Saturday, September 20, 2008

Weird Fruits

Kiwano Horned Melon

Kiwano Horned Melon - is a member of the cucumber family and not of the kiwi family. Looks like an oval melon with horns and is very decorative. Picked green, the kiwano horned melon tastes like a mix of lemon and banana.

Milk Fruit

Milk fruit is known to be a popular tropical fruit indigenous to Cambodia (phlai teuk-doh koh) and Vietnam (vú sữa). The underbelly of the leaf is a greenish purple hue, while the top is a deep green. The smooth, round plant contains sticky white latex and can grow to about 200 grams in weight.

Snake Fruit

A member of the Salacca family this fruit grows in tight clusters. It is reddy brown with lots of sharp little spines. Pinch off the tip of the fruit and then peel from there. There are usually two or three sections of fruit inside. The fruit is firm rather than juicy

There is not a lot of flesh as each section contains a sizeable stone in the middle. Nibble the light brown flesh from the stone.

Santol

This round yellow to green fruit should be peeled with a knife. The fruit has an outer layer that is firm and slightly sour. The centre is soft and sweet. You need to suck this sweet centre from the seeds.



Friday, September 19, 2008

The Iceberg That Sank The Titanic


When you look at it, it's hard to believe this hunk of ice was behind the tragedy of the Titanic. This photo of the iceberg as well as 2 others in existence was snapped by a passenger on the Carpathia, the ship that answered the Titanic's SOS call. As far as I have been able to tell, this was the first because the scrap of Titanic hull paint is the largest. The berg stood about 100 feet over the water and even threw some chunks onto Titanic's deck as it passed, which some passengers played soccer with, believing they were safe. It's now thought that substandard steel used in making the Titanic's rivets was so brittle that pressure caused them to snap, making the plates push apart. The berg, which was seen to melt away and change while in visual range, it drifted off during the recovery of victims' bodies and unlike the Titanic, was never to be seen again.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

The baby turtle born with two-heads

It is the baby turtle that proves two heads really are better than one.

While its siblings grow at a the usual steady pace, this tiny creature is speeding ahead.

The reason for its extraordinary growth spurt is simple: having two heads mean it eats twice as fast.



Staff could have been forgiven for thinking they were seeing double when the turtle turned up at the Water World aquatic farm at Wuwei town in Anhui, eastern China.

They had ordered a shipment of babies from a local farm - and discovered that one of them had two heads.

It weighed just 17g when it arrived at the centre but is now thriving.


Water World spokesman Jimmy Hu said: 'We got it two weeks ago and it's growing fast, probably because it can eat twice as fast as the others.

'It was mixed among many other turtles and we only discovered it this week.'

Mr Hu added: 'It's very rare to see a turtles with two heads, we plan to keep it and raise it carefully for future research.'

Monday, September 15, 2008

'My 18 hours under the ISA'


By TAN HOON CHENG

On 12 September, about eight thirty in the evening, I was at my home in Bukit Mertajam, Penang. While enjoying my yew char koay (fried dough stick), I was worried about the show cause letter issued to Sin Chew Daily, and anxious about the days ahead for my newspaper.

Suddenly, a group of plain cloth police officers appeared at my front gate. The person who started to identify the group and the purpose of this visit was a woman officer. She was also the only one in her uniform.

Through the gate, she told me that I have to follow them to the Police station, in response to that I told her that unless they have a warrant of arrest, I will not open the gate. At the same time, I immediately rung up the legal adviser of our company and my direct superior, seeking their advice.

Later, the female officer told me that they are arresting me under Internal Security Act, therefore a warrant is not required. On hearing that, I was immediately was prepared for the worst.

I have to act calm, comforting my parents and reassuring them that my colleagues would be waiting for me at the police station to render assistance. When I was taken away, my parents acted strongly, they kept on asking the police to accord me with proper treatment.

I was brought to Seberang Perai Tengah IPD (district head office), and I was placed in a chilling cold room while waiting for the police to begin their paperwork. I was accompanied by a female officer who seemed to be trembling as a result of the low room temperature as well. To break the silence, I initiated a conversation. She told me, “You seemed to be very calm.”

I told her, “I am arrested under the Internal Security Act, even though I am scared, I have to face this reality. But I am worried about my parents, friends and relatives, they must be very worried about me.”

To be frank, I was very cool-headed. I believed that there must be a lot of people out there supporting me, giving me the strength that I need, so I must stay strong, to be with these people who are supporting me.

The police recorded all my personal belongings, these were later taken away from me. After that, I am considered ready to be sent to the Police Contingent Headquarters in Penang. When I was brought out of the police station, I realised that a lot of my colleagues in the media, together with representative from different parties and groups were already waiting outside the Police station to show their support. Seeing this,I was deeply touched, I could no longer hold my tears.

When the police car arrived at the station’s entrance, my superior, Puah Eu Peng, our Northern Region Manager, tried to halt the car with his body, to slow the police car’s movement. He knocked at the window, to make sure that I was in the car and gestured to show me his support.

I instantly wiped off my tears, I realized that a lot of them are staying with me, I must be with them as well.

After taking my thumbprints, I was given my dinner and arranged to spend my night in remand. It was not to my knowledge that my colleagues in the profession and people from different groups and parties were there to show their support, right outside that station.

I requested the female officer to keep the lights on. She told me not to worry, she will not switch off the lights. The police also informed me that I would be meeting my parents tomorrow morning at eight. I have spent a very long time, thinking of everything that I have to tell my parents. I have lost touch with the outside world this is my only opportunity, I must cherish it, to clearly explain everything to my parents.

After clearing my mind and organizing my thoughts, I tried to sleep while lying on the wooden bed with the company of the mosquitoes and the noise of water dripping. I have no idea what tomorrow holds for me, but I know I have to be in my perfect condition to handle everything.

I have never suffered from insomnia and this very night, I finally experienced it. Deep down in my heart, I know that those who care about me, would also be experiencing the same, my heart wrenched thinking of that.

At 6 o’clock in the next morning, when I was about to wash up, the female officer passed me the clothing brought by my parents. I was surprised; everything was new, the toiletries, t-shirts, shorts, panties.

I later discovered that the ‘parents’ that the police officer was referring to were a bunch of my colleagues. While waiting outside the Penang Police Contingent Headquarter, they have prepared all these for me. They were uncertain when I would be released, but they told themselves that they must get these necessity items ready in the briefest time possible.

I met my parents and bided them goodbye, the police informed me that they would bring me to the Police Headquarter in Bukit Aman in Kuala Lumpur. My heart sank, I told myself this is the beginning of it, I must brace myself for everything.

After few turns of event, I was eventually brought to the Perak Police Headquarter in Ipoh. After a brief interrogation session, I was brought back to Penang Police Headquarter again.

It was here, where I was interrogated further. I told myself to keep my mind clear, I must tell them the truth, and respond appropriately.

After the interrogation session, I was brought to see another higher-ranked officer, he told me, “We can both go home now!”. Both of us turned to the clock on the wall, the time was 2.25p.m.

This my 18 hours under ISA. I have gone through a lot

After being released, I received a lot of messages, telephone calls and bouquets. My colleagues in the press, representatives from political parties, society leaders, schoolmates, classmates, friends and relatives have visited me at home. Of course, not forgetting the readers and the public who called up or visited Sin Chew Daily’s office in Penang or the Head Office in Petaling Jaya.

Calls, messages, well wishes, and visits from readers and friends. To all of them, I have to express my deepest gratitude. During that 18 hours which was filled with a lot of uncertainties, I felt that there is some unknown strength that has supported me throughout, I knew it must be from you all, those whom I knew or have not met!

I realize that our journey is still full with challenges and obstacles, so we have to continue the same righteous spirit and courage that we have all shown this time! Our society needs this spirit, to build a better tomorrow.

I have finally been freed, but I hope Teresa Kok and Raja Petra Kamaruddin and all those detainees under the Internal Security Act, could be released as soon as as possible. If the authorities think that they have broken the law, they should brought to the court of law to receive transparent and fair trials.

This article is reproduced here, with permission, from www.mysinchew.com

Saturday, September 13, 2008

"Good" fat may be new weapon in obesity fight


By Julie Steenhuysen

CHICAGO (Reuters) - A new understanding of the origins of brown fat cells -- the "good" kind of fat that burns energy and keeps us warm -- may lead to new treatments for obesity, two research teams reported on Wednesday.

Researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston said they used a single molecular switch to turn immature muscle cells into brown fat cells in the lab, suggesting that brown fat may be more akin to muscle cells than conventional white fat cells.

A second team from the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, found a protein important for bone growth helped promote the development of brown fat tissue in mice.

Both teams, reporting in the journal Nature, said their new findings lend understanding about the origins of brown fat, which releases energy, in contrast to conventional white fat, which stores energy.

A person who is obese has large stores of white fat, and researchers think if they can coax the body into making more calorie-burning brown fat, this might help people obese people lose weight.

Dana-Farber's Bruce Spiegelman, who worked on the research, said in a telephone interview that researchers have been trying to find the genes that turn brown fat cells on.

Spiegelman said his team previously found that PRDM16, a kind of genetic switch called a gene transcription factor, appears to regulate the development of brown fat cells.

"What we show in this paper is kind of a big shock. We show that brown fat is derived from a muscle-like cell, and that brown fat and white fat are completely different," he said. Continued ...

Saturday, September 6, 2008

Most Popular Videos on YouTube



Nearly 98 million views and above 220,000 comments.

The Top?

Nearly touching 100 million views and attracted 276,000 comments...here's it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQ25-glGRzI&feature=related
(Embed feature is disabled for this video)

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Never Before Seen Tsunami Video in India

I thought I've seen all versions of 2004 tsunami that killed hundreds of thousands of innocent people, including children and babies. The following video is new to me.


Tsunami Video - The most amazing bloopers are here
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