Tommy Edison Experience: How a Blind Person Cooks Food Alone / Crosses the Street Alone / Uses the ATM Alone.
3 years ago, in December, a movement started to slowly change the world for the better.
The Karma Experiment was a simple yet powerful initiative to show that everyone, in our own little way, can make a difference in someone's elses day.
And that it doesn't really takes much, just a little care and concern and a pinch of initiative.
and here's a video by LifeVest inside that illustrates the same point.
So, what little random act of kindness can you do today?
And yes finally we have a L4d2 proposal! About time! Considering how Portal 2 and Borderland already had their takes on it.
" This is a special version of Suicide Blitz created by RT Frisk for me to propose to my GF. It took him a long time and I think he knocked it out of the park making it really special. This is the 3rd level of the original campaign that was edited to fit my surprise. The first two levels play like normal to keep it a good surprise.
Since my comment was pushed out of the way I will edit it here. She did say "YES" after the "You're Kidding part?", it was just cut off the game since at that point I was already down on one knee with the ring . It was a huge surprise for her since she was not expecting it till late next year. We were playing together in the same room, she is a huge gamer like myself so it wasn't like I made her play a game she has never played before, she actually has more hours clocked in L4D1/2 then anyone else I know. It's her favorite game and the game we actually met through, which is why I chose it as my medium to propose. The game holds a special meaning to us. "
Love how they healed each other at the start, and bunny was like preoccupied with the gnome, lol'ed!!
In an attempt to be more productive in a way, I decided to do this side project the other day.
The vids were recorded with web quality via Overwolf, and I gotta say, I'm impressed with the quality obtained without affecting my in-game experience. It also has other features like in-game use of MSN, FB, Twitter, web-browsing and even video watching, all of which I'm really excited to use when I go full-scale grinding for the upcoming Diablo 3!
Haven been posting much recently. I guess I'm falling into the symptoms of depression and cabin fever. Knowing I need to snap out of it and move on, but I'm just stuck here, huddling in a fetal position.
The struggle against normalcy bais. The victim of procrastination. And the knowledge of upcoming festive gatherings isn't really helping.
If I could drink and get drunk now, I would.
I guess I'm really turning into the seldom seen kid.
The little awkward moments in life.
Here's some more that they missed:
- Boob brush when you're opening doors for someone.
- Boob brush when you're huddling together for group photos.
- Bumping, leaning, loss-of-balance-body-press in rush hour MRTs.
- Stuck next to another dude on a packed dance floor.
- Bumping into someone while walking in a dark room, cinema.
- Swimming into or bumping into someone in the swimming pool.
Kenneth A. Myers: Cigarette Smoking - An Underused Tool in High-Performance Endurance Training.
This is indeed an actual article published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal in December 14 2010. An before you go about dismissing/discrediting/condemning the article, take a read at the abstract. There is indeed a logical and insightful reason as to why such an absurd sounding article would be published in a respectable journal.
" Abstract:
The review paper is a staple of medical literature and, when well executed by an expert in the field, can provide a summary of literature that generates useful recommendations and new conceptualizations of a topic. However, if research results are selectively chosen, a review has the potential to create a convincing argument for a faulty hypothesis. Improper correlation or extrapolation of data can result in dangerously flawed conclusions. The following paper seeks to illustrate this point, using existing research to argue the hypothesis that cigarette smoking enhances endurance performance and should be incorporated into high-level training programs. "
Indeed, with the rise of the internet, science blogs, e-magazines and all, there have been multiple instances where stories are published and republished all over the web, without scrutiny into the facts/details, and ends up being taken as truth.
One recent wildfire occurred earlier in May, about how Canadian researchers cured cancer with DCA and the conspiracy that mainstream media were still not going public about it. Turns out, not only was it stale news, with the study being done in 2007, but the study was so preliminary, with a small sample size, and conflicting results, that declaring DCA as a cure just seemed absurd.
So yes, while peer reviews and all are there to "guard the guards", the responsibility still falls on the individual to look beyond the published findings and question their significance. This article serves as a reminder to us all, how a person of authority can possibly put together a seemingly compelling argument built upon a slippery slope.
So what are the flaws in the argument in this article?
Serum Hemoglobin:
Smoking results in the inhalation of carbon monoxide, arising from incomplete combustion. Carbon monoxide binds strongly to hemoglobin, forming carboxyhemoglobin, and thus hindering the formation of oxyhemoglobin, and subsequent oxygen supply throughout the body.
The body responds to this lack of oxygen by creating more red blood cells, thus increasing the overall serum hemoglobin. However, unlike altitude training, this increase not translate to a richer supply of oxygen. Transversely, this increase in red blood cells, coupled with the increase of cholesterol, clotting factors such as fibrinogen and platelets, results in "stickier" blood and a higher tendency for clots and stroke.
Lung Volume:
In COPD, emphysema occurs, in which the alveolars or air sacs are inflamed or destroyed, and lung recoil is greatly reduced. This "unfolding" process results in a larger lung, with decreased surface area. This decreased surface area, coupled with the weakened lung recoil for expiration, and obstructed airflow, leaves the patient gasping, and constantly out of breath.
Weight Loss:
As stated above, most COPD patients are constantly out of breath. This usually leaves them bedridden or immobilized. As a result, muscle wasting occurs through disuse atrophy. In addition, if the patient develops lung cancer, muscle atrophy could progress on to cachexia, which can be fatal. Thus, despite the weight loss, it is unlikely that the muscle-wasting patient will be performing any endurance sports.
A second.
What is a second worth?
What do we give a second for?
What's worth a second look?
Do we make every second count?
Or are we just missing out?
190 years ago, Nicolas Rieussec recorded time to an accuracy of a fifth second for the first time - the chronograph was born. To celebrate this unique invention, Montblanc is announcing the one-of-a-kind "The Beauty of a Second" short-film contest presented by the famous film director Wim Wenders.
Your challenge as a video artist is to "seize the moment". Everyone - professionals, amateurs, cell-phone camera enthusiasts -- is invited to capture a one-second long moving picture. The subject can be anything you consider as beautiful: a smile, a child's face, a flower, a piece of the world around you, as long as the video lasts only one second. Capture your second beauty now and get the chance to win a Montblanc Nicolas Rieussec Chronograph. Watch the video to receive further information.
Another local wedding with a fan-boy twist to it. A pity that the bride and bridesmaid weren't really in on Star Wars theme. Some latex outfits or togas might have fit the bill, though their turquoise dresses do come close.
So, what's up next for our generation? Power Rangers? Teenage Mutant Ninga turtle?
If you still do not know already, #OCCUPYWALLSTREET has turned into #OccupyTogether, and it is sweeping nationwide across the United States.
I guess largely the liberation of Libya has had global repercussions, similar to that during the fall of Eastern Europe and USSR. There is an overwhelming surge of belief in power to the people.
Even back home in Singapore, we too had a similar event and rush of emotions when against all odds, the Workers' Party made a historical breakthrough by winning Aljunied GRC in the General Elections.
The difference though between protests back home and in the States, is that, in Singapore, the battles are largely fought online, over social medias, or at rallies. Meek as we are, and all the restrictions in place, Singaporeans don't really hold protest rallies.
On the contrary, in the States, where views are much more liberal, protestors tend to use more action instead of words. However, it should be noted that despite the numbers, most of these protests have been really peaceful.
So now, you have an interesting situation. From history, we know that when Ghanhi stood up against British rule and fought for independence, his non-violent defiance was met with force, mostly in the form of arrests and detentions. There was a growing frustration to suppress him into submission.
Today, we have a similar scenario with the #OccupyTogether movement. As an official of the law, what do you do when a growing number of protestors, legally abide by the laws in place, exercise their civil rights, and refuse to back down?
As we've seen in #OCCUPYWALLSTREET, the ultimatum was macing/pepper spraying the protestors into submission.
10 years ago, the news only came from the media, in the form of photographs, videos or first-hand accounts from on-site journalists. It might have been possible to censor such events from the headlines, or even downplay it.
But today, with camera-phones everywhere, and the internet just a click away, events seen through the public eyes can spread like wildfire. The NYPD defended the use of the pepper spray, calling it "appropriate" use of force.
And now, just days after the above incident, a similar event happened, this time in the University of California Davis. From the National Public Radio article:
"... In a demonstration of support for the Occupy movement, a small group of protesters was sitting, arms linked together. Campus police told them to move. The students didn't. And that's when an officer walked down the line of seated men and women, pepper-spraying them. Some took it straight in their faces...
... Campus police said the officers had been surrounded by protesters and commanders have defended their actions. So did university Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi — which led to a call from the school's faculty association for her resignation. Katehi has since said she wants an outside, independent panel to review what happened and that she doesn't plan to step down..."
So yes, it begs the question. Pepper-spray, like the taser, is supposedly to be a less-than-lethal agent for self-defence, riot and crowd control. However, is it "reasonable use" to pepper-spray non-violent protestors? In my view, the officers could have just picked up the student protestors if they wanted to, it's not like they were armed and dangerous.
But the more impressive turn in this incident, is the response by the non-violent protestors. Also from the National Public Radio article:
"... On Saturday, after a news conference she held, Katehi remained inside one of the university's buildings for a couple hours. Outside, protesters regrouped. And when she emerged, there was one of the most amazing scenes so far related to the Occupy movement. As Katehi and another woman walked three blocks to an SUV, they passed through a gauntlet of several hundred students — who remained silent in a powerful show of their disdain.... "
The deafening silence. The walk of shame. Indeed, silence did speak volumes louder than words ever could.
Really love the concept of the desk/bar counter. Overall less complex than the lego style apartment of Christian Schallert, which I think is nice too. Guess the trend is really catching on. Hope that they become a thing in Singapore in 10 years time =3
It's 5am, and I just finished reading minutes ago.
Gotta say as a whole, the novel was good. Liked the unconventional approach in storytelling, especially with the play on typography. But I also felt that Oskar was portrayed beyond his years and the approach was a tad too similar to "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time".
It is true that national disasters like 9-11 are effective means of showing the transient and fragile nature of human lives. The novel even goes a step further to draw parallels between 9-11 and the ugly nature of war. However, it is disappointing, and a tad unsavory, that the novel has to borrow the emotional turmoil of 9-11 to sell its sentimental standpoints. The time-frame/events of 9-11 were just not crucial at the crux of it all; any other disaster/accident could have yield the same effect.
However, what really struck me at 5 in the morning, isn't the novel, but rather, the heartfelt scribblings of a previous reader. Yes, it is the 3 lines in pencil marks.
I guess, in an odd cosmic way, these timely words really brought some measure of peace to my troubled mind.
And with emotions sweeping through me as dawn breaks, I like to pen these last few quotes from the books.
If you ever read it, you'll know it's for you.
" How could anything less deserve to be destroyed?
It was late, and we were tired.
We assumed there would be other nights...
I said, I want to tell you something.
She said, You can tell me tomorrow.
I had never told her...
There was never a right time to say it.
It was always unnecessary.
I thought about waking her.
But it was unnecessary.
There would be other nights.
And how can you say I love you to someone you love?
Here is the point to everything...
It is always necessary.
I love you. "