Book Review: Monday Mourning by Kathy Reichs

Kathy Reichs is a forensic anthropologist and all her forensic thrillers feature Dr Tempe Brennan, also a forensic anthropologist.

Morning Mourning is the seventh forensic thrillers by Kathy Reichs. It is based on her working experience as forensic anthropologist.

I have read a few books by Kathy Reichs. Personally I feel that Morning Mourning is not as good as the other books.

Morning Mourning has too many unnecessary details about private life of Dr Tempe Brennan. The visit of her friend, Annie, actually serves no purpose in this book. It does not contribute to the main plot.

The conflict between Dr Tempe Brennan and Homicide Detective Luc Claudel is over-emphasized. It’s best to reduce a few paragraphs talking about how much Dr Tempe Brennan dislikes Homicide Detective Luc Claudel. Since that dislike does not contribute to the overall theme too.

The plot is rather simple. A man kidnapped teenage girls, and held them as sex slave for a number of years. Some girls died soon after. Other girls grew up in captivity and subjected to a few years of horrible treatments.

One girl eventually took over as the mastermind and directed the kidnapping and torturing of other victims.

The exciting part of the Monday Mourning is the second half of the book. The Stockholm syndrome is the key theme of this book.

The Stockholm syndrome refers to the fondness and likings that victims have for their captors. The origin of Stockholm syndrome comes from an incident in 1973. Two ex-cons robbed the bank in Stockholm, Sweden. They held captives. The hostages developed a liking to the bank robbers. They believed that the bank robbers were protecting them from the police.

Kathy Reichs lists out the development of the kidnapping and captivity process, in order for the victims to exhibit the Stockholm syndrome.

Abduction and isolation.
Use of physical and/or sexual abuse
Removal of normal daylight patterns
No privacy
Control and reduction of food and water
Imposition of unpredictable punishment
Requirement of permission
Lasting pattern of sexual and physical abuse
continued isolation
Threats of harm to family and friends
Threats of transfer to worse captors
Give victims some freedom and privilege
Unexpected appearance

The recent appearance of Jaycee Lee Dugard is another reminder of the Stockholm syndrome. Jaycee Lee Dugard had been in captivity for eighteen years, and had two children fathered by her captor. It is hard to imagine that Jaycee Lee Dugard did not have any feeling for her captor.

All forensic thrillers by Kathy Reichs are based on real life examples, including Monday Mourning. This is the most scary part of reading a forensic thriller.

Jaycee Lee Dugard and Monday Mourning by Kathy Reichs

I just finished reading Monday Mourning by Kathy Reichs when I read the news about Jaycee Lee Dugard. There are a lot of similarities between fiction and truth.

Monday Mourning by Kathy Reichs is about kidnapping of young teenage girls. The bones of three young teenage girls were found. They were kidnapped at a young age, and subjected to torture for a few years before their death.

When I read Monday Mourning by Kathy Reichs, I thought that was the most boring book in the series featuring Dr Tempe Brennan. Kathy Reichs added in a lot of unnecessary details about the private life of Dr Tempe Brennan.

The thriller was also very slow moving at first. It was only towards the end when Dr Tempe Brennan discovered that one of the kidnapped teenagers became the torturer, then the story became very exciting and scary. This teenager turned from victim to mastermind, and aided in torturing other young teenage girls.

Jaycee Lee Dugard was also kidnapped at a young age, at age 11. She was kidnapped by Garrido. She was held in captivity for eighteen years, and had two young children.

I can’t imagine the kind of horror she been through. She must be terrified and lived in hopelessness in captivity. I wonder how many times she tried to run away and failed.

Even though she could have sent a message to the neighbor and requested for help, she didn’t. Probably she was too terrified to do so. Probably she started to love the man who kidnapped her.

And with two young children to think of, Jaycee Lee Dugard couldn’t afford to take risk. Jaycee Lee Dugard probably started to accept her fate, and lost the fighting spirit.

I can’t imagine the horror that her family been through.

When Jaycee Lee Dugard was kidnapped at the age of 11, people suspected her stepfather, Carl Probyn. I can’t imagine how Carl Probyn managed to live through the eighteen years, when people kept treating him like a murderer. It’s great that he was cleared after eighteen years.

Even though Garrido kept saying that he had turned over a new leaf, and had turned religious, I hope he got his punishment. He should not live to a ripe old age, and die peacefully. Garrido had destroyed the life of Jaycee Lee Dugard and her family. He hurt the mother of Jaycee Lee Dugard deeply and destroyed her marriage.

There are many “if only” in this Jaycee Lee Dugard’s kidnapping story. If only the neighbor was nosy enough to call the police and questioned about the children in the backyard. If only the parole officer of Garrido was alert enough to the prison in the backyard. If only Jaycee Lee Dugard took action to alert the neighbors and tried to run away more often. If only Nancy Garrido, the wife of the Garrido, had a brain of her own.

If this kidnapping happens in Singapore, both Garrido and his wife will get the death sentence. Hope God punishes them adequately to compensate for the mental torture of Jaycee Lee Dugard’s family. Garrido and his wife deserve death penalty.

If this kidnapping happens in some other places, Garrido and his wife will probably be burnt to death by the angry villagers. That will be a fitting punishment for eighteen years of misery to Jaycee Lee Dugard and her mother and stepfather. Her mother had spent the anniversary of the kidnapping crying at home for so many years. Nobody can understand the pain of a mother, not knowing whether Jaycee Lee Dugard is alive or dead.

Fortunately Jaycee Lee Dugard is still slive and in relatively good health. The victims in Morning Mourning by Kathy Reichs were not.

Love Has No Fear

Many people want to know “what is love.” However, it is very hard to define love. It is easier to show love and to see love in action. Apostle John explains very nicely about one strong characteristic of love in the Bible at 1 John 4:18 (New International Version)

“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”

Perfect love is stronger than any fear.

There was once a true story about a cat risking her life to rescue her kittens from the roaring fire. This story touched the hearts of many people. It shows that even animal can possess the perfect love that drives out fear.

Human beings and animals fear fire, yet the strong love of a mother can overcome the any fear of fire. Perfect love, strong love, can bring out qualities that you do not even know you have it. Perfect love makes a person courageous, and drives out any insecurity and fear.

Perfect love requires the willingness to sacrifice. When a person or an animal rush into the burning house to rescue anyone, it is out of love, out of willingness to sacrifice his or her life to save another life.

The willingness to sacrifice is reflected by many fire-fighters worldwide. They have love for many persons unknown to them. The ones who fear fire and who are not willing to make sacrifice will not last long in the job.

Love is not free received and not freely given. Love requires commitment and sacrifice. Love for our dear ones requires that we fear not the fire or any other dangers. Love needs time to grow. Love needs the commitment and sacrifice of both parties to grow. Love can die off when there is not enough time, commitment and sacrifice.

The love that God has for us is not freely given and God does expect us to return his love. God shows his love by sacrificing his only begotten son.

God requires that we serve him only and do what is right. God requires that his worshipers be willing to sacrifice their time, effort and even their lives to serve him. Through the Bible, He teaches us to love, to be successful in all aspects of our lives accordingly to His standard.

A person who loves with whole heart, whole soul, whole mind and whole spirit do not fear any trial, tribulation or persecution.

No matter love comes in the form of maternal love, paternal love, romantic love, godly love or any other form, perfect love does drive out fear.

Most people do not know the meaning of life. They do manage to find the meaning of love in their daily activities. They show love for their spouse, parents, children, pets, flowers, nature, work, and others.

The degree of love is different. Not many people will have perfect love for their favorite painting. When a house is on fire, they will not rush into the house to save the painting. Most people have strong love, perfect love for their children. This kind of perfect love for their children drives out all fears.

How to deal with office gossips

Office gossips is a norm in corporate world. Most of the gossips are harmless. There is no harm to gossip about the person who loves coffee very much. There is no harm to gossip about the colleague who nearly slips in the toilet.

However, harmful gossips can create a lot of distress.

If your boss is the source of the harmful gossips, you may feel hurt, because he betrays your confidence.

Before you plan on a confrontation with your boss, please think about the intention of your boss. Is your boss a very talkative person who wishes no harm to anyone? Is the gossip going to ruin your career in any way? Is the gossip just a harmless conversation or malicious falsehood?

It probably does not matter if your boss tells the whole organization you are pregnant. Your colleagues are as happy for you as your employer had.

It does matter when your boss expresses a lack of confidence in your ability to perform up to expectation.

Do ask yourself: Have you in any way disrupt the department or project? Does your employer have any reason to demonstrate lack of confidence in your ability?

It is very awkward to put a formal complaint to the Human Resources Department, to find that your boss has valid reasons to mistrust your ability. The entire organization will side with your boss, even if the HR Manager forces him to issue a written apology to you.

If the gossip is nasty and false, you can discuss with the Human Resources Department about the best way to deal with the harmful gossip.

The HR Manager can talk to the manager of your supervisor about your concern. The HR Manager can transfer you to other department (if necessary).

Do show respect for the professionalism of the HR department, and the organization's policy. When the HR department sets up meeting to solve the problem, please act professionally. Do not create a personal attack on your boss.

Instead of saying, “you should not” to your boss, you should address the malicious gossip. You can start by saying that “this gossip about my coming late every morning is not true”.

If you know that your boss is the worst gossiper on Earth, you can stop your secret from leaking out.

Just seal your mouth and do not reveal any personal experience. When he does not know, he cannot gossip. Do not talk to any colleague who is very close to your boss. Do not share your secret with anyone who tends to spread gossip.

If you are always doing something wrong at work, you are hurting your reputation. Even without a gossiping boss, everyone will know about your mistakes. The customers will complain. The suppliers will complain. The IT department in charge of printing out the report will see many mistakes you have made.

The best defense against harmful gossips is to perform your job well. People do appreciate good employees. When they are chatting with each other at lunch, they will compare the working attitude of their colleagues.

You cannot run away from gossips. You can only ensure that your boss and colleagues have nothing bad against you. Do prove yourself as a exemplary employee.

Do not support your employer in spreading gossip about others. Since you hate the whole organization to know your secret, you should not break confidence and gossip about your colleagues with your boss.

You do not need to report the mistake of your colleague to your boss. When the mistake is a major mistake, the system will flag the mistake. When the mistake is a small mistake, you should not alert your boss. The entire organization will hate you for making a big issue out of a small mistake.

How to enjoy life part three

Introduction to how to enjoy life part three

You do not need high qualification or a lot of money to learn how to enjoy life. People who know how to enjoy life can enjoy life wherever they are, whenever they are.

How to enjoy life part three focus on how to enjoy life through reading. Reading is one of the cheapest hobby, if you make a habit to borrow books from the library.

You will learn that how to enjoy life through reading does not even need a lot of time. You can carry paperback with you wherever you go, so that you can catch a few minutes here and there in the quiet enjoyment of reading.

How to enjoy life part three has a few subheadings. How to enjoy life through reading in your busy life shares the tips of grabbing every minute in a day to read.

How to enjoy life through reading children’s books share the charm of fairy tales. How to enjoy life through reading tabletop books tells you how you can enjoy a lazy afternoon looking at places you may not have a chance to see. How to enjoy life through reading Bible shares the joy of reading Bible, the Holy Writings.

How to enjoy life reading paperback, fiction is the most common and most popular method of enjoying life. You will see many people enjoying a paperback on the public transports to work, and on the way home from work.

How to enjoy life through reading in your busy life

How to enjoy life through reading involves learning how to find time for reading. It is not as hard as you think. When you are in the queue to pay for things you want to buy in the supermarket, you can pull out your paperback and read. A few minutes are enough for you to finish four to five pages.

When you are in the public transport, you can read. Do make sure that the lighting is good, and that you do not feel dizzy reading.

How to enjoy life through reading requires you to carry a paperback everywhere you go. The best time to read is while you are waiting for the flight in the airport. You can really finish reading the whole book especially when there is a flight delay.

How to enjoy life through reading require you to find time to read to your young kids. Do make it a habit to read to them, and cultivate the joy of reading in them. Besides the daily bedtime reading, you can learn how to enjoy life through reading with your kids whenever you are out in the park.

Your kids do not need to play whole day, they can sit down and listen to your reading for a while. It is really cozy to sit under a shady tree, and read to your kids. You will appreciate the beauty of nature, and the quiet enjoyment of reading.

How to enjoy life through reading requires you to allocate an hour before bedtime for reading. You can enjoy a quiet hour, sit on your bed, with pillows supporting you, a cup of chamomile tea on the side table, and a book on your hand. That is the best enjoyment of the day. It is a fitting end to a busy day

How to enjoy life through reading children’s books

Do you remember how enjoyable it is to read fairy tales? Do you remember all the wonderful times when you see fairies behind every flowers, and witches in all the dark places?

If you have forgotten all the charms of fairy tales, it is time for you to learn how to enjoy life through reading children’s books.

Children’s books have a charm that adult fictions do not have. Children’s books describe life in a simple and beautiful way. You can learn how to enjoy life by reading children’s books and learn to see things from the viewpoints of children.

In the world of fairy tales, kind and good people are always beautiful. The witch is always wicked. Life is so simple, and things always end well. Good people always live happily forever and ever. Poor people who are kind always find treasure in the end. Cozy little hut in the mountain is always a home of love.

The best part of reading children’s books is to gain the ability to appreciate simple beauty in life.

When the stress of life weighs you down, you can learn how to enjoy life by reading the fairy tales. You need an hour of escape into the land of fairy tales every day. That is a world that anything can happen and every good thing does happen.

The fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen, the storybooks written by Enid Blyton, the dragons and fairy tales from Ancient China help the imagination of children to soar. They will help you to escape into a world that brings happiness and hope to you.

Do learn how to enjoy life by reading children’s books. You can print out the fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen, and other authors through the Internet, or you can read online.

How to enjoy life through reading tabletop books

You can learn how to enjoy life through reading and viewing the photos in the tabletop books. Many photos are not available elsewhere. Tabletop books featuring the deep ocean with many colorful photos of the corals can bring you into a world of sea creatures that you may never have a chance to see.

You can enjoy life while appreciating the beauty of the ocean in the comfort of your house.

You can learn how to enjoy life through reading tabletop books by spreading the full photos out on the table. You can learn how to enjoy life by sipping a cup of tea while you take in every detail in the photos.

You can learn how to enjoy life without spending a single cent on books by borrowing the tabletop books from the library. Tabletop books are expensive. Buy only when you love the scenery so much and you want to look at it for the rest of your life.

How to enjoy life through reading tabletop books requires you to search for tabletop books with unique themes, such as Chris Bonnington’s book on mountain. You may not have a chance to stand on top of Mount Everest. However, you can enjoy the scenery from the top by reading and viewing the tabletop books.

How to enjoy life through reading the Bible

Most people will not associate enjoyment of life with reading Bible. They think that Bible is read only in church, and they will not enjoy reading Bible at home.

The size of the Bible scares people off. However, you do not need to view Bible as a single book, you can view Bible as sixty-six little books.

When you read the Bible, you will find that people do not change. The people in ancient Israel feels the same emotions as you have. They feel the pain of losing loved ones. They feel the awesome of the starry heavens. They experienced different kind of love, as you have.

Do learn how to enjoy life through reading the Bible. You will find that you are not the only ones dreading the approaching old age. You will find that the ancient writers want you to enjoy life to the full. You will find that the world is still a beautiful place, and there are many lovely people despite wickedness.

It does not matter what your belief in God is. The Bible is a book worth reading. The Bible will bring comfort to you in times of need. The Bible will double your joy when you are at the top of the world.

You do not need to read the Bible from the first page to the last page. However, you need to have knowledge of the different timeline of Biblical events, and you need to know who lived before who. You can read a simple Bible storybook for children before you start to read the Bible.

You can choose to start at any little book of the Bible. Do note that the Bible is not arranged accordingly to chronological order. It is arranged according to subjects, historical, songs and psalms, prophecies, letters etc.

You can read a single book a few times. You do not need to rush to finish the book. If you feel that you have to finish the Bible within a year, that will kill any enjoyment of reading.

Do learn how to enjoy life through the reading of Bible.

How to enjoy life by reading fiction

Most of us love to read paperbacks, especially fiction. We love romance, mystery, thriller, fantasy and whatever fiction in paperback.

You can learn how to enjoy life through reading paperbacks. You will enter into a world that you may never experience. In mysteries, there are dead people, and the detectives sift through the evidences to nail the murderer. You know that this kind of experience is hardly welcome to anyone in reality, but it is so enjoyable in reading.

When you are reading romance, you know that the right guy always meet the right gal and they will enjoy life forever. Not many people enjoy perfect romance that lead to happy marriage. However, everyone can experience romantic moment in fiction.

Paperback is easy to read. The writer uses simple words to transport you into the world of horror and romance. You do not need to put in much mental effort to understand the words, and to enjoy the books.

All you have to do is to have a paperback with you, and an hour before bedtime, and you will enjoy life to the full.

Most of us learn how to enjoy life by reading paperback, especially fiction, and most of us borrow the paperbacks from the library.

Conclusion to how to enjoy life part three

How to enjoy life part three talks about the quiet enjoyment of reading. Reading is an activity that is best enjoyed in the quiet hour. However it is also an activity you can engage in whenever you have a free minute.

How to enjoy life through reading shows that it is possible to enjoy reading as a family, and as individual.

So folks, have you mastered the art of how to enjoy life through reading? If so, you can write a book review to highlight the joy of reading any book. You can share how you enjoy life through reading with all of us.

Blogging Tips: Three ways to make blogging easier

It does not matter why you start blogging. Some people start blogging for fun. Some people start blogging for money. Some people start blogging to share their experiences.

It is not hard to start blogging. It is very easy to set up a blog in Blogspot or Wordpresss. It is harder to start writing. Blogging is basically about writing. You have to fill the blog with original content.

You may feel that blogging is so fun in the first month of blogging. You may think that you will never run out of blogging ideas. Blogging is fun. However, to write a blog post a day for the next eight years does not sound so fun.

Many bloggers suffer burnout from blogging after a few months. Some of them managed to create two hundred blog posts within half a year. Then they lost interest in blogging. Blogging becomes a dreary event. They do not to write. They do not want to spend time blogging and get so little in return.

That is the time when they want to look for easier ways to help them in blogging.

There are many quick and easy content resources to help bloggers continue to blog.

The first way to make blogging easier is to make use of Private Label Rights (PLR) articles. Private Label Rights (PLR) articles allow the bloggers to rewrite and claim authorship to the articles. Many Private Label Rights (PLR) websites sell a pack of ten or more articles. They will sell an article pack to a number of buyers.

http://www.niche-content-packages.com/credits.php is a very established website selling Private Label Rights (PLR) articles. You can choose a variety of price plans for different pack of Private Label Rights (PLR) articles.

The rate for a professionally written Private Label Rights (PLR) article is less than a dollar per article.

Some bloggers prefer to use freely available Private Label Rights (PLR) articles. Some websites offering free Private Label Rights (PLR) articles actually have no rights to the articles. They take the content from some writing sites, and give them away as Private Label Rights (PLR) articles.

If you use the freely available Private Label Rights (PLR) articles, you run a risk of plagiarizing articles. The writers can shut down your blog.

You must rewrite the Private Label Rights (PLR) articles to make the content sufficiently unique. You can amend the title, and add one or two paragraphs as introduction. You have to amend some words in each line. You can break up one longer Private Label Rights (PLR) article into two shorter articles. You can join two Private Label Rights (PLR) articles with similar content to become one blog post.

The second way to make blogging easier is to download the articles from free article submission websites.

Those writers want to create back links to their blogs or websites. They submit articles to free article submission site. You can copy the embedded code and republish the article in your blog. You must not change a single word in the content, the byline, and the author reference box. Even though this is the easiest way of blogging, you are not using original content. You are using duplicate content. Google, the largest search engine in the world, penalizes duplicate content.

Those articles in free article submission sites are published under Creative Commons License. Creative Commons License allows them to share the content, and allow you to use the content. You are not allowed to sell the content.

One such website is Mintarticles. Another website is Articlesbase. You can republish the article by copying the embedded code from the publisher’s box.

Some articles in Bukisa are published under Creative Commons License. You have to copy and paste the entire embedded code from the “Republish content box”. The purpose of allowing syndication is to create back link to the original articles in Bukisa.

For those articles without “Republish content box”, you cannot copy and paste to your blog. Those are the ones published under Standard Copyrights Law.

The third way to make blogging easier is to create a widget from various writing sites. You will not republish the whole article in this way. You are using your blog to promote the content of the various writers.

You can write a short paragraph to introduce the articles. You can tell your readers the reason for recommending the articles. You can write about the articles you read every day.

If you read five articles every day, you can provide a link to the five articles. That will help you increase traffic flow to your blog, and to the writing site. You are helping the writers increase page views.

All these ways are to make blogging easier for you, so that you do not suffer from burnout. It is not to substitute the work of blogging for you. If you do not enjoy blogging, please do not start a blog in the first place.

Is rearing pigs better than college education

A few weeks ago, the Chinese newspaper reported a pig farmer in China saying that rearing pigs is better than going to university.

His daughter failed to get into the university. He had forked out so much money to pay for all the textbooks for his three daughters. He spent the whole year income to support his children’s education.

In view of the fact that college education sucks a lot of money, and many college graduates cannot find job after graduation, this farmer is right in saying that rearing pigs is better than getting college education.

At least pigs are a popular food source in many parts of the world. Short of any disease that kills the pigs, pig farmers are almost guaranteed to make money from rearing pigs.

College education is different. There is no guarantee that the college graduate can find a job that needs a degree. I have seen many friends taking on jobs that do not need college education.

Many farmers are able to make big money without college education. The pig farmers in China are able to sell pigs and make money without college education. The farmers in Malaysia with oil palm plantations are able to make money without college education. The farmers in Kansa State are able to make money without college education.

I wonder how valuable is a college education to those farmers?

There are many professions that needed college education. I do not trust doctors who claim to have experience but no college education. I do not trust lawyers who do not have college education.

But farmers? Who need them to have college education?

In the near future, when food is a scarce resource, farmers will make more money than many college graduates.

Even a small country like Singapore is going to develop local farms, so that we do not have to over-rely on outside sources for food.

Singapore Hungry Ghost Festival 2009

The hungry ghost month starts on 20 August 2009 and ends on 18 September 2009.

I hope the recent rain doze off the Indonesia forest fires. I cannot imagine having to deal with the air pollution from burning of incense and hell money in Singapore, and the haze from Indonesia.

That will be the ultimate nightmare. The swine flu is still very active. The bad air quality will definitely weaken our lungs and make the swine flu virus happy.

The stock market on 19 August 2009 ends very badly. The China stock market officially enters into the bear run. The stocks market in Asia fall accordingly. It is quite interesting to see the stock market bleeds. Hopefully people do not speculate and lose money.

I pity those people living on the lower floors. These are the ones who have to bear with the pollutants from burning of hell money.

I wonder how much the supermarkets will make in this hungry ghost month. They have stocked up the canned food, the hell money, and other goods for prayers during the hungry ghost month.

Will people buy more to pray to the hungry ghosts, so that their ancestors can help them weather the recession? Will they buy less because they need to tighten the belt in this recession? It seems reasonable to let the hungry ghosts feel the effect of the recession as well.
I think many people will ask the hungry ghosts to bless them with lottery winnings, so that they have money to buy more food and products to offer to the hungry ghosts.

Hungry ghost month is a month to pray to dead ancestors. Hungry ghost month is a time to feed the dead ancestors. I see the supermarkets offering even instant noodles as prayer items. I think the hungry ghosts have to update their diet to include instant 3-in-1 coffee, instant noodle and tinned tuna.

Hungry ghost month is a month of prayer, Getai (road shows on make shift stage) and Chinese opera in every housing estate. I hope the feature continues. Getai and Chinese opera are very interesting and seem more like a block party.

The Getai and Chinese opera are primarily to entertain the hungry ghosts. Fortunately I don’t have magical eyes to see the “brothers and sisters” from the other world. Hard to swallow the fact that humans and ghosts can gather for a block party.

So folks, let’s enjoy the seventh month of the lunar calendar. Hope that our powerful “brothers” can help us to weather the recession.

Quality of Eggs and Diet of Hens

We always hear people saying that “you are what you eat”. On a similar note, the quality of eggs depends on what the hens eat.

An average egg contains 200mg to 230 mg of cholesterol. There are some eggs in the market that are lower in cholesterol level.

Under the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) definition, eggs that contain 25% lesser cholesterol than normal can qualify for the coveted “lower cholesterol eggs” label in the packaging. Some farmers even claim that their eggs contain only half the cholesterol level of a normal egg.

Why does the cholesterol level in eggs differ? The golden rule of “you are what you eat” applies here.

The hens are feed with a special diet that usually includes flax seeds, kelp, marigold extract and other vegetables. When the hens are fed on a purely vegetarian diet, the eggs produced are deemed “better” than the hens who feed on normal diet.

The color of the egg yoke gives a clue to what the hen eats. A hen which eats wheat and white corn will produce a yoke that is almost colorless. A hen that feeds mainly yellow corn meal, marigolds and carotene will produce a deep yellow color yoke.

All breed of hens can produce lower cholesterol eggs. The difference is always in the diet and not the breed of hens.

All breeds of hens can also produce eggs that are high in omega-3 fatty acids, lutein (lutein is known to exist in vegetables that are known to protect the eyes) or any other special vitamins and nutrients.

So folks, check what the hens eat. Check where the eggs you are buying come from. If you like to eat eggs but worry about the cholesterol level, please select those eggs with lower cholesterol level.

It is better to buy healthier eggs that are more expensive than cheaper eggs which are not as healthy. After all, once we cannot control our cholesterol level, we have to pay much more money to get the drugs for our cholesterol. The price of paying for better and healthier eggs is so much lower than the price of those drugs to control cholesterol.

Rape 100 virgins to end bad luck?

This news article by Tracy Quek appears in the Straits Times, 16 August 2009.

“Rape virgins to end bad luck” This is the advice from a Feng Shui master. I can’t believe that Feng Shui master will tell anyone to rape virgins to end bad luck.

This Feng Shui Master told a member of China’s national legislature and wealthy entrepreneur in Henan, Wu Tianxi, that raping virgins would end his bad luck.

This stupid Wu Tianxi listened to him. This stupid Wu Tianxi ordered his men to kidnap young gals from the local school. He even said that he wanted those “between 14 and 18, pretty, gentle and quiet in manner.”

Since Wu Tianxi was a rich man and powerful government officer, his men really listened to him, and kidnapped the young students. He didn’t get to rape 100 virgins. He raped 36 virgins. And his bad luck really ended, because he was sentenced to death.



In a sense, the Feng Shui master was right. His bad luck ended because of the rape.

The newspaper mentioned how this Wu Tianxi came from poor family, and worked his way to become a rich and powerfulman.

Wu Tianxi came from poor family, he didn’t get to complete high school because he had to work to support family. He worked as railway worker, and earned very little. He left Henan to look for job in neighboring province.

His bad luck ended, and good luck came. He was able to earn enough to start a brick factory a few years later. He became rich, and started a few businesses. Those were the years of good luck. At one time, his processing and freezing company enjoyed ten thousand employees.

His good luck continued, and he was appointed as member of National People’s Congress.

After these few years of super good luck ended, his bad luck began.

Wu Tianxi started to lose money on a poultry and fish farms business. That was the first major bad luck. Then his managers stole his money from a factory and ran away. That was the second bad luck.

He should have stopped there, but he didn’t. He compounded his bad luck by expanding his businesses. His bad luck continued to plague him. He lost more money.

After his financial bad luck, his wife diagnosed with cancer. His bad luck seemed to come from all directions.

I think this last stroke of bad luck was to get that stupid Feng Shui master. Without this stupid Feng Shui master, he might wait out his period of bad luck, and lived.

Too bad, he listened to this stupid Feng Shui master. The way his bad luck ended was really a legend.

Whatever happen, the Feng Shui master is right. The end of bad luck just doesn’t mean the beginning of good luck.

Next time if I have to seek advice from Feng Shui master, I will be very specific. I won’t ask when the bad luck will end, I will ask when the period of good luck begins. Otherwise, he might give me stupid advice, and end the period of bad luck in death.

What happen to Corpse left in the Open

When a person or animal dies, what happen to the physical body if left in the open?

Basically, there are three ways that can happen to a dead body, the corpse. The three ways are putrefaction, mummification or saponification.

In a hot and damp background, with bacteria, insects and vertebrate scavengers searching for luncheon, you get putrefaction or decomposition. Putrefaction boasts skin slippage, discoloration, bloating, outbreak of the abdominal gases, caving of the abdomen, decomposition of the physical body, and decay of the bones.

Putrefaction or decomposition is the most common method for a corpse.

In a hot and air-dry background, without the germs and critters, you get mummification. Mummification is referring to the process of destruction of the internal organs by autolysis and intestinal bacterial activity. The muscular tissue and skin dehydration and solidification are due to vaporization.

Many people will think of those mummies in Egypt. Those are the artificial mummification method of dealing with a corpse.

Saponification appears to necessitate a chilly environment and poorly oxygenated water, though water can come from the corpse itself.

Saponification means the conversion of fats and fatty acid into adipocere, a crummy, rotten compound normally called “grave wax”. At first white and soaplike, adipocere can harden with age. Once took shape, the material endure a very long time.

Why do Angels rebel?

Jesus Christ promised eternal life to his faithful followers. This hope of eternal life is a hope that sustains many Christians in time of persecutions and temptations.

For flesh and blood with an average lifespan of eighty years, eternal life is so appealing, especially the hope of eternal life without any pain and suffering.

The Bible also records the rebellion of Satan and his angels. Angels do not old grow and die. Angels have eternal life and they stay in heaven with God.

If eternal life is so good, why do angels rebel?

The Bible provides a few reasons.

In Isaiah 14:12-15 (New International Version), it is widely believed that God is speaking to Satan, addressing him as “morning star” or “Lucifer” as translated in King James Version.
12 How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!
13 You said in your heart, "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain.
14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High."
15 But you are brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit.

In this passage, God informs us that Satan rebels because he wants to make himself like the “Most High”. Satan wants to overtake God as the Most High.

So the first reason that angels are willing to forsake eternal life and rebel is that they want power, the power that belongs to God.

The second reason is provided in Genesis 6:2 (New International Version).
2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose.

Apparently mortal beings are not the only ones filled with lust, the angels who cannot marry and have children are succumbed with lust too.
Angels yearn for the chance to marry and produce children. This desire outweighs any benefits of eternal life without family.

The third reason is hinted in Jude 1:6 (New International Version)
6And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day.

The angels are given work to do. They have their positions of authority. They cannot and do not have the freedom to leave their jobs and set off for a world tour. The Bible does not provide any more information about the “positions of authority”. The rebellious angels apparently are willing to let go off the jobs and concentrate their time and energy on something else.

Jesus promised eternal life to mortals who have average lifespan of 80 years old. After looking at the dismal record of rebellious angels, we have to ask ourselves this question “Is the hope of eternal life the only reason for serving God?”

How to Reduce Physical and Virtual Paperwork

Physical paperwork refers to all the letters, notes, magazines, bills, and memos that are cluttering up your desk. Even if you are not working in the office environment, you still have to deal with physical paperwork. You have to deal with the bills, the flyers, the grocery coupons, and whatever pieces of paper coming to you.

Virtual paperwork refers to all the emails, especially those with attachments that you receive everyday. The combination of personal emails, and office emails mean you have to spend a substantial part of your time dealing with virtual paperwork.

Mountain of physical paperwork and hundreds of unread emails in your inbox bring stress to you. You have to learn how to reduce paperwork, instead of feeling frustrated and helpless.

If you do not know how to reduce paperwork, you will have difficulty finding the particular document that needs action. You are unable to reply promptly to the customers who have urgent request if your inbox contains hundreds of unread emails.

The best way to reduce paperwork is to handle all incoming documents immediately. Divide them into different categories. The categories should include:
- No action needed, for filing
- Immediate action
- Trash (straight to the waste paper baskets)
- Keep in View (for those documents that are not so important as to warrant immediate action)

Take the same action to clear your emails. You should delete those emails that are spam. Keep in view those that contain useful information that do not require your immediate action. Act on those that require immediate attention.

You can print out those emails that you want to keep a physical copy. Do remember to file them away after you clear all the urgent works.

The second way to reduce paperwork is to allocate a time in the morning to reduce the mountain of papers from your desk. You should spend the morning clearing the hundreds of emails that flow into your inbox. Having done that, you can give your full attention to the work at hand.

The best way to reduce paperwork is to cancel subscriptions to hardcopy magazines, and to unsubscribe those email newsletters. If you do not have time to read the magazines, and you know that you do not ever have time for them, why let the magazines add on to the pile of paperwork?

How to reduce paperwork is a useful skill. You should learn to reduce paperwork and teach your children to reduce paperwork. Children who are old enough to have email accounts will need to learn how to reduce paperwork. They will have to deal with more virtual paperwork in the future.

How to quit smoking

You want to quit smoking. You know how bad it is for you and your family. You have tried so many times to quit, without success. You are frustrated and angry with yourself for not able to quit smoking for good.

How do you quit smoking? This is the question you have asked yourself over and over. This article is written to help you in your quest to quit smoking.

The first step to quit smoking is to find a strong motivator. You have to keep asking yourself why you want to quit smoking. If you want to quit smoking to save money, that may not be a strong motivator. Once you are rich enough to spend, you will start to smoke.

If you want to quit smoking, so that your children will not suffer asthma from breathing in the pollutants from your exhale, that may be a very strong motivator.

When you are able to find a strong motivator, you are on the way to successfully quit smoking.

The next step to quit smoking is to public declare your commitment to quit smoking. You are to write the goal to quit smoking, and paste it everywhere in your house. Announce to all your family members and friends. They care about you, and they will help you to quit smoking.

The third step to quit smoking is a practical step. You can engage your family members to throw all the cigarettes and ashtrays away. Do not keep a single stick of it. Do not even think that you will fail to quit smoking. Ask your family and friends to encourage you and praise you for the effort to quit smoking every day.

The fourth step to quit smoking is the hardest of all. You are committed to quit smoking. Smoking has become a deeply ingrained habit. You smoke when you want to think. You smoke after eating a hearty lunch. The fourth step requires you to change all the habits that you have acquired.

If you must think with a cigarette in hand, you have to change the habit of thinking. You have to find a new way to think and make a decision, without that cigarette in hand. If you are so used to have a puff after lunch, you have to find another after meal enjoyment.

Without a substitute, you are likely to miss the days of smoking.

You have to plan for the days when the smoking urge is very strong. What are you to do when you feel the urge to smoke? Plan ahead, and write out a list of actions. If you find that chewing gum is effective in killing the urge to smoke, you have to buy a few packets and carry them with you.

If you feel that drinking cold juice can subdue the urge to smoke, please prepare a few bottles and put then in the fridge.

The last step is to quit smoking is to reward yourself. For every week that you are smoke free, you can reward yourself by using the money usually spent on cigarettes to buy a present for yourself. Ask your family members to give you rewards too. Even a simple hand made card from your kids can motivate you to stay away from the cigarettes.

Smoking is a habit that is hard to kick off. Be patient. Even if you are weak and sneak a cigarette or two, be kind to yourself. You are still a human, and you are entitled to a moment of weakness. It does not matter that you smoke a cigarette or two, as long as you do not make it a habit to light up every day after that.

As long as you continue with the effort to quit smoking, you will quit smoking for good one day. Even if you take five years to quit smoking completely, you are still successful in the end.

How to start writing

Getting yourself to sit down and start writing are often the most difficult part of writing.

You have the desire to write. You know what to write. You know how to write an interesting article. The difficulty is in sitting down and write.

How to start writing?

The first step to learn how to start writing is to dedicate a space for writing. You must designate a place solely for writing. You must be comfortable sitting there to write for hours. This place allows you to concentrate on writing. You know that once you start writing, any interruption can destroy the flow.

The writing space can be your beautiful writing desk. It can be the kitchen table. It can be the fast food restaurant near your house. It can be anywhere that you feel comfortable writing.

The second step to learn how to start writing is to choose a time to write. Keep to the writing schedule every day. If you are a morning person, wake up at the same time every morning, and starts writing at the same time every morning.

Once you get yourself to sit down, you have won half the battle. Once writing becomes a habit, it becomes as naturally as the cup of coffee. Getting yourself to sit down and write becomes natural.

Whether you are writing in an exercise book or computer, it does not matter. It is the act of opening the exercise book or the blank word document that gets the writing start.

What if you face writer’s block when you finally get to sit down?

The third step to learn how to start writing is to overcome the writer’s block. Looking at the blank page is depressing. You have to write something, no matter the words flow or not, just write something. Fill up the pages. Even if you have no idea how to start, you can start anyhow you like. You can write any thought that comes to your mind, including “I really got to wash the laundry today”.

Just write and keep writing. You can always edit and amend later on. The most important task that you are facing now is to start writing.

Once you start writing, the ideas will flow, and the articles will complete. Do overcome the most difficult task of writing. Do learn how to start writing, and find the method that works for you.

Singapore Taoist Temples: Worship

Singapore has many Taoist Temples. This is one of the Taoist Temple. Before I started to take picture of the deity, I asked the temple-in-charge for permission. She refused to say yes or no, asked me to ask the Deity, Dua Pek Gong, for permission.

So I did, and I got the permission. There are always a set of red wood for people to seek deity's permission in Taoist temples. If not, we can also use two coins, as long as one is head, and one is tail, that means the deity says ok.

Most Chinese Taoist worshippers ask Dua Pek Gong to bring fortune to them. Some even asked for lottery numbers. There are many stories about Dua Pek Gong giving out lottery numbers that come out in the top three prizes. Maybe Dua Pek Gong loves them more than he loves me! I'm still not winning anything!

The top picture shows the items we offered to Dua Pek Gong, asking him to open a door to fortune for us.