Float like a butterfly, sting like a wasp?

Welcome to the Friday Edition of Good News/Bad News. Let's begin.

Bad news: I was stung by a common wasp.
Bad news: Unlike bees, the wasp is probably still alive.
Good news: I was only stung once.

Bad news: I was stung on one of my toes.
Bad news: It hurt. Sharp intense pain the first few moments.
Good news: It wasn't on my face.

Bad news: I've never been stung before.
Good news: Went to the drop-in clinic and found out I'm not allergic.

Bad news: It still hurt when I was in the clinic.
Good news: The doctor gave me some antihistamine and cream for free.

Bad news: The swelling and inflammation on that toe was immense!
Good news: See the previous good news.

Bad news: The toe-pain now is comparable to the sorenes of a toenail being ripped off or a really really really really really really really bad stubbing.
Good news: I can still walk/run...for the most part normally.

Bad news: I hate wasps.
Good news: I will kill many wasps someday. Along with many other bugs.

Stay tuned within the year for the next edition of Good News/Bad News.
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Saw gas "come down" to 109.9 ¢/litre
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EDIT: August 27, 2006 - I'm pretty much all better now. Only used the drugs once. And gas was 107 ¢/litre today for a low.

New Terribleland content - ant page

I put up a new page today, about ants.
There are some pictures, (feauturing one large 2MB photoshopped picture) and a few videos.

Why did I make a page about ants? It's not exactly about them, but more of my recent experiences with them.
So check it out if you like, it's on the frame-menu to your left,
under the heading My Junk (specifically) ==> ant page.

If you do not see a seperate frame menu to your left with those headings and links, click here.
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I also moved the great tiber war, lance, and spider-man poses photograph galleries onto Flickr. Hurray for them.

Cosmic Conspiracy Theory

Thanks God, my time has been relaxing lately. It's been nice. No school is fantastic. Bam!

Okay, in case you haven't heard, especially on the news yesterday, it's said that astronomers (around 2500 of them from 75 countries meeting in the Czech Republic) are meeting to decide on the "universal definition" of a planet. This could lead to our solar system to have 12 planets instead of 9:

Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Ceres, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus (wahahaaa), Neptune, Pluto, Charon, and "Xena" (2003 UB313).

Cool diagram here.
Anyways, if changed, that would mean textbooks and videos and blah blah, etc etc stuff would be changed.

You know what I think the real cause of all this fuss over adding planets and stuff is?
The astronomers are bored. And possibly lonely.
I think I speak for 96.82304% of all people on earth, that there are bigger issues to deal with... and that we don't really care.
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You may have seen this in an email forward. You can do this as you sit in front of your computer. Stick your right leg out and draw small circles in the air with your foot clockwise. Now, with your right hand, draw the number 6 in the air. Automatically, your foot will change directions. Fascinating!
(NOTE: If this does not work for you, you should seek professional help from a medical doctor, immediately.)

Let the summer begin!

Yeah! I had my last exam today! Woohoo! Narf narf zoooort! In retrospect, I think the amount of time I spent writing the exam today could’ve been shorter though. It was scheduled for 3 hours and I estimate I spent about 20 minutes daydreaming…teehee. Doesn't matter. Sigh. It feels strange that I have no immediate pressures or school work that needs to be completed to be handed in for marks or something. Aaaah. What a feeling.

Sooooo…… not much else is new with me, other than school finally being over. Oh wait, sudoku, I have to talk about sudoku. About a week and a half ago (maybe it was a week ago? my internal calendar is all messed up) I did another Friday edition of the sudoku in the 24 Hours and I completed it again, in under 50 minutes. I think they changed it; I think Thursday is the hardest now. Hmm. Oh yeah, I also did a sudoku recently in that inferior Metro paper in 4:41 minutes (take that, you inscrutable-under-13-minute-time-limit!)

Some general things to share:
In the last 254 lecture I had, the prof ended with something amusing. He talked about something that he heard about in the news. Paraphrased: “Most things we need are made in China. Like 99% [I made that figure up] of underwear is made in China. There’s some underwear you can buy here, but it’s very expensive and no one really buys that anyways. What would happen to us, if China just stopped making underwear? The world’s supply of underwear would be gone! What would we all wear?” And then he dismissed us.

In 207, one of the last things the prof said, paraphrased, was dealing with final grades and stuff: “It is certain that 17% [I made that figure up too] will fail this class. There is nothing you can do. If you get a ‘D’, you must re-take this class. A ‘D’ is a polite ‘F’. If you get a ‘D’ or an ‘F,’ do not hope that it will be changed. Miracles don’t happen. Jesus died a long time ago.” At this point, the class laughed (which I’m not surprised at anymore) and then he blabbed about something else. What a sad outlook on life.

And just for fun, here’s some words of advice a strange lady told me 2 weeks ago (I’m not kidding):
“Don't get hit by a truck. It'll screw up your life.”

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Gas has been in the 114.9 - 120.9¢/litre range.

[Sudoku.WJD = stupid news] & Weather.War

Do Friday' sudoku in 24 Hours. Monday is easiest. Friday is hardest. I got hardest! 

In less than hour! But I thought I mistake in center square near end. I frustrate. I scribble on sudoku. One minute later, I realize. I finish it properly. Satisfying.

Do sudoku in Metro's daily. Many many many times. Many many times I do under 13 minutes. Many many many times Metros says I am "Genius." 

 

What does "Genius" mean, hmm Metro?! They will hear from me. Probably later. After I procrastinate.

Signed up for World Jump Day. World Jump Day was July 20, 2006, 11:39 GMT. Or four AM pacific. I slept. It was not worth it. But I jumped yesterday.
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Weather, hot. Fourteen day trend of Vancouver (taken from Network du Weather site).

Yellow means now, white means average. Caramba.
Middle East still bombings. People take sides. People condemn. People die. People run. People pray.

A Warning to all Teeth

This little thingy appeared on our kitchen table a few days ago. I didn't know where it came from. One day I just saw it lying on the table, smiling at me. It appears to be a little rubber tooth (molar) that I suppose is to be placed on top of a pen or pencil. A little novelty item for kids I guess. In my mind, I call it Toothy. Toothy the tooth.

If it were real and life size, I'd love to punch it. Take that silly little grin off Toothy's face. What is he (or she?) smiling at? Does he or...wait ...my French-English dictionary says tooth is feminine (la dent) but it doesn't really look female ...um ...let's not go there. Where was I....? Oh yeah, what kind of smile is that anyway? What would you do if some nut on the street started to smile at you like that? And those eyes! Yeah, Toothy's just asking for it now. Pow! Biff! Smack! Zock! Try and intimidate will you, eh?!Let that be a lesson to all you other Toothys! Try to take over my kitchen table ...er ...my parent's kitchen table and you'll deal with me!
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Gas up to 119.4¢/litre today.
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Remember to pray for the nation of Israel.

Perspective

Tim: Waah! My toe hurts! I want some ice cream! I have a 5 page double spaced essay due tomorrow! Wah, wah waaaah!

Millions of people around the world: Someone stole the tin roof of our small shanty. I need medicine for my terminally ill children. I need food for my family to survive one more day....

Tim: [shuts up]
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If you haven't visited the gigantism links page, then you may have not seen this:
http://www.miniature-earth.com/
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Saw gas was up to 118.9¢/litre today.

The village is one hundred and thirty nine

Subtract 1867 from 2006 and the "village," ==> kanata ==> or Canada is 139 years old, today. Sort of.
Anyways, the way I see it, the government owes me 139 years of birthday cake. Plus interest.
Have a Merry Dominion of Canada Day!

News Flush

1. Spider-Man unmasks to the world. Shock and horror follow.

2. Moose, famously known as "Eddie" on Frasier passed away last week. So sad.
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...and now back to my irregularly scheduled cramming.

Head tax redress in news and Playland not so fun

PM Stephen Harper delivered a formal apology on behalf of the government (and in a sense, the country, but not really) to Chinese Canadians who paid the the head tax (as well as descendants, friends, family, others), today around noon. I saw it live on the TV (pas sur la télé, mais à la télé). Symbolic payments will be given as well as funds for community projects.

Personally, I want all textbooks to be changed, so that credit is given to where's credit is actually supposed to be due. Take that, all you fruit loops at Craigellachie, BC in 1885! Nyah nyah nyaahh! Pbbbbbbbbb! 8^p
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In the lastest Timnews, after a semi-stressful night of cramming and presentation preparing, followed by a semi-semi-stressful day of exam writing and presentation giving, I was treated to go to Playland with my sister the day after (uh....that would be yesterday).

It's a pity, but Playland no longer has the exciting/fun/thrill factor it once had when I was younger, or that I dreamed it had in my head. I always imagined the Wooden Coaster's first big drop was bigger and faster ...more exhilarating. It's still fun, just, not as much. Maybe if the lines were reduced to zero and screaming people were not allowed inside the park, I might have enjoyed myself more. Maybe.
Maybe I'm growing up and no longer a kid anymore?
No, I'm still immature. Fart fart fart. Ha. See?
Fart. Heheheeee......
It's not that funny actually.



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Gas was 110.9¢/litre on Tuesday and has been around 112.5 for a while.

Don't waste your time

Last night, I checked what the weather was supposed to be like for today and it showed that it was going to rain. So this morning, I wore a long sleeve shirt, my jacket, and brought my umbrella along with me to school, thinking it would be a cool and grey day. When I left the house, the sky was almost all clear and quite blue, AND the sun was starting to shine brightly. I thought maybe the weather forecast might be right later in the day, and the clouds would probably come rolling in from wherever clouds come from and start raining.

Instead, no. When I got on the bus(es), got off at bustops, and got to school, wherever I looked, I saw people wearing short pants/shorts, t-shirts, and other thin summer clothing, while I was stuck in my stupid long sleeve shirt and carrying my jacket and umbrella as I walked from classes in the sun, like an idiot.

The moral of the story is that you just wasted approximately 1 minute (depends on how fast your read of course) of your life because you ignored my warning title, when you could have done something productive, useful and/or beneficial for yourself/someone. Good job.

No Flow Post

I woke up at 5:20 something AM today because of some stupid crows caw-ing outside my window. I was very bitter. I wanted to shoot them. But I don’t have a gun (which is probably a good thing) so I went back to sleep. I woke up again more than 6 hours later, so I guess that makes up for my "bad" morning. Everything balances everything out.

For the record, some news stories were big recently like: suspected terrorists being arrested in Toronto, general market dips, Canada in Afghanistan, and also etc. Just the same old negative news. Oh yes, and it was June 6th two days ago, or 6/6/06. Big whoop. The real day (666) was 2000 years ago in 6 A.D. Ah...I almost forgot, tomorrow a worldwide pandemic will severely break out: World Cup Fever.

Gas has been predicted to stay high this summer. Although it has been consistently in the 120¢/litre range, I saw it for 112.9¢/litre on Tuesday. A seven cent dip? Hmm.

For those who don’t know, I’ve been on a diet now for the past 2 months and it’s basically sticking to foods that are all-natural/whole grain. Check out my before and after shots. Kidding. I only got a haircut.

Mr. PakG1 says YouTube is the world’s biggest time waster. I’d like to nominate a tie- with Wikipedia. Check out this article on an “Internet phenomenom(/meme),” but mind the clock (and the links), unless you’re actually planning to procrastinate. That should keep you busy for a while.

GOOD NEWS FROM IRAQ: Iraqi General Says Record Number of Muslims Turning to Christ

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this is from Joel Rosenberg's blog, and it's Copyright to him (Powerful stuff):
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Tuesday, May 23, 2006
GOOD NEWS FROM IRAQ: Iraqi General Says Record Number of Muslims Turning to Christ

Unprecedented religious freedom has finally come to Iraq because of U.S. military action there, and more Iraqi Muslims are becoming followers of Jesus Christ today than at any other time in the history of the country.

That was the message delivered by retired Iraqi General Georges Sada last night at a private dinner just outside of Washington, D.C., and then at McLean Bible Church in northern Virginia where Sada spoke to more than 1,000 people.

Sada and I first met by phone in March when I interviewed him for EPICENTER, the non-fiction book I'm writing about the future of the Middle East. Intrigued by his remarkable personal story, I invited him to come to Washington to share his experiences and perspective with our congregation. It was an extraordinary evening.

Sada described in detail how Saddam moved stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction to Syria in the summer of 2002, a story that is now being closely analyzed by the CIA, DIA and Congressional intelligence committees. He received an emotional ovation when he described how he refused to execute U.S. and British prisoners of war in 1991, despite direct orders by Qusay Hussein, Saddam's son. That move led to his dismissal from the military in February 1991, though -- thank God -- not to his own execution.

Just as moving were the stories Sada shared about what God is doing in Iraq today. Such stories are rarely told in the American press, though the Washington Times, to their credit, covered Sada's visit, and ran an excellent front-page story this morning.

The Kurds in the north of Iraq, for example, are especially receptive to the gospel message and are converting to Christianity "by the hundreds," Sada reported. One evangelical church recently started in Kurdistan now has more than 800 people worshipping there every week, most of whom are new converts from Islam. Sada told me that some 5,000 Iraqis have publicly identified themselves as new followers of Christ since Iraq was liberated, and that an estimated eight out of ten Iraqi believers say they converted because Jesus appeared to them in dreams or visions.

In a new and very positive development, Nechirvan Barzani, the prime minister of Kurdistan Regional Government in Irbil, has vowed to protect the ancient Assyrian Christian community there as well as new believers from persecution and violence. Sada and Dr. Terry Law, president of World Compassion, a Christian relief organization based in Oklahoma, met with Barzani last week. "I would rather see a Muslim become a Christian than a radical Muslim," Barzani told them, an absolutely remarkable statement by a Muslim leader in a land wracked by sectarian violence,

One of the things I found most inspiring was when Sada said that Saddam Hussein's throne room in his main palace in Baghdad had been turned into an evangelical church after the war. Once Saddam used that room to order thousands of people to be executed, but now the name of Jesus Christ -- the King of kings and the Lord of lords -- is praised there instead. Sada also said tens of thousands of Bibles were being printed in Iraq. Thousands more are being shipped into Iraq, and Christian programming is now available to Iraqis on satellite television.

Sada, a former air force fighter pilot who once served as a senior military advisor to Saddam Hussein, became the chief spokesman for Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi during the interim government, just after the war. Now he serves as a senior national security advisor to Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and has been helping redesign the new Iraqi military, along with his efforts to strengthen the Christian church in Iraq. His recent best-selling book, Saddam's Secrets: How an Iraqi General Defied and Survived Saddam Hussein, is an absolutely fascinating description of how Sada became a follower of Christ, rose through the ranks of the Iraqi Air Force, ended up working so closely with Saddam, and now works for peace and reconciliation in the name of Jesus.

Sada concluded the evening with a heart-felt message of thanks to the American people for liberating his country and said all peace-loving people should "kneel down and thank the [American] mothers and fathers who have sacrificed their sons and daughters for the sake of freedom in Iraq." He asked for patience as Iraq's fledgling democracy builds a foundation and finds its way. But he also said there is far more good news in Iraq today than is being reported by the national news media.

Why is he taking such risks to share the good news? I asked him. "There is an Arab proverb which says, 'Don't be a mute Satan,'" he told me. "If you know the truth, you have an obligation to tell everyone."

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and the Washington Times article (Copyright to them):
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'Good news' from northern Iraq
By Julia Duin
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Published May 23, 2006

Retired Iraqi Gen. Georges Sada, a former fighter pilot-turned-Christian evangelist, says Kurds are converting to Christianity "by the hundreds" in northern Iraq.
Gen. Sada earlier reported that he had been told that Iraqi pilots, flying private planes, took weapons of mass destruction to undisclosed locations in Syria in 2002.

The "good news" from Iraq's turbulent religious scene, consisting mainly of Sunni and Shi'ite Muslim militias battling each other, is from the Kurds, he said. Kurds are creating a constitution that does away with Shariah, or Islamic law, a move counter to trends in other Muslim countries such as Afghanistan and Iran, where leaving Islam is a capital offense and Christian converts are often killed.
"No Christians in the Kurdish territory are persecuted," he said yesterday in an interview.

Gen. Sada, 66, who lives in Baghdad, cited growing numbers of evangelical Christians in the Kurdish city of Irbil and a recent church conference of 854 Christians at the city's Salahaddin University as demonstrations of the Kurds' willingness to protect religious freedom.
He added that Nechervan Idris Barzani, prime minister of the Kurdish regional government in Irbil and nephew of former Iraqi Governing Council President Massoud Barzani, was extremely positive about evangelical Christians' efforts among Iraq's 4 million Kurds.

"He told me he'd rather see a Muslim become a Christian rather than a radical Muslim," the general said.
He spoke last night at McLean Bible Church, Northern Virginia's largest congregation, about his new vocation as director of the Iraqi Institute for Peace and president of the National Presbyterian Church in Baghdad.

"My foundation for peace is Christianity," said Gen. Sada, who was born an Assyrian Christian. "We must learn to love. Muslims will say they've got love and forgiveness, but I want to emphasize what Jesus Christ has said."
Gen. Sada has his work cut out for him. Outside the Kurdish areas, "Christians are in a very tough situation," he said. "Their children are kidnapped, and their money is taken by terrorists."

A fighter pilot like his father, Hormis Sada, Gen. Sada rose quickly in the Iraqi military in the 1960s and 1970s and was made a general in 1980. During the 1991 Persian Gulf War, he was responsible for interrogating U.S. and allied pilots shot down over Iraq.
The foreword to his recent book, "Saddam's Secrets," is written by retired Air Force Col. David Eberly, whose plane was shot down Jan. 19, 1991. Col. Eberly evaded capture for three days before he was found and taken to Baghdad.

"Suddenly I found myself in the presence of a man who, despite the power he had over me, still seemed to respect my human dignity," Col. Eberly wrote of Gen. Sada.
When Saddam Hussein's younger son, Qusay, demanded that the 24 pilots in Gen. Sada's custody be killed, the general refused. He was imprisoned for a week, released, then discharged from the military on Feb. 5, 1991. But he kept his extensive military contacts, who told him of Saddam using private planes to fly weapons of mass destruction to Syria in 2002.

But it was not until April 2004, when Jordanian intelligence reported foiling an al Qaeda plot to unleash 17.5 tons of explosives, including sarin nerve gas, in downtown Amman, that he decided to go public with what he knew.
"I thought, 'Wait a minute,' " he recalls. "The weapons must have fallen into the hands of terrorists." About the same time, he encountered Terry Law, the Tulsa, Okla., founder of World Compassion, a Christian aid group, who put him in touch with a book publisher.

"God had brought this together," the general said, "and I prayed about this and decided to go ahead. But this decision was not easy, as there's a vacuum of security in Iraq."
A week after the general's book came out in January, he was summoned by Rep. Peter Hoekstra, Michigan Republican and chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, to talk about weapons of mass destruction under Saddam. No one knows where they are in Syria, the general said, because the men who flew the lethal weapons into Syria aren't talking.

"It's not easy for pilots to say, 'Yes, I transported weapons of mass destruction,' " he said.