Avenue Odd

All I want for Christmas is a little peace and quiet from the commercialised chaos.

Picture taken from Flickr.com. Originally Uploaded on October 19, 2007 by DrgnMastr

*Stretches arms* Alright, Time for an update after something like a month of inactivity. Been.. well.. busy.

Been surfing around blogs a bit lately, and I have to say, Singaporeans love being food critics. They would head into a restaurant armed with their handy digital cameras, order a dish, take something like ten pictures of the same dish, and finally dig in. When they are done, pictures of empty plates littered with crumbs and food deemed not edible will be taken as a sort of closing ceremony (correct me if I'm wrong, I truly do not understand the entire ritual).

When they get home, the pictures are uploaded into their computers, and subsequently onto their blogs or food critique community sites.

When people read these blogs or sites, they form an image of what the food, service (if mentioned) ambience, and other details of the entire experience, which, effectively, ruins all the fun in going to a restaurant in the first place! If we only visit places that are “highly recommended” how then are our gastronomical horizons going to expand?

Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against people blogging about their meals and such, but seriously, if you don’t have anything nice to say about a restaurant, I'd much rather the post not exist, it only serves to damage reputations and spoil potentially enjoyable dining experiences.

Head into an interesting restaurant with good company, and more often than not, the food would be delicious :)

oh and, cute picture huh?

Picture taken off Flickr.com. Originally Uploaded on May 14, 2006 by doc18

I was punching numbers into my calculator, and perhaps by force of habit, kept hitting the keys as if it were a telephone keypad. In my frustration, I wondered, both feature 10 digits, so why can't both use the same number arrangement? Wouldn't it make life so much easier?

And so I Googled it. Here's a little something from HowStuffWorks.com:

It is pretty odd that a calculator and a touch-tone telephone have exactly opposite layouts for their keypads, which have many identical components. The reasons behind the differences are not known for certain, but a few theories exist.

The first theory deals with the telephone's circuitry and tone-recognition hardware. When the touch-tone telephone was being designed in the late 1950s, the calculator and adding-machine designers had already established a layout that had 7, 8 and 9 across the top row. Data-entry professionals, and others who used calculators fairly regularly, were quite adept at navigating these keypads. They could hit the numbers extremely quickly, which was great for data entry, but not so great for dialling a touch-tone phone. The tone-recognition technology could not operate effectively at the speeds at which these specialists could dial the numbers. The telephone designers figured that if they reversed the layout, the dialling speeds would decrease and the tone-recognition would be able to do its job more reliably. This theory has little proof to substantiate it, but it does make sense.

A second theory refers to a study done by Bell Labs in 1960. This study involved testing several different telephone-keypad layouts to find out which was easiest to master. After testing several layouts, including one that used two rows with five numbers each and another that used a circular positioning, it was determined that the three-by-three matrix that had 1, 2 and 3 across the top was the easiest for people to use.

Another theory is based on the layout of a rotary telephone. On a rotary dial, 1 is at the top right and zero is on the bottom. When designing the new touch-tone keypad, putting the 1 on the top-right didn't make much sense, because Western writing is read from left to right. But putting 1 on the top-left, and the subsequent numbers to the right, did make sense. Using that formula, the resulting rows fell into place, with zero getting its own row at the bottom.

All of these theories attempt to explain why telephone and calculator keypads are exact opposites, yet no one theory can be pinpointed as the definitive reason. It is common practice today to use the telephone-keypad layout when designing new products that utilize a keypad, such as Automated Teller Machines.

Random morsel of curiosity. =)

Picture taken off Flickr.com. Originally uploaded by thermophle on December 2, 2005 

This goes out to all you people who let your phone ring.. and ring.. and ring.. and divert to bloody MacDonalds Delivery.

Damn. I'm hungry.

Picture taken off Flickr.com. Originally Uploaded on October 6, 2005 by heather

Came across this picture while browsing on flickr.com.

beautiful. there is such beauty in silence.

Picture taken off Flickr.com. Uploaded on June 9, 2008 by aknacer.

Just thought that the previous blogskin was a little cluttered.. hopefully this looks a little easier on the eye..

and the change in address was coz.. waaaaaay too many "lustylockets sounds soooo girly comments"

will post soon! do leave ur comments on the new skin and perhaps name.

Picture is taken off Flickr.com Originally uploaded by orangeacid on April 14, 2007

Lets talk about smoking (again. Its just something that intrigues me, really). Imagine a man, a chain smoker, if you will. Forty years of age, a French expatriate who picked up the habit from two decades ago while in the Army, not a day goes by without him emptying at least two packs of Marlboros. Yes, he is addicted. But why? Is it just the nicotine that we so often hear about, the substance that seems to have inherited humans' primal urge to tear things apart?

The thing about smoking is that it really doesn't present itself as an obstacle in everyday life. Not unless you are a lumberjack or perhaps a telephone operator who has to speak all day.

Smokers are, really, normal people -- just with cigarettes in their hands. It is popular to believe that smokers were all sucked in by the 'suave' or 'sex' factor, or that they are all victims of subliminal ciggy ads and product placement, or that the poor things are like magpies stuck in a cage, forever darting around inside the captive metal that is a cage, forever deluded by the concept of escape, of freedom. That all comes in handy when there's a need to assign blame, but there's more to it than just a cowboy tipping his hat at a lady with a lighted stick protruding from his rugged face.

Smoking is enjoyable. At least that's what I'm told.

Besides, it makes logical sense; why would you do something over and over and over again if you don't like to do it anyway? Hell, if intercourse was not a pleasurable experience, it would just be a means of procreation.

And then there were condoms. Go figure.

Imagine again, our Frenchman, being told one day that he has to stop smoking for whatever reason, say his house would be burned to the ground perhaps, and he agrees to stop smoking entirely. Besides, its good for his health isn't it?

Say he goes through with the whole thing, withdrawal, nicotine patches, nicotine gum, pain, the whole package. He suffers miserably, but he keeps his home and barely, just barely, his sanity.

What is an addict then to do? Live the rest of his miserable life forever longing for a cigarette? Poor chap enjoys them things.

Now he has to deal with not smoking. For someone who has done it for the better part of his life, i'd imagine not doing something would become a challenge. Waking up in the morning and not having his morning smoke. Writing his diary while chewing a rolled departmental store reciept to a pulp in his mouth. He should be happy, i mean he kicked smoking, right? But is he, really? Is he really healthier mentally?

I definitely am not telling anyone that smoking is good, or that you should smoke because it is enjoyable, but when you have found something that is so obviously pleasurable, even additively so, and were forced to give it up, what then is there?

*sidenote. call it nonsense, or whatever you want. I'm not typing this under the most conducive of environments and as such might make sense to lesser creatures such as moths or crickets, not to you and your expansive mind, but thanks for reading anyway.

Photo is taken from Flickr.com. Originally uploaded on August 6, 2008 by artzy.viva.

Picture taken from Flickr.com. Originally uploaded by iCandyPhotography on April 9, 2007

Picture taken from Flickr.com. Originally uploaded by Bob Smith2008 on October 31, 2007 

Happened the chance upon this picture dipicting the Seven Deadly Sins in the way that Leonardo da Vinci painted his timeless work, The Last Supper.

Just thought i would share it with anyone who reads this page :)

Especially interesting is the way the Messiah himself is represented by a lady here.

Do leave your comments on what you think!

Nobody hears its silent scream. Until its too late.

All is music to your ears, until the string snaps.

When it does, do you replace the string, or the guitar?

Will it ever be wound as tight again? Or will it be picked in an atmosphere of preventive sobriety, never sounding as good as it once had?

The right to vote has always been central to a democratic governance. However, it has to be noted that there are countries where citizen are made to vote. They have to vote.

Singapore, where I live in, is one such state.

Is voting the only time a democratic government has to be totalitarian?

When people vote, they want to feel that they are voting for something they actually want. Say there are two parties, and both parties do not offer what a certain citizen wants from a government, but still he has to vote. How is that democratic?

Isn't the right NOT to vote a given under democratic governance?

PICTURE WAS UPLOADED BY Luna Park ON FLICKR.COM ON DECEMBER 16, 2005

There are obvious merits about living with one's parents. Clean laundry, home-cooked meals and a fully stocked fridge, to name a few. But still, I feel a longing to leave and lead a life of my own.

I know I will miss the home-cooked meals, and clean laundry, the fully stocked fridge, breakfast in the morning and everything else, but something feels missing - direction.

It's not that one cannot have a direction in life just because he is living under the same roof as his parents, its just.. there are so many things that you just have to learn yourself, on your own, in your own crisis.

Celebrating so many 21st birthdays led me to thinking.. What is all this fanfare about "attaining adulthood" if you cannot cook your own meal? Wash your own laundry? Iron your own clothes? Live independently? Perhaps we have grown older in age, but have we truly matured? Are we truly wiser than a year ago?

I truly appreciate all that my family has done for me, and it is not out of any lack of love for them that I have such sentiments, but there is so much to learn, so much that you cannot learn under the shelter of unconditional love. It may sound condescending, but I sincerely do not want to burden them unnecessarily.

This longing to leave, is it a want for freedom?

*PICTURE WAS UPLOADED ON JANUARY 1,2006 BY CHAUSS513 ON FLICKR.COM.

 The experience of reading is one that is unique to the reader himself. Immersing in a world unknown, exploring ideas never thought up of before, or just reading for nostalgia, reading is, above all, a pleasure.

Reading a book, that is.

"There is no frigate like a book to take us lands away, nor any coursers like a page of prancing poetry."
-Emily Dickenson

Until recently, whenever we mention reading it has almost always been reading a book, but something has changed this. The electronic book reader. While it is not widely available globally, its use slowly but surely spread.

But what good is a book if it cannot be flipped, stacked on your living room table, or shelved away to collect some dust until you next pick it up and enjoy it again? Someone once said "A book is like a present you can open over and over again". True, that.

A book(or magazine) is more than just its literary content. Its colour, shape and even smell, makes it unique. What it tells of the reader is another attribute that the electronic book reader most definitely cannot replace. A man reading Hugo's Les Miserables looks to be a cultured one, the same man reading Hugo's Les Miserables on an electronic book reader looks (to me) more like a geek than anything else. (if he was reading a copy of Playboy, however, it is preferable that it be done on the electronic book reader, so I guess it does have some plus points.. but I digress.)

Books however small, have a sculptural presence and invariably become little islands of interest. The little mound of books stacked in the loo gives a certain insight into the thoughts and concerns of a person. What books are strewn about on the coffee table have the same effect - people notice books. Books, as any visitor to a civilised house knows, do furnish a room. Books never look untidy, even when piled in tumbling stacks.

Imagine taking a stroll about Harvard, and stumbling upon its massive library filled with books of all disciplines looming above. Impressive, isn't it? Now, replace the tomes with these electronic book readers.. They just do not have the same visual effect, especially if their batteries are long dead.

There is something luxurious, even sensual about the book that the electronic book reader can never attain. Antique tomes have a certain allure that appeals the senses and intellect. Don't know about you but in my case antique technology generally find their way into rubbish dumps (or recycling plants etc. what have you).

As long as Man has the need to narrate his knowledge, the book - the one that uses no batteries and are cheap to produce and can last for ages and ages - will transcend into immortality.

PICTURE TAKEN FROM FLICKR.COM. UPLOADED ON SEPTEMBER 17, 2008 BY Roberto69 

So a friend went out to buy cigarettes because he ran out. The only thought that came to mind was, isn't it such an expensive habit to keep up? His reply, no choice, I'm hooked.

Moving along that train of thought, it dawned upon me that (pardon me for thinking it along the line of economics here) no matter what governments do, they really do not want their people to stop smoking entirely. For one simple reason, it is such good business.

The rate at which our government taxes cigarettes is, in one word, exorbitant. The amount of premium a smoker has to pay should discourage him from smoking altogether.. right?

I'd say wrong. Smoking to most of these smokers is a lifestyle choice (is, has been, and probably always will be, for nicotine is a steadfast friend), and not quite a financial one. Think about it, some people have expensive hobbies that they are willing to dish out lots of cash to maintain. They set aside a certain amount just for it. As long as he is able to upkeep the hobby, he is fine with paying, simply because its part of his lifestyle.

With that in mind, the government can tax high amounts, and it is safe to say that the amount of smokers who stop smoking altogether would be proportionately smaller than the amount of money the government can raise from the tax from those who decide to just complain and keep smoking anyway - since it is a lifestyle choice.

Some would argue that tobacco tax is MORE to discourage smoking than to raise the earnings of the government.

I call bullshit on that. Completely. The statement in its entirety is false, I say. (I don't have a Ph.D, I haven't written any books, so yeah, you may choose to ignore me.)

Simply because there is just no substitute for cigarettes. If one decides to stop playing poker because its such a drain on the pocket, one may decide to do something else, perhaps play Old Maid with stakes. However, for cigarettes, its either smoke, or deal with withdrawal. Most would prefer the former, regardless of the price, simply because withdrawal is painful and our brains are hard-wired to veer away from pain, so making a conscious effort to go down the withdrawal path while the other path is available is most unthinkable.

Besides, it is raking in a very large sum of money each year for the governments. It is very profitable business. Had they simply wanted to stop society from smoking, it could simply make cigarettes another illegal narcotic, and send addicts to rehabilitation centers, that would be a much better deterrent than raising prices, wouldn't it? By raising taxes, what it says is, "smoking isn't wrong, its just expensive, so as long as you can pay, no worries mate!"

So keep smoking, it keeps the country's economy up. Also, smokers die earlier (tested and proven), and thus have less years to soak up taxpayers' money in healthcare and other benefits in their (less than usual) later years.

Nothing personal, its all good business.

Sidenote: Many researches have shown that men think women who smoke are sexier than their non-smoking counterparts. I'm starting to realise where that came from. If you'd only observe the way some ladies smoke, the cigarette is such a phallic symbol, and the whole mouth thing before the exhale.. I know where those researchers got that idea.. lol.

*THE PICTURE WAS UPLOADED ON OCTOBER 21, 2007 BY ArtWerk ON FLICKR.COM

DAMMIT. 5 HOURS TO BURN AND I LEFT MY iPOD AT HOME.

palmface.

PHOTO WAS TAKEN OFF FLICKR, ORIGINALLY UPLOADED BY TMink.

Yes, yes.. I know this is OLD and crummy. Evolution vs. Creationism aka Intelligent Design.

Evolution: From single cell organisms, creatures on earth took different evolutionary paths through processes of natural selection.It all began with the Big Bang. Extinction happens to species that "go down the path to a dead end". It all sounds very logical. Though one question remains, what caused the Big Bang(personally the burning question for me is: are we really all made of stardust?!??!)? Also, even if there is a scientific theory to that (there are many put forward by physicists and astrologers), how did such a process cause life?

Creationism aka Intelligent Design: A supreme being created each and every creature. It sounds like an "easy-way-out" for something that could not be explained by many early "thinkers". Point to note, in many holy scriptures that cite creationism and intelligent design, there are thousands of species of animals that are not mentioned. For example, in the Bible, there was no mention of a creature that resembles a Kangaroo, and yet, there they are getting run over on the expressways of Australia today! This can be attributed to geographical positioning. Since the author(s) of the Bible probably never got a chance to cross the ocean to reach the continent of Australia, they never got to record it and send it into Noah's Ark, but yet.. THERE THEY ARE! This is but one of the many flaws of the argument for Intelligent Design, and allows for rampant skeptism from the scientific field.

While thinking it through, it occurred to me that while evolution seems very logical to me, with all its digestible, tangible evidence; To a person who believes in a God and his supreme power, Creationism actually has logical, empirical evidence - God created us.

The Big Bang theory left me wondering though, so what caused the big bang?

So conclusion for me, an Intelligent Designer CREATED the highly Intelligent Big Bang that will then go on a process of evolution, and what we have now is only part of a timeline.

In short, God created the big bang 3 billion years ago and decided to take a vacation for 500billion years. Now that, my friends, is remarkably effective management.

Do drop a comment on your thoughts, I'm interested to know what others think of such a widely debated issue.

I'm very inclined to say one thing though, Science cannot answer everything. Ask a scientist why are leaves of plants green, and he will tell you that its pigmentation of chlorophyll that plants use in photosynthesis. That is a scientifically accurate answer that has empirical evidence, yet it does not answer the question of purpose or meaning. Purpose and meaning are probably the most elusive of all answers Man seek, answers that Science alone cannot provide. Never mind if God created us or we evolved our superior intelligence - our expansive mind that continually seeks answers is a tool, and Science(addressing quantitative and evident issues) and Spirituality(to address issues of purpose and meaning) merely means to an end(answers). However much they might conflict, they will co-exist. Forever.

*PICTURE WAS UPLOADED BY iuhoaix ON FLICKR.

Full Rankings and Details of the World Bank "Doing Business" report.

Adding to what is already a little treasure trove of accolades, Singapore has, for the third year running, clinched top spot for the Best Country to Do Business.

This year, reforms in two sectors - starting a business and dealing with construction permits - helped the city-state hold its place at number one.

Starting a business in Singapore can take as little as four days, thanks to vast improvements in the electronic business registration system.

Streamlined construction-permit application processes is the other major contributor to reaffirming its grip on the top spot. The entire process can be completed online, and in brief 38 days - that's the fastest time in the world for construction-permit application. Applicants can even choose to receive periodic E-mails or text messages that keeps them updated on the status of application.

While it might not be a common sentiment all Singaporeans, I sincerely do believe that what we have here in this city state is truly impressive and worth fighting for, if it comes to that.

To be sure, there are many issues that Singaporeans are not entirely euphoric about. Issues such as the Electronic-Road-Pricing schemes, rising costs of living (with no apparent rise in wages) and "losing out" to foreigners for jobs are prime examples.

Let it suffice to say though, that every nation has its own troubles. Looking at the world at large, the issues we have at hand immediately seem trivial. Zimbabwe has HIV problems, and is home to 11.3 million citizens of which an estimated 1.8 million are living with HIV. Their average life expectancy is 34 years for women and 37 years for men. Thailand is currently in political turmoil. Looming recession lurks the economies of the United States and Europe (and if history would be right, as it often proves itself to be, if they go into recession, it is unlikely that the impact will not be felt globally). Even the poles have the immediate concern of rising sea levels due to global warming.

While waiting for that hot coffee to arrive at your table, someone might have died of the heat that is characteristic of the climate recently, harvesting the very beans your coffee is being made from.

We take way too much for granted.

Found this video clip from CollegeHumour.. Its insane hilarious!

Imagine if your fonts were people.. What would they be like? Here's a fresh take on it..Granted, its a pretty old clip and some might have stumbled upon it before, but surely its worth another look!

Times New Roman is like the Boss
Arial Narrow is narrow-minded racist
Webdings is a loony!
and many more...

MAILBOX! OPENMAILBOX!

*note: Prior knowledge of how a font looks like will make it a hellalotta funnier!

So school's been in for a while for me now.. All's been fine and well and suitably boring. There is one thing though, that i just HAVE to grouse(some I adore, but heck, grouse seems more appropriate) about. There are "peacocks" who saunter about the lecture halls as if they hadn't a care in the world. Distracting.

*peacocks: people who just have to make a fashion statement, however good or bad. No reference to brain size here, mind you (go ahead, but dont tellem).

Specimen 1: Ankle-Covering Furry Boots. I could hear her feet choking from where I was seated...

Specimen 2:  Deep V-neck body hugging gown. Think.. Oscars, red carpet, limousine. Ladies, please, do not get me wrong, I am all for plunging necklines, and elegant gowns, but in SCHOOL?!?! You are hampering many hot blooded mens' feeble attempt to pay attention to that cleava.. er i mean.. lecturer. Not to mention the hurt you afflict upon the less well endowed.

Specimen 3: BIG FRIZZY HAIR. There are people who actually need to look at the big white sceen on which pictures and words are projected upon to learn. Please, get out of our faces. (Its pretty funny, the seat behind him is consistently left empty). If i ever am forced to sit behind him i shall make him balance the Guiness Book of World Records on his head just to keep the damn thing down.

Specimen 4: Singlets (almost always from New Urban Male). Brrrrr... Nuff said.

Specimen 5: Sunglasses. Unless you're from Bollywood, please, leave them at home.

Specimen 6: That hot girl in the back of the room. Thank your mother for such brilliant genes, to be specimen 6 is your birthright. You're just plain distracting. omg. the chair melted.

If you have to make a fashion statement (or a fashion faux pas for that matter), do in on Orchard Road or somewhere else where someone would actually give you the right type of attention. Someone might actually find it artistic or something.

oh and miss specimen 6, come sit beside me;  its cooler here, and no - its not the air conditioner.

Looks like Google has hit the sweetspot once again with its new web browser the Google Chrome.

1% of the World in just a day.. well done Google.

It uncluttered, simple, interface has me absolutely hooked! It uses Webkit like the Apple Safari, and it is blazing quick. It is now my default browser. Download it here:

Download Google Chrome!

With morning classes over.. I now have 5 hours on hand till the next (one hour only) lesson.  While waiting for this lesson, something crossed my mind:

We spend a large part of our lives just waiting, and a good portion of that time, we are waiting for others. Now, that is perfectly fine. For the first 10 minutes or so (lets face it, busses miss us, and jams catch our cars sometimes). After that though it does get slightly (and oftentimes excessively) annoying when we are made to wait, and wait, and.. wait.

As you might have guessed, I am usually the punctual one, and while I pride myself for such punctuality, it never fails to irk me when made to wait anything in excess of ~20mins for anybody. To put it plainly, time, MY time, was being needlessly wasted.

Armed with bristling righteous fury for chronic latecomers of the land, it was decided that I, The Punctual One, will plunge the depths of chronic latecoming and seek the truth and the One Ring to Rule..... nevermind.

Tardiness can seem like an incurable disease sometimes. I do know of people who will make a conscious effort to avoid arriving late. These are the ones who will prepare an hour beforehand, and ultimately, arrive... late.

Habitual latecoming, that is called. However, do know that, THERE IS HOPE! The challenge here is upon deciding on just how important it is for him/her to be on time. In most societies, chronic latecoming is seen - no not as a mental illness, but rather a (serious?) character flaw. Especially in the business world, where (you guessed it) time is money, to waste someone's time is as good as saying 'know what? I cannot be bothered to respect your time, and much less, you.'

Now, with that aside, we move on to the type of lateness that bothers me the most: the "he's-gonna-be-late-anyway" or "I-don't-want-to-stand-there-like-a-clown-waiting-for-him" syndrome.

The reason why this bothers me so much is how this problem can (and will) compound. If Aaron is consistently late by 10minutes, Charles will soon decide to arrive 15minutes after the pre-decided time (surely its ok for her to finally wait for 5 minutes!) So assuming that Charles keeps that up, Aaron will consequently turn up 20 minutes late. Why?

Waiting alone to most people is experienced as a painful, boring and time wasting activity. Above all, it projects an image of a lonely person. Many people have the innate fear of being left all alone, and consequently, hate to be kept waiting, and as such, just keep coming later than the other to avoid the painful experience.

So, what can we do about it?

Being from the fine city state that is Singapore, a monetary penalty comes to mind. For every minute that a party is late, he/she would have to cough up an amount of money, or buy lunch etc. While this may seem like a viable proposition (and is in practice in some social circles actually), personally I feel it will only worsen the situation in the long run; because now, it is "acceptable" to be late, never mind that you have wasted three people's time waiting for you, as long as you buy lunch later, its perfectly fine. I can see a culture building up there, albeit and unhealthy one. (Note: There really is no free lunch. The time wasted waiting for that one person could most probably been put to better use.)

The only piece of real advice I can give is for the punctual party to never fall into the vicious cycle. That way, the person who is making you wait, if he/she considers you of some importance (and since you are meeting up more than once or twice I'd safely say that he does), might 'feel bad' and make an effort to arrive on time in the future.

Alright, for those of you who made it this far, congratulations on conquering my longest wall of text in about two years. Isn't quite the Great Wall.. or the Berlin.. or the Earthworm Jim.. or the Nokia N95.. or the Evian.. or the...

Time is precious, do not waste others' time. Or your own, typing walls of text.

Reading mine, however, is time well spent. Thank you for your precious time.

THE PICTURE WAS TAKEN OFF FLICKR AND ALL CREDIT GOES TO THE ORIGINAL POSTER

The toilet seat. A symbol of the struggle between the sexes since time immemorial.

IMHO, the seat should be put down after use by us guys when we are in a household where there are women around, its a symbolic way of showing that we respect their presence (and we know we have to respect their presence for various reasons, not the least the TV remote).

The advent of the "perfect" toilet seat has me confused (you know the one, with the slit in the front). I mean, its fine as a unisex idea, but it has been installed progressively into all our public toilets. Now, we KNOW for SURE, that women wont be using these toilet seats, so why should we move away from the traditional "up-or-down" toilet seat?

One argument for the "perfect" toilet seats in male restrooms is that it seems troublesome for guys to lift up the seat when not in use, so why dont we just leave a hole in front so that even with the seat down, we can aim with relative ease. However, as witnessed in many a stained seats, this has a backfiring effect it seems. As it would appear, some men just need much more target practice. Even with the extra firing room, they will cause collateral damage to the rest of the toilet seat.. and the poor guy who actually wants to use the seat.. has to do some serious cleaning up.. (and perhaps disinfecting).

Therefore, i'm all for the "traditional" toilet seats. Yes, the ones that the battle of the sexes wages over, the same one that sparks off divorces.Its a "up-or-down" choice, that way, at least the guy who needs to crap, gets a swift and effective relief.

And for fuck's sake. In the men's restrooms. PLEASE LEAVE THE DAMN SEAT UP.

The café, truly a great place to appreciate what one has, what one had, and perhaps, what one might have.

Today, seated obliquely before me, were four secondary school girls who were, like myself, in academic pursuit. Much like myself, they are failing miserably. However, their failing miserably meant they were chattering on and on about just about anything that came to their mind. Boys, in-school gossip, the latest hand phones (actually its just THE latest hand phone, the iPhone from Apple, it has finally hit our humble shores and taken the island's Applemaniacs by storm, personally i don't quite see what's the deal with it though :X ...maniacs), the range of topics they covered in my four hours here probably had more coverage than The Herald Tribune International. Oh and did i mention.. boys?

The endless chatter regarding certain lucky bloke by the name of Shawn (yes i caught that much) was just that, endless. In the midst of going gaga, they flipped their geography textbooks, it eludes me how one studies that way.. Perhaps women have it easy like that?

I couldn't help but think back on my own secondary school days. In my school, we were lucky enough to have a beautiful lake in the compound. As much as it was a waste of space, it was a cultural icon of sorts, and it provided for a suitably soothing ambience to study. It was also conducive for idle chatter. Once in a while, a gust of wind will pass by and sweep away some of our notes into the lake. The following panic was always concluded with a friend offering his/her notes to photocopy, since, well it IS a lake and paper kinda gets ruined by water.

Ah yes, friends. The innocence of friendship at that age was priceless. Though i am here alone, here's a silent thankyou from me to all the people who had made any kind of impact in my life.

I am happy for you, girls.

While sitting at the local starbucks, reading a book, sipping Iced Americano, and chatting online with some friends (it all sounds like much, but if u try to picture it.. it all can happen concurrently without a kink), a random thought to blog came to mind. Partly driven by the general tiedium of life as a student, part driven by my need to rant, a blog is born.

lustylockets.blogspot.com

the name came about while chatting online with Maxine (max-online.. it just occurred to me). So i asked her for a blog name, and she offered up one word. lust. the rest was merely random wordplay. *note to self, a cafe is a pretty condusive place to think of random nonsense.