According to research by BP, the current level of oil consumption exceeds predictions of the current level made in 1980. Importantly, they predicted that we will run out of oil in 41 years. Some, however, have predicted that we'll run out sooner.

Scientists have found that rice yields have been dropping due to global warming. The yield drops about 10% for every degree of increase in temperature. Rice is the staple for most of the world's population, and the yields actually need to increase by 1% every year to sustain the growing population. Planting more crops would encroach into natural ecosystems.

Basically, unless there are some major changes, there is going to be catastrophe. I don't think there will be a magic bullet - the world won't be saved if a scientist discovers a viable alternate fuel source, or if someone can influence everyone to produce and consume less. We may be destined to follow the typical patterns of population growth and decline observed by ecologists. Perhaps we will reach our threshold soon. As food and resources become scarce, the population can't be sustained.

Among other things, this makes me wonder about bringing life into this world.

According to GQ, the average UK household spends the same amount of money on fresh fruits and vegetables as it does on tobacco and illegal substances.

A lot of young people (teens and 20-somethings) face an identity crisis. How do people solve it? It seems they tranquilize themselves by identifying themselves with their profession, their relationships, their social status, etc. I think there's no easy solution... there are only ways to cover-up the "crisis". It makes sense to me that these cover-ups, these inadequate solutions, lead people to have mid-life crises.

I want to figure out an answer. But, if/when I do I won't be able to share it with others. If I do, that'll be another form of tranquilization. It may become a new religion, and people will still not confront their issues directly.

There are two ways to say cheers in Cantonese. "Yum sing" means as you wish, and "Kanpai" (or "Gwon Pui") means dry glass.

I ate some jellyfish tonight.

There are over 2 million saunas in Finland, and just over 5 million people. Apparently a lot of men conduct business naked, in saunas. Nokia (whose headquarters are in Finland) has an entire sauna facility. Women have complained that they can't be part of these business deals. The response is that 'official' business isn't conducted in the saunas.

"Mennaanko avantoon uimaan" is Finnish for "Shall we go into the hole in the ice for a swim?"

They say, "all is fair in love and war." Therefore, isn't the idea of a "war criminal" preposterous? Think about it: why are war criminals always on the losing side? Why aren't there any on the winning side that have been captured, imprisoned and prosecuted? What would have happened to FDR or General Patton if the Japanese won? The concept of "war criminals" is, to me, entirely self-righteous.

Why is it that when I'm reading an article or looking at a website, I'll sometimes read the words in the accent of the region? For example, if it's a Singaporean website, the words tend to have a Singaporean accent as they are going through my head. It's as though it makes more sense to me if I'm hearing it as a local does. Also interesting is that recently, when reading an article on physics, I read it in a Scottish accent! (Perhaps in tribute to my Scottish physics teacher, who taught me for 2 years).

While I can understand and recognize accents... I don't think I'm very good at enunciating them.

Go

Do you know the difference between an egotist and an egoist? I think both are bad.

From a SONG that I heard:

Donald Duck was banned in Finland, because he doesn’t wear pants
The average person swallows 8 spiders a year
The world's most well-known word is 'okay'

45% of Chinese women in Hong Kong use skin whitening products. This percentage is higher than in any other Southeast Asian country. 50% of Philippino women in Hong Kong (largely maids) use skin whitening products.

What is this world coming to? When will society start to value people's minds and personality more than how they look? Looking good should stem from being healthy, so people should watch what they eat and exercise. External quick-fixes do nothing for health (except perhaps for mental health, but that shouldn't be the case).

When we think of 'celebrities' we tend to think of good-looking people. Or if they're not good looking, they're still an actor or musician. Celebrities are people we 'celebrate'... so why doesn't society celebrate its intellectuals? That's the first step to change the obsession society has with external appearances.

Succulent endorphins.

An article in the South China Morning Post said that a university in HK interviewed 501 people (aged 16-80), and found that only 255 of the people had EVER said, 'I love you'. 57% of men and said it, versus 42% of females. It seems that people in HK are reluctant to declare their love (or even feel love?). It's shocking, but in light of what I know about Asia/Asians... not so.

What two things on this planet go better together than rice and beans? (of course, it makes a difference if they're jazzed up with a few other ingredients)

Easy to start, hard to let go.

(no, I'm not talking about an addictive substance)

Want to know the most interesting sensation I've experienced lately? Having an earwax-obsessed cat lick my ears.

"I would not think of quarreling with your interpretation nor offering any other, as I have found it always the best policy to allow the film to speak for itself."
- Stanley Kubrick

What is the importance and significance of being able to defend yourself? Just how 'practical' are the skills? Is it more important that they make you feel safe?

Central Park is great!

After reading an article on rating others' looks online, I spent a few minutes on www.hotornot.com. I'm sure people have different reasons for posting pictures of themselves and wanting to be rated. This is what the article had to say:

The most straightforward explanation [for the popularity of these sites] is that the world is crowded with people so hungry for attention that they will submit to any number of indignities for even a small bit of it.

"I see this phenomenon as an extension of the narcissism that has become much more pervasive in our culture," Dr. Aserinsky said [whose field is psychology in mass media]. "I see it especially in the under-30 crowd, where there's this insatiable appetite for acknowledgment based largely on patterns in child-rearing that came along about the time of that generation." He calls it the "overappreciated child," whose every accomplishment, no matter how pedestrian, is praised as if extraordinary, if not also bronzed and placed on a pedestal.

"I'm sure these people would rather get praise, but more important is this primitive kind of need for attention," Dr. Aserinsky said.

I do agree that I like attention. However, I think I'm more selective in terms of what kind of attention I like, and for what things I want people to know me for. In my generation there is a perverted cult of celebrity. People confuse meaning/value with exposure. Being known has become a value, when people should be known for real accomplishments (just look at Paris Hilton). Are these people really worth knowing?

What do you do when you miss someone or something? Distract yourself? Act on the longing? Reminders are bittersweet.

I don't view dreams as puzzles to be solved, as if there were answers and I could get them right. I use them as felt images, to generate thoughts or other ideas. That's more useful.