Saturday saw a large march by Pro-Test to support animal lab testing. Wearing mainly blue and white, they held signs like "Vegetarians against ALF" and chanted "Animal testing saves lives, build the Oxford animal lab!" as they walk around the Oxford Science area and parts of the city centre. They were well behaved and quite orderly as far as I could see. No angry phrases, no verbal attacks...
One street away, the anti-vivisection activist was doing their weekly march. But the two groups did not clash. Of course, the police made sure of that.
I am quite happy that finally people are voicing out their support for animal use in Science, despite the intimidation from animal rights activists. Maybe I'll join in next time.
But right now, work is pilling up like mountains. bleh!
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Monday, February 20, 2006
Did I really saw Thom?
As I was cycling past the Natural History Museum on my way to work this morning, I so happened to glance up at the cyclist going in the opposite direction. The man was on one of those foldable cycles and his face looked somehow familiar. I stared for a moment... and then it hit me.
Did I just saw Thom Yorke?
I could have been mistaken... or did I? Heh, one of the things I'll never know for sure. But I'd like to think that I did see Thom, nothing like a little star-struckness to start the week...
Mondays are not so bad afterall. :)
Did I just saw Thom Yorke?
I could have been mistaken... or did I? Heh, one of the things I'll never know for sure. But I'd like to think that I did see Thom, nothing like a little star-struckness to start the week...
Mondays are not so bad afterall. :)
Monday, February 13, 2006
Childhood memories: Labyrinth
I came across the song 'Magic Dance' by David Bowie the other day, which jolt my memory of the movie that song was played in. Labyrinth is one of my all time favourite movies still, and very much so during my childhood... I can't remember how many times I've watched it. One most dreamy scene I've found on youtube.com: The Masquerade!
For those who share my sentiments, enjoy the clip.
I didn't realise that the girl is Jennifer Connelly... no wonder I thought that actress in 'A Beautiful Mind' looked familiar. And of course, David Bowie is fantastic! ;)
For those who share my sentiments, enjoy the clip.
I didn't realise that the girl is Jennifer Connelly... no wonder I thought that actress in 'A Beautiful Mind' looked familiar. And of course, David Bowie is fantastic! ;)
Thursday, February 09, 2006
My other job...
Hee! Like I had nothing better to do. I've just got a job as bar co-manager. I hope I will get extra cash for this, and that I will have fun managing a smoke-free bar.
From mosquito genetics to bar managing. Let's see how I fare... all the same, I am excited.
*Goes power hungry*
From mosquito genetics to bar managing. Let's see how I fare... all the same, I am excited.
*Goes power hungry*
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Listening to people talk...
Yesterday was the last of a lecture series that I had been going to held by Green College - Climate Change: Evidence, Effect and Evasive Action. It has been intriguing for attending this series that goes on every Monday evening for the last one month. It touches on the evidence of climate change, the impact it has on us all, problems facing us, and lastly what we need to do right now. I do hope people will take home the message in this series of lecture and make the effort in helping our environment. But what I like about this lectures are that the speakers are the experts and remain realistic... unlike some green evangelists I know.
Later that evening, I went to a religion versus science debate at the Oxford Union which was packed to the brim.
Not exactly what I thought it was going to be as I got the impression it was going to be a evolution versus intelligent design debate. But it turns out to be more on the lines of memetics versus religion. Well, I didn't know who was speaking until the actual debate started... (Speakers were: Susan Blackmore and Alistair McGrath)
But still, it was an interesting debate (from what I could hear of it) and I finally got to see what Dr. Blackmore look like. Not exactly what I thought she was going to be either ;).
Now I need some quiet...
Later that evening, I went to a religion versus science debate at the Oxford Union which was packed to the brim.
Not exactly what I thought it was going to be as I got the impression it was going to be a evolution versus intelligent design debate. But it turns out to be more on the lines of memetics versus religion. Well, I didn't know who was speaking until the actual debate started... (Speakers were: Susan Blackmore and Alistair McGrath)
But still, it was an interesting debate (from what I could hear of it) and I finally got to see what Dr. Blackmore look like. Not exactly what I thought she was going to be either ;).
Now I need some quiet...
Thursday, February 02, 2006
Down
The temperature outside is down to -2 Celcius. I have a headache and running at a higher core temperature.
There seems to be some sort of mini-epidemic in the house. I'm the latest and fourth victim. Hope my decision to take the day off will help me get better soon (well at least no need to cycle outside the cold) before I get as bad as one of my housemates. :(
I hate being ill.
There seems to be some sort of mini-epidemic in the house. I'm the latest and fourth victim. Hope my decision to take the day off will help me get better soon (well at least no need to cycle outside the cold) before I get as bad as one of my housemates. :(
I hate being ill.
Saturday, January 28, 2006
Happy Dog Year!
It's Chinese New Year's Eve today. For those who are celebrating, happy Chinese new year!
Have a good year ahead. Woof!
Have a good year ahead. Woof!
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Around Cardiff
Apart from being in Cardiff, I sometimes take short trips outside the city with friends. Wales is a beautiful place if you care to look...
Castell Coch (Castle Coch). Meaning The Red Castle. Located just outside the city. If you bother to walk upstream of the River Taff, you will eventually arrive here.
Some spring flowers blooming in the many hills of Wales.
Mumbles. Lovely seaside and places to go walking. Home of Catherine Zeta Jones I am told...
More Welsh Seaside... lovely.
Swansea City. About an hour's drive away from Cardiff.
Caerphilly Castle in Caerphilly. Not only do they have a cheese named after their city, they also have one of the oldest castles in the world.
Lake in the Breacon Beacons. Photo by Nat.
And you gotta have sheep in Wales! :) Photo by Nat.
Castell Coch (Castle Coch). Meaning The Red Castle. Located just outside the city. If you bother to walk upstream of the River Taff, you will eventually arrive here.
Some spring flowers blooming in the many hills of Wales.
Mumbles. Lovely seaside and places to go walking. Home of Catherine Zeta Jones I am told...
More Welsh Seaside... lovely.
Swansea City. About an hour's drive away from Cardiff.
Caerphilly Castle in Caerphilly. Not only do they have a cheese named after their city, they also have one of the oldest castles in the world.
Lake in the Breacon Beacons. Photo by Nat.
And you gotta have sheep in Wales! :) Photo by Nat.
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
The Mosquito Relocation
This morning we had to relocate all our mosquitoes and equipment to a new insectary next door. All the elbow grease... that plus the tropical condition of the insectaries while wearing a jumper is near torture. Meanwhile, outside temperature was -1 Celcius! I can't help but to laugh at the irony...
Monday, January 23, 2006
Attack of the Mosquitoes
Arrgh! The mosquitoes has escaped during the weekend and was happily flying around the insectary! The moment I stepped into the room they all went for me. I've just spent the last hour and a half trying to recapture/kill them while evade from being bitten.
Bleh! I hate it went there is a containment breach.
Bleh! I hate it went there is a containment breach.
Saturday, January 21, 2006
Cardiff Revisited Part Two
Now down south is the bay. Here are some of the pictures...
Parts of Cardiff Bay still has its marshlands. This patch is protected for the interest of conservation.
The Millenium Centre. There is Ping demonstrating the size of the building. No, we did not see any TARDIS appearing at the time :(.
And here is Ping again nearer by the water. Bird book and binoculars in hand! :)
Parts of Cardiff Bay still has its marshlands. This patch is protected for the interest of conservation.
The Millenium Centre. There is Ping demonstrating the size of the building. No, we did not see any TARDIS appearing at the time :(.
And here is Ping again nearer by the water. Bird book and binoculars in hand! :)
Friday, January 20, 2006
Cardiff Revisited Part One
I'd gone back to Cardiff for Nat's birthday celebration. It was fun. It was refreshing to come back to this city. So I thought to put up some pictures of Cardiff City I took for the past year...
Here is one of the animals on the stone wall along the street of Cardiff Castle.
Inner part of Cardiff Castle. This is the original bit of the castle. Other castle builidings was later on built in.
Cardiff's very own Clock Tower. I could hear it ringing from my old house!
A part of Cardiff City Centre and an alternate view of the clock tower. Photo by Ping.
The Welsh dragon on Cardiff Town Hall roof.
Millenium Stadium as seen from a bridge in Bute Park.
Another bridge in Bute Park that I always cross during my evening jogs in the summer.
Cricket game during summertime.
The centre piece in the Univerisity Park (or is it Garden?).
Here is one of the animals on the stone wall along the street of Cardiff Castle.
Inner part of Cardiff Castle. This is the original bit of the castle. Other castle builidings was later on built in.
Cardiff's very own Clock Tower. I could hear it ringing from my old house!
A part of Cardiff City Centre and an alternate view of the clock tower. Photo by Ping.
The Welsh dragon on Cardiff Town Hall roof.
Millenium Stadium as seen from a bridge in Bute Park.
Another bridge in Bute Park that I always cross during my evening jogs in the summer.
Cricket game during summertime.
The centre piece in the Univerisity Park (or is it Garden?).
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Hardy creatures
Wahey! An actual mosquito post!
Before I left for London during the Christmas break, I decided to kill off my adult Aedes aegypti colony. This is done by getting rid of their food and water. They should then die fairly quickly. Surprisingly, they are still alive. On top of that, Aedes aegypti eggs can be kept on dry paper for months. And to hatch them, just simply add them to a tub of water! It goes to show how hardy these creatures are, and so such successful pests.
What do the eggs look like?
Okay, not the most brilliant picture... but here is a female adult (dead) with some eggs (hers probably). It's the black stuff by the way! And the size of one egg (circled red) is about the size of this comma (,).
So if you live in a place with Aedes mosquitoes, and have some odd desire to find their eggs... check damp areas like wet grounds or water containing vessels (including natural ones like rock pools, puddles, leaf axils and tree holes). Note that the eggs tend to stick to the sides of vessels that contains/recently contained water.
Hope that was useful information...
Before I left for London during the Christmas break, I decided to kill off my adult Aedes aegypti colony. This is done by getting rid of their food and water. They should then die fairly quickly. Surprisingly, they are still alive. On top of that, Aedes aegypti eggs can be kept on dry paper for months. And to hatch them, just simply add them to a tub of water! It goes to show how hardy these creatures are, and so such successful pests.
What do the eggs look like?
Okay, not the most brilliant picture... but here is a female adult (dead) with some eggs (hers probably). It's the black stuff by the way! And the size of one egg (circled red) is about the size of this comma (,).
So if you live in a place with Aedes mosquitoes, and have some odd desire to find their eggs... check damp areas like wet grounds or water containing vessels (including natural ones like rock pools, puddles, leaf axils and tree holes). Note that the eggs tend to stick to the sides of vessels that contains/recently contained water.
Hope that was useful information...
Thursday, January 05, 2006
Shut the F*** Up!
Grrr! Second day at work and those buggers are back screaming their lungs and brains out about their supposed love for animals. Here I am trying to work on some gene sequences and for the last 3 hours I get them as this irritating background noise! Shut up! shut up! shut up!
Well, at least I get the satisfaction of them freezing outside. It's 1 degree Celcius at the moment... Maybe some of them will catch a nasty cold/flu/pneumonia that they need medicines that had probably been tested on animals before (snicker). Okay, I need not to be mean... bah!
Well, at least I get the satisfaction of them freezing outside. It's 1 degree Celcius at the moment... Maybe some of them will catch a nasty cold/flu/pneumonia that they need medicines that had probably been tested on animals before (snicker). Okay, I need not to be mean... bah!
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
Fair Trading
A little Christmas present was given to me couple of days before I left for London for the Holidays (oh yeah, now I'm back in Oxford). And that present has left me thinking and somewhat a little guilty... they were Divine Fairtrade Milk Chocolate Coins.
I have always been supportive of getting rid of poverty, hence the support for Live 8. But thinking back of my actions, I realised that I've never really bothered to make sure that I buy fair trade things. Have I been contradicting myself all this while? Could it be that I've been buying sugar at the expense of some poor farmer in Central America?...
Later, I've rummaged through my cupboard, but none of the products bore that Fairtrade logo. My heart sank. Luckily, a quick surf on the internet informed me that my Twinnings tea has a fair trade policy. So was my Cadbury's cocoa powder...
Earlier today, I've gone to my local supermarket for a bit of shopping. And for the first time I actually checked for Fairtrade labelled products :). Now I'm not one that makes new year resolutions, but I'm definitely making a resolution to be fair trade aware and buy products that has an ethical trade policy.
So little does the giver of that present know that his gift was not only just nice chocolates for the Christmas cheer, but a reminder for me to do my part in making poverty history.
Thanks.
Find out more about Fairtrade.
I have always been supportive of getting rid of poverty, hence the support for Live 8. But thinking back of my actions, I realised that I've never really bothered to make sure that I buy fair trade things. Have I been contradicting myself all this while? Could it be that I've been buying sugar at the expense of some poor farmer in Central America?...
Later, I've rummaged through my cupboard, but none of the products bore that Fairtrade logo. My heart sank. Luckily, a quick surf on the internet informed me that my Twinnings tea has a fair trade policy. So was my Cadbury's cocoa powder...
Earlier today, I've gone to my local supermarket for a bit of shopping. And for the first time I actually checked for Fairtrade labelled products :). Now I'm not one that makes new year resolutions, but I'm definitely making a resolution to be fair trade aware and buy products that has an ethical trade policy.
So little does the giver of that present know that his gift was not only just nice chocolates for the Christmas cheer, but a reminder for me to do my part in making poverty history.
Thanks.
Find out more about Fairtrade.
Sunday, January 01, 2006
The Year that was
New friends
from different walks of life
a gathering for Live 8
and another for July 7
Then a new opportunity
To a new city
More new faces
from new places
remembrance of a sad event
Which a friend could not prevent
A peaceful Christmas holiday
at least for me
And now a new year
and hopes for a better one
again
from different walks of life
a gathering for Live 8
and another for July 7
Then a new opportunity
To a new city
More new faces
from new places
remembrance of a sad event
Which a friend could not prevent
A peaceful Christmas holiday
at least for me
And now a new year
and hopes for a better one
again
Friday, December 30, 2005
The New Year Looms
I hope everyone who was celebrating Christmas has had a good one. It's the day before New Year's Eve and I've been spending my holidays in London... I've been stuffing myself with the loads of panettone, espressos and hot chocolate! Christmas dinner was lovely! Goose... mmmm...
It's been raining non-stop today. Bah! So much for the snow that was promised. There was a bit of snowing couple of days back... So what to do on a rainy cold afternoon? update blog while listening to my itunes. David Gray is singing about December now...
Anyway, can't wait for the New Year now, though I may just skip going to Westminster for this New Year countdown as the tube will be on strike... again! Nothing new for the new year innit?
May 2006 be a fantastic one for every one of you. Hmmm... I haven't even thought of my resolutions yet. But then again, I'm not much of a fan for that, I tend to think resolutions can be made at anytime of the year. Heh.
Happy New Year all.
" Oh my mind, what happened to the time. December."
-David Gray
It's been raining non-stop today. Bah! So much for the snow that was promised. There was a bit of snowing couple of days back... So what to do on a rainy cold afternoon? update blog while listening to my itunes. David Gray is singing about December now...
Anyway, can't wait for the New Year now, though I may just skip going to Westminster for this New Year countdown as the tube will be on strike... again! Nothing new for the new year innit?
May 2006 be a fantastic one for every one of you. Hmmm... I haven't even thought of my resolutions yet. But then again, I'm not much of a fan for that, I tend to think resolutions can be made at anytime of the year. Heh.
Happy New Year all.
" Oh my mind, what happened to the time. December."
-David Gray
Sunday, December 18, 2005
Ice Garden
Braving the sub-zero temperature, I went to the Ice Garden exhibit at the Clarendon Quad by Evolving City. It featured several ice sculptures and artic images and sounds.
Two blocks of melting glacier ice blocks on ropes. Note the layers inside...
Ten 2m columns of ice. Popular with the kids and photographers...
Cool ice lenses...
Large graphic film. Again popular with the kids.
And as I exit the garden, ahead was the Bridge of Sighs which I thought was enchanting and fitting for the end.
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Angry
At first it looked as though there is a major accident that had happened. But the commotion was actually caused by the protesters again! Today they are more angry than I have seen before. Some cried, some singing, shouting, blowing horns, banners flying, pickets waving... Basically looked like a football after-match celebration, except that the mob was angry and not happy.
As I got closer, I found that they were all over the street, including the entrance of my building. Some people plus myself just stood there before the exit, unsure whether to test the crowd outside or not. The reception quickly told us to get out through the side-door and avoid the mess as the police (there must be as many police officers as the protesters!) tries to get them away from our building. They aren't supposed to be so near afterall, come to think of it... were they allowed to protest today?. So we quietly sneaked out, thank goodness for side-doors! A researcher wasn't happy though and cursed as the side-door leads to safety but it is as well a large detour.
Now I hope that my bicycle ourside is intact when I go home this evening.
On a lighter note, there is news about a possible new species in Borneo has been discovered by WWF. How exciting! I wish I could be these people sometimes!
As I got closer, I found that they were all over the street, including the entrance of my building. Some people plus myself just stood there before the exit, unsure whether to test the crowd outside or not. The reception quickly told us to get out through the side-door and avoid the mess as the police (there must be as many police officers as the protesters!) tries to get them away from our building. They aren't supposed to be so near afterall, come to think of it... were they allowed to protest today?. So we quietly sneaked out, thank goodness for side-doors! A researcher wasn't happy though and cursed as the side-door leads to safety but it is as well a large detour.
Now I hope that my bicycle ourside is intact when I go home this evening.
On a lighter note, there is news about a possible new species in Borneo has been discovered by WWF. How exciting! I wish I could be these people sometimes!
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