Man that writes chinese calligraphy with his foot

I went down for a tea break today. Hungry and cold from the air conditioning, I couldn’t resist the rumblings of my tummy anymore.

After buying 2 baos (a chinese bun with fillings), I walked around to bask in the sun, and I stumbled upon a man performing chinese calligraphy by holding a brush with his toes!

Didn’t I tell you that my office block’s vicinity is interesting? 🙂

I stopped Ebaying

As the days passed, I started feeling uncomfortable in using EBay.

As I sieved through items after items, the fatigue started to let logic seep in.

My logic went something like this…

Ok, another mineral specimen description with “WOW!”, “Huge!”, “Mint Condition”, “Perfect and flawless”, “AAA==+++++”.  Whatever that AAA to the power of N meant…  with 2-D pictures of the item, I couldn’t really say that it’s perfect and flawless without closer scrutiny.

What the hell am I doing bidding in an auction with a bunch of funny-id people.  It was starting to be uncomfortable participating in something with faceless people, and not having a clue of what type of people they are, and clueless on what was their possible maximum bid.  Could the other participants be real?  Even though the item was listed as “No Reserve”, but are there seller-appointed bogus bidders pushing the bidding prices up?  I think so.  Some of the items didn’t look good, but there’s always someone pushing the bids up.

I know EBay tries very hard to build an auction site that’s as real as it can be, but I just can’t help having that nagging feeling that some of the auctions are rigged.

I know that there are lots of genuine sellers and buyers, and their experiences were pleasant.  I hope one day I can get to experience the same.

Maybe I’m feeling this way because there were some items that I really liked then, but were outbidded outrageously in the last 3 seconds.  As I continued to watch without participating, I noticed that pattern in most of the auctions.

Hopefully my opinions will change in a few weeks’ time, when I receive a cheap specimen that I won.  I hope it looks as good as in the pictures.

But for now, I’ve had enough of EBay.  There’s just a joy to be able to window shop and touch a real thing before deciding to buy.

I just discovered EBay

EBay has been around for a very long time.  I remembered the first time it was launched.  It was during the time of Internet boom in the late 1990s.

But I just discovered EBay.

It was my interest in mineral specimens that made me venture into EBay.  My new office building is located at a place where the Chinese practises their superstition in prosperity, good health,  and smooth business.  Hence there are quite a number of shops selling crystals as the Chinese associate crystals with the energy that can bring such that they seek.

My interest has always been in those natural formations, which are hard to find in Singapore.  There were some specimens in the shops, but most did not catch my eye.  For those that did, they cost exorbitantly.  I did find one, but that’s another story.

I decided to do a search on the Internet to figure out what are the market rates going for the various kinds of minerals, and stumbled on EBay.  Quite a number of the specimens were put up for auction, and the starting bidding prices were usually US$ 0.99.

Intriguted, and naive, I thought I could bid and win a huge sized mineral specimen for US$ 1.  So I participated in bidding for a specimen, and 2, and more.

What made me hooked on was how others were bidding for the item.  Initially, I was comfortable with bidding with a maximum price set with a lot of time left for the auction of the item.  But that pushed the price up as others decided to join in.  Eventually, the price was beyond me.

There were also those that waited by the sidelines and watched the bidding until the last moment, when they submitted their bids just 3 seconds before the closing of the auction, and win the auction by a dollar margin.  With that, the price is usually what they can afford, and the pushing up of the prices by other bidders is minimized.   Although the risk of losing the auction is present, but I believe the winning chances are higher.

I find the last few seconds to the auction to be exciting and exhilarating to watch, even if you are not participating.  Just seeing someone popping in with a last bid to win the auction by a margin, and knowing there’s someone howling over the loss and someone gloating over the win, well, it makes a good story. 🙂

A reason why you shouldn’t leave your handphone in your pants

A California man had his pants caught fire after his mobile phone burst into fire.  He sustained burns over half of his body after his polyester pants, nylon shirt and windbreaker caught fire.  Apparantly the phone malfunctioned after the phone buttons were pressed on too long.

Thank God he’s recovering!

So try not to leave your phone in your pants while wearing tight clothes.

Read the full article from ZdNet.com.

Removing 3 inches from your waistline with only 1.25cm

Yes, you still need to eat right and exercise regularly.

But here’s the encouragement booster the mathematical way.

Do you know that you can remove 3 inches from your waistline by exercising away only 1.25cm skin deep of fat?  You see, a depth of 1.25 cm is equal to 1 inch out of the diameter of your waist.  Using the πd formula to calculate the circumference of a circle, you get 3.14 inches.

1.25cm of fat doesn’t seem to be impossible now, right? 🙂

The eyes of God?

I stumbled on this video reporting on a 150-year old painting of Jesus, with his eyes closed, or opened.

According to the reporter, a woman said that it deplicted an angel and the devil. I guess it depends on whether you are living righteously or sinfully.

http://today.reuters.com/tv/videoChannel.aspx?storyid=1bf27dd70bfa3549751241044f9d080a846c87b5

Walking under the rain and enjoying it

The monsoon season continues!  As the rain starts falling and falling heavily again after Christmas, here’s how to enjoy the inevitable.

Your attire should be a lose T-shirt, lose bermudas and beach sandals.  Your one essential equipment is an umbrella.  A clear plastic umbrella will be most ideal.

As you step out, you will feel the cold breeze coursing through your body.  A fine mist caressing your face.  Look upwards and you’ll see the rain drops falling from the sky.  The silvery meteors that shreak down from the sky to shatter into little shimmering bits, creating a symphony of drum beats that massages the ears.  Walking further, you will step boldly into puddles of water.  The cold water rushes through under your feet and in between your toes.  You shudder with pleasure and grin as you search out the next puddle.

Please do this only on NO lightening days, NO flooding days and only in the tropics.

A blessed Christmas to you!

As Christmas is just 2 more days away, I know I will be getting busier soon.  So I would like to wish you a blessed Christmas!

Just to add more to my posting, let me share you about my musings. 🙂

I was just composing an email to a friend of mine who works in a missionary school in Bangladesh.  As I was going to wish him a very blessed Christmas, I thought that the “very” was actually redundant.  Being blessed is already receiving the peak of wellness and goodness.  A gift that is already the best, so how can it get any better, or more complete?

I would also like to say this.  The meaning of Christmas is about the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.  Everything else is meaningless if it’s not done in Christ.  Without Christ, the trees, lights, turkeys, gifts, parties, alcohol,  are all capitalism.

There, I’ve said it.  I’ve been itching to say that after walking through the malls and the streets, seeing the advertisements, reading the papers, and listening to people whistling to Christmas jingles, for the past few weeks.

Well then, I wish you the true meaning of Christmas, and the joy and love that comes from knowing the true meaning.

Monsoon season in Singapore

It’s the time of the year again. Monsoon won’t be going away so soon.

It has been raining for 2 days already. Although the weather-watchers said that the rain will stop around noon, but I had to brave fat drops of rain that shatter into miniscle droplets under shearing winds.

I am so glad that I bought a dehumidifier a few months back. This little baby sure came in useful in sucking out all the moisture in the rooms so that the furniture and clothes do not turn mouldy in this wet weather. I had shut the windows and doors, and the dehumidifier sucked out 5 litres of water in 12 hours. Where did those water come from?

In case you googling for one, you can look into Novita. That’s what I got, and it’s well made. I left it running for 3 weeks without any problems. Hey, Novita, any goodies for free promotion? 🙂

Shingle bells no more

Yes, no more shingles!  My wife has recovered.  Other than a few scars, nothing for the worse.  Thanks for everybody’s concerns and well wishes.  🙂