Contrasts

The boy is a Palestinian holding a toy gun... the soldier is an Israeli holding a real gun...

That kid is so cute - isn't there some way to fix all this crap?

Mooo ( x 2 )

I was shocked to read on the BBC today that the US has judged cloned beef to be fine for eating.

Now, I know, it probally is fine to eat. And I know, I'm probally over-reacting here. But I have three chief concerns.

1 - Do we really need to be doing this? Is there some kind of shortage of beef in the US? Last I saw my hometown, there were cows everywhere. And the midwest if full of 'em.

2 - Have we been doing this test long enough to know the long-term results? Just because the flesh seems ok, and the genes seem to be acting normal, that doesn't really mean that ten years from now we won't all get new, funky diseases.

3 - Doesn't this seem a little creepy to anyone but me? I mean, I know it's not "Brave New World" come to pass, but it surely isn't too far off. We're all still debating what GMO crops do and what they mean to everyone, including the soil that supports them (and can't be used to grow anything for several years after GMO crops have been there). Besides, this really seems like something I saw out of a Marvel comic book.

Rumblin' & Tumblin'

Earlier this week I had my first earthquake... nothing special, I was sitting in my room at night and the room kind of "creaked" before the floor seems to sway a bit. I sat at my computer feeling dizzy and wondering if the whole thing was from too much browsing, when my roomates shouted out "earthquake". Small thing, nice way for me to have a first earthquake... life went on.

But then, shortly after Christmas, when I was in a large building in downtown Taipei, I had my second earthquake, with a cute little aftershock too. That was no fun. The Christmas tree in the room started swaying, the hanging lights were swinging, the windows were shaking, it was a little scary.

Turns out, I still had it kind of good - in the south of Taiwan some buildings collapsed and some people even died. The whole thing reminded me how small we puny little humans are next to nature.

Who needs a Ferrari?

Here at NTU, everyone has a bike. Some people have more than one... I myself used to have three at one time... two were stolen, and woke broke on the way to Spanish class. After the last incident, I decided not to get another one, and went for more than a year without a bike. It was only recently then, that I got a new bike!

Bikes here are cheap, $400NT, which is about $9 USD. The lock was $200NT, which is almost as much as the bike...

So without further ado, I present to you my bike, called "Red Tofu Lighting!"

The Joy of Marketing...

This is me and my marketing group hard at work on important marketing issues... feel the power.

Great Taste AND Healthy Teeth

I was suprised to see that the toothpaste I've been using recently is... "whitemen". Apparently, I not only look fine, but fight cavities and plaque... I wonder if I am the whitening kind too?

Interesting, I wonder if they are an equal opportunity organization...

Xia Tai!

In an effort to experience a protest of the likes I have never before seen, I went with some friends to a demonstration against the president in Taipei... of course in the end it didn't work, but it was cool... and fun to do! I think it was kind of historical too - it went on for a month or more. They had a parade and everything... we stayed there for a while but eventually went home. I felt a little funny being a foreigner there, at a Taiwanese domestic issue anyway.