A to Z Blogging Challenge 2012

Firstly, right now I am on a holiday in India. So while I am here, looking at hippies and hating them (seriously, why is the world population of hippies in such an upsurge nowadays?), please excuse me if I don't comment on your blog posts for a month or so. The internet here is horribly slow. And I'm not being a bitch here by treating 'slow' as being 'I can't download a 2 gig file in 10 minutes.' No, by 'slow', I mean speeds that are worse than dial up from the 1990s.

So pardon me while I try to exorcise the demon out of my internet connection. I promise you all that I will catch up with your blogs a soon as I am back home.

 More importantly, as I'm sure you can tell by the post title, I wanted to devote this blog post to discuss the April 2012 A to Z Blogging Challenge. "What is this new sorcery?", I hear you asking me. Well, it's a simple concept really - basically, all you have to do is blog about a topic starting from a letter of the alphabet every day during the month of April, with Sundays off. Since April 1 falls on a Sunday, that will be the day everyone starts with A. Then on 2 April, with the letter B, then C, and so on. You can pick a particular theme or freestyle, but your post must match the letter of the alphabet for that day.

If you're planning to join, you can visit the link here, and add your blog to the list attached in the post. At the same link you can also read a lot more about how the challenge works.




A month back or so, when I first heard about the challenge, I was like, "hmn, it's not really for me". But recently I have been itching to write good scientific blog posts, in a way that is simple, yet not patronising to the reader. Things that I find interesting, and things which make me feel that to die without reading about it would have been such a loss for my short organic life. And also, hopefully, things that people don't usually come across from other blogs.

So, I thought - what better way to boost my science blogging skills than by taking up this challenge? It will motivate me to research everyday for my posts, as well as introduce me to cool new bloggers.

So there we are - my central theme for the 2012 A to Z Challenge would be posts related to science/Mathematics. And before you think that I will bore the pants off you, keep in mind that I will try to keep things as fun as possible, and fill your heads with all sorts of trivia which may or may not get you laid with a member of the opposite sex.

I am still working on my full list of topics that I will be blogging about, and I will put up the list on this blog as soon as I have worked out all my Z's and X's.

I really am excited about this, and I hope you guys enjoy reading what I write. Here is the list of participating blogs so far (I'm number 363):

Awwww, little pygmy marmosets

If you regularly read my blog, you will know that every now and then I go crazy over some cute animal, and I just have to then post pictures of the said animal on my blog.

This time, it's little pygmy marmosets. Look at these cute little babies, don't they just make you go "awwwwwww"?

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These are the smallest true monkeys in the world, found in the forests of South America (western Brazil, southeastern Colombia, eastern Ecuador, eastern Peru, and northern Bolivia). Other common names for them are the finger-monkey, or dwarf-monkey, based on their teeny-tiny size.

Most of these pictures are of baby pygmy marmosets - these are the ones that very adorably cling to human fingers. The adults are are larger, normally about 11-15 centimeters (not including the tail), hence can snugly sit in the palm of your hand.

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I wish, I wish, I wish I could keep a pair as a pet. When I was looking for pictures of pygmy marmosets, it seems that a lot of other people are also looking to make these things as their pets.

Well, since they are not endangered, it's not completely out of the question to have them as pets, and I'm sure if you looked around the internet, you will definitely come across where to get one as a pet, or how to adopt one. But keep in mind that different countries have different laws on buying primates, so please don't buy a pygmy marmoset, get arrested, and then sue me for this blog post.

Also, I'm such a goddamn stubborn environmental hippie that I will say that it's best if people don't disturb the lives of these cute wild animals by buying them as pets. Let them comfortably live in the forest with their little families. There are also some statistics which show that some pygmy marmoset populations are negatively affected by the pet trade (Nowak, R.M. (1999) Walker's Mammals of the World. The John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London.)

So please don't try and get them as pets, and just console your soul by looking at cute pictures instead.

Further links:

Wikipedia
ARKive
Fact Zoo

Elevator Talk in Goldman Sachs

I don't know if you've watched the movie American Psycho, but its about a Wall Street yuppie who becomes so mentally unstable that he becomes a serial killer. Awesome movie, if you ask me, and it has some nice commentary on the selfish and arrogant Wall Street culture. Like this wonderful sequence, or this.

I never gave much thought to if people on Wall Street really are that mean and creepy. But then I came across this Twitter account: @GSElevator, which posts interesting things heard in elevators of Goldman Sachs.

Reading through all the tweets, everyone at Goldman Sachs sounds like a complete wanker. I'm not sure if this account is serious or a joke. But if it is serious, then it confirms my fear that most bankers are psychopaths.

Anyways, read through some prime meat-cuts that I sifted through for you. Some are genuinely funny, some make me want to kick someone in the balls.

#1: Why aren't European markets closed? Thought they'd jump at
the chance to honor a philandering communist with a day off.
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#1: The PWM chicks know how to dress. #2 (nods): Pretty good
wife material. Hot but not slutty-looking. Smart but not too smart.
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#1: Chivalry is letting the chick still in your bed sleep in, then giving
the doorman $100 to go kick her out in an hour.
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#1: Holy shit, Da Knicks! #2: No kidding. Haven't been this excited
about a bunch of black guys since Boyz II Men played my Bar Mitzvah.
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#1: Some chick asked me what I would do with 10 million bucks. I
told her I'd wonder where the rest of my money went.
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#1: US college kids shouldnt complain. China churns outs 3MM
engineers every year, many of whom go back to their parents DVD
stall.
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Skirt #1: Whenever I get stressed, I go shoe shopping. [exits]. Suit
#1 (to Suit #2): Obviously not for running shoes.
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#1: if you have a job where you have to wear a nametag, nobody
gives a shit what your name is.
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#1: Banks paid back all the bailout money with interest. Remind
me again when the unions paid back the auto bailout?
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[classic] #1: Riding the subway reminds me why I am pro-choice.
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#1: Europe is starting to make African leaders look competent.
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#1: The British have had multi-family homes for decades. #2: The
British have been embracing mediocrity since 1945.
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#1: The fact that most people are too stupid to know how dumb
they really are is the fabric holding our society together.
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#1: Romney's the type of consultant asshole who uses chopsticks
at the table even when the Chinese people are using forks.
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MD#1: Markets go up... Markets go down... We always make
money.
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ED#1 (to 1st year analysts): If I ever hear about something I say
mentioned on Twitter, I'll fucking kill you.
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#1: Nothing says 'I was a filthy whore last year' like 'I'm giving up
hard alcohol in 2012.' #2: My girlfriend gave up hard alcohol.
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#1: Whenever I see a black guy with my last name, I can't help but
wonder if my family used to own his.
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#1: 2012 is going to make 2011 feel like 2007.
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#1: She's only about 3 weeks of anorexia away from looking hot.
#2: Maybe 4.
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A#1: Think about how much higher unemployment stats would be
if so many black guys didn't call themselves 'entrepreneurs.'
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#1: Money might not buy happiness, but I'll take my fucking
chances.
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#1: Groupon… Food stamps for the middle class.
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#1: Almost time for children to learn a valuable life lesson. Santa
loves rich kids more.
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#1: By now, protesters just look like pigeons to me.
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#1: I love watching Asian guys smell and swirl their wine
obnoxiously. And then their faces get all blotchy. Pussies.
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#1: 1 in 7 Americans has at least 10 credit cards. #2: Fucking
morons.
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#1: Dude, she's the piñata of Christmas parties. Always gets
smashed, and anyone can hit it.
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#1: My only inter-racial experience was with a black sock. Once.
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#1: I always take chicks to sushi on a first date. Sake is like a legal
ruffie.
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#1: If you want a friend, get a dog. If you want a friend with
benefits, find some chick who's in PR.
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#1: My garbage disposal eats better than 98% of the world.
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#1: Swinging by Tiffany's to buy a gift. #2 (looks cynically): Why
don't you get her something nice?
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#1: If it weren't for Asians, Americans wouldn't look so fat. #2:
Dude, New Yorkers make Americans look fat.
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#1: Magazines dedicate entire issues to 'Women in Business.' #2:
How much can you write about secretaries? #2 (to Skirt#1):
Kidding.
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#1: I always thought he was a closeted homosexual. #2: It's
possible that he's just a closeted European.
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#1: In times like these, I wish I was a black, pregnant woman.
#YouCantFireMe
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#1: This market is tough to read. #2: It's like seeing a normal-
looking guy with some fat chick. Just makes no fucking sense.
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#1: It says a lot about the 99% when my doorman is in the 1%. #2:
Along with the bathroom attendant at '21' Club.
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Sorry for being so idle

Sorry this blog has been like a graveyard for the past 2 months or so.

I promised myself that I wouldn't bitch and whine on this blog about why I've been so absent, but since I need to sort of mentally wrap this year up and move on, I thought I would bore you all with what was going on. Don't worry, I will try and make it funny (probably not).

I have been so idle on this blog since November because I was really very ill and was in the hospital. Since spending a week in the hospital I have been taking a big, big break from everything. I haven't really been doing anything except going on long bike rides and listening to Korean pop music (don't ask me about recommendations, it all looks the same to me from my burly depressed eyes. Although if you're desperate you can check out this catchy abomination: Girls Generation - The Boys).

Update on uni life

I have decided to take a semester off uni too, since I really cannot stand it anymore, and I really cannot afford to compromise on my health again. Especially since I spent the last 3 weeks of the Fall semester crying in bed and repeatedly watching 2001: A Space Odyssey all day long.

I hate my goddamn major, all my professors, the whole environment of the place, my stuck-up adviser and all my courses. So yeh, taking a semester break might put me to my senses again.

I'm so glad that my parents (despite being Asian) understand this and are not breathing down my back like dragons. They are disappointed that I am not as emotionally stable as they thought I was (I guess the goth poetry wasn't as big of a giveaway as I hoped), but they are being kinder to me than they have been my whole life. Which I appreciate a lot.

Ups and downs of the past year

Well, I guess the big down was my spectacular mental breakdown. The up was the subsequent entry into the psych unit and the recovery.

I kid, I kid.

Well, the main down was my spiraling disappointment with my university life and my major. But the positive side of this was the slow motion and inspirational self discovery to things I genuinely want to do in life... or something like that...

I also loved the progress I have made with my poetry skills. I have gone from writing to poems about depressed robots to depressed human beings. Yayy!

The other down was my lack of fitness level and my weight gain. Which is why I am resolving myself to losing at least 5 kilos in 2 months, and becoming healthy again.

On the up side, I am really happy the way I have been blogging for the past year. I am especially happy with my art blog, because I have always wanted to put up art which inspires me, and I finally did it this year.

New year resolutions

1. Lose at least 5 kilos of weight
2. Stop eating junk food completely and go back to my rabbit food diet =___=
3. Write poetry about more topics, rather than just robots 
4. Change the blog layout
5. Focus more on my drawings and art