Not so merry Christmas for some peeps

Anyways, looks like the kelong trip is off. Would still like to know if the kelong is still there though. So Apples, I won't be calling you back to confirm anything. Despite being able to swim, I wouldn't wanna test my abilities in some big ass waves. Even Penang got hit, so no need to try going there. No seaside locations. Wonder how the billiard tables are doing on the kelong. I'm guessing that other then natural causes, Moby Dick must have got really good results for her exams causing her to jump for joy. Cannot connect that to the epicentre being off the coast of Sumatra though. You can click on the pictures to enlarge them. Pretty decent pics found from the web.

The blog has been pretty quiet lately so guess you guys are either stoned from Xmas or hard at work. Hope to meet y'all soon

Quote of the day : Perhaps catastrophe is the natural human environment, and even though we spend a good deal of energy trying to get away from it, we are programmed for survival amid catastrophe

Earthquakes explained

Who's 'Fault' is it anyway?

Earthquakes occur all the time all over the world, both along plate edges and along faults.
Most earthquakes occur along the edge of the oceanic and continental plates. The earth's crust (the outer layer of the planet) is made up of several pieces, called plates. The plates under the oceans are called oceanic plates and the rest are continental plates. The plates are moved around by the motion of a deeper part of the earth (the mantle) that lies underneath the crust. These plates are always bumping into each other, pulling away from each other, or past each other. The plates usually move at about the same speed that your fingernails grow. Earthquakes usually occur where two plates are running into each other or sliding past each other.

Earthquakes can also occur far from the edges of plates, along faults. Faults are cracks in the earth where sections of a plate (or two plates) are moving in different directions. Faults are caused by all that bumping and sliding the plates do. They are more common near the edges of the plates.

Normal faults are the cracks where one block of rock is sliding downward and away from another block of rock. These faults usually occur in areas where a plate is very slowly splitting apart or where two plates are pulling away from each other.

Strike-slip faults are the cracks between two plates that are sliding past each other. You can find these kinds of faults in California. The San Andreas fault is a strike-slip fault. It's the most famous California fault and has caused a lot of powerful earthquakes.

Reverse faults are cracks formed where one plate is pushing into another plate. They also occur where a plate is folding up because it's being compressed by another plate pushing against it. At these faults, one block of rock is sliding underneath another block or one block is being pushed up over the other.

Earthquakes are usually caused when rock underground suddenly breaks along a fault. This sudden release of energy causes the seismic waves that make the ground shake. When two blocks of rock or two plates are rubbing against each other, they stick a little. They don't just slide smoothly; the rocks catch on each other. The rocks are still pushing against each other, but not moving. After a while, the rocks break because of all the pressure that's built up. When the rocks break, the earthquake occurs. During the earthquake and afterward, the plates or blocks of rock start moving, and they continue to move until they get stuck again. The spot underground where the rock breaks is called the focus of the earthquake. The place right above the focus (on top of the ground) is called the epicenter of the earthquake.

Even fertile volcanic soil ain't worth it

Unhappening place to stay

The Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale

Intensity : I
Description : Instrumental
Characteristic effects : Not felt by people, only detected by seismographs.

II
Feeble
Felt only by a few people at rest, especially on upper floors of buildings. Delicately suspended objects may swing.

III
Slight
Felt noticeably indoors; like the vibrations due to a passing truck. Standing motor cars may rock slightly.

IV
Moderate
Felt indoors by many people, outdoors by few. Dishes, windows, doors rattle. May awaken some sleepers. Standing cars rocked noticeably.

V
Rather strong
Felt by nearly everyone, many awakened. Some dishes and windows broken; occasional cracked plaster; unstable objects overturned. Some disturbance of trees, poles and other tall objects.

VI
Strong
Felt by all; many frightened and run outdoors. Some heavy furniture moved; some falling plaster or damaged chimneys. Damage slight.

VII
Very strong
General alarm; people run outside. Walls crack; chimneys fall. Considerable damage in poorly designed structures. Noticed by persons in moving vehicles.

VIII
Destructive
Considerable damage in ordinary substantial buildings with partial collapse. Fall of chimneys, factory stacks, columns, monuments, walls. Heavy furniture overturned. Changes in well water. Car drivers seriously disturbed.

IX
Ruinous
Considerable damage with partial collapse of substantial buildings. Buildings moved off foundations; ground cracks conspicuous. Underground pipes broken.

X
Disastrous
Ground cracks badly; landslides on river banks and steep slopes; rails bent; many buildings destroyed.

XI
Very disastrous
Broad fissures in ground; major landslides and earth slumps; floods. Few buildings remain standing; bridges destroyed; nearly all services (railways, underground pipes, cables) out of action.

XII
Catastrophic
Total destruction. Ground rises and falls in waves; lines of sight and level distorted. Objects thrown into the air.
The earthquake intensity felt at a location depends not only on the magnitude of the quake but also on the distance from the epicentre, depth of the focus, and on local surface and subsurface geological conditions. The intensity decreases outwards from the source, areas of similar intensity forming a roughly circular pattern aroung the epicentre.

1 Quake, many aftershocks

Even Africa got a free wash

The Richter Magnitude Scale

Seismic waves are the vibrations from earthquakes that travel through the Earth; they are recorded on instruments called seismographs. Seismographs record a zig-zag trace that shows the varying amplitude of ground oscillations beneath the instrument. Sensitive seismographs, which greatly magnify these ground motions, can detect strong earthquakes from sources anywhere in the world. The time, location, and magnitude of an earthquake can be determined from the data recorded by seismograph stations.
The Richter magnitude scale was developed in 1935 by Charles F. Richter of the California Institute of Technology as a mathematical device to compare the size of earthquakes. The magnitude of an earthquake is determined from the logarithm of the amplitude of waves recorded by seismographs. Adjustments are included in the magnitude formula to compensate for the variation in the distance between the various seismographs and the epicenter of the earthquakes. On the Richter Scale, magnitude is expressed in whole numbers and decimal fractions. For example, a magnitude of 5.3 might be computed for a moderate earthquake, and a strong earthquake might be rated as magnitude 6.3. Because of the logarithmic basis of the scale, each whole number increase in magnitude represents a tenfold increase in measured amplitude; as an estimate of energy, each whole number step in the magnitude scale corresponds to the release of about 31 times more energy than the amount associated with the preceding whole number value.

Still wanna go for kelong holiday?

Surfs up!

A tsunami Japanese for "harbor wave" is one or a series of ocean surface waves that occur after a large earthquake, seaquake, volcanic activity or meteorite impacts in or near the sea.

In deep water, the energy of a tsunami is constant, a function of its height and speed. Thus, as the wave approaches land, its height increases while its speed decreases. A tsunami has a very long wave length (in the order of 100 km), which makes it act as a shallow-water wave. Since the speed of a shallow-water wave is the square root of g multiplied by d, where g is the gravitational acceleration and d is the water depth, a tsunami in the open ocean can obtain a speed of about 700 km/h. While in deep water a person at the surface of the water would probably not notice, the wave can increase to a height of 30 m and more as it approaches the coastline

Tell Moby Dick to stop jumping!

Is the kelong still there?

Apart from the heavily affected countries, other countries directly affected by the earthquake and tsunamis include :

Austrailia: Tremors felt along the north-western coast, no casualties reported. About 5,500 Australian tourists are believed to have been in the tourist areas of Thailand and Sri Lanka at the time of the tsunamis. As at Monday afternoon Australian time, no deaths had been confirmed although many are still missing. The Australian Foreign Ministry said that "grave fears" were held for at least five Australians.

Bangladesh: 2 children killed after a tourist boat capsized in surging waves.

Cocos (Keeling) Islands (Australia): After earlier scares, no casualties were reported.

Kenya: Waves struck Kenya causing some minor damage but no casualties.

Myanmar (formerly Burma): 10 people killed and a bridge destroyed. South-eastern coast hit by tremors, property damage, unknown casualties (the ruling military government rarely release details about any disaster).

Oman: Waves hit coastline but no casualties.

Réunion (France): Many boats sunk.

Seychelles: 2 reportedly killed, 9 people missing.

Singapore: Strong tremors felt by residents in high-rise apartment blocks in the south of island.

Somalia: 9 drowned and fishing boats were capsized. The only African mainland nation to report casualties, though alerts were issued for the coasts of eastern Africa.

Merry Christmas peeps!

Merry Christmas!

Eat, eat, eat and eat. I'd be surprised if I don't put on any weight. It's quarter past eleven now and I have to go out for lunch. Oh no! More food! Hope you all had a great christmas and also many presents. BTW, XBox up at my place. Just need 1 more controller.

Quote of the day : Many banks have a new kind of Christmas club in operation. The new club helps you save money to pay for last year's gifts.

Well done! It works!

A result of Korean gimmicks

In order to find these unique items, players have to go about and look for certain monsters to kill. As a result of wandering to far off from the main areas, poor unsuspecting players run into all sorts of trouble! Monsters that are too strong to be hit, let alone be killed.

So this is Christmas

Korean gimmicks to make us play more

Smarty pants cheater Koreans released a new patch. This patch has a Christmas event. Rather similar to Gunbound. It allows for players to attain Unique items but at a cost of playing a whole lot more.

Turn your life upside down

Super Sunday was quite super. Soccernet got it right again and I won $4.75. So anyways, I saw this cartoon about Dicky Moe. Obviously it's spoofing Moby Dick. Upside down names eh? Will Will we be calling the great white whale Dicky Moe now? JP and Candun? Naron and Tingkea? More topsy turvy stuff below and a great quote for Dicky Moe.

Music
Upside down
Bouncing off the ceiling
Inside out
Stranger to this feeling
Got no clue what I should do
But I'll go crazy if I can't get next to you

Cake
Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
Homemade Pineapple Upside-Down Cake is so good and so pretty. It's special enough for company, but quick enough for just the family.

1/4 cup butter
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 cup chopped pecans
20-ounce can of pineapple slices, drained, reserving 5 tablespoons juice
3 eggs, separated
1 cup sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
maraschino cherries

Preheat oven to 350°F. Melt the butter in a 9-inch cast iron skillet. Add the brown sugar and pecans; stir well to thoroughly combine, then turn off the heat -- don't cook it. Arrange 8 pineapple slices in a single layer over the brown sugar mixture (your 9-inch skillet should accommodate 8 slices without overlapping). Set the skillet aside. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl; set aside. Beat the egg yolks at medium speed until they are thick and lemon colored. Gradually add the sugar, continuing to beat. Add the flour mixture to the yolk mixture, and stir in the reserved pineapple juice. Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold the whites into the cake batter. Pour or spoon the batter evenly over the pineapple slices. Bake at 350°F for 40 to 45 minutes. Cool the cake in the skillet for 30 minutes; then invert it onto a serving plate. Place a maraschino cherry in the center of each pineapple ring.

House

Upside down house

No, it's not the result of a Central Florida tornado: it's Norman Johnson's Upside-Down House, a gimick to drive traffic to Sunrise Golf Village. They're similar, but right side up, houses were for sale ("from $11,500 FHA - VA -CONV."). This is one way to get people to walk through your model home.
That's a real car upside-down in the carport, real standard size furniture was hung from the "floor" inside.
Now, there's only one question: when demolished, would you say they tore it down -- or tore it up?

Quote of the day : Ugliness is in a way superior to beauty because it lasts.

Rhymes and music

Just another day goes by. Just heard people get charged $4000 to get their homes painted. Geez. Unbelievable.

"Look at me! Look at me! Look at me NOW!
It is fun to have fun but you have to know how.
I can hold up the cup and the milk and the cake!
I can hold up these books! And the fish on a rake!
I can hold the toy ship and a little toy man!
And look! With my tail, I can hold a red fan!
I can fan with the fan as I hop on the ball!
But that is not all. Oh, no. That is not all......."

Why can't you just let me do
the things I wanna do
I just wanna be me
I don't understand why
Would you wanna bring me down
when I'm only having fun
I'm gonna live my life
Not the way you want me too

Quote of the day : Girls who put out are tramps. Girls who don't are ladies. This is, however, a rather archaic usage of the word. Should one of you boys happen upon a girl who doesn't put out, do not jump to the conclusion that you have found a lady. What you have probably found is a lesbian. (Went missing 2 days ago)

Hardy Boys : The case of the missing posts

Well, this is truly a mystery. 2 posts suddenly gone missing. I'd personally like to thank whoever or whatever made those posts dissappear. Whoohoo, gotta love em Hardy Boys mysteries.

Anyways, just to keep the blog going despite having to risk this very post going missing as well, I'll just say that the play 'My Pathetic Life' is ongoing and everyone is most welcome to enjoy it. Nothing ever beats live drama. Not even Days of our Lives.

Quote of the day : There is a point where tolerance ceases to become a virtue

Test.

Dunno where my last 2 posts went

1 down, 1 to go!

Ok, some interesting developments have been going on lately. Exams coupled with a MILF who became a MALF and various little issues here and there. This blog hasn't been working for 2 days and now it's time to fill in the 2 day blank.

Today was a decent day. The exam was surprisingly ok. Odds to pass at 1.30, to get credit at 2.00 and to get distinction at 3.25. If you must know, odds for HD is 17.80. Well done ladies and gents, we only have 1 more exam and many more to come.

Since I may not be seeing some of my classmates next term, I would now like to wish them all the best and to have a happy marriage. BTW, do girls which fit the below mentioned description exsist outside mail order bride catalogs?

1. Cannot date other guys but can go out with them.
2. Allows boyfriend to go out with girls whom he has known from before
3. Gives boyfriend sufficient space
4. Ideally a MALF (not MILF, I know what you're thinking)
5. Has nice personality which is more important then looks or race

(Disclaimer : This is not me!)

If anyone knows a girl which is single and fits that description, please post something.

Quote of the day : Ah yes.........ignorance is bliss.......and that boy is absolutely giddy

Steven Gerrard: Super skipper scores.
 

WOOOOOOO! Miracle 2nd half!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

First of all, it took me 10 minutes to climb down from the lights in my living room after a super goal. 3-1 final score. Shame on me for wanting to bet against Liverpool on 5.50 odds. Even if I did, I'd be most glad to throw that money away. Needing a win to stay in the champions league, it became a need for 2 clear goals as the bad news that Deportivo was losing 3-0 after around 30 minutes. Going a goal down in the first half didn't help at all. HT was round the corner and with a 0-1 scoreline, 3 goals were needed if Liverpool was going to stay in this competition.

There can be no better script written in any kind of fiction except in the live theater of football drama. Scenes of the physio sitting on the bench chewing at his nails towards the end didn't amount to the tension that I was feeling while sitting alone in the living room. I was pretty sure that the referee was having a bad game with it almost spilling over. The ball had ended up twice in the goal with the Spanish referee blowing for fouls which weren't too obvious.

All in all, there can't be happier Liverpool supporters as we watched our team overcome the odds to stay in the Europes elite competition.

Quote of the day : Exams in 3 days, hope you've been studying

Well well......

Ok peeps, more results have been revealed today in class and this is where most of us stand. Add a few more marks if you think you're godly and minus a few marks if you ain't godly.

FEC
Intro assignment 2/2%, midterm 11.33/20%, debates 7/10% (guesstimate), tutorials (9/9 attendance + 6/9 paticipation) (guesstimate), news critique 9/10% and final exam X/40%. Total current standing 44.33/60% (guesstimate). Hopefully more so finals become easier. If D = 70%, then final exam will have to be 25.67/40%. 64.175/100 to be exact. Slightly more likely now.

CB
Tutorials 14/15%, presentation 8.5/10%, midterm 17.5/25% and final exam X/50%. Total current standing 40/50%.To get D, final exam will have to be 30/50%. That means 60/100. Oh boy, so much closer now. Thanks to ultimate lung cancer risking type of smoking in class.

FEC yet to be confirmed and CB totally confirmed. Time to make my brain bigger or at least try to fill it with something useful for the exams.

Quote of the day : WTF is Wendy doing with the IT geek?!?!?!??!

Few lessons to be learnt from Bridget

Some fine looking women are actually lesbians. Thai girls like Super bras and Madonna. Don't buy snakes from Thailand. Some gorgeous looking hookers are guys. New York is the city that never sleeps; with the same person twice.

Tomorrow marks about 6 days to the forthcoming exam. It also will reveal how much more effort we'll have to put it. Also, some odds have to be calculated by tomorrow so that we can get to work on em by Tuesday.

Quote of the day : The vas deferens is the path from the nuts to the weiner where your breakfast travels

Current standings for FEC and CB

FEC
Intro assignment 2/2%, midterm 11.33/20%, debates 7/10% (guesstimate), tutorials 12/18% (guesstimate), news critique 8/10% (guesstimate) and final exam X/40%. Total current standing 40.33/60% (guesstimate). Hopefully more so finals become easier. If D = 70%, then final exam will have to be 29.67/40%. Seemingly unlikely but not impossible. 74.175/100 to be exact. Fucking midterms!

CB
Tutorials 10/15% (guesstimate), presentation 7/10% (guesstimate), midterm 17.5/25% and final exam X/50%. Total current standing 34.5/50% (guesstimate). To get D, final exam will have to be 35.5/50%. That means 71/100. Oh boy. Bloody midterms.

More results to be confirmed on Monday for clearer picture.

Quote of the day : Your candidate panders to lunatic fringe groups, my candidate reaches out to disenfranchised voters.

Whoohoo, 1 week of waiting is over

One whole week of standing by is finally over. Now December is here and exams are coming. Despite that, I've got a few things that have to be done. I need to find some people who will pay me to paint up their houses or rooms and I gotta eat porridge at this cheap ass place which was closed for the whole of last month.

Hrmm, also gotta find out about the results of the past presentations and group presentations. Need to know where I stand before going into the final exams. The some calculated risks have to be taken.

Quote of the day : I want to name my kids after people I hate, so I can beat them - and feel good about it.