Do Ghosts Exist?

Probably this has been asked since immemorial times; albeit "these" have been told, heard or recorded (by photographic evidence be it genuine or fake) throughout the ages. On my perception, i would say i do not know simply because i have not had any spiritual experience even though i have also heard from relatives and friends of their ghostly encounters and other non-physical entities (protegiest, apparition, spirit, etc). No matter what, nobody is absolutely sure. Still, sometimes you do feel scared of the dark when you are all alone and having thoughts of ghost especially after watching make-believe horror movies like those of the Poltergeist or The Sixth sense, to name two.

Many Eastern religious traditions subscribed to the concept of ghosts. In a way, it's the same to Abrahamic religions which contain few references in their holy books.

Following this, is a public poll on this subject, and hope you would take part in this survey. Name is not required for participation. The poll will be closed by midnight on 30 November 2008. Results of this poll would be published. Thanks.



"See Poll results at comment section"

Quick Lunch - Spaghetti with Sardines

(clockwise - sardines, sugar, vinegar, mint leaves, onions, cucumber and curry paste)

Let it be known first that i am just like any guy who likes making a simple meal over the weekends. Some meals are just learned by observation.

When you are a student living far away from home for an extended time and your favourite meals are not available or eating out is bit too expensive, then making a simple meal at home, away from home is delightful. Sometimes there is always a need to substitute ingredients or spices that are not readily available.

Without further ado, let's start with a simple recipe for quick lunch which is meant for 4 servings. If not 4, please adjust the respective quantity accordingly.

Preparation time about 30 minutes or less.

Ingredients:
1). Soup Stock. Make enough soup for 4 servings ( plus 1 more to compensate evaporation). It could be from any source - from meat bones or just a stock cube of chicken or ikan billis (anchovies). In my case, the stock comes from boiling prawn shells (instead of throwing them away after shelling the prawns). May be by cooking the prawn shells, some traces of chitin-chitosan are present in the soup too! This element is known to bind dietary lipids and in a way it may help to reduce lipid adsorption. Thus the possibility of reducing plasma cholesterol and triglycerides by way of consuming soup made of prawns. ;-) ahem!

2). Spaghetti noodles. About 100 gm per serving (no kitchen scale?- then use roughly 100 strands/serving); Heat water (1.5 liters or using soft drink bottle to measure) until it boils; then submerge noodles in the boiling water; Use a spatula to push the stiff noodles until all of the strands submerged in the boiling water. Add a teaspoon of salt. One reason for this is to elevate the temperature a little above 100 Celsius to get cook a little faster. It's my own version based on chemistry that i know. Boil for about 5 minutes and turn off the flame. Instead of draining the hot water immediately, add 2 glasses of water to cool the boiling water and leave it stand there - letting the noodles to cook further while keeping them hot too - until other part of the recipe is ready. Stir and separate the noodles occasionally to prevent them from sticking.

3). A can of sardines (about 420 gm): Break up into pieces coarsely with a fork.
4). A cucumber: Cut into pieces into strips about 5 cm long by 2 mm width by 2 mm depth)
5).Onions -medium size: Cut into thin rings.

Others:
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon curry powder mixed with a little water (optional)
- salt to taste
- fresh chillies (optional)
- mint leaves

Method: Add the following to a pot - sardines and other ingredients except mint, cucumber, onions and chillies. When boiling, test it and make some taste adjustment, even a dash of gourmet powder will enhance the taste, if necessarily. Lower the heat. Meanwhile dish out the noodles and place in a suitable bowl or plates. Add soup and garnish with thin cucumber slices, onion rings, chillies and mint. Serve immediately.

"Animated Clouds" Banner

This was supposed to be the banner with adobe flash throw-in. As i have explained earlier in my first posting, their "auto-robots" do not accept any amendment for their template's default. Or perhaps i did not follow their code procedure. The default's banner would stay as i am getting used to it for now. Any comments?

BMI and Aerobic Exercise

Have you heard of BMI?

Well, it's Body Mass Index. It was once a popular method to determine one's health or rather whether one is underweight, normal or overweight. It was even used by WHO (World Health Organization) to determine the obesity of the general population in the 1980's.

This index is indeed a straight-forward formula:

BMI = Weight (kg) / Height x Height (m)

BMI values
Less than 18.5 = underweight
18.5 to 24.9 = normal weight
25.0 to 29.9 = overweight
30 or greater = obesity

Using the above index, i was then considered having a normal weight. I was glad, but not for long! The index was originally meant for the Europeans and most probably they have overlooked the smaller size Asians and should have the cut-off points adjusted. Much later in 2005, Singapore revised the index based on local studies and the revised figures were accepted by WHO.

BMI values for Asians
(using risk rather than weight):

Less than 18.5 = risk of nutritional deficiency diseases and osteoporosis
18.5 to 22.9 = low risk (healthy range)
23.0 to 27.4 = moderate risk
27.5 or greater = high risk

There is a gadget, below here, to help you to calculate your BMI. It also provides English unit system (pound, feet and inches). The BMI index is based on European standard or perhaps also applicable to those Asians whose build-up is as big as the Europeans ;-). For others, just use their calculated BMI and compare them to the above list here.

Take note that there are some exceptions to a high or to a low BMI score that includes competitive athletes; body builders; women who are pregnant; children; elderly; people with a physical disability who are unable to walk and may have muscle wasting; people who are exceptional short or exceptionally tall. In other words if you are under one of this categories, BMI is not for you!

With the Asian BMI index, i was then under moderate risk (or simply overweight) and this made me aware of the health risk and made me return to aerobic exercise with stronger determination. For the latter, I chose jogging rather than swimming or cycling due to convenience as in the neighbourhood, there are jogging tracks provided around the ponds. Note that badminton, squash, football, table-tennis are not considered as one. Compare to jogging or quick-paced walking, there is a continuous movements of limbs whereas the others mentioned are "stop and play" motions even though they may have sweated as much as running. My target was to lose about 2 kg in order to be in the healthy range. There you are, after 3 months of aerobic exercise regime, my BMI is now 22.8 but i hope to have the figure further reduce to about 22.

If you are like me having moderate or high risk, go out there and shed your pounds. Go for it!

What a bad start . . .

Greetings, earthlings below the clouds!

Since this is my first blog, i was spending a bit more time trying to get familiar with the "settings-and-layout" ; and was then in the midst of making a adobe flash for the blog title in a form of a banner; and out of the blue, this blog was "blocked". What a joke! I have not even started the first post.

And this is the warning message from the blogger.com
(edited to save on bandwidth)

" Your blog has been identified as a potential spam blog. To correct this, please request a review by filling out the form at .... . Your blog will be deleted within 20 days if it isn't reviewed, and you'll be unable to publish posts during this time. After we receive your request, we'll review your blog and unlock it within two business days. . . . .

We find spam by using an automated classifier. Automatic spam detection is inherently fuzzy, and occasionally a blog like yours is flagged incorrectly. We sincerely apologize for this error."

After 4 working days of my request for a review, i was finally allowed to access my blog. Gee!

Back to the flash design which is meant for the title banner - this is not easy using their templates and "mixing-up" with their codes even though i have done it before for my personal website. Perhaps i will surf elsewhere to see how other bloggers do it. Any tips?
ciao, mike