Why?

A DIALOGUE WITH SARAH, AGED 3: IN WHICH IT IS SHOWN THAT IF YOUR DAD IS A CHEMISTRY PROFESSOR, ASKING “WHY” CAN BE DANGEROUS
By Stephen McNeil

SARAH: Daddy, were you in the shower?

DAD: Yes, I was in the shower.

SARAH: Why?

DAD: I was dirty. The shower gets me clean.

SARAH: Why?

DAD: Why does the shower get me clean?

SARAH: Yes.

DAD: Because the water washes the dirt away when I use soap.

SARAH: Why?

DAD: Why do I use soap?

SARAH: Yes.

DAD: Because the soap grabs the dirt and lets the water wash it off.

SARAH: Why?

DAD: Why does the soap grab the dirt?

SARAH: Yes.

DAD: Because soap is a surfactant.

SARAH: Why?

DAD: Why is soap a surfactant?

SARAH: Yes.

DAD: That is an EXCELLENT question. Soap is a surfactant because it forms water-soluble micelles that trap the otherwise insoluble dirt and oil particles.

SARAH: Why?

DAD: Why does soap form micelles?

SARAH: Yes.

DAD: Soap molecules are long chains with a polar, hydrophilic head and a non-polar, hydrophobic tail. Can you say ‘hydrophilic’?

SARAH: Aidrofawwic

DAD: And can you say ‘hydrophobic’?

SARAH: Aidrofawwic

DAD: Excellent! The word ‘hydrophobic’ means that it avoids water.

SARAH: Why?

DAD: Why does it mean that?

SARAH: Yes.

DAD: It’s Greek! ‘Hydro’ means water and ‘phobic’ means ‘fear of’. ‘Phobos’ is fear. So ‘hydrophobic’ means ‘afraid of water’.

SARAH: Like a monster?

DAD: You mean, like being afraid of a monster?

SARAH: Yes.

DAD: A scary monster, sure. If you were afraid of a monster, a Greek person would say you were gorgophobic.

(pause)

SARAH: (rolls her eyes) I thought we were talking about soap.

DAD: We are talking about soap.

(longish pause)

SARAH: Why?

DAD: Why do the molecules have a hydrophilic head and a hydrophobic tail?

SARAH: Yes.

DAD: Because the C-O bonds in the head are highly polar, and the C-H bonds in the tail are effectively non-polar.

SARAH: Why?

DAD: Because while carbon and hydrogen have almost the same electronegativity, oxygen is far more electronegative, thereby polarizing the C-O bonds.

SARAH: Why?

DAD: Why is oxygen more electronegative than carbon and hydrogen?

SARAH: Yes.

DAD: That’s complicated. There are different answers to that question, depending on whether you’re talking about the Pauling or Mulliken electronegativity scales. The Pauling scale is based on homo- versus heteronuclear bond strength differences, while the Mulliken scale is based on the atomic properties of electron affinity and ionization energy. But it really all comes down to effective nuclear charge. The valence electrons in an oxygen atom have a lower energy than those of a carbon atom, and electrons shared between them are held more tightly to the oxygen, because electrons in an oxygen atom experience a greater nuclear charge and therefore a stronger attraction to the atomic nucleus! Cool, huh?

(pause)

SARAH: I don’t get it.

DAD: That’s OK. Neither do most of my students.

A 2002 Beetle

It must have been the Seventh Month or what when you get to see things you don't normally want to. This morning, I stumbled onto something dirty, a paper 2002 Beetle with evil on board. The Chinese have this saying, "The Good shall prevail and the Evil, good riddance to it."

Zen Story

Two monks were once traveling together down a muddy road. A heavy rain was falling. Coming around the bend, they met a lovely girl in a silk kimono and sash, unable to cross the intersection.

"Come on, girl," said the first monk. Lifting her in his arms, he carried her over the mud.

The second monk did not speak again until that night when they reached a lodging temple. Then he no longer could restrain himself. "We monks don't go near females," he said. "It is dangerous. Why did you do that?"

"I left the girl there," the first monk said. "Are you still carrying her?"

Chinese Sub Pops Up Undetected Near U.S.S. Kitty Hawk During Exercise

An unexpected visit by a Chinese Submarine that went undetected in the middle of a Pacific Ocean Naval exercise and came extremely close to the U.S.S. Kitty Hawk, has American military chiefs looking for answers.

The sub was apparently able to slip past at least a dozen U.S. warships, two U.S. submarines and a vast array of advanced technology, which failed to detect it.

When the Navy deploys a battle fleet on exercises, they take the security of the aircraft carriers very seriously. At least a dozen warships are used to provide a physical guard, and using advanced technology they are able to detect and deter any potential intruders.

By the time the Chinese sub surfaced, the 160ft Song Class diesel-electric attack submarine sailed within viable range for launching torpedoes or missiles at the U.S.S. Kitty Hawk, a 1,000ft. super carrier with 4,500 military personnel on-board.

According to senior NATO officials, the incident caused a sense of sudden fear in the U.S. Navy, as officials realized the seriousness of the encounter. The U.S. apparently had no idea just how sophisticated China’s fast-growing submarine fleet had become, or that they even posed such a threat.

Analysts believe that China was sending a message to the United States and the West by demonstrating their rapidly growing military capability to threaten foreign powers that might try to interfere in their own “backyard.”

The U.S. Navy and Nato are now forced to re-think their strategy, and reconsider the level of threat posed from potentially hostile Chinese submarines.

The "Motivational" Posters You Don't Get To Buy

"You can fool some of the people all of the time ....."

Sales? I like to think I have done well since I got here. Figures do not lie.

As the adage goes, "You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time."

Dedicated to one son of a bitch

If he is good, he will still be a Managing Director and not have lost his job.

Chrysler admits Sebring is a dud

The Detroit News got its hands on a transcript of a Q&A session held between Chrysler execs and employees of the company in which management admits the company misjudged the market when developing vehicles like the new Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Nitro. The transcript was confirmed to be legitimate by Chrysler spokesman Rick Deneau, who admitted it was never meant for the public to see. Nevertheless, the Q&A session shows that that there are many at Chrysler who are "quite upset" about how some vehicles turned out, which is illustrated most pointedly by the harsh criticism the Sebring and Nitro received from Consumer Reports.

In response, Chrysler says it is moving fast to fix its own internal development process so that it can better project what customers want and expect from their vehicles a few years down the road. It seems the current system is good at matching what competitors are offering now, but produces vehicles that arrive on the market behind the curve in terms of design, quality and interiors.

Full article from the Detroit News

Read The Truth About Cars' article on Chrysler Suicide Watch

Great American Cars: The Chevrolet Corvette Z06

Sure, gas prices in America are insane and the base model starts at USD70,000 but the Corvette Z06 is still spectacularly cool. This 2007 model packs in a 505-hp 7.0 Liter LS7 aluminum-block engine and also sports one the absolute best looking bodies of any GM power car ever made. It is GM's challenge to the Dodge Viper except sexier.

To say the Vette Z06 is mean is an understatement. It hits 100 kph from the standing block in 4 seconds with 637 Nm of Torque. To stop a car at that speed the Corvette Z06 employs monoblock six-piston front calipers and four-piston rear calipers.

Z06 achieves a power-to-weight ratio superior to many exotic cars like the Dodge Viper and the Ferrari F430, in part because of its lightweight, yet strong, aluminum frame combined with a magnesium roof structure and engine cradle. The aluminum body structure weighs only 278 pounds, 136 pounds less than the Corvette coupe.

Ten Sales and Marketing Tips I learned from Strippers

I got this over the Net. It isn't written by me but I think it makes interesting reading if you are in sales. It is something we can all relate to and how true it is.

Like you, I like strippers.

However, I generally find myself leaving the strip club with an empty wallet. Any business that can get you to spend all of your money is a good one to be in.

But while walking out of a club one evening, I realized that a big reason they have such a good business is because strippers are such great salespeople. It is not simply due to the fact that they are selling to stupid horny men, but because they use a lot of highly effective sales and marketing techniques.

You too can achieve great success by applying sales and marketing techniques of strippers. Here are the ten sales and marketing techniques I have learned from strippers:

Sales Technique #1 - Give them something for nothing
One of the first thing a stripper will do is come up to you and flirt. She will likely sit on your lap or do something to raise your excitement level. For this, you have to do nothing. However, you do get a sample of the service and if it is a good one, your chances of buying the service increases. This also applies to the dances they do on the stage.

Sales Technique #2 - Understand your customers
Strippers get to know their customers by asking questions. This allows them to develop a rapport and tailor the sales pitch…

Sales Technique #3 - Tailor the Sales Pitch
Strippers will try different sales pitches with different people based on what she thinks they like. “I like to get dirty” or “Have you seen my great ass?” or “My tits are real”. Each pitch may be the one thing that converts the potential customer into a buyer. (Pointing out a tight ass may work for some). And she revises her pitch based on experience.

Sales Technique #4 - Make sure you are selling a great product/service
She knows she has to have a great product. If she put on 30 pounds or hadn’t showered for the past 4 days, she would likely not get as many customers. Regardless of how great a salesperson you are, you can’t do much with a crappy product/service.

Sales Technique #5 - Provides Good Customer Service
She will make sure you are happy on your first dance or she won’t get repeat business or even do what she ultimately set out to do…Upsell.

Sales Technique #6 - Upsell
She sells the customer on a relatively cheap service, a lapdance, but then markets her other services to them. She tries to get them to the “champagne room” and sell an upgraded service, which is where the money is. However, without the first sale, she would never get the bigger sale. Customer's acquisition is tough. Once she does it, she needs to get as much business as she can.

Sales Technique #7 - Closing Techniques
She will use a variety of closing techniques to get you to buy her services. There are a variety of closing techniques, but two popular ones used by strippers are the compliment close (usually flirting with you) and companion close (getting your buddies to push you into closing the deal).

Sales Technique #8 - Target your audience
Strippers market to individuals that are interested in her service. First, she works in a strip club where guys go specifically for her service, that is obvious. But she also knows which guys to go after within a group or which groups will likely spend the most money. Spending time with cheap-asses only wanting to pay a dollar for a dance will not be a wise use of her precious time.

Sales Technique #9 - Persistence
Even though the audience is qualified, she knows she will get rejections. Even so, she will go up to every guy and ask if they need a lap dance. She also knows that the more guys she asks, the more yesses she will get.

Sales Technique #10 - Branding
I don’t know any strippers that are named Ethel, Mildred or Agnes. Instead, you will get the pleasure to do business with Cookie, Destiny, Candy, or Raven.

The new Mini Clubman was caught uncovered by the photographers. Unlike the prototypes, the new Mini Clubman has a small additional door made to facilitate the access to the back seats.

The range of motors will be basically the same one with the one on the Mini One. The version that appears in the photos is a Clubman Cooper S. The Clubman will have the modifications that were recently introduced on the Mini series.

The first Mini Clubman was in 1969. It measured 3,165 mm, 11 mm more than the normal Mini and less than the Mini Estate (3,400 mm in length). It also had the same width, height and wheelbase like the model from which it left, with slightly different a front part.

Ten Dumbest Quotes

Smoking kills. If you're killed, you've lost a very important part of your life.
- Brooke Shields, during an interview to become spokesperson for a federal anti-smoking campaign.

If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure.
- Dan Quayle, former U.S. Vice President

I owe a lot to my parents, especially my mother and father.
- Greg Norman, Golfer

Whenever I watch TV and see those poor starving kids all over the world, I can't help but cry. I mean I'd love to be skinny like that but not with all those flies and death and stuff.»
- Mariah Carey, pop singer

They misunderestimated me.
- George W Bush, Bentonville, Arkansas

Traditionally, most of Australia's imports come from overseas.
- Keppel Enderbery, Former Australian cabinet minister

Put the 'off' button on.
- George W. Bush, Associated Press, 14th February 2000

If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure.
- Dan Quayle, former U.S. Vice President

The internet is a great way to get on the net.
- Bob Dole, Republican presidential candidate

I don't make friends over a pound of salt.
- One son of a bitch

Adolf Hitler and the Volkswagen Beetle

Sitting at a restaurant table in Munich in the summer of 1932, Hitler designed the prototype for what would become the immensely successful Beetle design for Volkswagen (literally, the "car of the people"). In an era where only the most economic elite possessed cars, Hitler believed that all people should be able to own a car and additionally thought that a smart design could allow for reliability, enjoyment, and vacation travel. The name given to the car in 1938 was Kraft durch Freude (KdF-Wagen, literally "strength through joy car").

Hitler gave his design to the head of Daimler-Benz, Jakob Werlin, and stressed its importance. "Take it with you and speak with people who understand more about it than I do. But don't forget it. I want to hear from you soon, about the technical details."

The rest is history.

Research indicates that ........

Incredible Driving Skills

Nine Words Women Use

1. Fine: This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up.
   
   
2. Five Minutes: If she is getting dressed, this means a half an hour. Five minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given five more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house.
   
   
3. Nothing: This is the calm before the storm. This means something, and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with nothing usually end in fine.
   
   
4. Go Ahead: This is a dare, not permission. Don't Do It!
   
   
5. Loud Sigh: This is not actually a word, but is a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men A loud sigh means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you about nothing. (Refer back to #3 for the meaning of nothing.)
   
   
6. That's Ok: This is one of the most dangerous statements a women can make to a man. That's ok means she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake.
   
   
7. Thanks: A woman is thanking you, do not question, or Faint. Just say you're welcome.
   
   
8. Whatever: Is a woman's way of saying FUCK YOU!
   
   
9. Don't worry about it, I got it: Another dangerous statement, meaning this is something that a woman has told a man to do several times, but is now doing it herself. This will later result in a man asking "What's wrong?" For the woman's response, refer to #3.

Try to read the Colors

What if Microsoft built cars?

At a computer expo (COMDEX) a few years ago, Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry with the auto industry and stated.. "If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving twenty-five dollar cars that got 1000mi/gal."

General Motors addressed this comment by releasing their own statement "Yes, but would you want your car to crash twice a day?", and offered the following comparisons:

1. Every time they repainted the lines on the road you would have to buy a new car.
   
   
2. Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason, and you would just accept this, restart the car and drive on.
   
   
3. Occasionally, executing a maneuver would cause your car to stop and fail and you would have to reinstall the whole engine. For some strange reason, you would accept this too.
   
   
4. You could only have one person in the car at a time, unless you bought "Car95" or "CarNT". But, then you would have to buy and install more seats.
   
   
5. Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was perfectly reliable, ran five times faster, and was twice as easy to drive, but would only run on 5% of the roads.
   
   
6. The Macintosh car owners would get expensive Microsoft upgrades to their cars which would make their cars run much slower, and begin to crash.
   
   
7. The red "oil", "gas" and "alternator" warning lights would be replaced by a single blue "general protection fault" warning light.
   
   
8. New seats would force everyone to have the same size butts.
   
   
9. The airbag system would ask "are you sure?" before going off.
   
   
10. If you were involved in a crash, you would have no idea what caused it, or what you can do to prevent subsequent crashes from occurring in the future.
    
    And more
    
    
11. When you applied the brakes, a panel on the dashboard would light up saying "Are you sure you want to stop?"
    
    
12. Sometimes a message would appear on the dash saying " The gearbox cannot access the differential - do you wish to - CONTINUE - RETRY - ABORT ?

Why Microsoft Internet Explorere sucks

Microsoft has a horrible track record of releasing buggy software with numerous security holes. In fact, a study completed in 2005 proves it:

There were only 7 days in all of 2004 in which Internet Explorer could be considered vulnerability-free. Firefox and Opera, the two following most popular browsers, were protected for 307 and 300 days, respectively. 7 days vs. 300+ ? Ouch.

Internet EXplorer crashes constantly. It has happened to you, as well as everyone else that uses it, multiple times. In fact, it only takes ONE short line of code to crash Internet Explorer.

If you're brave and using Internet Explorer, click here. Internet Explorer WILL crash. Because that's what it does.

Microsoft believes it to be above all web standards and tends to play by its own rules. Now, this doesn't directly affect you as a user, but for a web developer it means creating a website takes twice as long to make. That means they spend less time making it GOOD and more time just trying to make it work.

And that means a worse web experience for you.

It would make sense for IE to support formats that everyone else does. For example, the newest picture format (PNG) and the latest style standards (CSS 2.1) are NOT well supported by IE. In fact, the brand spanking new IE 7 supports only 54% of CSS 2.1, whereas Firefox and Opera have 93% and 96% compliance.

So if you visit a site that uses these, it's just not going to work right.

Explorer's error messages don't tell you anything about the problem. It just dies and takes Windows with it.

Unlike Firefox and Opera, IE does not allow other people to openly develop on it. The great thing about Firefox and Opera is that they both have a large community developing additional features for its browser.

The US Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT), part of the Homeland Defense group, recommended against it's use because of its potential use as a target for terrorists.

What better place to attack than the virtual infrastructure?

Since IE and Windows are so closely connected, a crash of IE will often render Windows unstable and buggy.

Additionally, uninstalling and reinstalling IE is an incredibly difficult task, which is often necessary after it's been destroyed by malware and spyware hacks.

Malicious programmers will focus their efforts on targeting Internet Explorer because:

1. It's easy to take advantage of the security exploits of Internet Explorer
   
   
2. Internet Explorer users tend to be less web-educated and tech-savvy and may more easily fall into traps
   
   
3. It's what most people use, so they'll hit the most people with their software.
   

So if you switch from Internet Explorer, you'll protect yourself, your computer, and your private information from malicious hackers.

Why use a program that constantly crashes, provides huge security risks, and causes general system instability when there are great alternatives like FireFox and Opera out there?

Consider taking the time to try FireFox - it will even import all of your bookmarks and settings from Internet Explorer. FireFox is designed to accommodate former Internet Explorer users, so you won't have to learn how to use a new browser, but you will find new features that will make the web far more pleasant!

Click the Firefox logo if you need to download the FireFox browser.

Dared 2A3C Tube Amplifier

Dared 2A3C

I spotted this little gem while hunting for a tube amplifier in Guangzhou. It looks small but weighs a massive 17 kgs! The Chinese salesman took time to show me this tube and I had a good listening test with a number of high end Chinese speakers and a pair of Sonus Faber thrown in. The chinese speakers are not known to be easy to drive and yet at five (5) watts RMS, the little fella pumped out a lot of gusto. When I heard it paired with the Sonus Faber, I knew I have to have it. It's just great stuff. If if it works well with the Sonus Faber, it has to do even better with my Klipsch flagship bearing in mind, the Klipsch needs only 1watt to produce 100 dB.

It took me four days to await the arrival of the 2A3C having sent it through the Hong Kong International Airport Post Office. When it arrived at my place, I was impressed by the meticulous packaging, two hard boxes and polysterene foam, plus a pair of white gloves. The gloves were meant to be worn so that you won't foul the two big 2A3C vacuum tubes. The chrome casing was incredible beautiful and the build quality, in one word, superb.

Installation was pretty simple once you have the interconnects and the speaker wires in place. The first piece of CD was an XRCD by Tongli. Her vocal came across like she was right in front of you. You can literally hear her breath and dynamics. 5 watts were all it takes to produce shattering bass. Mind you, in my opinion, bass are meant to be felt not heard. The placement of the musical instruments and transparency are crystal clear. Credit must go to the horn tweeters of the Klipsch for the clarity in music reproduction.

Qinpu A800 Mk II

For the last couple of years, I have been using the heavyweight, Qinpu A8000 MkII. 100 watts per channel AB class and the difference between this brute and the 2A3C is stark and astounding. The latter came across as warmth, typically of tube, and more detailed and refined. The 2A3C is a 5 watt per channel SET with Class A amplification. As the Klispch is notoriously high efficient, the pure 5 clean watts are all it takes to create a live shattering performance. It's not over yet as I have been told that the ultimate performance comes in after the amp has run-in for 100 hours. I am already sold on the 2A3C's virtues and I reckoned I have to decommission my Qinpu for early retirement.

My advice is if you own a pair of Klipsch loudspeakers the 2A3C is your best bet in amplification. You don't need more than 5 watts to drive them. The 2A3C is highly recommended if you are looking for a great tube amplifier.