tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13947812Thu, 11 Feb 2010 11:25:45 +0000http://xenobiologista.com/blog/noreply@blogger.com (xenobiologista)Blogger548125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13947812.post-2905977513081102739Thu, 11 Feb 2010 11:25:00 +00002010-02-11T19:25:45.694+08:00technologyangryI'm home for Chinese New Year and got pickpocketed in the street outside Chowrasta Market =P Bye-bye G1, it was a good year. On the off-chance anyone should happen to see a dark brown G1 for sale in Malaysia - it's basically the same model as the HTC Dream, but rebranded as the T-Mobile G1 for the US market. It says T-Mobile on the front and "T-Mobile G1" on the boot screen, so it's quite http://xenobiologista.com/blog/2010/02/stolen-phone.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (xenobiologista)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13947812.post-1729515621321058909Tue, 26 Jan 2010 06:01:00 +00002010-01-26T16:24:14.878+08:00funnyscienceA well-known manufacturer of cell culture and other life sciences products has a VERY peculiar formulation for their MEM non-essential amino acids supplement. I don't think that's standard... http://xenobiologista.com/blog/2010/01/infinite-molarity-of-amino-acids.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (xenobiologista)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13947812.post-4177417799201493664Tue, 22 Dec 2009 16:10:00 +00002009-12-23T00:10:59.275+08:00catsnampengyufamilyLina jumped out of the window of our flat around 2pm and came back through the front door at midnight. I have no clue how she did that, as the window ledge and the stairwell are mutually inaccessible and we're on the SIXTH FLOOR. She's been living here for all of 5 days since escaping from "jail" (a.k.a. Singapore's totally unreasonable 30-day quarantine for all dogs and cats regardless of http://xenobiologista.com/blog/2009/12/lina-capades.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (xenobiologista)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13947812.post-3979914042113791565Thu, 08 Oct 2009 06:41:00 +00002009-10-08T14:53:55.080+08:00singaporeUSAMalaysiatravelcatsanimalsJust wanted to give everybody a quick heads-up that Singapore's Veterinary Authority website's information is incorrect (as of 2009.10.08) on the requirement for cats and dogs coming from Malaysia to have a blood test for Nipah antibodies. I called the AVA to ask about the procedure for bringing animals in by road, and they told me that the Nipah serology requirement was waived a couple months http://xenobiologista.com/blog/2009/10/exporting-pets.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (xenobiologista)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13947812.post-5491624850864251458Tue, 06 Oct 2009 18:34:00 +00002009-10-07T02:34:40.503+08:00singaporefunnyme: Are we migrant workers? Grace: No. me: Are we expatriates then? Grace: No. me: So what are we? Grace: Foreign talent. Grace's story from work: There's a famous doctor at the [institution] named [redacted] Ah Cheng. But he doesn't like the "Ah Cheng" because he thinks it sounds low-class, so he just goes by [redacted] Cheng. Even his door plate says "[redacted] Cheng".  ...The joke at work ishttp://xenobiologista.com/blog/2009/10/i-think-im-getting-this-figured-out.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (xenobiologista)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13947812.post-1910344320049577660Wed, 23 Sep 2009 08:44:00 +00002009-09-23T16:48:52.588+08:00singaporecatsjust mefamilyMy mum is really cute about the way she writes things. This is an SMS from her 2 nights ago: Lina has just eaten a lizard! Earlier she came back with a grasshopper but Pa threw the g over the balcony. FMF and I hope your cat will be ok. I replied: i think she'll b fine she ate a baby cicak last week di. thx 4 letting me know. Later when the parents called mum said that she had gone out AGAIN http://xenobiologista.com/blog/2009/09/furball-bulletin.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (xenobiologista)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13947812.post-1076881512707160508Thu, 17 Sep 2009 15:12:00 +00002009-09-29T17:06:50.808+08:00bicyclefantasywritingQuick explanation: one of the more common essay formats assigned to primary schoolchildren in Malaysia is to imagine oneself as an inanimate object, e.g. "Saya sebatang pen" (I Am a Pen) or "Saya sebuah basikal" (I Am a Bicycle). The stories usually follow the format of - I am purchased in a bright shiny new condition - A bad child abuses me and throws me away - I am lying desolate at the side ofhttp://xenobiologista.com/blog/2009/09/ultimate-saya-sebuah-basikal-story.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (xenobiologista)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13947812.post-8701549474440305261Sun, 13 Sep 2009 15:58:00 +00002009-09-13T23:58:59.164+08:00just mefamilylabHad a phone interview last Wednesday morning, going down to Singapore next Sunday, going to go to the lab on Wednesday. Dunno how long it's going to take to get a Singapore work permit sorted. The reason I haven't been blogging is that I don't feel inspired enough to do bloody anything when I'm unemployed. Lying around reading novels all day is something I rather enjoy (as my brother said afterhttp://xenobiologista.com/blog/2009/09/i-found-job.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (xenobiologista)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13947812.post-9197102351155513637Mon, 07 Sep 2009 04:41:00 +00002009-09-07T12:41:11.151+08:00internetThere has been a lot of flap in the media lately about how Facebook causes depression and social isolation, and how frustrated users are quitting in droves, etc. I agree that one of the most serious issues with FB is that it encourages people to post sensitive information such as birthdates and then leaks it to 3rd-part app developers, but as to the former two charges, the people who are http://xenobiologista.com/blog/2009/09/what-facebook-isnt.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (xenobiologista)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13947812.post-5311783900112356418Wed, 02 Sep 2009 17:27:00 +00002009-09-03T01:27:53.456+08:00Is there a hell in Hinduism? I might be going there for this... And: http://xenobiologista.com/blog/2009/09/my-thoughts-on-selangor-cows-head.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (xenobiologista)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13947812.post-1633957949434050314Mon, 31 Aug 2009 15:45:00 +00002009-08-31T23:58:21.341+08:00I've been back in Malaysia for the last three and a half weeks. Been having fun, but mostly just relaxing and reading a novel a day or so. Lina made it through shipment and quarantine and is doing okay even in the heat (remember this is a cat I used to take for walkies in -20 C and half a foot of snow), but my poor old dog Maxie is really creaky now. Time is funny. I'm never bothered by seeing http://xenobiologista.com/blog/2009/08/lepak-home.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (xenobiologista)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13947812.post-7535466340397749780Wed, 05 Aug 2009 22:52:00 +00002009-08-06T06:59:37.462+08:00traveljust meHaven't been blogging for the last few days because I've been preparing to end my life - my life as a grad student in Madison, that is. A move this big, now that I make one as a fully conscious adult, is disorienting... The last book I read in America was EO Wilson's "The Insect Societies" and given the jokes about how students are larval scientists, I cannot shake the image of a young queen http://xenobiologista.com/blog/2009/08/in-transit-again.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (xenobiologista)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13947812.post-6308214247461150239Sat, 01 Aug 2009 22:10:00 +00002009-08-02T06:18:37.592+08:00booksanimalsI think one of the most remarkable sentences in E.O. Wilson's "The Insect Societies" is Deleurance (1948) was able to remove all the ovaries of dominant P. gallicus by surgery, yet even this treatment did not affect their rank. He SPAYED a wasp. This was long before people had microscopes with little servos and lasers etc. Busy packing. I'm leaving the US on Tuesday, after 8 years of living http://xenobiologista.com/blog/2009/08/bug-surgery.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (xenobiologista)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13947812.post-6174494005474819246Tue, 28 Jul 2009 22:09:00 +00002009-07-29T06:13:45.774+08:00diseasefunnyThe CDC home page has a rather funny juxtaposition of "hot topics" today: On click-through it turns out to be some rather boring general health tips for young women. Sad...I thought it would be funnier if they were implying that girlfriends were a risk for sexual health and rabies infection. http://xenobiologista.com/blog/2009/07/have-you-vaccinated-your-girlfriend.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (xenobiologista)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13947812.post-1695378027207629003Fri, 24 Jul 2009 03:18:00 +00002009-07-24T11:38:50.240+08:00softwareconsumerI've been getting fed up lately of how Firefox is a huge memory hog so I finally downloaded Chrome on Brock's suggestion. I like how the top part (menu bar and tabs) is pretty minimal - doesn't take up a lot of "screen real estate". The only thing I'm having a problem with is my prolific tab-opening habit because sometimes I have something in my left hand (e.g. food or Lina) and can't Ctrl+click,http://xenobiologista.com/blog/2009/07/browser-memory-usage-comparison.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (xenobiologista)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13947812.post-8505495636801851518Sat, 04 Jul 2009 02:36:00 +00002009-07-04T11:08:21.415+08:00USAMalaysiajust meBad first good last. Things I will not miss about the USA (bear in mind that some of these are probably Midwest- or Wisconsin-specific): Coffeeshops that close at 7 while bars stay open till 2 (so not fair!) 24/7 mamak stalls are one of the good things about living in a Muslim country. White people who can't grasp the concept that another person can be ethnic Chinese and a Malaysian citizen, http://xenobiologista.com/blog/2009/07/things-about-america.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (xenobiologista)6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13947812.post-8915772330394356215Fri, 19 Jun 2009 05:27:00 +00002009-06-19T13:34:52.343+08:00moneyscienceThis is the best cheque I have ever received. I got $5 per draw for two 50 mL blood samples = $10 - okay so that's just a good lunch - but it says CD1d T cells on it!!! (It was for a lab that studies natural killer T (NKT) cells and autoimmunity. The reason they need such big volumes of human blood is because NKTs are rare.) http://xenobiologista.com/blog/2009/06/funny-cheque.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (xenobiologista)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13947812.post-4967106493830950657Fri, 05 Jun 2009 04:27:00 +00002009-06-05T13:14:28.320+08:00genderjust mehealth[a while ago]L: They told me to take like eight ibuprofen and have a friend drive me there. I was like "It can't possibly be that painful!" so I didn't take enough ibuprofen. I drove home in agony. Mama: You know in Malaysia they banned IUDs for women who haven't been pregnant before? [some time this afternoon...]Me: I feel okay actually. That was less painful than I was afraid it would be http://xenobiologista.com/blog/2009/06/babyproofing.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (xenobiologista)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13947812.post-2778765946840577253Sat, 30 May 2009 17:50:00 +00002009-05-31T02:18:15.723+08:00angryscienceanimalsThis is a response to an article on nonhuman primate testing in the Isthmus weekly and the follow-up letters in this week's issue, all but one of which were extremely anti-animal testing. Animal rights groups like to portray scientists as sadists torturing large numbers of animals. This is a pretty stupid accusation if you know anything about how animal testing really works, because a) the damn http://xenobiologista.com/blog/2009/05/response-to-my-monkey-and-monkey.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (xenobiologista)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13947812.post-4611225337463203143Fri, 29 May 2009 04:53:00 +00002009-05-29T13:05:50.479+08:00ChristianitywritingMy Bible study group usually does "weird stuff" for the summer to mix things up a bit. Since it's a grad student Bible study, our meetings tend to be kind of like seminar classes...everybody reads the text then we chew it over. Two summers ago, we did some of the Apocrypha, and last year we did medieval Christianity. Let me tell you, Wycliffe in the original is very funny to read. Anyway this http://xenobiologista.com/blog/2009/05/pain-of-problem-of-pain.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (xenobiologista)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13947812.post-8266563869043955340Tue, 26 May 2009 03:31:00 +00002009-05-26T20:37:02.514+08:00just meThings I want to do after my MS defense tomorrow, in no particular order: Make chocolate-chip macadamia nut cookies Get my primary computer backed up and sent for repair Fix my housemate's cat tree which is about to fall down cos it was built for 4 lb kittens not 14 lb cats Start looking for air tickets Start looking for JOBS, damnit Go to the mall and spend half a day walking around aimlessly http://xenobiologista.com/blog/2009/05/things-i-want-to-do-after-tomorrow.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (xenobiologista)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13947812.post-1943765994941906733Sun, 24 May 2009 04:41:00 +00002009-05-24T12:44:58.911+08:00Edward Lear is my favourite nonsense writer. This piece of spam is great! http://xenobiologista.com/blog/2009/05/lear-spam.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (xenobiologista)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13947812.post-7540687577428840059Sun, 24 May 2009 03:15:00 +00002009-05-24T12:02:08.014+08:00comicsjust mebooksfantasyscifiwritinganimalsDon't take too long to think about it. List 15 books you've read that will always stick with you -- list the first 15 you can recall in 15 minutes. Don't take too long to think about it. The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco. Historical murder mystery with lots of debates about the power of reason, the Church, language, literature, etc. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. He always intendedhttp://xenobiologista.com/blog/2009/05/my-top-15-books.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (xenobiologista)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13947812.post-1493314759721302579Sat, 16 May 2009 04:26:00 +00002009-05-16T12:49:10.418+08:00sillynampengyuscifi"I still think Zachary Quinto did a great job. The other guy they were considering for the part was Adrien Brody.""Who?""You saw The Pianist, right?""Oh, him. No, I don't think so.""He's got that lean physique and serious demeanour though. I think he could have done Spock.""These days, only Uhura's doing Spock." "Yeah, yeah, I made a dirty joke, okay?""I'm laughing 'cos that's the first dirty http://xenobiologista.com/blog/2009/05/doing-spock.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (xenobiologista)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13947812.post-9051857850707988158Wed, 13 May 2009 17:12:00 +00002009-05-14T01:30:57.747+08:00USAnampengyuangryjust meUSCIS = United States Confusing International Students. Just mailed in OPT app so I can work this summer and get all my experiments wrapped up and written up. The fee went up from $130 in 2005 (when I finished undergrad) to $340 this year. Basket. Potatoboy is leaving the country for Singapore on Monday and has yet to submit the Petition for Alien Fiancé(e). That's $455. After that gets approvedhttp://xenobiologista.com/blog/2009/05/uscis.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (xenobiologista)3