Four videos to watch!

Quickie's guide (3 min 8 sec) to Singapore's tourist and favourite foodie spots!
(look out especially for the frolicking dolphins in the Resort World Sentosa scene)

http://news.insing.com/feature/foreign-students-make-music-video-to-showcase-singapore/id-51313101

Top 10 time-saving tech tips

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tedtalks/technology-ted-talk_b_4080842.html

Anaesthetists' Song: Waking up is hard to do

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOrjcLJ2IE0

Evolution Vs. Creationism Song 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajULH6dNihI

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Last item... a private joke:
'Word' Selfie

Stop taking those selfies, and come help throw some yabbies into the barbie!

The word is out... "selfie" is the 2013 word of the year, says Oxford Dictionaries. Almost all the major media reported it, including ST (Nov 20):

Oxford Dictionaries gave an interesting account of the first use of "selfie" -- back in 2002:

And here's that first "selfie", from ABC Online:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-19/selfie-beats-twerk-as-word-of-the-year/5102154

That very first "selfie" appeared 11 years ago! Luckily, ABC was able to retrieve it, using something called the Wayback Machine:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/11/20/first_selfie_found/

Britain's Times newspaper took a little dig at the choice of "selfie" as the Word of the Year:

It is May 19, 1536, at the Tower of London, and Anne Boleyn is about to come to a sticky end. But by a freak of history, the mobile telephone has been invented, and therefore the “selfie”.

The executioner takes a selfie of himself beside the block. “Me at work”.

Anne Boleyn takes one just before the axe falls. “Me getting the chop. *Sad face*”.

Henry VIII snaps his selfie afterwards, possibly holding up Anne’s head. “Me and my ex. New wife. New church”. 
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Actually, one should not be surprised that "selfie" is of Australian coinage. Aussies just love to abbreviate words, starting with Aussies (for Australians). There's also...

Barbie, for barbecue
Bickie, for biscuits
Chewie, for chewing gum
Ciggie, for cigarettes, etc, etc.

Here's one list:

http://www.upfromaustralia.com/aussieslang.html

So, if an Aussie says, "Throw a yabbie on the barbie!" he means "Throw the lobster onto the barbecue grille!"

That's all for to-die (today), mate.

Sharklets, and my other flights of fancy!

Ever since I was a primary schoolboy, stuff to do with aeroplanes and aviation have fascinated me. I lost count of the number of scale model aircraft I had assembled until Secondary 4. Naturally, this ad -- by Malaysian aerospace firm Sepang Aircraft Engineering -- of an Airbus A320 in flight caught my eye (arrow inked in by me):

Sharklets? What a strange name for what aviation buffs identify as winglets on Boeing jetliners, like this B757:

Winglets make sense as they look like little wings. But sharklets? Let's sidetrack with a little quiz. What are baby pigs called? You know that one. Next, what are baby sharks called? You're right... something's fishy there. They're NOT sharklets!

I Googled (not for baby sharks; I knew the answer) and learnt that the company which supplied winglets to Boeing had "choped" (ie patented) the technology for its design and the name Winglet. So Airbus decided to call its design "Sharklet" (but why not "Shark's Fin, which seems more apt?). The Malaysian firm that did the retrofit was obviously a licencee. Here's the story on When is a winglet a sharklet?...

http://www2.macleans.ca/2011/12/19/aviation-industry-on-a-wing-and-tip/

Of course I was still curious and found out that there's another kind of wing add-on called the "wing fence". This design feature has been around for a long time, such as its use in the Cold War-era Soviet fighter, the MiG 17:

 Googling further, I found this interesting article:

http://www.cnbc.com/id/46305277

Even if you are not an aviation buff, pique your interest; learn more about these eight unusual aeroplanes.

Finally, here's an even stranger-looking "aircraft"...

Yes, this Taylor Aerocar can fly! Here's the story:

http://inflight.squarespace.com/featured/2012/1/30/the-taylor-aerocar.html

Its first certified flight was in 1949. Six were built, with one still operational.

Postscript: Baby sharks are called pups.

A food roadmap: The GI and FODMAP routes.

Glycemic Index (GI)

Just mention char kway teow (one of my favourite foods) and I'm all ears. Or, in the case of this ST story (Nov 18), I'm all eyes:

Okay, so the story's more about Glycemic Index (GI) and the Asian diet. Sigh, the ingredients that go into that sinful plate of char kway teow -- and the way it is cooked -- would put this meal under the high GI category:

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FODMAP

The other term I'm highlighting today is FODMAP. An acronym, it's quite a mouthful if read out...

I learnt about FODMAP when I recently saw a specialist at NUH's Digestive Centre (hmm, is this where the kampong chicken went to after it had had its meal?):

But I digest, I mean, I digress. When I asked what kind of diet I should have to reduce the bloating and gas I tend to develop by evening time, the good doctor turned to his computer and Googled for... yes, FODMAP. He printed out the Stanford University Medical Center's Low FODMAP Diet. You can Google for that but I think this link below, which includes a podcast, is pretty helpful too:

http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/healthy-eating/what-is-the-fodmap-diet

There's also this other link, by the doctor who came up with the FODMAP concept:

http://shepherdworks.com.au/disease-information/low-fodmap-diet

These images below help identify what are high and low FODMAP foods, and why more gas is produced in the case of the former:

   

I am not ready to give up on all those FODMAP-heavy foods so I have not started on a low FODMAP diet yet, but I could live with these two examples:

Best of all, the durian is a low-FODMAP fruit!

Universally understood?

English, it is claimed, is a universally spoken language. The video within this short and humorous tour of the English language (thanks, Angie) is worth watching:

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2013/11/13/open-university-history-of-the-english-language-animated/

Still on universal "language", if you say "Huh?", just about anyone, from Arkansans to Inuits to Zimbabweans, will understand you. So says this New York Times story:

I believe there's a certain middle finger gesture that's also universally understood:

I have not tried it out on Arkansans, Inuits and Zimbabweans, though. Anyway, I have learnt that "up" in combination with other words is certainly a very versatile word, thanks to Auntie Florence. It can be used as a noun, verb, adjective, adverb and preposition!...

It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP?

At a meeting, why does a topic come UP? Why do we speak UP, and why are the officers UP for election (if there is a tie, it is a toss UP) and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report?

We call UP our friends, brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver, warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house and fix UP the old car.

At other times, this little word has real special meaning. People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses.

To be dressed is one thing but to be dressed UP is special.

And this UP is confusing: A drain must be opened UP because it is blocked UP..

We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night. We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP!

To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP, look UP the word UP in the dictionary. In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4 of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions.

If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP, you may wind UP with (UP to) a hundred or more.

When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP. When the sun comes out, we say it is clearing UP. When it rains, it soaks UP the earth. When it does not rain for awhile, things dry UP. One could go on and on, but I'll wrap it UP , for now . . . My time is UP!

Oh . . . One more thing: What is the first thing you do in the morning and the last thing you do at night?

UP!

Did that one crack you UP?

Don't screw UP... Send this on to everyone you look UP in your address book . . . Or not . . . it's UP to you.

Now I'll shut UP!

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Nothing there on "Up yours"?

Twittering is for the birds? That's so BC (Before Computers!)...

How times have changed (even for the birds):

But beware, what you see on the Web may not be what you'll get...

So, caveat emptor!...

I like this one below (how true too)...

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And finally, thanks to the power of Photoshop!...

Going behind bars...

Getting one's just desserts?

Lawyers are called to the Bar (why is it called that?). Convicted criminals end up behind bars. But why would anyone else want a feel of what it's like behind bars? To have a taste of prison food? There was this classified ad teaser in ST:

The story itself -- under the "Travel Bug" tag -- shed light on places (not in Singapore) where "prisoner food" is served:

Well, Singapore has its "Changi Hotel". Naughty boys like me, growing up, were warned that if we ended up there, all we would get for meals were black beans and porridge -- the standard fare (so went the myth). Who knows, some local entrepreneur might set up a prison-themed restaurant here. For its location, I recommend Rotan Lane. I am sure the eatery will offer more than black beans and porridge. Maybe something like Buddha Jumps Over the (Prison) Wall? The dessert will have to be Lemon Bars. And the background music? Jailhouse Rock, for sure.

Still on jail time, the newspapers and social media sites got excited over one man's day in court:

      
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Here's the real meaning of "Pissed Off"!

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Finally, of course it's jail time if you go round clubbing people!...