I was reading the forums just now, and argh... somone wanted to know how to determine the concentration of a solution without using titration. And another guy came along and suggested the use of uranyl zinc acetate to precipitate out the sodium ions. This farfetched idea was cool... But because it is almost impossible to obtain this in a high school lab, the idea itself totally cracked me up.

It was the first day of school. Microbiology was not bad. Eugene and I managed to get quite a nice slide of Staphylococcus aureus. Normal crystal violet stain. One of the better slides I have prepared so far. The last time I tried to Gram stain in SJI... not too successful though. Probably due to contamination.

And German class was not bad, even though I was quite tired. Maverick made me laugh uncontrollably! We were picking German names. He's Ludwig! And I'm Wolfgang! Ludwig meets Wolfgang. Where music clashes...

I have no idea why Maverick and Jonathan find Wolfgang so funny... Maybe it's the "gang" part? I had that German feeling when I spoke. And I was laughing. It's contagious. The class was also laughing.

So tomorrow's physical chemistry and inorganic chemistry. Great... Thermodynamics, equilibria, rate equations... I am going to know you inside out! And yes, it's back to the basics of sharp, principal, diffuse, fundamental! Pauli exclusion principle! Wolfgang Pauli! Woo! I'm speaking Wolfgang and German again!

Approximately ten excuses for not doing homework:
I accidentally divided by zero and my paper burst into flames.
I could only get arbitrarily close to my textbook. I couldn't actually reach it.
I have the proof, but there isn't room to write it in this margin.
I was watching the World Series and got tied up trying to prove that it converged.
I have a solar powered calculator and it was cloudy.
I locked the paper in my trunk but a four-dimensional dog got in and ate it.
I couldn't figure out whether I am the square of negative one or I am the square root of negative one.
I took time out to snack on a doughnut and a cup of coffee, and then I spent the rest of the night trying to figure which one to dunk.
I could have sworn I put the homework inside a Klein bottle, but this morning I couldn't find it.

Here's another joke:

Get it?

SCL Orientation '08

I made myself busy at the SCL Orientation 2008 for the past three days.

It's a long way to NYP... It's a long way, to go... I take about 1.5 hours to commute between home and school. It's just a bit longer, compared to SJI. So no grumbles.

No amazing anecdotes from the orientation. But I think my class MB0802 is not bad. And our OGLs, Shang Feng and Aida were very (tending to infinity) friendly.

Last night, a few of us had a mass conversation on MSN that quite rocked. Edwin got nailed by many of us... Haha... I haven't had such a good laugh on MSN for quite some time already. And for that I have to thank my classmates and OGLs.

I am still waiting for the photographs we took outside the library!

Resistant to Base

I actually have tonnes of stuff to talk about. But anyway I will just feature this wonderful video--a parody of "Addicted to Love".



Ain't it lovely? Musically speaking, it may not be the nicest song. However, don't forget it is a parody! My point is that it is creative. "Your stirring bar is dissolving"--haha!

Oh, and recently, I got to know Maverick. Same course, same polytechnic. Alright!

JI Terrorist Escapes from Detention Centre

Singapore's most wanted JI militant leader Mas Selamat Kastari escaped from Whitley Road Detention Centre yesterday. It has been about a day, and we still have not apprehended him. We deployed the police, the Gurkhas in a massive manhunt, and we still have not caught him.

Oh, and I won't put a picture of him here. My blog doesn't like it.

So as The Straits Times put it, "Security at detention centre is 'very tight'." Yes, I am sure it is very secure. Seems to me like Singapore detention centre is only built for Singaporean detainees. In the first place, why put terrorists in a detainment centre? They deserve to be in a prison with better security. You hope you can change their ways but I'll tell you, it is hard. It is their way of life. And in this case, it backfired. A leopard never change its spots. I see a possible reform in every prisoner but a terrorist. Moreover, Mas Selamat is such a hardcore terrorist.

I heard he escaped during a toilet break (he requested)? Question is, how? How did he even manage to get out of the compound?

Mas Selamat managed to flee from Singapore in December 2001. He was eventually deported to Singapore in February 2006 after serving time in two Indonesian jails for immigration offences. And we let him escape? What kind of "tight security" is this? Some might probably compare this one security breach in Singapore to many breaches in the UK. But hey, this is Singapore. We are smaller? We are safe? And he escaped successfully? Do I have the right to be embarrassed about this? I think so.

Yes, don't be alarmed. He is unarmed. So what? I am not at peace, knowing that a terrorist (JI, Singapore operations) is at large in my country.

Here is a surveillance tape from a JI terrorist in Singapore:


He planned to attack our Yishun MRT Station. And he planned to hijack an aircraft and crash it into Changi Airport. He is still determined to do so. We only have one Changi Airport, one public airport, and we cannot risk it.

Before I forget, have the police searched for possible tunnels present in the cemetery? Who knows, he might be hiding there. And have they searched the basement of the houses in that area? He could be hiding with his fellow secret extremists. Come on, look at this determined Mas Selamat. He probably had a backup plan when he escaped from the detention centre. He probably knows who to meet, who to link up with. He could possibly flee from Singapore (again) within a short period of time! If you think that Singapore is clean and free from extremists, think again.

Would someone just put them in Guantanamo, their home?

I really hope that the Gurkhas and the police can find and capture him in due time. As Dr. Gunaratna said, "every Singaporean must be alert and make a concerted effort to indentify him before he leaves Singapore." Amen.

Further readings:
http://news.sg.msn.com/regional/article.aspx?cp-documentid=1266164

Mercury in Our Diet

If you eat salmon, king mackerel, shark, swordfish, or tilefish, you are probably putting this into your system as well:

Methylmercury. It's the soluble form. You really don't want to mess with it. It can accumulate in fatty tissues and the mercury can even reach your brain as it has an affinity for sulphur and could irreversibly bind to the thiol groups found in enzyme systems. Not to mention that it could also bind to sulphur containing proteins and denature them. In severe cases, a hapten may form and trigger an immune response.

Google "mercury poisoning" and you will know what a beast mercury can really be. I don't want to exaggerate the magnitude of this matter, but it is 2008, and I think we are all well aware that our environment is more polluted and males' sperm count and motility are decreasing. Point being- Mercury in our environment could be a bigger problem in the future. Awareness would help.

Yes I know, salmon is too delicious. Too bad the salmon is a big fish. And just like the shark, the bioaccumulative mercury they recieve at the end of the food chain is tremendous. due to the exponential accumulation of mercury down the food chain. And if we eat the big fishes... And considering that we are right at the end of the food chain... Doomed?

You don't have to forgo eating oily fish. In fact, you shouldn't. Eat herring and sardines. They are smaller fish and are considered low-mercury fish. Don't like the Clupeidae family? Then, refer to this list: http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~frf/sea-mehg.html

Besides, most farmed fish are considered safe. On the other hand, PCBs might be another issue.

http://www.ewg.org/reports/farmedPCBs/

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/01/040109072244.htm

"Chinese herbal drugs with measurable amounts of mercury include: Chinese herbal ball preparations containing both mercury and arsenic include:
An Gong Niu Huang Wan
Da Huo Luo Wan
Dendrobium Moniliforme Night Sight pills
Niu Huang Chiang Ya Wan
Niu Huang Chiang Hsin Wan
Ta Huo Lo Tan
Tsai Tsao Wan"

- CPCS

Forget these herbal drugs. They will do more harm than good.

EDTA and DMSA are chelators used in mercury poisoning. Alpha lipoic acid also proved its usefulness as a chelator. It crosses the BBB. It is a cyclic disulphide. And mercury just loves sulphur too much. Instead of binding to the sulphur in our body, the mercury could bind to ALA instead and be eliminated from the body, thus "reversing" the state of mercury poisoning.

EDTA and DMSA coordinating the mercury atom, illustrated here using Chemsketch:

ALA might not be a good idea for chelation. I have read about controversies that ALA could remobilize mercury to the nervous system, which is much worse. Of course, ALA advocates say that proper timely usage of ALA (every 3 hours) will ensure that the mercury is eliminated and not moved somewhere else in the body.

Just watch what you eat and you should be safe. And don't play with mercury. I know it's nice--that mirror-reflective, silvery liquid. And what more can I say? Even Qin Shi Huang thought it could give him eternal life!

Mercury can spontaneously vaporize. It may have a low vapour pressure of 0.0017 torr at 25°C, but it could be way over the exposure limits, especially if ventilation is poor.

Doing this should not harm you much. But then again, why expose yourself to mercury when you have a choice? Out of curiosity? First hand experience? Well, I will leave it for you to decide. Anyway, the video demonstrates the cohesive nature of mercury.

Don't love mercury too much!