Wedding and friends

Today I attended a good friend’s wedding and I sat at a table with my good kakis. On my right was Cynthia, she is always full of life-giving words. How blessed it is to be her friend. One friend away is Otterman who organized my wedding, he’s a brother to me. Ladybug is sister. And then there is Jaswant and Kok who laugh like little kids. Down the table past them are Zee, Abby and Dione, wonderful people who I am proud to have as Bio kakis and fellow educators. One is indeed fortunate to be surrounded by good people. A blessing. I don’t know why I always feel that in such occasions where I meet good people, I sense heaven, its almost tangible and spiritual. I mean I have that with my family. But because these people aren’t family but they somehow seem heaven-sent, the sense of heaven is there. If you guys read this, bless you.

I dream of Saturn

Had a dream that I was peering into my telescope to look at Saturn. Anyway, a couple of weeks ago, I brought Matt and Josh to look at Saturn from the Astro club’s viewing evening. Seeing another planet gives perspective. It makes one feel that there is a wider realm about and makes things feel less significant in kind of a good way. Trivial problems just melt away at the sight of a planet that is 9.609 AU (Astronomical Units) away from us. Hey I found a way to use wolframalpha meaningfully. Which is 893.21 million miles away from Earth. (Another good use of wolframalpha!).

Heaven

Today at mass, I was wondering, where is God? Not that I am feeling lost but it was beginning to feel like the same stuff week in and out and, come on, I told myself, I can’t just try to sit out a mass. It would be a waste. Though I am so guilty of that more that half the time.

So as with most spiritual searching, one must knock on the door with some focus and so I knelt down and prayed quietly, “where are you?”

Like the breeze, heaven came with the beautiful voices of the choir as I had my eyes closed and mind quietened, how soothing it was and calming.

Later in the evening I met some kakis for dinner and we spent half the time chuckling away under the full moon like hyenas. Joy. Brother Broughton said in a prayer meeting once that as youths we would have such a great time when we met our friends at Macdonalds or some favourite meeting place. Those were like moments of when we would be experiencing heaven. What a beautiful and accessible description of heaven. Heaven is in the love we have for each other.

Bruguiera gymnorhiza

I am pretty awestruck by this mangrove tree. The contrast of the red calyx against the green of its leaves makes it photogenic. Thanks to the boardwalk at Sg Buloh, one can hold it in your hand and take a picture.

These are unopened.

These are opened

And this is the general habit of the tree. Habit meaning the form – whether its a tree, climber, shrub etc.

It looks festive.

I wonder what pollinates the flowers? Its definitely attractive. Didn’t smell it though. I wonder when it flowers in the year. Lots of questions…

More about this plant, the tumu, here

Nudibranchs and the power of the sun in their tentacles

Saw this cutie at Sentosa today – Polka-dot nudibranch (Jorunna funebris)

Besides nudibranchs, there were a few other people from the seashore groups that were there brought in by the low tide today.

Then I happened to see this slug or is it a nudibranch (someone please) and this dude who happened to be there mentioned that it was a slug that could photosynthesize. I can’t verify the species but the nugget about slugs photosynthesizing brought to mind an article I read. But first the pictures of this fair creature… I hope this is really a slug of some sort! I thought they were a cluster of mollusc eggs. I am not sure if this slug really photosynthesizes though.

But anyway, more about photosynthesizing slugs! Well they don’t really but they do collect the plastids (chloroplasts basically) by feeding on the algae (they one that this slug is feeding on is presumably Bryopsis). Collecting the plastids is already quite amazing since the slugs selectively do not digest this organelle. Another most profound aspect of this ability to harness photosynthetic machinery is a gene that is co-opted by the slug in its co-evolutionary history… so baby slugs are born with one photosynthetic gene that helps maintain the ingested plastids for at least 9 months… cool.

Solar-powered Sea-slugs Live Like Plants

ScienceDaily (Dec. 3, 2008) — The lowly sea slug, “Elysia chlorotica,” may not seem like the most exciting of creatures, but don’t be fooled

“Photosynthesis needs around 2,000 to 3,000 genes, and animals do not have many of the critical genes,” says Manhart. So Manhart and his co-workers looked into how the plastids consumed by the slug can continue photosynthesizing.

“We found that the slug has at least one gene required for photosynthesis in its nuclear genome, which has never been found in any animal,” says Manhart. “The critical thing is the plastids come from the alga, but the slug nucleus contains at least one, and probably more of the genes required for plastid functioning,” he adds.

Cenchrus brownii

Before I forget again and have to hunt the web for the scientific name!

Its quite common along the beach forest and it was first recorded in Singapore in 1950. I browsed the www and realised that the plant is in some flickr sets in Singapore without the name (I commented on them).. so here’s the name so that the next time someone gets poked by it, at least can curse it properly.

Here’s a nice picture of it courtesy of Ria from wildsingapore

It belongs to the grass family and not the sedge family.

Cenchrus brownii!

As you can see, I am pretty invigorated by the fieldtrip I had this morning…

Reliable Info on Swine Flu

Check out Otterman’s post on “Communicating the Swine influenza A (H1N1) crisis” at the Biorefugia

For the H1N1, I find these same (as in SARS) international and local sources useful:

* WHO Disease Outbreak News

* Center for Disease Control and Prevention: Swine Influenza (Flu): cdc.gov/swineflu/

* CDC has a twitter account, @CDCemergency!

* Ministry of Health, Singapore: Update on Global Human Swine Influenza – helpfully this URL: moh.gov.sg, brings you right there.

New sites I refer to include:

* Channel News Asia special on the Swine Flu Outbreak - note the useful, simple URL: channelnewsasia.com/swineflu/

* CNN Health: Swine Flu

* BBC: Swine Flu Special Report
* News aggregators (search term = “swine flu”): Google and Yahoo

The Just-in-time Swine influenza lecture

As a result, here it is: “Just-in-Time Lecture: Swine influenza A (H1N1) Outbreak in US & Mexico: Potential for a Pandemic,” by Rashid A. Chotani. Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS). Updated daily. The html and powerpoint versions are available at this Supercourse site at the WHO Collaborating Center, University of Pittsburgh.

Cheng Puay does a good post here at his blog to educate his students

The raw duathlon

Got my endorphin fix yesterday at the raw duathlon. Did the 5k 40k 5k. I thought since there were no kakis with me, it would definitely be a lonely affair. But highlight number one was a reunion with my BMT buddy Ahmad Hilmy who saw me on FB and told me he was going for this event too. I tried looking out for him at the transition zone but didn’t see him but he found me at the start point so we started the race together, just like SOC in the Army! We chatted like it was 18 yrs ago. I used to beat him at it but now he finished earlier than I did. Well done buddy!

So this was my first duathlon and a highly charged event for me. The adrenaline was there for the 1st 5K so I finished that off in about 25 mins. The weather was getting real hot and I wished the start had been 7am instead of 745am. It was nice to transit to the bike leg and ride under the shade of the rain trees on the changi coastal road with the wind blowing. At about 30km and onto the last loop, I was running out of water even though I had 2 bottles in my bike cages. I had frozen one bottle but that melted way before. Being a zen dog doesn’t help the bike leg competitively as I began to get into a kind of zone with people whizzing past and started to enjoy the cycling, admiring the nice bikes that whizzed past. But I knew the heat would take its toll in next 5k run leg so I took it easy on the bike.

The next transition was really grueling running on the heated tarmac its albedo at around 10am. Not more that 100m into the run, my thighs cramped, luckily those were peddling muscles.. or the lack of. So I ran those cramps away. It was really hot and I took my time at the drinks station… The road was beginning to dot itself with cramping runners.

(this was taken at 630am.. those clouds up and disappeared at about 730am)

At the 2.5k turn, the wind../ zephyrs that had previously blown softly into my face now disappeared and I was now running away from it… Its soft murmurs in my ears now replaced by each of my feet placing itself on the tarmac. I lamented this wind of change../change of wind. Shortly at the 4k mark, a caucasian (attended by vigilant medics) had passed out on the side of the road still clutching on to a plastic cup.. and a guy who I had seen cramping up when I was on the opposite stretch was still negotiating with the medic to continue with the race. I was glad I signed up for the 5km run legs… I haven’t so much to prove anyway.

I pretty much enjoyed the last stretch.. better than the marathon or half army marathon…. at least I still had something left in me. Got a drink from the milo stand and headed for the free cup (decent amount) of beer (ice-cold Brewerkz beer after a duathlon at the Aviation park road on a damn hot day is mind-blowing, someone should do a study on this). I think I finished in about 2hrs 45mins.

(after the race… check out the cloudless sky)

Overall, an enjoyable race. $55 a bit expensive but the medics were on their toes and the beer was a nice touch. The volunteers were the best I have met in races, smiley and ready with the drinks. No finishers medal (which I don’t care much for) but something to take back would have been good.

(the relaxing ride back to the car after the race)

Rabindranath Tagore singing his own song

Tagore Omnibus IV

This is the book i just bought… Reading the first story there now called “Two sisters”.

More about this book here