Religious dilemma

As an atheist, I've often pondered over the paradox that religion presents to me. If religious texts are written by the hand of man, then what proves the words and events documented are the work of higher being(s) and not a figment of a mortal's imagination? Is it not irrational for so many to form the basis of their everyday lives on the sayings of so few?

And is it not unusual that records of miraculous happenings, abundant in the beginning, have starkly declined with the advent of science and the increased availability of tools that may finally allow us to attempt to look into the origins of such occurrences?

Religion is such an emotive issue and I'm certain the religious would dispute my beliefs. Yet man is so often insistent on imposing his dogma, even by force, on others of differing opinions. We should all agree to disagree; perhaps then we can finally stop the unending cycle of religious strife.

Ageism in healthcare

Today, Kevin and I attended the outpatient clinic of a consultant with a rather short fuse. She got quite irritated by the seemingly endless stream of patient files arriving on her desk but surprisingly, instead of venting her frustration on us (medical students are prime targets for abuse), she chose to take it out on her patients.

Well, some patients really do deserve a kick up the arse, metaphorically speaking, but I was appalled by her treatment of a confused old lady suffering from dementia. She used a raised voice and an impatient tone, with little regard for the poor lady's predicament.

This lack of compassion and respect for the elderly is not an isolated incident; I've seen other examples of ageism in the hospitals. Coming from a culture and family where the older generation is venerated, I find such behaviour quite reprehensible.

I'm not in the front line caring for the elderly and I acknowledge it can sometimes get very frustrating, but healthcare professionals, doctors included, are so called because they are expected to discharge their duties professionally. We have to find ways to suppress the frustration and treat those in the twilight of their years with dignity and respect.

A report released by public sector watchdogs today has found that the elderly are treated as second-class citizens by the NHS. Evidently there needs to be more done to inculcate respect for the elderly at all levels of the healthcare profession.

Health system 'neglects elderly'

Recognising faces

OK, so I discovered MyHeritage through mei's blog and I've been running some of my photos through their face recognition demo. Basically they use algorithms to match your face to a database of famous celebrities, and the results can be quite amusing.

Here's a photo of me and my housemates. My obviously good-looking coinhabitants are matched with Richard Gere and Jet Li; on the other hand, it seems I look like Chiang Kai-shek...


From left to right: me, Ash and Kevin

And here, Kevin's gangsta pose confuses those algorithms into believing he's rapper Snoop Dogg. Incrediblizzle. (Bev is supposed to look like Japanese voice actress Megumi Hayashibara)


From left to right: me, Bev and Kevin

This is mei holding up a fried mars bar. They can't seem to find a face anywhere :)


Hmmm no face, can't recognise

London streetscapes

Ever tried to recall exactly where that adidas store on Oxford Street is but you just can't remember? Street Sensation gives a pictorial representation of the most popular shopping thoroughfares in London.

Rough landing

Played (or at least tried to play) field football at Hyde Park today and the ground was so damned bumpy. I ended up on my ass while attempting to tackle someone and made what can only be described as a perfect landing. Not only did I hit my coccyx, the hump I landed on parted both ass cheeks and for a moment I actually thought I had strained my anal sphincter. Felt something warm downunder and wondered for a moment if I had actually become incontinent :s

Now that I've checked, I can report that my sphincter function is absolutely dandy. Just have a really bruised coccyx, same place I previously injured. Really silly episode, I was on my way downstairs to greet my housemate's boyfriend for the first time, slipped and came tumbling down the stairs on my ass. Ouch...

Get some Computerlove

It's been a while, but Computerlove is back online at a new address. Join the creative network!

A brief history of Microsoft

This is absolutely hilarious! Highlights include Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer doing his famous monkey dance on stage, and comedian Conan O'Brien ribbing Bill Gates at a trade show as his products screw up very publicly one after another.

In your face

The eye(brow)s say it all! This guy's got issues. (off kottke)

Eyebrow-Raising Tattoos

Addictive viewing

I get addicted to shows in short bursts. Last year, my entire household got hooked on the Chinese martial arts drama 倚天屠龙记 (Heavenly Sword & Dragon Sabre) after Kevin brought the VCDs up from Singapore. We couldn't stop, it was one disc popping into the drive after another.

I've since gone on viewing binges with anime films (after watching Spirited Away), past seasons of The Simpsons on DVD along with Kevin and classic James Bond movies starring Sean Connery and Roger Moore.

The three of us are now on to American television shows. I started with Desperate Housewives, but it's been superceded by House and Lost. Both are so damned addictive. For me, beats watching British soaps.

Sleep and personality

Did you know the way you sleep may give clues to your personality? Scientists have linked six common sleeping positions to specific personality types. I often start in the starfish position, move on to the foetus position midway through sleep and find myself in the freefaller position in the morning. What about you?

Sleep position gives personality clue

Saturdays are for sleeping in

Woke up early this morning feeling absolutely knackered, I've had so little sleep over the past week. So I made the decision not to go paintballing and have a long lie-in instead. I slept till 4! Having seen those huge bruises all over Ash, I think maybe I made the right decision.

"Laugh and the world laughs with you, snore and you sleep alone."
Anthony Burgess

Artist, coder, genius

Witness the awesome creativity and chaos that reside within Joshua Davis. I remember PrayStation from way back.

Celebrity sighting

On Wednesday evening, we were on our way to dinner when I commented to Kevin and Ash on how beautiful two sleek Audi A8s passing by were. Both cars then rather unexpectedly turned into a pavement leading right into a massive crowd gathered in Leicester Square.

Wondering what on earth was going on, we ran towards the cars. Guess who stepped out? Sharon Stone, in town for the premiere of Basic Instinct 2! She actually walked towards our end and I got to take a few grainy shots with my phone right in front of her. Ash got to shake her hand! Man, totally unbelievable.

Stuffed

Wow I'm stuffed. One of the advantages of being based at King's College Hospital in Denmark Hill is we get to drop by Lemon Grass for some great Malaysian food.

Having roti canai (prata), nasi lemak and washing it all down with bandung is by far the best way to end a long day on call. The food is so good that we always over-indulge, to the extent Kevin has to take time out to recover!

Lemon Grass
53 Camberwell Road
London SE5 0EZ

Prepare for launch!

Spring is here and Dad's toy museum should be opening soon. The website's up. Pity I can't be in Singapore to witness the moment his long-cherished dream comes to fruition. See my previous post for artists' impressions.

Sweeet

Wee Khim takes exquisite photographs (ooh, and Fiona Xie is HOT), gleaned off Spunk Selects.

Portable storage

Ever used a thumb drive?

The top 10 weirdest USB drives ever

El luchador

Meet Nacho Libre, Mexican friar turned kick-ass luchador. That is a body to die for!

Edit: Jack Black has a new weekly video podcast on the making of the film. Hmmm, the body doesn't look as toned as in the trailer...

Multi-touch interaction

The future of the user interface is multi-touch. Watch how he's able to resize and navigate maps with ease, it's all very reminiscent of Minority Report.

Multi-Touch Interaction Research

The magic of Ronaldinho

Few pleasures in life can exceed that derived from Chelsea being knocked out of the Champions' League! Ronaldinho truly is the god of football, and there's no better stage for him than the Nou Camp.

Match report: Barcelona 1-1 Chelsea (agg 3-2)

Association

Do you associate particular songs with people around you? For no apparent reason, certain songs always remind me of certain girls in my life.

• Santa Monica by Savage Garden wrenches me every time I hear it, because it reminds me of my first love.
• Dip It Low by Christina Milian reminds me of a girl I will always have great affection for; she only ever mentioned she liked this once but the association has inexplicably stuck.
• Abrazame by Julio Iglesias and memories of unrequited infatuation; those nights spent in bed listening to Julio while wallowing in self-pity.
• Una Notte A Napoli by Pink Martini brings to mind a brief Italian affair, for the silly reason that it has Italian lyrics in it.

The Sail

What a stunning addition to the Singapore skyline this will be. Designed by international architectural firm NBBJ.

“The Sail @ Marina Bay” is a luxury residential complex on Singapore's CBD waterfront. Its two towers will be the tallest residential highrises in Singapore and 10th tallest in the world.

Darwinian parterres

Bacteria can be beautiful. See Gardens-in-a-Petri.

Dangerous Muse

Mmmm, iTunes' free single of the week - The Rejection by Dangerous Muse - is addictive. Go download.

Respiratory distress

Sitting in my room rather forlornly right now. Kevin's at psychiatric teaching, I decided to skip that today it's just too cold out there and I'm not sure my lungs can take the chill. Spring's supposed to have started!

I went down to King's A&E yesterday to get some help with this breathlessness and sore throat I've been having since the weekend. Basically I've emptied half a bottle of cough syrup and a ton of paracetamol since it started. Woke up yesterday morning totally out of breath and only managed to catch it after a minute's worth of hard coughs; this was probably what got my ass down to the hospital.

Had to endure a two hour wait before being attended to, but no complaints I wasn't exactly an emergency case. I figured it was better to wait and get something done than go through the hassle of getting an appointment with a new GP.

Playing football last Saturday was probably a big mistake. The chill got to me and I think I'm probably suffering from asthma right now. They gave some stuff through a nebuliser, don't know what it was might have been steroids. After about an hour or so, they sent me off with some antibiotics, prednisolone and a salbutamol inhaler.

Feeling a little better today, but I just feel trapped in my room. It's been quite a miserable week.

On a brighter note, I did pretty well for my Spanish test and my sis got great results for her A Levels. Looks like she's on her way to med school, congrats Pei!