Y Friday, April 25, 2008Y
1:12 pm
Came back from Taiwan on 23 April. It was a great sight-seeing trip, the fashion over there very upzzz. I lurrrve the shopping there, so so fun. In the end, bought quite lots of stuff, 1 ex T-shirt, 2 blue short sleeve shirts, 1 white long sleeve shirt, 1 jacket, 1 cheap blue Asics Tiger shoe. The service there is lots of times better than here, cos the ppl very friendly and nice.
Come to think of it, going overseas is really fun, can learn to be more independent, have more freedom, and escape from the stressful and busy life here. Can't wait to go back to Taiwan when I ORD, hehe! =)
Y Sunday, April 06, 2008Y
1:57 pm
A young nurse was assisting a surgeon in the operating theater for the first time. Although she was trembling a bit, she did her best. After the operation the surgeon said, 'Right, let's stitch him up!' The nurse said, 'Excuse me sir, you used twelve sponges and we only have eleven.' He answered, 'Nurse, I took out all the sponges. Stitch him up.' She insisted, 'Sorry Doctor, there is one sponge missing.' The doctor repeated the instruction to sew the patient up. The nurse said, 'Sir, you are putting this patient's life at risk.' With this the surgeon lifted his foot off the twelfth sponge saying, 'You've passed the test. You can work here!'
1:46 pm
Increased Death Rate AssociatedWith Sleeping 8 Hours or More
Although it’s a common belief that 8 hours of sleep is required for optimal health, a six-year study of more than one million adults ages 30 to 102 has shown that people who get only 6 to 7 hours a night have a lower death rate. Individuals who sleep 8 hours or more, or less than 4 hours a night, were shown to have a significantly increased death rate compared to those who averaged 6 to 7 hours.
Researchers from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine and the American Cancer Society collaborated on the study, which appeared in the February 15, 2002 issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry, a journal of the American Medical Association.
Although the data indicated the highest mortality rates with long-duration sleep, the study could not explain the causes or reasons for this association.
First author Daniel F. Kripke, M.D., a UCSD professor of psychiatry who specializes in sleep research, said “we don’t know if long sleep periods lead to death. Additional studies are needed to determine if setting your alarm clock earlier will actually improve your health.”
But, he added “individuals who now average 6.5 hours of sleep a night, can be reassured that this is a safe amount of sleep. From a health standpoint, there is no reason to sleep longer.”
1:37 pm
In 1982, two sociologists named James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling proposed a hypothesis about urban disintegration, and called it the “broken window theory.” The idea became the basis of policing efforts in many cities, most notably New York, where a dramatic, almost unbelievable drop in crime rates followed its implementation.The sociologists observed that if a window on a building is broken and left unrepaired, other windows on the building will soon be broken. Disorder invites more disorder. If nothing is done about signs of negligence such as broken windows, graffiti, litter, or abandoned cars, then vandals are emboldened to commit acts that further add to the appearance of deterioration. This has a net effect of raising the anxiety of law-abiding citizens,who sense that such physical decline makes an area unsafe. Thus,good citizens stay away, and the area attracts unsavory businesses, criminality, and more visual chaos.
Y Friday, April 04, 2008Y
7:35 pm
In the shop of a blacksmith, there are three types of tools. There are tools on the junk pile:outdated, broken, dull, rusty.
They sit in the cobwebbed corner, useless to their master, oblivious to their calling.
There are tools on the anvil:
melted down, molten hot, moldable, changeable.
They lie on the anvil, being shaped by their master, accepting their calling.
There are tools of usefulness:
sharpened, primed, defined, mobile.
They lie ready in the blacksmith’s tool chest, available to their master, fulfilling their calling.
Some people lie useless:
lives broken, talents wasting, fires quenched, dreams dashed.
They are tossed in with the scrap iron, in desperate need of repair, with no notion of purpose.
Others lie on the anvil:
hearts open, hungry to change, wounds healing, visions clearing.
They welcome the painful pounding of the blacksmith’s hammer, longing to be rebuilt, begging to be called.
Others lie in their Master’s hands:
well tuned, uncompromising, polished, productive.
They respond to their Master’s forearm, demanding nothing, surrendering all.
We are all somewhere in the blacksmith’s shop. We are either on the scrap pile, in the Master’s hands on the anvil, or in the tool chest. (Some of us have been in all three.)
From the shelves to the workbench, from the water to the fire…I’m sure that somewhere you will see yourself.
Paul spoke of becoming “an instrument for noble purposes.” And what a becoming it is! The rubbish pile of broken tools, the anvil of recasting, the hands of the Master- it’s a simultaneously joyful and painful voyage.
And for you who make the journey—who leave the heap and enter the fire, dare to be pounded on God’s anvil, and doggedly seek to discover your own purpose—take courage, for you await the privilege of being called “God’s chosen instruments.”
From On the Anvil:
Stories On Being Shaped Into God’s Image
Y Thursday, April 03, 2008Y
11:59 pm
Hey guys sry 4 not posting this earlier, forgot abt blogging it, hehe. The SQ flight to Thailand was great, got to catch Juno on it. The movie was really really nice! In Thailand the food was rather cheap but fantastic! 5ppl share 5 dishes, each only pay abt $4-5! the bad thing was the irritating bed bugs and the super hot weather. Can really feel the heat. The trip to Thailand really made me appreciate more of my friends and family and kinda more independent too! Missed my home when I was there. Going to Taiwan from 7-23 April. Hope can buy many trendy and fashionable stuffs from there, hehe! =)