Mood: *yawn*
Currently listening to: Dead Girl Superstar - White Zombie

Me. Tired.

Recap.

Hrmmm... actually nothing overly exciting since Monday. Assignments, group work, group problems (*sigh*), mamak with the guys, etc.

Nothing to report.

Oh... except for the fact that i got a summons from the police for making an illegal U-turn on Tuesday night - right in front of them. Well. There's RM300 down the drain. Ok, sure, he asked for a bribe (For those who have not had the pleasure of experiencing this i quote: "So you want the summons or not?" - it ain't exactly subtle) but i declined and took the summons instead... not for any purely moralistic stance mind you (me? morals? *insane cackle) but for two other reasons:

1. I had RM20 on me - i seriously doubt that that would have been enough.
2. The fact that someone was recounting to me the other day that the cops are doing dummy bribes in order to record and catch people who are willing to bribe the police as part of some subtle awareness campaign or the other. And yeah, his friend got caught, got hauled to court, and ended up paying something like RM5000+ or somesuch. Urban legend? Hrmmm... That and we WERE discussing the whole thing on the hood of his vehicle...

Well, other than that tidbit of excitement its just been uni, gym, and tennis.

So much pain in the mornings.

Sleepy. Give news articles before unconscious.

Scientists resurrect killer genes from 1918 flu pandemic

Article can be found here:

Scientists working in top-security labs say they have recreated pathogens from the 1918 flu pandemic, the greatest plague of the 20th century, in a bid to find out why this strain was so extraordinarily lethal.

Using reverse genetic engineering, the US team took two key genes from the 1918 virus and slotted them into human flu viruses to which lab mice were known to be immune.

The two genes code for a spike-like molecule called haemagglutinin (HA), which binds to specific receptors on the surface of cells in the body, and another protein, neuraminidase (NA).

The mice were injected in the nose with the recombinant viruses.

Within three days, mice that had been exposed to the HA gene were mortally ill. Post-mortems showed the virus had rampaged through their lungs, producing inflammation and haemorrhaging characteristic of the symptoms induced by the 1918 outbreak.

At least 20 million and perhaps as many as 50 million people died in the 1918-1919 pandemic, the highest toll of any disease in the last century.

Scientists say that the disease leapt to humans by mutating from bird flu, possibly after passing through pigs, which are able to harbour both human and avian viruses and thus allow them to swap genes as the viruses reproduce.

Yup, i'm sure that its all purely for research and not some biological warfare weapon... Geez, 20 million and from a suspected bird flu mutation no less.

Congo's mystery killer could be a new type of ape

Article here:

An elusive new species of great ape, known to locals as the "lion killer", may have been discovered in remote forests of the Congo.

The creatures are far larger and more aggressive than normal chimpanzees and have provoked much debate among experts. Some believe that the lion killers are a previously unknown species and should join the other great apes: the chimp, bonobo, gorilla and orang utan.

But others say they are unusually aggressive chimps with odd gorilla-like characteristics.

Legends of lost apes of the Congo basin go back more than a century and inspired the 1980 novel Congo by Michael Crichton. In the 1990s, Karl Ammann, a Swiss photographer, travelled to the Democratic Republic of Congo to track them.

Locals told him about giant apes with a reputation for killing lions, New Scientist magazine reports today. Their ridged skulls were typical of gorillas but they behaved like chimps, and unlike either they made permanent nests.

Killer apes that go after lions for sport? Note to self - one MORE reason to not visit the DRC (civil war and rebel groups aside).

Parched China figures out how to wash an entire car with 0.3 liter of water

Article here:

China has developed a method to wash an entire car with just 0.3 liter of water, apparently aimed at solving the problem of an economy that combines booming auto sales with severe water shortage, state media said.

The new method, which uses about 1,000 times less water than the traditional bucket-and-broom procedure, requires the car to be only slightly moisturized and then sprayed with a cleaning solution, the Xinhua news agency said.

At 12 yuan (1.5 dollars), the "waterless" service is a bit more expensive than the standard 10-yuan car-washing charge, but more worryingly some car owners fear it may harm their car polish in the long run, the agency reported.

The new service has so far been introduced in the southern city of Guangzhou, where it is strongly encouraged by the Municipal Water-Saving Office.

But officials also caution that the longer-term effects on the environment of the solution -- not described in detail by Xinhua -- must be monitored carefully.

Car numbers are growing while water levels are sinking throughout China, facing policy makers with yet another headache.

The National Bureau of Statistics expects automobile production to reach 2.39 million units this year, marking a growth rate of 18 percent from 2003.

At the same time, China expects water shortages to go on worsening all the way until 2030, when the population peaks at 1.6 million.

0.3 litres??!!?? Damn, thats not bad at all...

Cher plans a naked 60th birthday pose



Article here:

Cher is planning to celebrate her 60th birthday - in the nude.

The flamboyant star, famed for her raunchy stage outfits, reportedly wants to celebrate her landmark birthday by posing naked for a men's magazine.

According to America's In Touch magazine, the 'Believe' singer, who turns 60 in May 2006, will strip off on a Hawaiian beach for the steamy photo shoot.

A source said: "She looks amazing and wants to capture her physical beauty on film."
Last month, it was reported the legendary singer has turned to acupuncture in an effort to stop the ageing process.

According to sources, the 58-year-old star, who will finish her extended Farewell Tour in Australia next year after over 200 shows, is already feeling the benefits of the treatment.

Biographer Mark Bego said at the time: "She started having it done to eliminate the frown lines.

It helps to stimulate the skin by bringing blood to the spots where the needles are inserted. The skin looks fresher and feels firmer."

*silent scream*

And on that note, i'm outta here. I'll try and be more inspired, like, whenever.