One

Mary J. Blige & U2

One

Yeah, I know I've posted about this song before, but I like it a lot!

Don't drink and paint

*sigh* Sometimes i never learn... for the past couple of weeks, I haven't had much time to work on DubaiChild's painting. I've just not been home too much. So much for trying to finish it before she heads back to the Middle East. So old man, no more shenanigans until the next visit, eh?

Anyway, you can't tell so much from the reduced size picture, but I've obviously fucked it up... now it'll take a whole lot longer with the repairs required. In an apparent intoxicated state, I felt that some angles were wrong and proceeded to correct it. Now the colours are all wrong and some angles are worse... At least it's an oil painting, so I can always explain away the added thickness as I paint over the mistakes...

Mental note to self... stay away from the painting after coming home from the bar.

Character class

Lately I've been reading quite a few books from the Wizards of the Coast's Forgotten Realms, particularly the Legend of Drizzt series by R.A. Salvatore. Enough to get a note pointing me to this site which determines what fantasy D&D character you are. Now, I gotta admit that like many other things, this is likely just a passing interest and usually will fade from my attention eventually. For now though, I'm hooked on these stories and this world or realm as they put it.

Curiosity being another trait of mine, I took the test. I like the character class I've turned out to be... problem is... so? Now what? *sigh*

Anyway...

I Am A:
Neutral Good Elf Ranger Druid

Alignment:
Neutral Good characters believe in the power of good above all else. They will work to make the world a better place, and will do whatever is necessary to bring that about, whether it goes for or against whatever is considered 'normal'.

Race:
Elves are the eldest of all races, although they are generally a bit smaller than humans. They are generally well-cultured, artistic, easy-going, and because of their long lives, unconcerned with day-to-day activities that other races frequently concern themselves with. Elves are, effectively, immortal, although they can be killed. After a thousand years or so, they simply pass on to the next plane of existance.

Primary Class:
Rangers are the defenders of nature and the elements. They are in tune with the Earth, and work to keep it safe and healthy.

Secondary Class:
Druids are a special variety of Cleric who serves the Earth, and can call upon the power in the earth to accomplish their goals. They tend to be somewhat fanatical about defending natural settings.

Deity:
Mielikki is the Neutral Good goddess of the forest and autumn. She is also known as the Lady of the Forest, and is the Patron of Rangers. Her followers are devoted to nature, and believe in the positive and outreaching elements of it. They use light armor, and a variety of weapons suitable for hunting, which they are quite skilled at.
Mielikki's symbol is a unicorn head.

Find out What D&D Character Are You?, courtesy ofNeppyMan (e-mail)

In 3D

Babies... Although I’ve got many close friends who have become parents and that I love playing with children, it’s a subject area I tend to stay away from cos of the many conflicting emotions this brings up. Mish would interject here and say that I’m finding excuses again and rather run away instead of facing up to reality… *phhbbtt*

Anyway, recently one of my long-time friend showed me a scan of her baby in the womb during the 28th week of her pregnancy. I was absolutely amazed! I’ve heard about these scans before, but I had absolutely no idea… not that I’m surprised about the advances in medical technology ya… just pleasantly amazed. It was an oh-wow moment. So, meet baby Deng… expected to make an appearance sometime around the 1st week of June…



Hey SC, the last day of the 1st week of June is a really special day. Really cool people were born on this day ya. ;-) But, regardless of the exact day, it's comnig at a great time.. cos this baby will be a Gemini boy… and we all know what great people Geminis are, rite? *hehehehe*

Breathe Me

Came across this last nite... I like it a lot.

Breathe Me - Sia

Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me...

Seems like I've been hitting the movie scene pretty frequently recently. One of my favourite movies from a couple of years back was Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. That was when I first came to be aware of Keira Knightley... and how cool was Capt. Jack Sparrow? Witty and sarcastic, just how I like it.

Well last night, I caught the trailer for the upcoming Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest and I loved it! There's a snippet of conversation between Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) and Elizabeth (Keira Knightley) which had me sniggering away. Another movie I can't wait for...

Elizabeth: There will come a moment when you'd have the chance to do the right thing.
Jack: I love those moments... I like to wave at them as they pass by.

It's not due out until July, but looks like the hype machine for this summer's movies is in full stride... with the World Cup 2006 in Germany also coming up, I don't blame them. Meanwhile, check out the trailer at my sidebar or here.

Dive safety

When I took up scuba diving years ago, I guess I was fortunate that I picked it up with a group of senior and well experienced divers. It was also fortunate that they were a non-commercial, non-profit organisation. In fact, the Malayan Sub-Aqua Club (MSAC) is proud of their charter to train and actively promote diving safely. Safety was drummed into us constantly from day one. Skills training was not accelerated nor was there ever an option to fast track. Buddy diving was not simply partnering someone underwater, it was about being consciously aware of your buddy and mutually supporting as well as encouraging dive safety on the surface and underwater. I am grateful for this basic foundation as it ingrained itself as part of my subconscious diving skill over the years. Many divers these days are far too engrossed in their surroundings that they neglect to pay attention to their buddy.

Unfortunately a majority of the diving community seems to treat dive safety too lightly in my mind. It is very common for a new diver to be certified as an open-water certified diver as well as an advanced open-water diver within the same dive trip. Simply put, a new diver can be certified as an advanced open-water diver with barely 10 dives under their belt. This was discouraged within the dive community I started with. We were always encouraged to build up confidence and dive experience before moving up to the next level. Unfortunately this doesn’t seem to be the case in many other dive outfits and this results in divers not paying enough attention to dive safety.

The PADI Open Water course can be completed in three days. The notion that divers should be certified who are unwilling to make even that minimal commitment to learning to safely use underwater life support equipment is grossly irresponsible. - CDNN: Unsafe at any Depth: PADI Scuba Diver

Just this week, a group of divers from my organization returned from Sipadan. They weren’t exclaiming about the beauty of the corals or the many large and small sea-life found there. They saw all the wrong things there. They came across a dive gone horribly wrong. Fortunately, it was not part of their group. They did however discover a young diver that had apparently gotten lost from his group and had drowned. It’s always sad to hear of these dive accidents and you can’t help but wonder if it could have been prevented.

Accident reports provide evidence that undertrained and inexperienced divers who panic can suddenly become accident statistics at any depth despite the supervision of a dive professional. - CDNN: Unsafe at any Depth: PADI Scuba Diver

Now, I’m not pointing fingers nor am I accusing anyone, but I am stating the point that divers these days, take dive safety too lightly. I believe the main issue is with the collective peer pressure and rush to experience and see all these wondrous beauty that everyone seems to be hyping up. It’s your own life and safety, pay attention!

In fact, how many divers who eventually read this have an active DAN dive insurance?

Divers Alert Network (DAN)

• DAN South East Asia Pacific

To those of you who are thinking about getting into diving, if you do NOT
have enough time to learn to safely use underwater life support equipment,
FORGET ABOUT DIVING. - CDNN