Cured of Aids

Timothy Ray Brown, 47, an American from Seattle, Washington is the only person known to be cured from this deadly disease, Aids.  He had a bone marrow transplant from an HIV resistant person in a landmark process which cured him of his aids.   Being the living proof that such a deadly disease can be cured, he is looking to forming a foundation to research a cure for Aids.  Congrats to Timothy and Best Wishes, may his foundation succeed and give hope to the millions of sufferers.

Japanese Lover Killed By Samurai

There was a British man Mr Charles Richardson who went to Japan and had great admiration for the Japanese.  That was in 1862, he even penned on his letter "I doubt not but that it will become a country of large commerce.".   But on the fateful day when he failed to dismount when the Satsuma clan was passing by, he was killed by a samurai.

Mayor the Cat

Imagine your cat being Mayor of your Town?!  This does not seem possible, but it is true in the Alaska town of Talkeetna.   The cat isn't a Flash in the pan too, it had just celebrated its 15 years as the Mayor.   Why was it so?  15 years ago, the town had problem choosing a Mayor out of the candidates that were contesting.   Finally someone put Mayor Stubbs the Cat on the ballot papers and he won!  It seemed that he has no competitor for the last 15 years as the residents were generally satisfied with his performance.

China Submarine Sets New Record

A China Submarine sets a new record of going down to the sea beds at more than 7000m below the sea level just recently and China made an announcement that it will attempt to dive in the South China Sea next year.   Now, this is a politically and militarily sensitive move as there are a lot of territorial disputes in that area.   "The China Daily said the "Jiaolong", China's most technologically advanced manned submersible, would conduct the mission next April and May, after it reached depths of over 7,000 metres in the Pacific Ocean last month."   The feat gave China access to 99% of the world's ocean and an ability to tap into the crude oil reserves in the South China Sea which is estimated to be 80% that of Saudi Arabia.

Digg Sold for $500 000

Digg, one of the first social media web site was sold for $500 000.  What was amazing was that this company was valued at $160 million at one time until Twitter and Facebook caught up with it.   Digging web sites were once very popular and frequent but now the users reduced from 14 million to 7 million.   The buyer was New York technology development firm Betaworks.   Well, really hope that the new owner can turn Digg around and regain its previous prominence!

Disabled Gamers can Finally Play

European scientists have invented a device that allow the eyes to control the movement of the video game allowing the disabled a chance to finally play a game of their choice.   What is greater was that the cost of the device is only about $30 making it affordable to a lot of disabled personnel.   With such a success the scientists are looking for a funding partner so as to mass produce it and make it available on the market.

I personally feel that the device is amazing and should not be just limited to playing games but maybe modified to make life of a disabled person as normal as possible.  Really hope that the device will be out in the market helping our disabled friends.

Moonrat in Malaysia

A moonrat that was dead at the road side of a street in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia caused quite a bit of a stir.   It looks like a rat but is not actually a rodent, and is found in Malaysia as well as in Thailand.   Moonrats, whose scientific name is echinosorex gymurus, are considered the only species in the echinosorex family.  It does not really look frightening, I think the newspapers are more of a curious on the species of this strange looking animal.   Anyway, those with sensitive nose may not actually like this fella as it is famous for being smelly :)

Couple Rescues Lobsters

One kind hearted couple was walking by an Italian seafood restaurants which was displaying live lobsters and crayfishes in the aquarium right at the window.   They were there to enjoy a romantic dinner together.   But upon seeing the lobsters, they felt pity for the lobsters and wanted to rescue them and put them back into the sea.   Despite the protestations from owner of the restaurant who felt that the lobsters would not survive the journey back to the sea, the couple insisted.   In the end the kind hearted couple made 500 euros to buy the lobsters and free them back into the sea.   I guess a lot of people are laughing at them but I salute their determination and kind heartedness.   It is glad that we still have such kind people on earth.

5 Year Old Snorkeling with Sharks

Mr David Barnes and his wife Elana allowed their 5 year old daughter to snorkel with sharks which caused an outrage as accusations flown in regarding the responsibility of such an action.   The Barnes claimed that they had researched upon the risks and decided to proceed with letting their daughter snorkel with the sharks.  IMHO I feel that it is kinda of dangerous even though the attacks are rare.   But this is purely my own personal opinion.

Life Guard Sacked for Saving Drowning Man

The case happened in Florida.   A young life guard named Mr Tomas Lopez was manning the beach at Miami, Hallandale Beach.   Someone alerted the life guard of a drowning man who happened to be in the unprotected area.   Tomas ran all the way and rescued the man.   He had to file an incident report and when he was doing so, he was told he was being sacked as he had rescued someone that is not within his area and there are liability issues.   Even though rules are rules but I really feel that this is crazy.   Instead of being rewarded or praised for saving a life, he was being fired!