Sun burns

Havent been updating this blog for quite some time. If u follow my other blog, u'll understand why. =)

Got a bit of a writer's block also... dunno wat trivia shld i write... =p nobody suggesting anything =p.

After observing how horrible my tan lines are. (it's very ugly rite now) I've decided that i shld learn more abt sun burns.

It'll be very useful too. Cos it's the holidays. Surely many of ya wld be gg out to the 'wonderful' sunny outdoors!

Abt Sunburn:

The sun emits three types of UV rays: UV-C, UV-B and UV-A. UV-C doesnt do much damage to our skin and most of it is screened effectively by our ozone. UV-A is the harmful one as it penetrates the skin and the eyes.

Approximately 90% of UV-B is absorbed by the epidermis and about half of UV-A reaches the dermis and subcutaneous fat.

The primary offender in sunburn are the UV-A rays.

Girls and Guys who love their good looks take note:

Sunburn accelerates the aging process, manifested by wrinkles and a pebble stone appearance of skin, which develops over time. It is also a culprit in the increased risk of cataracts and skin cancer.

So it's very impt to use sun block/ sun tanning lotion to protect ur skin!

What does SPF on sun blocks mean?

SPF is actually short for Sun protection factor.

What is the SPF value on sunscreen?

This is defined by a ratio of energy that is required to produce minimal redness of the skin penetrating the sunscreen, compared to the amount of energy required to produce the same reaction with the absence of sunscreen.

This gives you some idea of how long you can remain in the sun before burning.

An example as provided by Dr. McKay, if one would normally burn in 10 minutes without sunscreen, applying a 15 SPF would provide you approximately 150 minutes in the sun before burning, approximately 15 times the protection.

A sunscreen of 15 SPF filters out about 90% of UV rays. It should be noted that filtration or protection of UV-A in sunscreen is only about 10% of the UV-B rating.

[a really gd reference]

滴血认亲

ok. for those who dun understand chinese or get frightened by chinese, dun worry, i'll translate.

the title: 滴血认亲 refers to the ancient chinese belief that when two people mix their blood together, if it coagulates then the two of them are related. i.e they are close relatives. (so lengthy a phrase to explain just four chinese characters hor? see? chinese is such a wonderful language! elegant and simple.)

Anyway, was watching this chinese period show where the folks inside were trying to determine whether a certain someone is another person's son. then they were using the above mentioned method.

I'm curious... alot of those shows use this method to determine if someone is related to another. but issit accurate anot? Y do pple even use that method? Blood really will coagulate for related pple meh?

Sooo... i set out to find the answer.

Din noe wat the correct phase for that method is in english. cos afterall, it is a chinese thing... i think. so, i search the phase in chinese.

Naturally, i got my answers in chinese.

here is the untranslated version:

怎样进行亲子鉴定？谈起这个有趣的医学问题，中山医科大学法医系物证学教研室主任陆惠玲话语滔滔。

陆主任说，“亲子鉴定”的概念古已有之。由于中国传统伦理对血缘的重视，滴血认亲的事情早在三国时代就出现了，“血相溶者即为亲”的观念盛行一时。宋代的法医名著《洗冤录》记载过将子女血液滴在父母尸骨上，以血液能否渗入骨中来认定亲子关系的案例。

不过，以现代科学分析，上述的古老方法并不可靠。因为人类的A型、B型血是能够溶合在一起的，如果以所谓的“和血法”检验两名分别是A、B血型的人，其血液虽能溶合却没有亲子关系。

[read the full version here]

hehehe. do i see pple cringing away? No fear! although my chinese sux, i'll try to translate that 'offending' piece of chinese into comforting english for the non-chinese and kentangs. =p

Basically, the gist of the article is:

Traditionally, the Chinese places great importance on the idea of blood relations as such, the idea of accepting a person as one's kin if their blood coagulates with his own has its roots during the era of the three kingdoms.

In the Song dynasty, it was documented that if you were to drip the son's or daughter's blood on the bones of their parents, whether the blood actually seeps through the bone and gets absorbed would determine whether the child is really their child.

However, actually this theory is not totally correct. Given two blood types, A and B, they will both coagulate together whether or not they come from people who are related or not.

Thus, this method is not foolproof!!! Yay. did i translate correctly?? correct me if it's wrong. but anyway, i learnt something new. did ya?

can comment anot folks? dunno if my 'teachings' mean anything to u pple lor. neva tell me whether you pple found it interesting/boring/enriching...

In light of so many of my friends' bday coming up...

here's a trivia on the birthday song we always sing on birthdays!

Did you know that the happy birthday song we sing every year is copyrighted?

The story of "Happy Birthday" began in 1893 with two sisters Mildred J. Hill and Patty Smith Hill.

Mildred came up with the melody and Patty added some lyrics to create the song "Good morning to all"

Good morning to you,
Good morning to you,
Good morning, dear children,
Good morning to all.

The "Happy Birthday to You" lyrics first appeared in a songbook edited by one Robert H. Coleman in March of 1924, where they were published as a second stanza to "Good Morning to You"

When the song got popularised in several musicals, Jessica Hill, a third Hill sister who administered the copyright to "Good Morning to All" on behalf of her sisters, sprang into action and filed a suit.

By demonstrating the undeniable similiarities between "Good Morning to All" and "Happy Birthday to You" in court, Jessica was able to secure the copyright of "Happy Birthday to You" for her sisters in 1934 (too late, unfortunately, to benefit Mildred, who had died in 1916).

The Chicago-based music publisher Clayton F. Summy Company, working with Jessica Hill, published and copyrighted "Happy Birthday" in 1935. Under the laws in effect at the time, the Hills' copyright would have expired after one 28-year term and a renewal of similar length, falling into public domain by 1991.

However, the Copyright Act of 1976 extended the term of copyright protection to 75 years from date of publication, and the Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998 added another 20 years, so under current law the copyright protection of "Happy Birthday" will remain intact until at least 2030.

Interesting sia! But if you are worried about getting sued for singing it during the next birthday party, dun worry abt it. The Copyright is for commercial purposes... So singing it in a private occasion like birthday parties is fine. =)

Fire via water!

You can make fire quite easily using water!

The basic idea is to take a piece of plastic wrap (Saran or otherwise) and form it into a "pocket", i.e. bring the four corners together.

The pocket is then filled with water.

The corners are then grouped together and twisted until the whole assembly resembles a sphere. This creates a makeshift lens.

It was pretty easy to start a fire using cedar bark tinder.

Using tinder fungus would of course made things even easier.

Yap. The old-fashioned lens method, without the store-bought lens.

Pictures and details here

Mothers' Day

Mothers' day is coming... anyone got anything in plan for their mummy?

Ever wondered how mothers' day came about.

Mother's Day celebrations first started in ancient Greece, in honor of Rhea, the mother of gods.

In U.S, Mother's Day was first suggested in 1872 by Julia Ward Howe as a day dedicated to peace.

In 1907, Ana Jarvis, from Philadelphia, began a campaign to establish a national Mother's Day. She presuaded her mother's church in Grafton, West Virginia to celebrate Mother's Day on the second anniversary of her mother's death, the 2nd Sunday of May. By the next year, Mother's Day was also celebrated in Philadelphia.

Ms Jarvis and her supporters then rallied to establish a national MOther's Day and by 1911, Mother's Day was celebrated in almost every state in US. IN 1914, then President Woodrow Wilson, made an official announcement proclaiming Mother's Day as a national holiday to be held each year on the 2nd Sunday of May.

[ref]

Happy Mothers' day, mum. I love you.

Contraception - a historical look

Was at 7-eleven when i saw them selling vibrating condoms over the counter... contraceptives with more functions than merely preventing pregnancy... heh. =p =p

Well, it gave me an idea for today's post! Let's look at how far into history did contraceptives went... heh. (no. me not gonna find out how that thing i saw in 7 eleven works... u smart pple can find out urselves.. i'm sure.)

here's wat i've found:

Contraception can trace its roots all the way back to the Bible. In the Book of Genesis (38:9), Onan practices coitus interruptus: "And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother's wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother."

Probably da first spermicide: According to an ancient medical manuscript called the Ebers Papyrus (1550 BC), women were advised to grind together dates, acacia (a tree bark), and a touch of honey into a moist paste, dip seed wool into the sweet gel and place it in the vulva. As primitive as this sugary mix appears, it was usually effective. Acacia eventually ferments into lactic acid, a well known spermicide.

Condoms: early Egyptian "penis protectors" are made of various animal membranes. the fine linen versions are favored by Casanova. And for the very amorous King Charles II, the cloth style is said to have been introduced by Dr. Condom, his physician.

Oral contraceptives: the availability and use of oral contraception also stretches back to biblical times and further. Over 4,000 years ago, women in China drank mercury to prevent unwanted pregnancies. Centuries later, women in India imbibed carrot seeds. In North America, women in New Brunswick made a kind of white lightening brewed with dried beaver testicles.

[ref]

Yap. So there. Curiosity met. Back to work.

Born sterile

*ahem* I'm not toking abt anyone in particular... rather, I'm talking about animals!

Do you know which animals are sterile at birth? i.e the animal cannot give birth to itself.

I'm not talking about individual animals, i'm talking about an entire species.

Ah you argue that it is impossible? afterall, if the species is born sterile, what gave birth to it since that species cant produce itself? Shouldn't it die out?


Hah. But you are wrong! There really are animals born sterile and yet they still can exist despite that seemingly problematic situation they are in. Can you think of any?

nope?

hehehe. Read on read on! *grins*


Well, there are actually many animals that are sterile at birth! Two examples would be mules and ligers.

mule:


liger:


A Mule is a cross between horses and donkeys while ligers is a cross between a lion and a tiger.

Most hybrids are born sterile with the very few and very rare exceptions. These animals cannot breed on their own to produce their own young. However, they can still exist because they are the offsprings of two non-sterile but different species.

Aint they pretty? Wow if you keep them as pets you dun ever hafta worry abt them humping the pets next door! oops. =p

Headaches...

Taking a break from my project right now. Having a headache now, so I tot might as well blog abt the different types of headaches a person can have and how to tell the difference.

I'm sure everyone had headaches at least once before. Especially those living in SG, what's with the ultra fast pace of life we have here. But can you tell whether you are having a headache or a migrane?

Here's a simple outline of the differences:

Common Headache:

Causes: fever, anxiety, long hours, lack of sleep, common cold etc

symptoms: ranges from mild disconfort to throbbing pain

How to tell that it is not too serious:

It is self limited– occurs for a limited duration ; no other side effects like vomiting, nausea, or flashes of light.

Generally relieved with common medications like Aspirin (Disprin), Paracetamol (Calpol).

more on common headache

Migraine:

Every person getting recurrent headache fears whether he/ she has a migraine. Following features are characteristic of a migraine headache:

Affected group: children , young to middle-aged adults.

Clinical features: Throbbing and / or dull ache; nausea or vomiting; worst behind one eye or ear usually on one side of the head.

Duration: 1-2 hrs.

Patterns of occurrence: Irregular, tends to disappear in middle age, during pregnancy and premenstrually i.e. just before the periods.

Aggravating factors: Alcohol, bright light, noise, tension.

What will help : Sleep ( that is if you can get it ), a dark room, relaxation.

more on migrane

Tension headache

Affects: both sides of the head, though it may sometimes be pointed to the neck or the front of the head.

Symptoms: A sensation of fullness or lightness in the head is common.

Characteristic feature: the only type of headache which persists continuously throughout the day and night without any relief in between.

Causes: person under conditions of emotional crises or intense worry.

It is generally, found in patients having associated depression or anxiety.

more on tension headache

Well... just note that if you really do have a headache, do get some sleep. Though I'm definitely no medical authority, I believe that sleep is often the best medicine one can offer himself.

That said, I've gotta get back to my work. Otherwise, I'll never get to sleep tonite. *yawn*

Karaoke anyone?

I'm sure quite alot of you go for karaoke. ^^

How many of you know what karaoke stands for? Or the origin of it?

Dunno? hehehe.

Not telling. =p

...


...


...


ok lar. tell u.... after you pek chek (read: that's singlish for frustrated)

Karaoke is imported from Japan over twenty years ago.

Karaoke is an abbreviation of "Karappo Okesutura", the Japanese word meaning "empty orchestra" an apt description for singing along to a music video, with the original vocals eliminated and reading the lyrics displayed on the bottom of a video or television screen.

The origin of Karaoke in Japan could not be separated from the traditional piano bar or guitar bar, which is the major premise of entertainment for Japanese business people since a long time ago.

In the bars, the audience could be invited or even volunteered to sing with accompaniment of piano or guitar.

It is also said when a strolling guitarist could not come to perform at the bar due to illness or other reasons, the owner of the bar prepared tapes of accompaniment recordings, and vocalists enjoyed singing to the tapes.

This preceded the birth of Karaoke.

Interested? To read more click here.