been kidnapped, I came across this little neat invention.

Look at it -- it is a USB flash drive that's designed to resemble a torn cable.

Now, who on earth is going to steal a gadget which looks like nothing more than a slashed cable? Should replace my encryption-enabled thumb drive with one of these. Wicked.

Mao Off The Note

These people queued for days and are willing to pay hundred times higher than the face value of 10 yuan to obtain a newly issued bank note from the People's Bank of China.


You know why?


Mao's off the bills, replaced by a birdsnest.

Can I Unplug My Refrigerator At Home?

The refrigerator is very much considered to be a "must-have" appliance at home and on average, it accounts for more than 20% of the energy consumption per household per month.

A crazy thought came to mind today exploring the possibility of doing without one at home.

I am thinking for a second - it might not be as crazy as it sounds, and could well work for me.

Assumptions:

• I live in a city with 24-hours convenience stores just round the corner (cold drinks and frozen food easily within reach)
  
• I consume raw, perishable food (supposedly no overnight storage needed)
• I can survive without the indulgence of high saturated fat (such as butter, mayonnaise, peanut butter, cheesecakes, ice cream)
• I can live without the need to entertain guests (with chilled wine/ice wine/champaign)

This act is by no means in an attempt to conserve the environment nor save up elec bill. I just think this piece of under-utilised appliance is actually taking up too much of a space in my flat.

When you think about it, almost all other electrical appliances have some sort of technological advancement in the past decade that changes your life and somehow refrigerators remain as refrigerator and nothing more than a refrigerator.

I would hope to see some network attached to it and intelligence built-in in the near future, so I can abandon the thought of abandoning the poor thing.

An Internet Freak Without Internet

I usually start and end my day with my fingers at the switch of the computer. My daily routines will include accessing the internet to check emails, be fed by rss feeds; chat with friends, play games, not to mention the hours spent on googling odd facts, and basically just wasting time by staying online.

Last night was supposed to be like another nights, but internet failed to connect. I have eliminated all the usual suspects and possible root causes, freaking frustrated as I should be with a solution yet to be found.

Can anyone imagine a night without internet access? I tell you, that is considered hell to someone who demanded the internet service provider be the first to move into a new flat - even before Santa Fe movers got in and Electricity/Gas installed.

I'd like to know how others would have felt when their internet was off for no reasons.

A Wild Card Surprise

Zheng Jie was the first Chinese to reach a Grand Slam semi-final in history and I am so thrilled.

She got into Wimbledon this year only because she was given a wild card. However, she has justified that by beating four seeds on her way to the semi-final clash with Serena. Her baseline bashes were awesome!!

Would definitely support her all the way, I have had enough of the Apes - The Williams sisters!