Here's a silly clip I've made with my nephew who,
incidentally, was born on the same year and day as Thien Nhan.
I hope you'll enjoy the ending.
Miracle Baby
Thien Nhan is now in Italy for an important surgery: to construct a penis
from the upper groin area that will actually 'grow' with him.
This major procedure will be carried out by the famous Italian surgeon
Dr. Roberto DeCastro from Bologna, Italy. The operation will take between
7 and 9 hours and the post-op recovery will be at least 14 to 20 days.
According to Greig Craft, the key organiser of Thien Nhan's surgeries,
Thien Nhan is expected to have an age-appropriate size penis, and scrotum
(with prosthetic testicles). Because his urethra is not damaged,
urination should not be a problem. And due to some nerves that were
not damaged, the penis should have sensation, and even the possibility
to have an erection. Of course, there are complications that can arise,
but we are confident about the prognosis.
The surgery (after discount) will cost 33,600 euros (approx US$45,000).
Associated costs, travel and accommodation for 3 weeks will add another
US$20,000.
As there could be a necessity to stay longer for follow-up care,
the overall total may come up to US$75,000.
Greig will cover his personal costs and travel and will be contributing US$10,000.
On top of that, him, Mai Anh and Elka have raised another US$10,000.
And with our (that is, you readers and myself) latest contribution of US$14,000,
we are near the half-way mark of the targeted US$75,000 for this
life-changing operation. Mai Anh's family are pooling their savings
and during the next two weeks will go all out to get in other contributions.
So if you'd like to lend a hand, please email me.
‘Butt Bandit’ leaves his mark on small town
[Published on 13 September, 2008]
A small Nebraska town is the target of a smear campaign
by a vandal. Beginning more than a year ago, a man has been
skipping from one business to another at night, pressing his
naked behind -- sometimes his groin, sometimes both --
on windows.
Store owners, church workers and school janitors have had to
wash lotion and petroleum jelly off the windows he hits.
"This is the weirdest case I’ve ever seen," said a police chief.
Some residents of Valentine, a remote central US town of about
2,650 people, find some humour in the strange vandalism and have
taken to calling the perpetrator the "Butt Bandit".
The acts first started when the window of a Methodist church
was greased with an imprint.
During one particularly brazen session, virtually all the
windows at a local hotel were imprinted.
No one has a clue as to who the vandal is, except that he is
about 1.8m tall and slender, with a dark complexion and
dark hair styled in a "1980s, feathered look".
A small Nebraska town is the target of a smear campaign
by a vandal. Beginning more than a year ago, a man has been
skipping from one business to another at night, pressing his
naked behind -- sometimes his groin, sometimes both --
on windows.
Store owners, church workers and school janitors have had to
wash lotion and petroleum jelly off the windows he hits.
"This is the weirdest case I’ve ever seen," said a police chief.
Some residents of Valentine, a remote central US town of about
2,650 people, find some humour in the strange vandalism and have
taken to calling the perpetrator the "Butt Bandit".
The acts first started when the window of a Methodist church
was greased with an imprint.
During one particularly brazen session, virtually all the
windows at a local hotel were imprinted.
No one has a clue as to who the vandal is, except that he is
about 1.8m tall and slender, with a dark complexion and
dark hair styled in a "1980s, feathered look".
When terrorists strike -- A Survival Guide
In an event of an enemy attack, Singaporeans can seek refuge
in one of the North-East Line MRT stations.
These stations can be transformed into bomb shelters, with facilities
like tunnel blast doors and flexible ventilation ducts.
Another feature is the no-flush dry toilets.
The user places a plastic bag over the bucket.
When done, the bag containing waste is removed...
...and voila, our very own biological weapon!
in one of the North-East Line MRT stations.
These stations can be transformed into bomb shelters, with facilities
like tunnel blast doors and flexible ventilation ducts.
Another feature is the no-flush dry toilets.
The user places a plastic bag over the bucket.
When done, the bag containing waste is removed...
...and voila, our very own biological weapon!
Paint me nude please, say Singaporeans
[Published on 22 September, 2002]
Tai-tais, the darlings of designer boutiques, luxurious spas and
top-notch restaurants, are baring their bodies to total strangers.
So are well-paid professional women and housewives with young children.
Money is changing hands too, and it is not going to the nude models.
The naked truth is that women in conservative Singapore are paying
artists up to $30,000 to depict them nude.
Unlike the current exhibition of nude paintings at the Singapore Art
Museum, these portraits will probably never appear in a public space.
They belong in the privacy of the customers' bedrooms.
In most cases, the subject commissions the work as a gift for her spouse.
Depending on the artist and the size of the painting, the price tag
can range from $3,000 to $30,000.
Tai-tais, the darlings of designer boutiques, luxurious spas and
top-notch restaurants, are baring their bodies to total strangers.
So are well-paid professional women and housewives with young children.
Money is changing hands too, and it is not going to the nude models.
The naked truth is that women in conservative Singapore are paying
artists up to $30,000 to depict them nude.
Unlike the current exhibition of nude paintings at the Singapore Art
Museum, these portraits will probably never appear in a public space.
They belong in the privacy of the customers' bedrooms.
In most cases, the subject commissions the work as a gift for her spouse.
Depending on the artist and the size of the painting, the price tag
can range from $3,000 to $30,000.
Plan B
[Published on 17 June, 2002]
No commuter wants a bus/train fare hike. Here are some money-making
alternatives which transport operators can adopt:
OPTION 1
During off-peak hours, buses can double as tour coaches,
with drivers announcing the sights to tourists along the way.
The tours can be themed according to the routes the buses ply.
OPTION 2
Buses travel all over the island. The bus company can supplement
its earnings by introducing a courier service: with drivers
making deliveries along the routes.
OPTION 3
Air conditioners are a high-maintenance luxury.
Save money by doing away with them.
And make money by starting a franchise at each bus stop.
OPTION 4
Pack in more commuters by folding up the seats, which can be unlocked
by anyone who pays $1 after flashing an ez-link card at a scanner:
Only the elderly and pregnant women can get their money back
at the ticket office.
OPTION 5
Why raise fares when there already is a surefire money-maker in place --
the laborious process of commuters getting their money back for faulty
ez-link cards...
No commuter wants a bus/train fare hike. Here are some money-making
alternatives which transport operators can adopt:
OPTION 1
During off-peak hours, buses can double as tour coaches,
with drivers announcing the sights to tourists along the way.
The tours can be themed according to the routes the buses ply.
OPTION 2
Buses travel all over the island. The bus company can supplement
its earnings by introducing a courier service: with drivers
making deliveries along the routes.
OPTION 3
Air conditioners are a high-maintenance luxury.
Save money by doing away with them.
And make money by starting a franchise at each bus stop.
OPTION 4
Pack in more commuters by folding up the seats, which can be unlocked
by anyone who pays $1 after flashing an ez-link card at a scanner:
Only the elderly and pregnant women can get their money back
at the ticket office.
OPTION 5
Why raise fares when there already is a surefire money-maker in place --
the laborious process of commuters getting their money back for faulty
ez-link cards...
Marriage algebra tells if 1 + 1 will split into 2
[Published on 09 August, 2003]
A mathematician says he can predict with almost total accuracy
which newly wed couples will enjoy a happy marriage --
using two lines of algebra.
Professor James Murray says the two formulae he devised
have a 94% success rate when it comes to forecasting
whether a couple will stay together.
The formulae were calculated during a 10-year study of 700 couples
in the United States conducted by Prof Murray, a mathematics
professor at the University of Washington in Seattle.
The experiment, conducted with the help of a psychologist,
involved observing the couples during a 15-minute conversation
when they were newly married, Prof Murray said.
A couple's ability to communicate on subjects such as sex,
child-rearing or money was measured using a scale that gave
positive points for good signals, such as smiles and
affectionate gestures, and negative points for bad signals,
such as rolling of the eyes, mockery and coldness.
"We used an accepted psychological scoring system to
award them points, such as minus three for scorn and
plus two for humour," Prof Murray said.
The points were then converted into algebraic terms,
enabling the study's authors to make divorce projections.
The results were fed into two equations.
The equations were used to calculate the compatibility
of the couples by adding a series of other variables such as
an 'influence function' that differed for each couple.
The 'influence function' measured how much someone's
contribution to the conversation dictated the mood of
his or her spouse.
The couples were tracked every two years and the model
predicted which marriages failed with almost complete accuracy.
Prof Murray said: "I was absolutely astonished.
The key thing that comes out of it is that we have been able
to calculate how people interact. For example, the wife
might be a conflict avoider and the husband might be volatile.
That marriage would not survive."
But positive things can be taken from the formulae, he added.
"It points out why some people are having problems and
can show what action has to be taken to save the marriage," he said.
A mathematician says he can predict with almost total accuracy
which newly wed couples will enjoy a happy marriage --
using two lines of algebra.
Professor James Murray says the two formulae he devised
have a 94% success rate when it comes to forecasting
whether a couple will stay together.
The formulae were calculated during a 10-year study of 700 couples
in the United States conducted by Prof Murray, a mathematics
professor at the University of Washington in Seattle.
The experiment, conducted with the help of a psychologist,
involved observing the couples during a 15-minute conversation
when they were newly married, Prof Murray said.
A couple's ability to communicate on subjects such as sex,
child-rearing or money was measured using a scale that gave
positive points for good signals, such as smiles and
affectionate gestures, and negative points for bad signals,
such as rolling of the eyes, mockery and coldness.
"We used an accepted psychological scoring system to
award them points, such as minus three for scorn and
plus two for humour," Prof Murray said.
The points were then converted into algebraic terms,
enabling the study's authors to make divorce projections.
The results were fed into two equations.
The equations were used to calculate the compatibility
of the couples by adding a series of other variables such as
an 'influence function' that differed for each couple.
The 'influence function' measured how much someone's
contribution to the conversation dictated the mood of
his or her spouse.
The couples were tracked every two years and the model
predicted which marriages failed with almost complete accuracy.
Prof Murray said: "I was absolutely astonished.
The key thing that comes out of it is that we have been able
to calculate how people interact. For example, the wife
might be a conflict avoider and the husband might be volatile.
That marriage would not survive."
But positive things can be taken from the formulae, he added.
"It points out why some people are having problems and
can show what action has to be taken to save the marriage," he said.
Baby Gloom
[Published on 24 August, 2003]
This year, the birth rate may fall to its lowest in 26 years.
If Singapore does not have enough people in the future, what is life
going to be like for babies when they grow up? Some scenarios...
NATIONAL SERVICE: A four-year stint?
Boys may have to serve four years of national service instead of 2-and-a-half years.
And girls may also be drafted. A security analyst of the Institute of Defence and
Strategic Studies presented this as a possible scenario.
Who else, he asked, is going to defend the country if the pool of the young and
fit shrinks every year?
To further enlarge the pool, he suggested making it compulsory for permanent
residents to bear arms.
LIVING SPACE: Small flats, few condo facilities?
Country clubs and condominiums with landscaped swimming pools won't be popular.
Pay-per-use facilities and smaller apartments may spring up for mobile young
professionals who won't want to pay for country clubs or condo facilities they won't use.
But the ageing population will have an even greater impact on urban planning:
more land for nursing homes for elderly singles, and 'boutique apartments' for
wealthier independent seniors. These may have hairdressing, manicure and
pedicure services downstairs, and laundry and kitchen services.
They may also have a mahjong room and a place for residents to get a medical
check-up or botox shots to iron out the wrinkles.
There would also be duplex apartments, where parents and their children
could live in separate units in the same compound.
And there would be fewer stairs and kerbs.
SOCIETY: A spoilt, self-indulgent people?
Nation of spoilt self-indulgent adults who abhor parenthood could be
the ultimate result if successive generations have fewer and fewer children.
If married couples have fewer children, the value of these children
will rise tremendously.
For example, in China, the one-child policy has led some parents to
spend their life savings on a child's material wants.
The value of parenting may also be eroded.
Current social expectations are still for couples to conceive. But if more
remain childless by choice, not having children may be seen as the norm.
Marriage rates may fall due to the lack of desire to be a parent.
Then there are the implications of ageing. It won't be easy for a couple to
support two sets of ageing parents as well as a child of their own.
And what of childless couples who must rely on institutional care
when they grow old? The state may have to step in as the surrogate child.
WORKPLACE: More foreigners, older workers?Imagine a small productive labour force supporting a large, non-productive
pool of senior citizens.
"The most serious consequence (of declining birth rates) is that of maintaining
the ageing population," said an economist.
Growth is hampered and living standards drop.
And if working adults are taxed heavily to support the ageing, they may emigrate.
An influx of foreigners would make this scenario unlikely.
This year, the birth rate may fall to its lowest in 26 years.
If Singapore does not have enough people in the future, what is life
going to be like for babies when they grow up? Some scenarios...
NATIONAL SERVICE: A four-year stint?
Boys may have to serve four years of national service instead of 2-and-a-half years.
And girls may also be drafted. A security analyst of the Institute of Defence and
Strategic Studies presented this as a possible scenario.
Who else, he asked, is going to defend the country if the pool of the young and
fit shrinks every year?
To further enlarge the pool, he suggested making it compulsory for permanent
residents to bear arms.
LIVING SPACE: Small flats, few condo facilities?
Country clubs and condominiums with landscaped swimming pools won't be popular.
Pay-per-use facilities and smaller apartments may spring up for mobile young
professionals who won't want to pay for country clubs or condo facilities they won't use.
But the ageing population will have an even greater impact on urban planning:
more land for nursing homes for elderly singles, and 'boutique apartments' for
wealthier independent seniors. These may have hairdressing, manicure and
pedicure services downstairs, and laundry and kitchen services.
They may also have a mahjong room and a place for residents to get a medical
check-up or botox shots to iron out the wrinkles.
There would also be duplex apartments, where parents and their children
could live in separate units in the same compound.
And there would be fewer stairs and kerbs.
SOCIETY: A spoilt, self-indulgent people?
Nation of spoilt self-indulgent adults who abhor parenthood could be
the ultimate result if successive generations have fewer and fewer children.
If married couples have fewer children, the value of these children
will rise tremendously.
For example, in China, the one-child policy has led some parents to
spend their life savings on a child's material wants.
The value of parenting may also be eroded.
Current social expectations are still for couples to conceive. But if more
remain childless by choice, not having children may be seen as the norm.
Marriage rates may fall due to the lack of desire to be a parent.
Then there are the implications of ageing. It won't be easy for a couple to
support two sets of ageing parents as well as a child of their own.
And what of childless couples who must rely on institutional care
when they grow old? The state may have to step in as the surrogate child.
WORKPLACE: More foreigners, older workers?Imagine a small productive labour force supporting a large, non-productive
pool of senior citizens.
"The most serious consequence (of declining birth rates) is that of maintaining
the ageing population," said an economist.
Growth is hampered and living standards drop.
And if working adults are taxed heavily to support the ageing, they may emigrate.
An influx of foreigners would make this scenario unlikely.
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