A 5 Point Post

The Good: My sister recently bought a new blue Mini Cooper with money she'd been saving for the last few years of work. She decided to name the thing Paddington after narrowing her choice of appropriate "English" names down. She bought it standard and after a few (trying) days of teaching, she had it mastered. My sister is wee just under 5'1" so it's a perfect fit for her. When she picked it up from the dealership, she let my brother drive it home since she didn't know at the time how to drive it. This was a big honour for Jeff so as a little show of thanks, he went about finding a little Paddington Bear doll. While my sister was at work, he tucked the little Paddy into the driver's seat of the big Paddy and fastened the seatbelt and left it to be discovered at a later point. When my sister found it later, she came back into the house with all the happiness and surprise of a 5 year old having found exactly what she'd asked for on Christmas morning. It was so cute.

The Bad: Miscommunication and unfortunate circumstances... Let me preface this by saying that I had been worn right down and was tired beyond reason and she was just welcoming her monthly visitor.I recently pissed off a friend of mine. We have a pretty easy going friendship with no strings attached and it has suited both of us very well. Before I left on my trip she and I had been talking on the phone when she asked why I was single and why I didn't have a good girl in my life and I told her I had one until she decided to get rid of me. From here things get a little foggy. She said something along the lines of her saying that she'd want to be with me if she wasn't so wrong for me. In my head and heart I know that I could never date this girl so I didn't argue, but that's not the point at hand here. After she'd said that, I think I verbally agreed with her and then I said something, which for the life of me I can't remember what it was, and it pissed her off something mighty. I was trying to say that I liked what we had going and that it was good, but somehow I managed not to get that message across and had her get a "little" upset at me. She promptly said a quick piece and hung up. I still don't know what I said...

The Funny (but not really): Some of the excuses being pandered about by men being caught in gay scandals. I'm not going on an anti-gay thing here. I love gay people, after all, the more there are, the more women become available to the dating pool and hey, if you only women go after you're only attractive to half of the population out there. Poor Senator Craig from Idaho alleged he was a victim of entrapment and that the under cover police officer had been the one soliciting sex in the bathroom of an airport. That at least isn't as fishy as the one offered up by the Vatican Priest Monsignor Tommaso Stenico who, when caught on camera, said he was merely doing psychoanalytic research and was merely "pretending" to be gay to gather information on those who damage the church with homosexual activity... While both have more or less committed professional suicide, you gotta give the priest more points for originality.

The Sad: New Era, the caps' manufacturer, and the New York Yankees — whose famous interlocking NY cap features a choice of a red and black bandanna design for the Bloods, blue and gray for the Crips and a gold crown for the Latin Kings and Major League Baseball is deliberately marketing to gang members and wannabes to make more money off a horrible trend.

The Down Right Odd:An Australian woman was killed by a pet camel given to her as a 60th birthday present after the animal apparently tried to have sex with her. She was killed at her family's sheep and cattle ranch. The 10-month-old male camel weighing about 150 kilograms knocked the woman to the ground, lay on top of her, then exhibited what police suspect was mating behaviour. A police spokesperson said, "I'd say it's probably been playing, or it may be even a sexual sort of thing," adding the camel almost suffocated the family's pet goat by straddling it on several occasions. The woman was given the camel in March as a birthday present from her husband and daughter. It is not known if the camel's exposure to the other barn yard stock had anything to do with its state of arousal especially given the close proximity of the sheep. There are un-confirmed reports the camel may have some Welsh or New Zealand blood lineage which could explain a few things.

A 5 Point Post

The good: I'm going on my trip in a few days. I will have worked 20 out of 22 days by the time this Thursday comes along. I finish work at 5PM and I'm on a plane to England at 11PM. Doesn't leave too much time to pack or even get ready for it but so it goes. I think I'll finally realize I'm on vacation when I arrive in Stockholm. There's just been so much going on with everything over the last year and a bit that this little journey should be good for the soul. I've decided to make traveling a priority in my life. Best way to fix a mushed up heart is to fill it with whatever the world can offer. Next up after this, surf camp in Costa Rica. But first up, Europe and I'm sure there will be more than a few sights to get the appreciation for the finer things in life back. Any one want to take a guess as to which country will have the nicest ladies? Ok Crash, no biased answers here.

The bad: Wondering what the hell it is I'm doing with myself. So goes the woes of the 20 something, but really, I just feel kind of out of touch with what is going on out there. I look around at some of the other people I grew up with and I see them and equate their lives to our respective ages and I just don't feel like I'm at the same place with it all. Sure, I have a career, doing exactly what I wanted to do. (how many people can honestly say that) Said career carries with it immense responsibility, hell people's lives are literally in my hands at times!!! Yet being all that as it is, I still just don't see myself as a 27 year old. The ex once told me she sometimes didn't see me having the job I did, because I acted a lot like a 6 year old. Seeing as how she was working with kids that age at that time, she'd know. In a way I was glad that I didn't carry the job home with me and that she could see beyond the uniform, but did it mean more? I've always held the belief that as you grow up, you should never lose your inner child, but at what point does being an adult take hold? Bah.

The funny: I haven't seen a professional sports coach lose his mind quite like this in some time. This is impressive as much as it is embarrassing, but still a good laugh.

The sad: Fuck the sad for once. There's too much of it and I got really put off by something that happened the other day. So for at least one post, there will be none of it. I have had enough. Angry and down is not who this half full half pint is. Grumble grumble grumble.

The down right odd: Police in Naron, Spain pulled over a man in an electric wheelchair who was traveling "at considerable speed" down the highway linking Ferrol with As Pontes, in the northwest of Spain. First off, I'd like to know what a considerable speed is for one of those things. I can just imagine the possibility for after market kits to soup those babies up... The man, who is TETRAPLEGIC and drives his wheelchair with his mouth and chin, had apparently become lost while looking for a brothel. Seriously. Like is there feeling down there? Maybe this part of the section should have fallen under the sad portion of the post, but I guess we as humans all have our needs. But C'MON... Maybe in Spain the ladies are more courteous and compassionate, but are they that far ahead that they have wheel chair accessible brothels?!?!? That'd be something. But then again as I typed that out, I found this from 2001. Steph, this is another reason why I love the Aussies.

A 5 Point Post

The good: As much as some of you (eve) out there hate it, I have to say that I am a total convert and a fan of the world of Facebook. I recently sat down for a pitcher with my friend Megan from uni who I unfortunately lost touch with about 6 or 7 years ago. I first met her in our first year. She lived down the hall from my another one of my exes. She had this poster which completely distracted me. Now that's not hard to do on a normal day, but this became an obsession. It got to the point where she'd leave for class and be fine with me sitting in her room staring at the damn poster trying to find the matching pair. After 2'nd year, I lost her phone number and didn't have her e-mail address so I was rather mad at myself for that. I'd thought about how she was over the years and just caught up via facebook. Was really great in that we picked it right up after the years as though it was last week.

The bad: People that say damaging things to others when they know exactly how hurtful their words will be. It's something we're taught as kids that is bad: Don't say damning and painful things to people. Perhaps we shouldn't teach that lesson anymore so kids don't learn to do it knowing how bad it can be. In a moment of instant gratification of sadistic evil, a person can totally ruin someone else's day and affect their very being. I myself have not been subjected to this of late, but I have seen it and I disturbed enough about it to give it 1 of the 5 pts. Boooooooo on mean people, they suck.

The funny: Yet another family tale... It had been some time since Ali, Jeff, mom and I were able to sit down to have a meal together. It's truely a comical affair on an average night in our house and we have left many an un-warned visitor horribly scarred from the experience. The other night, as were were putting the wraps on a great din din, my mom stopped the meal suddenly to ask if we knew that grandma had fallen. Most NORMAL families would have dropped everything and asked with a high degree of concern what had happened. Mine... well, it didn't exactly go like that.

mom, "Did you guys hear...?"

Ali, "No we didn't."

me, "Why, what happened, did Kung Kung (grandpa) push her over?"

Jeff... uncontrollable laughter while trying not to launch his dinner forth.

mom, "Well, not exactly"

all of us, "ha ha ha ha ha ha"

Mom proceeded to then tell the actual story. We're all going to hell.

The sad: In the very near future an expedition will be made to Mt. Everest or as this segment will go on to tell Mt. Ever Rest. 9 years ago, Francys Arsentiev became the first woman to ever climb the mountain without the aid of supplemental oxygen. A mere 800 meters into her decent, something happened which caused her to either collapse or fall. As her expedition reached her, they found her to have no mobility. 28,000 feet from the base and after exhausting all options, the others had no choice but to leave her behind. By the time another team went back the next morning, Francys had succumbed to her injuries and the cold. An effort to retrieve her body at the time would have been too treacherous to attempt and none has been made since, so her body wrapped in her purple coat has remained, well within sight of any visitor to Everest. One of the climbers who was with her 9 years ago, Ian Woodall is returning now to bury the friend he had to leave behind. This is the last expedition he will undertake and he hopes to be able to bury 2 other climbers who have lost their lives on the mountain. Godspeed.

The down right odd: Japan's growing income gap means the working poor are not only flipping burgers to make a living, they're also buying them so they've got somewhere to live, turning them into "McRefugees". Part-time workers and day laborers have found cheap alternatives to renting apartments in the form of Internet cafes, or saunas where they could spend the night for just a few thousand yen. An increasing number of working poor are turning to the growing number of fast food restaurants operating 24 hours so they've got somewhere to stay overnight. These people are being called "McRefugees" after McDonald's, the fast food chain providing many of them with their homes. With a burger costing as little as 80 yen and a coffee costing 100 yen, an overnight stay can cost less than 200 yen. Internet cafes are another option, but with time costing money, only a small percentage of the McRegugees can afford the rent.

As explained by a local economist, "They're people who probably have a tad more money than those living on the streets, but not enough money to allow them to change their lives. It costs about 400,000 yen to 500,000 yen to rent out an apartment, so people who can't afford to do that become Net Cafe Refugees, Sauna Refugees and, now McRefugees. The vast majority of them are not full time staff and are probably only making about 1 million yen a year at most. For these people, 500,000 yen is an enormous sum of money."

A 5 Point Post

The good: The amazing house and crazy hat party held at Amy's on Friday night followed up by another solid night out at the Green Room on Saturday. It was so good to see so many good people, Tom, Steve, Lori, Chloe, Carolyn, Tristan, that I haven't seen in a while and meeting a few new ones. For some it's been months and others years. It's funny that the older we get, the more we stay the same in some senses. Kinda blew my mind that it's been 8 years since I got to meet some of these cool cats for the first time. You can't beat good people.

The bad: The stupid mother fu*#er who stole one of the hats that I brought to Amy's party. I had brought a rice paddy hat as well as a very nice and very real British Bobby Helmet. It was a gift that was given to me by members of the South Wales Police Rugby Team when they visited Canada last year. It had been making its rounds throughout the party and had been enjoyed by many of the party goers throughout the evening but towards the end, it went missing. There were a few people that showed up late and who happened to leave before the main group as well. I will never know who stole it for sure, but rest assured if I ever find out, bad things would most likely happen to them. The worst part of it is that someone that was invited to Amy's stole from her house and made her feel guilty for my loss. Big time booooooooo to the jackass that put a damper on a great evening.

The funny: Earlier today while walking around the Home Show with a co-worker, I was passing a cooking display where live demonstrations were going on. There was a clear sign warning visitors not to touch the display. I know it meant not to touch any of the potentially hot items in use, but there was one guy who decided to touch a glass jar on the table. I had to walk away to avoid laughing out loud when he recoiled slightly after getting an electric shock. I asked my friend if he'd seen it and it became funnier when he started to laugh and nod his head. Later on while I was watching C.S.I. Miami, I couldn't help but laugh when the show took a very obvious shot at poor Miss Britney Spears. The show was about a murder which took place at a rehab centre. At the end of the show, as the main characters had their story lines wrap up, the news reports started up on a story about a pop star who had just checked herself into the centre. As they zoomed in on her, she proceeded to snort some coke she'd hidden in her hair and then the show ends with her shaving said hair off. Snicker snicker snicker.

The sad: Today another school shooting took place where 33 people were killed. What does the N.R.A. have to say about this one I wonder.

The down right odd: Japan's leading toilet maker Toto is offering free repairs for 180,000 bidet toilets after wiring problems caused several to catch fire. The electric bidet accessory of Toto's Z series caught fire in three incidents between March 2006 and March 2007, according to company spokeswoman Emi Tanaka. The bidet sent up smoke in 26 other incidents, the company said. "Fortunately, nobody was using the toilets when the fire broke out and there were no injuries," Tanaka said. "The fire would have been just under your buttocks." The company will repair 180,000 toilet units manufactured between May 1996 and December 2001 for free, she said. A manufacturing defect is thought to have led to the faulty wiring. Toto has been a pioneer in high-tech toilets fitted with pressurized water sprayers — a standard fixture in Japanese homes. The popular Z series features a pulsating massage spray, a power dryer, built-in-the-bowl deodorizing filter, the "Tornado Wash" flush and a lid that opens and closes automatically. Prices range from $1,680 to $2,600.

The model is not sold overseas. (Thankfully)

A 5 Point Post

The good: As much as I was happy to have the snow a few 5 pts ago, I'm happy that spring is starting to poke its head out of the clouds. My baby, or as I like to refer to her, the only lady over the last few years to stick by me, has been pent up inside for the winter and she wants out. It'll be nice to take her out and pamper her again with road trips with scenic lake front stops and visits to our favourite coffee and dessert cafe. After all it's not all the time that both of you go through something where one or both could, and quite possibly should have died and made it through even more devoted to one another. : )

The bad: What's going on with teachers sleeping with their students these days? In recent weeks I have heard of at least 3 or 4 teachers getting caught for their trysts and having the law step in to sort them out. At first I thought this was an American phenomenon starting off with Mary Kay Letourneau and her student husband but it has transcended boarders with a teacher here in Toronto 7 months pregnant with her student's baby. The second part of this is that of the teachers that have made the news lately, they have been all female teachers. And with some of the photos, they appear to be educated, good looking women as well. I don't know if their looks have anything to do with it, but it is a peculiar point of interest. Secondly, I am not naive enough to believe that it's only female teachers sleeping with their students. I know male teachers have done the same with their female students but for whatever reason, and feel free to opine on the matter, they don't find their names in the news.

The funny and in this case, wise: I was sitting down with my grandfather yesterday afternoon watching a little television and enjoying a meal when we got to talking about the lottery. Yesterday night's lottery was worth 20 million dollars and the dreams and hallucinations quickly started on my end. After all, there is pretty much nothing you can not do when you've got 20 mil at your disposal. As he filled out his ticket slip, Grampa or Kung Kung as we call him in Chinese, asked me if I'd bought my tickets yet. He did so while handing me my own lotto slip to fill out. As I started to fill out my slip, he said to me, "wait, we share our tickets and go 50 / 50. 20 million is too much money for a young guy like you and 20 million is too much for an old guy like me". I guess he figured that I might waste it and he wouldn't be able to spend it all. I guess you would have had to have been there to get the full feel of it, but the wisdom runs deep within him I tells ya.

The sad: The war in the Middle East has hit a new low, at least in my opinion. The Americans need to leave there as soon as possible. The war is one that should have never happened and its conclusion now seems even farther away than ever with the commitment of even more troops to the region, especially in Iraq. On the flip side, these "insurgents" that have been labeled as the enemy are reaching new despicable lows in their own rights. It is now practice to use (sacrifice) innocent children as decoys to get past security checks into guarded areas. Once in, the adults park the car close to their intended targets and then run from it, leaving the children inside the car as the explosives are detonated. This insanity has got to end some time.

The down right odd: Officials have tried poison, gassing and euthanasia to control a breeding frenzy among squirrels in a city park in Santa Monica. Now, they plan to give birth control a shot. Under a new program to start this summer, squirrels in Palisades Park will be injected with an immuno-contraceptive vaccine to stunt their sexual development. The intention is not to kill them if needs not be, but parks staff also have to be receptive to the county's concerns. Health officials say the squirrels, which number about 1,000 in the park, pose a public health risk. They warn that the rodents are aggressive and may carry rabies or host fleas that can spread disease, such as bubonic plague. Since 1998, Santa Monica has been cited five times by Los Angeles County for squirrel overpopulation. But the suppression methods it has used, including euthanasia, have angered animal-loving activists.

City officials say the infertility shots offer a diplomatic solution. The vaccine, developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, stops ovulation and lactation in female squirrels, and testicular development in males. The shots, running $2 to $10, have no side effects such as swelling, cited a USDA wildlife biologist.

A local animal activist supports the vaccine program but believes any health risk posed by the squirrels is overblown. "There is not a pressing threat of squirrels attacking people, so I don't know why the county is getting their panties in a bunch."

A 5 Point Post

The good: Family, specifically the one I have the honour to call my own. Yes, we fight, we yell and we scream but someone has to pass the beans at the dinner table... :) This weekend, we rallied around one of our members after a sad event in their life. Nothing like being relied upon to be the shoulder or leg to cry on. We may all be different in our own little ways but when it matters most we're the first in line to back one another up. Un-conditional commitment like that makes all the bickering and silliness worth it and the closeness is indeed priceless.

The bad: Microsoft Corporation and in particular their XBox 360 support and technical team. Our console has not been working since before Christmas and all Microsoft had to do was sent a Purolator box to us so we could send it back to them to fix. Well that only took 5 calls to their customer service centre and almost 2 and a half months before it happened. I was promised a lot by some of the managers I spoke to and those turned out to be lies. Boooooo to lies. I think they taped some of my calls so hopefully those get used for training purposes and I was very polite with my daggers, enough so that they at least promised to send me a free game for my trouble.

The funny, in this case kinda cute: I went to visit my old grade 4 teacher the other day. I was last in her class about 17 years ago and she was one of my favourite teachers. I took some time out of my lunch and borrowed a half hour from the city's budget to go see her. It'd been ages since I was last at the school and I think the last time I saw her was before high school. When she came in with the kids from recess, she saw me in full uniform and she recognized me right away. She gave me a big hug and we caught up. I ended up joining her in the classroom and had an impromptu Q&A session. One kid couldn't quite grasp the Q part of that and told me stories about the time he went to the fire hall and the firefighters had to run out because of a call and their trucks. Mrs. Henderson cut him off there and told him to tell the stories to the class later, but to stick to questions for me. When it was his turn next, he proceeded to tell us all about his uncle who was a police officer for another service and the cool car he had to drive. Mrs. H. was again gracious in reminding him that it was question time. By the third time she'd clearly run out of patience and cut him off with, "Do you actually have a question this time or another story?". He had a funny look on his face that I almost laughed at but had to remind myself he was only in grade 3.


The sad: I actually don't have anything really sad. I could talk about the ex or the girl I was dating recently who I just found out via facebook was already in a relationship but I won't. Instead I'll comment on how sad it was that I wasn't able to include all of the pictures from my afternoon with my grandma. It's really too bad that I am making you work to see the rest of the hilarity that took place. It was a riot. She's 86 and she can still school me and here's the proof.

The down right odd: Shabu Shabu Shomuni is a Japanese hot-pot restaurant, but it serves more than just beef and vegetables. Named after a manga comic book and a short-lived '90s TV show about six Japanese "office ladies," Shomuni features an all-you-can-eat, all-you-can-drink menu served by 15 costumed waitresses who start off dressed like receptionists and end up handcuffing patrons to their tables in sexy police uniforms. Shomuni is the latest addition to a growing number of fetish restaurants sprouting up around Tokyo where geeks are finally able to live out their fantasies of being gawked at and served by pretty, submissive girls for a small fee. At Shomuni you can find servers that give raw strip teases to dining customers. With hand mirrors and binoculars at their disposal, the customers can ask the waitresses to mix them a cocktail, feed them beef from their hands, or strip down to their underwear and change into a cosplay outfit of their choice.

At 5,000 yen (about $40) an hour, the cost of eating here is not that different from any other all-you-can-eat restaurant in the bustling Shibuya district. But the mouth-watering effect it has on geeks is incomparable.

A 5 Point Post

The good: My mother and her new found sense of wanderlust. My mother is an amazing little (4'11") woman. She is the main reason I've made it to the point where I am in life today. She toughed out 15 years of being a single mom to the twins and me. I'd like to think that we all turned out ok and as such have allowed mom to catch up with herself. Now she and my step-dad have seemingly been on fast forward on the catch up thing. They hit it running and have run all over the world together and just got in the door a few hours ago from a trip down to Atlanta, Nashville, bits of Kentucky and Florida. One of the first things she asks me upon her arrival home is to look up air fares to Vancouver for the end of March. This coming from a lady who is already going to Victoria, Vegas and China in May... I should have figured this was going to be the new way when she spent a couple months running around Asia last fall during which she called me one night and said, "oh by the way, we're leaving in a couple days to go to Egypt and we can't be reached while we're there. We just found a trip so we're going to go". I love how almost care free she is right now and good for her too. She fought so hard for the 3 of us so I'm happy to see her live it up. A strange and lovely vice versa this is having the kids watch their parent get out there and spread their wings.

The bad: The mayor of Toronto, Mr. David Miller. I don't know what it says about the people of Toronto that he managed to get elected again, but this man is a disaster. Of all his campaign promises a few years ago, the only on that he's managed to fulfil was to not build a bridge out to the island airport... Never mind the financial and structural promises that have gone by the wayside, nor the fact that he is not a strong supporter of the men and women that I work with. He also sits on the police service board and I honestly believe they are the only service board in the world who actually capmaign against the betterment of the people they manage... Amazing. The only serving and protecting he knows of are for his own interests so it seems.

The funny: The looks people make sometimes. I'm just thinking about the look my mother gave me when I made a glass cracking sound and pretended to break the neck of a miniature crystal guitar she had brought back from Nashville. I swear up until that point the biggest eyes I'd ever seen were from the characters in Total Recall when they got sucked out into the Martian atmosphere. When she realized I was joking she laughed, but I thought my life was over for a brief nano-second. So that inspired this little part about people and their faces when they realize something just isn't right. Sometimes the innocence of a child is just plain old cute but when you mix in innocence and hormones the results are just hilarious. The toppers in terms of emotions that bring about the best faces have to be shock and fear. Nothing like seeing that in a group of people and then trying to pick out who is getting owned the least.

The sad: My friend and co-worker Kirk and how he felt after a dream he had where I commited suicide!!! Yeah, that's pretty bleak eh?!?!? He felt terrible about it and had to tell me about it and was so genuine about how sad he felt about it. I felt so bad for him that it had affected that much but was more than happy to tell him I was ok. The second part come courtesy Mayor Miller again... Last week all the city counselors met to have their annual group photo taken. As the story goes, the mayor and his inner circle had the front row reserved exclusively for themselves and when some of their spots were taken and argeuments ensued, Miller threw a hissy fit and cancelled the whole deal. In addition, just a couple of days ago, it was announced that he had approved an over 6 million dollar renovation to some offices in city hall which included making his bigger and moving his inner circle so they could be located closer to each other... This after pandering to Parliament Hill for more federal financial assistance stating that the city was cash strapped to maintain even basic infrastructure.

The down right odd: A Chinese zoo is running a Big Brother style competition with a difference -- the contestants have to live in a monkey enclosure. Six people will live with the monkeys in the zoo in the northwestern province of Shaanxi to experience the lack of freedom the animals have. The last person remaining will win 11,888 yuan ($1,534) and title of honorary animal lover. There is hopefully no literal implication in the title... It is the first such activity in China, and any Chinese National from 18 to 60 years of age, in good psychological condition with wild animal protection and survival knowledge may participate. Nevermind being in good physical condition, the first requirement is being in good psychological condition!!! One would opine that the reverse would seemingly be the pre-requisite to participate. As of yet, there is no mention on whether the traditional viewing audience will decide who gets eliminated or if the laws of the jungle will take over.

A 5 Point Post

The good: The snow is back and I'm completely happy for it. As a purist, winter just isn't the same without it. A pardon on my behalf for any southerners out there. I can finally go snowboarding, when work and school don't get in the way. The snow just makes the days a little brighter too in that it helps dispel the grey and gloom. Finally it's also a sign that global warming hasn't completely warped the climate.

The bad: President George W. Bush. That alone should be enough to fill the bad part of this post but there is unfortunately more to mention. The war in Iraq is a massive failure. I support the men and women over there, but their mission or lack of clear purpose there is dis-heartening. Now it seems as though the mistakes of the past have been ignored and the rhetoric is repeating itself. One of the latest quotables has Dubya saying of the Iranian people that "they are a proud people"... Yeah, he said that about the Iraqis too and how important it was to "protect" them... Words are one thing, but I hope actions don't repeat themselves.

The funny: When an orgasm has been achieved through sex, you can measure theta waves. These are also said to cause the "running high" feeling of euphoria experienced sometimes by marathon runners. If theta waves are taken as a criterion, the entire brain emits theta waves when women reach an orgasm that are close to 10 times stronger than when men climax. So, if theta waves are an indication of an orgasm's strength, then women experience an orgasm that is physically impossible for men to go through. Putting it a little crudely, if the intensity of a woman's orgasm was played through a man's brain, there's a danger that the shock to his system would kill him... But oh man, what a way to go.

The sad: I feel slightly disconnected from many of the things that should be important to me right now: My friends, my education, my job, my family, etc... It's not that my love and dedication for the above have diminished... I dunno, maybe it's just a point in time again where I wonder how I fit in and question my purpose in the grand scheme of things. Even in this, my words don't convey the true essence of my state. But I guess that's the crux of it eh? BLARGH!!! Oh and I just broke the screen to my cell phone... Pooh.

The down right odd: Doctors aren't able to schedule women for breast augmentation surgery as quickly as they used to. Why? Because MEN are turning to cosmetic surgery to tackle the embarrassment of “man breasts”, fuelling a near doubling in the number of people sculpting their bodies through liposuction. Surgeons have reported a surge in the number of men requesting breast-reduction operations for ‘moobs’. The boom in demand for liposuction is revealed in an audit by the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS). Figures to be published this week show 4,000 operations were carried out last year, compared with 2,100 in 2005. Though women still champion the plastic surgery cause they have seen their share of the surgery scene decrease to an alarming 92%.

A 5 Point Post

The good: My new SHURE brand earphones that just arrived in the post courtesy my brother Jeff. They are fantastic and very comfortable. Cancels all outside noise (yelling mother, Oprah, typical household anarchy) even inside noise (Johny, Frank, Bill and sometimes Scruffy). Oh yeah, makes the music sound infinitely better too.

The bad: The correctional system in our country. Based on 3 R's... Rehabilitation, Restitution, Reintegration, it more often than not churns out a slightly less than desirable 3 R's: Recidivism, Racism, Re-victimization. I see too many people arrested one day and back out a few days later doing exactly what it was they were just arrested for a few days ago…

The funny (in this case cute): My 86 year old Poh Poh, grandma for the non-Chinese audience members, telling me in-front of my date (who she just met) that her bum-bum was hurting when I asked her how she was doing. After using the kindergarten term for her posterior, she proceeded to close her eyes, pout her lips and rub her back side. Then she asked me if she should go see a doctor. : )

The sad: I still miss my little guy Pudge incredibly. He was a great, if not crude little character and S’Mat can attest to that. Anyone that knows my family could rightly claim that he was the most normal out of our whole lot. We had to say bye to him a couple of months ago now, but the sense of loss has an annoying way of remaining fresh in mind.

The down right odd: The Hisatagakuen Sasebo Girls' High School in western Japan will require a 10 minute test using chopsticks to transfer beads, marbles, dice and beans from one plate to another. To give nervous test-takers a helping hand, students will use special six-sided chopsticks, believed to be easier to wield. Surveys periodically show that Japanese worry a rising number of youngsters do not have proper chopstick skills. Some parents even buy "training chopsticks" with loops to help children learn to hold the utensils properly.

I heard though that they won't fail outright if they do well in other subjects and drop the odd sashimi slab.