One of the most beautiful and popular festivals in Thailand is Loy Krathong, and I happened to be there to witness this festival on 24th this month.

 

Krathongs for sale at 20-60 baht each

This festival takes place on full moon in November. During the evening, the locals will go down to the canals or rivers to float their krathongs (banana leaf cups). Each krathong contains a flower, a candle and 3 incense sticks which are lighted before being placed on the water. People usually make a wish before floating their krathongs. It is said that floating the krathongs will also float away their troubles and sins, bringing good luck at the same time. It is also believed that if the candle remains burning until the krathong is out of sight, one’s wish will come true.

Many stalls selling krathongs were set up near Chao Praya river 

 

A giant krathong for display 

Barricades were set up for people to queue for their turns to loy their krathongs 

I went to Chao Praya river, which is a hotspot in the capital for this festival. Many locals and foreigners were there to join in the fun. Some brought their self-made krathongs, while most bought them at the roadside stalls. Everyone queued up orderly to wait for their turns to float the krathongs.   

Lowering a make-shift apparatus to float the krathong by the river

Other than floating the krathongs at the riverside, giant lanterns called Khom Loy are lit and floated up into the night sky.

More pictures of the lanterns

The belief is the same as floating the flower lanterns into the river. By sending off these lanterns, an individual can send one’s sins and bad luck into the air. Usually before the lantern soars into the sky, one will pray that his/her sins and bad luck will be transported on the lantern and float away high up into the sky.

Since the lanterns are huge, in order to send them up into the sky, it requires a method (similar to that of the hot-air balloon’s) to heat the air inside. This is done by tying a small bowl underneath the open section of the lantern. Oil is then placed into the bowl along with a cotton cloth. As the oil catches fire and commences burning, the hot air quickly travels into the lantern and it soon rises into the air. Below are more pictures of the giant lanterns. Enjoy viewing!

 

A couple lighting up the giant lantern before releasing it

Another couple about to release their lantern 

Finally floating up into the sky! 

Night sky lit with bright lanterns! (I heard that it’s even more beautiful in Chiang Mai, as thousands of locals release the lanterns at the same time)

Bigger pictures in this gallery. 

Finally, another week has passed! Due to my busy schedule recently, I’ve not been able to blog as frequently as I wished to. Now, I’m working in the library again, with endless piles of homework waiting to be marked. The mundane marking has taken a toll on my half-asleep brain, so I’ve decided to take a break by surfing the net.

Anyway, I’ve found some interesting trivia when I was surfing the American Scientist Online site, and thought I would just post some of them here. Well, have fun figuring them out!  

Q1: In industrialized countries, what proportion of adults are affected by food allergies?

• A. 1 in 2,000
• B. 1 in 640
• C. 1 in 50

Q2: How much weight can a single gecko’s sticky toes support?

• A. Two apples
• B. Two bowling balls
• C. Two people

Q3: The average yawn lasts

• A. 4 seconds
• B. 6 seconds
• C. 7 seconds

Q4: Which of these has been levitated sucessfully using strong magnetic fields?

• A. a golf ball
• B. a frog
• C. a pizza

Q5: Natives of the Tibetan plateau are, in general, well able to cope with the thin air of their high-altitude homeland because:

• A. Their blood contains an especially high concentration of hemoglobin.
• B. They are able to pass air through their lungs at an especially rapid rate.
• C. They have notably low metabolisms, which require considerably less oxygen to support.

Q6: The precursor to HIV-1 (the virus responsible for the vast majority of AIDS cases) is found in which of these animals?

• A. chimpanzees
• B. African green monkeys
• C. baboons

Yeah, just 6 questions. Scroll below to see if you’ve got them right!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ans 1: C. Food allergy affects 1 in 50 adults and 1 in 20 young children, and the numbers are rising: The incidence of peanut allergy doubled between 1997 and 2002. 

Ans 2: C. Theoretically, the 6.5 million hairlike stalks on a tokay gecko could generate 1,300 newtons of shear force.

Ans 3: B. Yawns also come in bouts, at intervals of about 68 seconds, on average. 

Ans 4: B. Andre Geim, a physicist at the University of Manchester, and his collaborators have levitated a live frog using a powerful superconducting magnet. With a sufficiently intense magnetic field, any diamagnetic material can be levitated. 

Ans 5: B. Tibetans can maintain very high respiratory rates while at rest. Andean natives, in contrast, respirate normally but show very high hemoglobin concentrations—two strikingly different human adaptations to life at very high altitudes.

Ans 6: A. The closest relative of HIV-1 is the simian immunodeficiency virus SIVcpz, which is carried by chimpanzees. 

 

Have a good weekend!!  

 

When I was small, I was often intrigued by the wonders of nature. When I saw rainbows, I imagined a care-bear (Cheer-Bear) standing at one end flashing the rainbow from its belly. When I heard thunders, I looked up into the sky to see if there was a monster creeping out of the clouds. I also remembered asking my mum why the moon was following us when we walked home at night. Little did I know that most of these questions that I had have a lot to do with science.

We’ve always taken for granted the way nature works around us, without making an effort to find out how and why certain things happen in certain ways. Well, we could argue that there’s no point knowing, because we can’t change the phenomenons with such knowledge  (most of the time) anyway. But nevertheless, it’s always interesting to understand the explanations or theories behind them.

One of the more commonly asked questions include "What causes low and high tides?", but not all people can give a satisfactory answer without doing any research first. So, what do you think causes tidal effects on the oceans?

 

If your answer is the moon, then you’re right. First, we have to understand that all planets have gravity. The larger a planet, the more gravity it possesses. This explains why the smaller-sized moon’s gravity is only one-sixth that of Earth’s.

 

Although the moon’s gravity is significantly less than Earth’s, it does have some effect on the ocean on Earth’s surface. At the point where the ocean’s surface is closest to the moon (point A on diagram), the moon’s gravitational attractive force is able to pull the ocean towards itself. This gives rise to a high tide at the part of the Earth closest to the moon.

However, we all know that there are two high/low tides per day. This means that at any point of time, there are two high tides and two low tides happening at two different parts of Earth. Since there’s only one moon, where does this other high tide come from? Actually, the other high tide that is happening at the same time would be at the opposite side of Earth (point B), where the moon’s attractive force is weakest.

 

An illustration on how the ocean reacts to the moon as the moon orbits around Earth. Click on the illustration to view a larger image. 

As Earth rotates from west to east, the two bulges (high tides) tend to stay on the Earth-moon line. Further researching revealed that there are different types of tides (which have specific names and characteristics respectively). These tides happen according to how the sun and moon are aligned.

Images are taken from http://home.hiwaay.net/~krcool/Astro/moon/moontides/. Do read further if you’re interested!

Have you ever wondered why do stars twinkle instead of emitting a light of constant brightness? Common beliefs include that of "Stars are like sun, a ball of fire, therefore as the stars burn, the flames from the fire dance around and cause the stars to twinkle", but most of us would doubt the credibility of such explanations.

To explain why a star twinkles, let me use an analogy here. You fill up a bowl with water, and then submerge a coin into it. Use a finger to generate some water waves as you look at the coin through the water. You would probably see the image of the coin wobbling side to side through the ripples because water in the bowl refracts the path of light from the coin.

This is similar to how light travels from the star to our eyes. Most stars are very far away from us, well outside our Earth’s atmosphere. Our atmosphere is very turbulent, with streams and eddies forming, churning around and dispersing all the time. These moving pockets of hot and warm air act like lenses with different optical density, distorting and refracting the light from the star as it passes through the many layers of the Earth’s atmosphere before it reaches our eyes.

Image taken from http://www.enchantedlearning.com 

As a result, we perceive this continuous random refraction of the light (see picture) as "twinkling" of the stars. In contrast, if we view the same stars in outer space, we will not be able to observe the "twinkling" effect simply because there isn’t any atmosphere.

So, now that you know what causes stars to twinkle, can anyone make an intelligent guess why planets do not "twinkle" when viewed from Earth?  

I received a chain email full of interesting pictures from a friend, and this particular picture interested me.

Caption says: The bridge (or should it be called tunnel) goes under water to allow movement of ships. In order for ships to pass, this bridge is half under the water. You drive down in the water and then come out on the other side. Truly a marvelous piece of engineering!! This bridge is between Sweden and Denmark. Picture taken from the side of Sweden.

Upon googling for more information about this bridge, I realised that there doesn’t exist such a bridge linking Sweden to Denmark at all. Nope, it is not a digitally manipulated photo though, because this bridge does exist in another part of the world.

This bridge, called Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel (or MMMBT for short), is a 4.6-mile long combination bridge-tunnel system connecting two Virginia communities across the mouth of the James River. MMMBT opened in April 1992 after seven years of construction and a total cost of about $400 million.  

A further search online reveals that there is actually a similar bridge-tunnel linking Sweden to Denmark. Oresund Link (name of the bridge), comprises a 10-mile link between Copenhagen and Malmo, and won the IABSE Outstanding Structure Award in May 2003.

 

Oresund Link Bridge

Anyhow, these are only two of the many bridges in the world that show some amazing and innovative architecture. This link will show you even more breath-taking pictures of bridges around the world.

Yesterday was a long day for me. I had to go for a workshop after school, followed by rushing off to Singapore Conference Hall for the band’s SYF rehearsal. I attempted to do a bit of marking in the concert hall, but eventually decided to just sit back and listen to the 2 pieces played by the band.

Casually flipping through my magazine at the same time, I came across this column that I found it worthwhile to share on my blog.

*** 

Tame Your Tongue 

Your muzzle can get you into unnecessary trouble. Here are three ways you can spare yourself a bruising from the Cuss Control Academy (www.cusscontrol.com). 

Stop Complaining

Seriously, no one wants to hear it. So, don’t whine over things you can’t influence and adopt a calm and rational approach to workable problematic situations. Others will admire you for your cool.

Practise Being Patient

The next time you’re stuck in a queue or in traffic, ask yourself if losing those extra minutes really matter. It doesn’t. Use the time to think on stuff you normally don’t have the time to think about - like where to go on yout next vacation.

Stop Swearing Casually

You won’t win any arguments by swearing. You won’t prove that you’re smart or glib. And you won’t earn respect or admiration. Not the best way to get hired, promoted, or romantically connected. 

*** 

Well, I guess if all of us do our best to conform to these 3 attributes, there would be a great improvement in the interpersonal relationship among friends and colleagues. So if we aren’t already practising the above habits, why not put in a little more effort?

 

**I don’t know how many bandits would actually read this, but I do hope that you all could stay motivated for the SYF competition. Though scoldings from the instructors could be harsh, they meant well. And I could see a vast improvement compared to weeks ago. I enjoyed watching you all perform. To those who might not get a chance to join this year’s SYF, don’t feel dejected. There are always more events to look forward to, and you will get your chance to shine!  

 

On Saturday, I went to Pulau Semakau with some colleagues and friends. Pulau Semakau is now a landfill area, and waste from various incineration plants will be transported to Pulau Semakau for land-filling. It is estimated that the landfill project will be completed in year 2040, and the government is now trying to control the amount of waste produced by urging the public to practise the 3 Rs: Reduce Waste, Reuse Things and Recycle Waste.

Ok, before this entry gets boring, lets get down to the more interesting part of this trip. I was there for the purpose of the intertidal walk.  When the tide is low, one can discover an interesting marine life  beneath the shallow water. Together with our guide, we walked about in ankle-deep waters to spot for crabs, nudibranchs and other interesting marine animals that are around.

Click on the pictures below to see a larger-sized image. 

 

The very first thing we spotted was this. A sea cucumber (yes, you can eat this)! Despite the name, sea cucumbers are actually animals and not plant/vege. They get tensed up and hardened when they sense danger. In fact, I touched it and it felt like a hard protective shield.

 

I almost didn’t want to take the picture of this hairy crab. Simply because it’s so hairy and doesn’t look like a crab at all. Ugly! haha..:P But yeah, I shot it eventually under the urging of someone.

 

This is the very venomous sea urchin. Colourful as it may seem, you should never go anywhere near it. Its venom can cause paralysis!

 

Jellyfish, another marine animal to be wary of! This jellyfish is known as the "upside-down" jellyfish, because it is usually seen floating upside-down (not in this pic though). Symbiotic algae can be found living at the undersides of the jellyfish, which help produce oxygen and thus allows the jellyfish to survive in oxygen-poor water.

Below are a few coral pictures that I’ve taken. I’m not too sure of the names, but I hope I get them right. 

 

A Favia coral. Each coral is made up of many tiny animals living together. This is called a colony and each animal is called a polyp (the green parts). The polyp has tentacles and it looks like a miniature sea anemone. Hard corals have a skeleton of calcium carbonate.

 

This should be a Maze coral (also hard). 

 

 

These are Sunflower mushroom corals, a type of soft coral. Soft corals are also colony of tiny animals called polyps. Unlike hard corals, they don’t have hard skeletons and the polyps are instead supported by a soft tissue mass. Out of water, soft corals often appear smooth because the tiny polyps are retracted.

 

Probably one of the ugliest corals! Looks like a piece of gigantic oily chicken/pig skin??! I seriously don’t know the identification of this piece of stuff. But it should be a kind of soft coral (I touched it).

 

Another Favia coral.

 

See what we’ve found? The Red Sea Star! It is huge, about the size of a 15 inch monitor screen! There are multiple black pores on its surface.

 

This is the underside of the Red Sea Star. the five lines are actually tiny tube feet that it uses to move about. One interesting fact about starfish.. they can regenerate lost arms!!

 

 

Cute? This is one of the marine creatures that I was hoping to find, nudibranch! (Joey, this is the nudi that I was talking about ) Nudibranch comes from Latin "nudus" meaning "naked", and Greek "brankhia" meaning "gills". These sea slugs are sof-bodied snails. They are carnivorous, feeding on sponges, hydroids, or bryozoans. Some are cannibals, eating other sea slugs or even members of their own species.

 

Looks like an underwater flower, but it is actually a Peacock anemone. Such anemones have a ring of shorter tentacles surrounded by longer tentacles. They come in a wide variety of colours. They create a tube into which they can retract when threatened. Thus, they are sometimes called Tube anemones. Careful.. these things sting too.

Phew, I guess that’s all that I have!! I hope you enjoyed reading this entry (as much as I writing it). Through this intertidal walk, I sure learnt a lot about these interesting sea creatures. It is good to note that there exists such a rich marine life in our small country. Want to continue having such a natural habitat for these marine animals in Singapore? Do your part then.. no littering and polluting the waters!

 

Edit: If you’re interested in such intertidal walks (or other types of nature walks), please visit www.wildsingapore.com for more information. There is a lot of information there.

#1: Curious goat staring into my camera

#2: Biting on the fence

 #3: Bleah!

 

Hey, peeps! So, I went to the goat farm with my gf during the weekend. Played with the goats and drank some goat milk.

This was my first time visiting the farm at Lim Chu Kang, and it was certainly a surprising eye-opener to witness a doe (female goat) giving birth to her two kids!! Below is the picture of the mommy and her 2 babies:

I shall describe briefly about the interesting process of the doe giving birth!

Initially, we noticed that there was this sticky fluid coming out from the back of the doe, leading me to think that it was just some kind of discharge from her when she got sexually excited. (I wasn’t thinking dirty. A male goat was harrassing her, and hence the thought.) But, the discharge turned out to be some mucus, signalling that she was about to give birth in one to two hours’ time.

And then it happened! We witnessed the doe trying to force an amniotic sac (with the kid in it) out of her uterus. But, it seemed that she did not have enough strength, and so the sac kept coming out and contracting back. This process went on for more than 1/2 an hour, and finally someone informed the farm owner about it.

Well, the guy was definitely experienced in helping his goats deliver their kids. He came down to the stable and immediately bursted the amniotic sac of the doe. Fluid that looked like raw egg white and yolk came flowing down (yeah, it looked kinda grossed). The guy helped to shorten the doe’s pain by immediately pulling her kid out of her uterus. (I realised later that this process needs 1-2 hrs’ time to complete if there isn’t any human intervention.) The kid’s front legs came out first, then its head, and finally its hind legs.

When I thought that was all, the guy actually dug his hand into the doe’ womb again! Actually, he was feeling physically if there was anymore kid inside. True enough, there was one more, and he again swiftly pulled it out and lay it onto the floor. The guy then gave a jab into the doe (I don’t know what was that injection for) and left the stable. The two kids were covered with mucus after they were born, and the mother naturally came to them and started to lick the babies until they were clean from the mucus. (The picture above shows the process of the mum licking them.)

Finally, we observed how the two kids tried eagerly to stand up on their own. Their rubbery legs kept giving way, but they kept trying, and just before we left for home, one of them succeeded in balancing itself standing up! They would be able to stand and walk in 1-2 days’ time.  

Ok, I guess brief description wasn’t that brief after all. LOL. So, yeah.. it was a gd experience there. I did caress those goats there (and allowed them to nibble on my fingers), and it seemed to me that they enjoyed the attention that they were gaining. Go down and have a look when u people are free. It’s worth it!! 

I was browsing through the Channel News Asia Online when I came across this interesting news: New Zealand double amputee scales Everest.

    

Inglis showing one of his broken prosthetic legs during the climb

Inglis, now 47, had both his legs amputated below the knee level after he spent 14 days trapped in an ice cave on Mt Cook in 1982. But what admires me of this man is that he didn’t fall into slump after the unfortunate ordeal. Instead, he has proven himself to be just as capable of achieving feats that he’s been doing before the accident: moutain climbing.

The climb to the top of the world’s highest mountain was not one without any problem. During the climb, Inglis got into minor accidents like the snapping of one of his carbon-fibre legs. (It was a good thing that his team has brought along with them lots of spare prosthetic legs.)

Perhaps all of us have always been going through what Inglis has gone through, only to a much smaller multitude. In life, we always encounter obstacles, sometimes big, other times small. From Inglis’s achievement, he has taught us not to succumb to difficulties or problems that we might encounter in the quest of accomplishing our objectives, be it job-related or personal.

It is also definitely encouraging to see Inglis being able to continue living his life meaningfully and overcoming all adversity that he might face with his positiveness. Indeed, this is a great learning lesson for everyone of us.