Expansionary fiscal policy

A couple of weeks ago I read an article on malaysiakini stating that Badawi planned to cancel some government projects in light of the global economic slowdown. If that was not bad enough, I just read an article on msn news today regarding Anwar's proposed budget which also suggests slashing major government projects.

To all those who have some background in economics-
Isn't the government supposed to increase government spending in an economic slowdown?
Or are the billion dollar bailouts proposed by the Fed, EU central bank, RBA and numerous others in their respective countries all wrong? Yea, that must be it, all those developed nations are wrong, Malaysia's right!

Shisha

Shisha is also known as Hookah. I got this from Wikipedia. The link to the full webpage is here.

HEALTH RISKS

Numerous studies have shown that extended use of hookah over many sessions can be as detrimental to a person's health as smoking cigarettes. ^[15][16][17]. Each hookah session typically lasts from 20 - 80 minutes and consists of 50 - 200 puffs which range from 0.15 - 1 litre per puff ^[18]. This exposes the hookah smoker to considerably more smoke over a longer time period compared with a cigarette which ranges from 0.5 - 0.6 liters per cigarette^[19].

While the water absorbs some of the nicotine in the tobacco smoke, the smoker can be exposed to enough nicotine to cause addiction ^{[20] [21]}. Furthermore, the water moisture induced by the hookah makes the smoke less irritating and may give a false sense of security and reduce concerns about true health effects ^[22].

Other research shows that a 45 minute session of hookah tobacco smoking (tobacco molasses) delivers slightly more tar and carbon monoxide (around 5-10%) than a pack of cigarettes.^[23] This study has, however, come under criticism for using unrealistically high temperatures for the tobacco (600-650 degrees C) and using arbitrary figures for tar filtration rates.^{[citation needed]} This could possibly have skewed results, as the carcinogenic and toxin levels of smoke increases dramatically with temperature (Wynder 1958). Common practice is to keep temperatures to degrees which do not "char" the hookah; that is within a temperature range of 100-150 C. (Chaouachi K: Patologie associate all'uso del narghile). The effects of these lower temperatures on tar are inconclusive, though Chaouachi indicates the tar would be less harmful.

Some hookah tobaccos claim to contain 0.0% Tar, but this is misleading because tar is made when tobacco burns. However, when smoking a hookah the tobacco is heated rather than burned. More research is needed to determine the exact amount of tar produced in a session before the burning of the tobacco.

The level of impact on a smoker's health is linked to the set-up and components of the hookah as well. A hookah only utilizing the basic components listed above is believe to have much harsher health consequences than one set-up properly and with various safety devices installed: Since the tobacco in a hookah is roasted as opposed to burned, the density and temperature of the tobacco is paramount to ensure a safer quality of smoke^{[citation needed]}. Distancing somewhat the coal from the tobacco and placing a perforated thermal cover (not to be confused with a wind cover) over the bowl will reduce tar output. Using a Heba diffuser around the down stem in the water basin may provide a slightly greater amount of filtration, however a properly conducted study is needed to validate these claims. The use of a nicotine filter at some stage of the smoke cycle, preferably in the hose, may reduce health risks, but once again a properly conducted study is needed to validate these claims.

Hookahs can also be smoked with tobacco-free flavours. These contain Sugar Cane Bagasse with no tobacco, nicotine or tar. This new method of smoking is aimed at replacing tobacco and eliminates its negative health effects. There have been few studies to show the impact of smoking herbal flavours in Shisha pipes.^{[citation needed][24]}

Many articles^[25] suggest that there is a "huge bulk of evidence" to determine the effects of hookah smoking. Research is under way by Fogarty International Centre-funded Syrian Centre for Tobacco Studies, Egyptian Smoking Prevention Research Institute, Research for International Tobacco Control-funded Tobacco Prevention and Control Research Group at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon.

As the above mentioned are all US-sponsored and financed institutions, it would be good for balance to also mention the existence of other peer-reviewed ground-breaking research led in other parts of the world, namely Europe and Asia ^[26]. Most recently, the first aetiological study on Hookah Smoking and Cancer^[27] ever carried out was published in the Harm Reduction Journal.

As with all other tobacco and smoke products, using hookahs with open canker sores or wounds in the mouth can greatly increase the chances of gum infection, gingivitis, or in rare cases, gum cancer.

How to make cool character symbols

I take no credit for this picture.

Curta Calculator

A mechanical calculator.



taken from here.

The Real Life Iron Man Suit

Beijing 08

Here's a link to a website with just a collection of photos from the Olympics. Some of the pics are just awesome.

Olympics Pics

There's a boob slip and ass crack too.

A List of Misconceptions

As always, wikipedia doesn't fail to provide:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_misconceptions

Cats

Here's another comic from xkcd.com



On another note, I was hoping to get a Dark Knight poster from the Uni poster fair this time round, but there were none that were nice. I wish they had one that looked like this:



That's just awesome.

Why so serious?

Today's programme was brought to you by the letter...

Credit for this comic goes to the little signature on it.

Monkeysphere

I read this article online sometime ago. It's interesting. If you have the time.

What is the Monkeysphere?


On another note, of all the things you can find on the internet:

JAPANESE BUG FIGHTS!

SHIFT - where rain falls up and people grow down

Why? Because the brain is an evil evil thing and requires occasional punishment.

:)



Presenting SHIFT - not your average puzzle platformer.





You'll find yourself saying the game's name over and over again...





... except without the letter 'F'.


Enjoy!



As always, good things come in threes:
If you're still alive and require more Portal-like humour, there's always SHIFT 2 and SHIFT 3. All links are available under the 'Boredom Cures' column on the left.
THE TIMER IS A LIE!

Asian Drum Solo

Awl dis for onlee ter-tee fi doll-ar!

I don't need subtitles

I don't blame him

Powerthirst!

Possibly to most random video on Earth.

I have a feeling that more guys will find the video funny than girls.



Check out Powerthirst 2 if you want more.

Why didn't anyone tell me about this?

I was reading an article about the top 10 best PlayStation ads in history. And guess who made 8th place? An ad from Malaysia.

If I had known about this I would have just been standing there and poking it for hours. Whee :)

*need more bubble wrap, Om nom nom nom*

Quotes

Here are some of the better quotes from :
http://www.stargazersrealm.com/MAIN/funnies/wordstoliveby.html

If you must choose between two evils, pick the one you've never tried before.

The statistics on sanity are that one out of every four people is suffering from some sort of mental illness. Think of your three best friends -- if they're okay, then it's you.

Just remember........if the world didn't suck, we'd all fall off.

The 50-50-90 rule: Anytime you have a 50-50 chance of getting something right, there's a 90% probability you'll get it wrong.

Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.

If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.

Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.

Always remember you're unique. Just like everyone else.

Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than going to a garage makes you a mechanic.

A day without sunshine is like.................well, night.

Those who live by the sword..........get shot by those who don't.

Also:

This helped when trying to figure out the sizes of apartments.

Hope your screen's not too big

Perfectly viewed on a standard 13.3" laptop 1200*800 resolution.

Here

Techno

taken from one of internet's best comics: xkcd.com

Imaginary Friend

got this off www.myconfinedspace.com

more here

Movies you must watch before you die

This post has been shifted here so as to speed up loading time of the blog

Hapland

I'm in Melbourne.

Hapland


Hapland 2


Hapland 3


If you are having trouble loading the game, try getting them from here.

Smiley Faces

probably taken from myconfinedspace