Done.

To my first lab,

And so the weekend rolls around once more. I feel like a sharp object (I'm thinking cheese grater or perhaps even a lawn mower) went to town on my throat. I also feel like my head as been replaced with a magnet and is continually being attracted to massive metal objects. To add a cherry on top I have lice. KEEEEDING. No but for real its a gorgeous windy Friday, I have my first chem lab this afternoon (a la Dexter's Laboratory), I have three awesome books to plow through, I no longer look like a 14-year old boy in terms of pimples, AND I'm gonna get my mom to make me some cookies. Boo ya.

1) I absorb approximately 5 lbs of chemicals through my skin (viz. creams, deodorant, spray etc.) per year

2) The illusive 'Golden Mean' represents the perfect balance in subjects other than math.

Source: Google Images

3) Merhaba nasilsiniz? Benim adim Lillian.


4) Being a good 100 lbs lighter than your kickboxing partner is not a good things. It does NOT, I repeat does NOT give you any advantage whatsoever.

5) "Wars begin when you will, but they do not end when you please." ~ Machiavelli

Source: Reuters

Others speak so I don't have to.

To those listening,

"We are like dwarves sitting on the shoulders of giants. We see more, and things that are more distant, than they did, not because our sight is superior or because we are taller than they are, but because they raise us up, and by their great stature add to ours."
~ The Metalogicon

"China is winning the sprint, and we are going to win the marathon."
~ G. Das

"The only difference between the saint and the sinner is that every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future."
~ Oscar Wilde

"I'm hoping to forge a friendship that no longer involves his penis."
~ J. Leung

"It shouldn't work, but it does. It works because all of knowledge is connected. Every so often it makes sense to emerge from the trenches we dig for a living, and ascend to a 30 000 foot view, where we see, to our astonishment, an intricately connected whole."
~ TED Website

Source: Reuters

Click here to read about the anti-junta protests in Myanmar.

A Peg-Leg and a Parrot

To Jhonny,

I know that International Speak Like a Pirate day was last week however, I didn't realize that until to late and am thus paying homage to those 24 hours now...

Etymology: The word pirate comes from the Greek word peira, meaning "attempt" or "experience" in the context of Arrr "to find luck on the sea." (Wikipedia)

History: The history of piracy goes back to the about 150 years to the age of Vikings. While Eric the Red was discovering little non-tropical islands up in the Northern part of the globe, the Bedouin tribesmen viciously attacked their bearded enemies, stealing their meat, gold, and horned helmets before brutally slaughtering all but one of these pale-skinned men. Soon after that the Bedouin tribesmen became earned a reputation for being the most ruthless "peiras" out there, and the Vikings are known as pansies. (FYI: I just made that all up.)

Something a little more legit: The Strait of Malacca lies at the heart of trade in South Asia acting as the watery highway connecting the continent's biggest powerhouses: China and India. For centuries, this passage has been the source of livelihood for merchants, a passage for vessels, and consequently an ideal target for pirates. Not only is the Strait of Malacca filled with hundreds of barriers including estuaries and mangroves, it literally lies in the middle of the political tensions between Malaysia and Indonesia. Furthermore, statistics remark that over 70 000 merchant vessels (roughly 1/3 of the world's crude oil, and 1/5 of global sea-borne trade) passed through in the year. Coupled together this sliver of ocean is impossible to secure allowing modern-day piracy to thrive.

Source: Wikipedia

In Indonesia pirates are known as lanun (lah-noon) and often come in one of three versions:
1) gangs board vessels and rob the ship's crew
2) multi-national crime syndicates hire a group to steal entire ships
3) guerrilla groups capture seamen for ransom

These gangs of thieves no longer attack in powerful armadas but rather use little wooden boats, excellent maneuvering skills, and machetes to plunder passing ships. Long gone are the legendary tales of barbaric buccaneers whose raids yielded, "troves of gold, gems, gunpowder, opium, and slaves." Instead, be weary of small wooden boats filled with the glistening faces of a few small men emerging undetected from the unlit swampy shoreline.

(Source: National Geographic - Peter Gwin)

I like the word 'armada'.

To my beloved fan...and one day maybe fans,

So I don't really have anything to write. I have ideas, but alas other subjects of study are calling my name and I don't have time to properly investigate my life up right now. 'Tis quite unfortunate since I think with a trench coat, magnifying glass, and pipe I could pretty much mistaken for Sherlock Holmes, the fictional British Bohemian man of mystery thought up by none other than author Arthur Conan Doyle in the late 1800s. See what I did there? Yeah I said I didn't have time to look things up and I lied cause I fully just wiki-ed that shit. Its kinda how I roll...take it or leave it my friends, take it or leave it.

That paragraph doesn't really make sense so you can completely disregard it.

I suppose I could go on and write a diatribe about the days of my life, but I will not because nothing exciting is happening. Actually exciting things do happen, but only I tend to find them spectacular. Like my reading lamp. Used it for the first time yesterday - MARVELOUS. Not only is it sleek and cute, I think it also saves electricity. On that note, all power to you Ban Ki-Moon.

Cause things are infinitely better when you're
in the land of red bean buns, flying shrimp,
fish in your boat, and Taipei 1-0-Fun!
Heart.