No Betting, just beating

I (AO) always wanted to see if i could beat the soccer pundits at predicting scores. Of course they do it so that others can possibly make a quick buck but heres me having a go against Today Newspapers' Kenneth Goh (KG) and David Ngiau (DN).

For exact score accuracy, lets do it the soccer way with 3 points awarded. A correct prediction of the correct team to win/ lose or draw will be given 1 point.

Saturdays matches.
Birmingham vs Porstmouth -- KG: 1-1, DN: 1-0, AO: 1-2. I just feel that portsmouth have too much in attack. KG and DN look at history but Birmingham are too poor sometimes to rely on history to help them. Final Score 0-2, KG (0), DN (0), AO (1).
Bolton vs Man Utd -- KG: 0-1, DN: 1-1, AO: 1-3. United are scoring freely and just when you think a narrow win is on the cards they usually turn up trumps. Final Score 1-0, KG (0), DN (0), AO (0). This was the weekends surprise.
Arsenal vs Wigan -- KG: 2-1, DN: 2-0, AO: 2-0. Wigan to score? They couldnt do it against Spurs so... Arsenal have some injuries so the scoreline remains slightly modest. Final Score 2-0, KG (1), DN (3), AO (3).
Man City vs Reading -- KG: 0-2, DN: 1-1, AO: 2-1. I think they are giving Reading too much credit. They can score with Doyle and Kitson but they rely too much on hard running and against a technically sounder City its curtains. Final Score 2-1, KG (0), DN (0), AO (3). Got really lucky with this score. 94th min winner by Stephen Ireland.
Derby vs Chelsea -- KG: 0-2, DN: 0-2, AO: 0-3. Dont need to be conservative. I know in betting its a 1.5 goal handicap but Chelsea should win easily. Final Score 0-2, KG(3), DN (3), AO (1). The late kickoff was kind to my opponents but i still won this week's challenge.
Everton vs Sunderland -- KG: 2-0, DN: 1-1, AO: 1-1. I have a feeling Sunderland will tiger their way to a hard fought draw here. But it will be close. Expected this to be the surprise upset. But was SO WRONG. Final Score 7-1, KG (1), DN (0), AO (0).

Final score for this week KG (5), DN (6), AO (8). There were certain matches i abstain from because of bias like Liverpool and Spurs. And the rest i just got tired of typing. But in the final assessment i can hold my own against KG and DN and look forward to challenging them again next week. Any comments on the scoring system? Not sure if its fair.

Demotivation Tuesday delayed.

Why are 12 year-olds so hyper these days? Shaun keeps asking me "what are you doing now kor?"; my reply now has to be "escaping from you!" HAHA.

No demotivation this tuesday?

What I Spent -- I Had

What I Kept -- I Lost

What I Gave -- I Have

Bright and Shiny...Book!

Managed to finish this short and impactful book known as 'Refuting Evolution' by Jonathan Sarfati Ph.D. Basically, the whole book revolves around the debate of evolution vs creation and can be summed up with one quote quite aptly "Evolution [is] a theory universally accepted not because it can be proven by logically coherent evidence to be true, but because the only alternative, special creation, is clearly incredible' D.M.S. Watson.

I thought some of the points made were cogent. I especially liked the chapters on 'Astronomy' and 'Is the Design Explanation Legitimate'. However, many of the other chapters were rather skimpily written. Many paragraphs appeared rushed and like the author had to complete the chapter in a day. The references given were a very good thing though and lends the book much credibility given the very watered-down way the author tried to convey his message across.

An interesting fact to show that genetic design is indeed quite marvellous is that lobster eyes are modelled on a perfect square with precise geometrical relationships. NASA x-ray telescopes have actually copied this design. Many other interesting things can be gleaned from the book but many were only accorded short shrift to enhance readability.

Powerful quote by C.S Lewis who i admit i have a bias towards, " If the solar system was brought about by an accidental collision, then the appearance of organic life on this planet was also an accident, and the whole evolution of Man was an accident too. If so, then all our thought processes are mere accidents. And this holds for the materialists' and astronomers' and anyone else's. But if their thoughts are merely accidental by-products, why should we believe them to be true? I see no reason for believing that one accident should be able to give a correct account of all the other accidents." This is kind of a hilarious but very perceptive view i think, very akin to Lewis.

In all, i found the book easy to read but given the material, found the author made very little attempt for WHAO factors. I thought that was a disappointing flaw and thus give it 2.5/5 stars. This is my own view, and encourage others to give the book a read. It does claim to have 350,000 copies in print.

Do not forget Demotivational Tuesday!

This comes appropriately timed for me. I am glad its all over. But then again, when else can you watch 3am soccer unless you are a student? HAHA.

Regeneration of the Rib. Did Adam's Rib Grow Back?

Dr Carl Wieland, director of Creation Ministries recently gave a talk in church and i found a website that states what he said. I am wondering if anyone can quantify if this is true. I have tried searching surgical journals and i am quite sure that the rib can kind of grow back but its not really on the topic of rib regrowth specifically.

From http://www.s8int.com/adamsrib.html

I had a series of operations to reconstruct various parts of me, particularly the bones of my face.
These operations often required using my own bone for grafting. I noticed that the plastic surgeon would keep going back to the right side of my ribcage, through the same horizontal scar, actually, to get more bone for these procedures.
One day, I asked him why he hadn't 'run out of bone'. He looked at me blankly, and then explained that he and his team took the whole rib out, each time. 'We leave the periosteum intact, so the rib usually just grows right back again.'
Despite having trained and practiced as a family doctor, I was intrigued; I had never realized this before. The periosteum (the literal meaning of this word is 'around the bone') is a membrane that covers every bone—it's the reason you can get things stuck between your teeth while gnawing on a leg of lamb, for instance.
The periosteum contains cells that can manufacture new bone. Particularly in young people, 'rib periosteum has a remarkable ability to regenerate bone, perhaps more so than any other bone'.
Thoracic (chest) surgeons routinely remove ribs, and these often grow back, in whole or in part. A lot depends on the care with which the rib is removed; it needs to be 'peeled' out of its periosteum to leave this membrane as intact as possible.
A major reason why the rib is the ideal situation for such regeneration is that the attached intercostal muscles provide it with a good blood supply. When the surgeon originally told me this, my immediate thought was—'Wow, that's really neat, Adam didn't have to walk around with a defect!' -- this last part kind of sums up the main beauty of this whole idea. That God's design is of such a wonderful nature and still has implications for modern times.

The website compiles 2 other places where he finds mention of people saying that after surgery they were informed that their rib bone can grow back. But he admits that the evidence is surprisingly few.
But i guess God could just have used any part of Adam's body to make Eve and doesnt a lot of other places regenerate? Ok i guess maybe not like the eye or the tongue or something but dont a lot of bones repair themselves? I think the special properties of the rib should be better quantified and i was hoping maybe someone could shed light on this issue.

How subjective is Music?

Thanks to -d- for going city with me. Managed to cut hair and also buy the new Athlete CD. Unfortunately the new Cake CD was out of stock. But i should really not be spending time on entertainment; and should be concentrating on my exam this sat.

Reviews for Athlete: Beyond the Neighbourhood were that they have improved but have not reached the standard of Coldplay. Actually i always found them slightly better than Coldplay. I think music reviewers are all brooding, moody, melancholic artsy people, thats why they didnt like Athlete's first album which i felt was the most fun. But the new album has nice langorous stuff which i like as well. And much less mainstream than Coldplay. But hey, music has this ethereal quality that just cannot be boxed nicely for everyone.

I belong with your arms wrapped around my neck Your lips glistening in the light Awesome headlights passing by Hold thought, I hold the thought Walking back towards your house Raindrops bouncing off the leaves Down to our September kiss Flying over bus stops and playgrounds
I'm here Soaked right to the core Stay here foreverI'm safe with you
If the words I've ever wroteon the backs of envelopes I could fold to paper planes I would fly them thru your veins Helicopters overhead Wide awake at 3am Now the ink runs to your heart And you know just how I feel
Flying over bus stops and playgrounds I'm hereSoaked right to the core Stay here forever I'm safe with you Flying over bus stops and playgrounds I'm hereSoaked right to the core Stay here forever I'm safe with you. -- Athlete, Flying Over Bus Stops.