My new favorite country.

Norway is my newest favorite country in the world. I learnt from BBC on the way home today that the Norwegian Government has reached an agreement with Indonesia in which Indonesia promises not to cut down any more rain-forest in the next two years, and in exchange, Norway will pay USD 1 Billion dollars to the Indonesia Government. I have long wondered if something like this would be possible, since my University days, when I first learnt about Coase Theorem. I had a crazy idea that perhaps, we, the fortunate people who live in the developed world, could all contribute, perhaps, a dollar a month, and the money would go to countries like Brazil and Indonesia, for them to preserve their rain-forests from which we get our precious oxygen from. I had always thought something like this was too idealistic. Kudos to Norway for trying, and putting their money where their mouth is. It remains to be seen whether Indonesia will honour the agreement, but it's a start.

Miu Miu: 10 months.

Miu Miu has been with us for almost 10 months now. In the time the little brat has been with us, I have a gained a better understanding why and how people have come up with the phrases "Scaredy Cat" and "Curiosity killed the Cat."

For Jams.

As promised, the overlay.

Cleanup Time

I did some cleaning up this morning. I may be a boy, but a mess like this, even I can't take.

1505

15 May 2010. Bangkok implodes, Singapore mourns the passing of a Titan. I refuse to give way to a monster truck.

" The idea of education as a search for truth, the excitement for intellectual inquiry and speculation - all this are given lip service and little else. And so we have in Singapore intellectual conformity in place of intellectual inquisitiveness. And it all adds up to a depressing climate of intellectual sterility.

If we are completely honest in ourselves, I think we can detect in contemporary Singapore a strange and striking similarity of intellectual climate and social values with Victorian England, together with much of the hypocrisies and cruelness of that age."

"Let's not despise material gains. And there is also a need for some soul. You must never ask the government to provide for the needs of the soul. When your tummy is full, then certain people think more than right now. When they go for arts, music, whatever... But I don't think you want the government to provide comfort for your soul. This is very dangerous. After some time, we tell you what to think.

"We must not underestimate the ability of Singaporeans to think for themselves and come to their own judgement. We can persuade them, but in the end, they make up their own minds."
- Dr Goh Keng Swee.

I respect.

105 mm DC: Jaime

I sold my 85mm 1.8 and topped up another 500 for the 105mm DC which really is the best lens you can hope for for portraits. No regrets.

Back on solid ground.

Back at work after a dive weekend in idyllic island paradise. Getting back into the work routine has just been that little bit more painful.

My New 4GB Thumbdrive.

I absolutely lurve my new 4GB thumbdrive!! - a present from my darling Jams.

Marking May

I went to bed last night with a bad tummy-ache and an irritating toothache. Coincidentally, Miu Miu threw up sometime in the middle of the night too. I was awaken by his whimpering and as I fumbled in the dark for the light switch in the kitchen, stepped right into his vomit. No problem, I just need to grab some tissue paper, plastic bags and the mop.
Responsibility.

I couldn't really sleep anyway.



We are into the 5th month of 2010. Marking season's about to begin. I think I will warm up by finishing off the last stack of compre papers today.