I was quite appalled to learn that the family of the 46-year-old former odd-job worker who was hit by an MRT train two Wednesdays ago has continued with their frugal lifestyle, due to the insistence of the matriarch, Madam Lim. The New Paper reported that the family and Madam Lim’s sister shared a $2 plate of carrot cake and that they still eat instant noodles for breakfast or lunch.

Half a million dollars, $500 000, five hundred thousand bucks, however it is expressed, is quite a bit of money. To persevere with their spartan ways to the point of neglecting nutrition is going too far. Instant noodles provide a quick fix when one is hungry but they should not be consumed on a regular basis as they are devoid of nutrients and overflowing with undesirables. Although I am not a nutritionist, four people sharing a small portion of food sounds ridiculous, especially with two teenage boys. Surely such small servings will not be enough for their proper development until they stop growing. In addition, the elder of the two boys, Yong Da, is an avid basketball player who harbours hopes of being selected for the national squad. It should be fair to say that he plays basketball frequently and a sportsman would require even more sustenance than non-sportsmen. I wonder if he finds it difficult to maintain his energy levels.

What is the point of money when one does not make use of it?

Updated my list of recommended eateries.

Some questions you should never ask

The giggles of a couple playful canoodling on a nearby coffee-joint couch intruded upon every other paragraph in an article I was reading in an old New York Times magazine.

I had just mustered the will to retrieve a CD player and headphones from my car when I heard the girl ask: f you could date one of my friends, who would it be??/P>

I winced in pity for the poor guys, who was drowning in his own words as he attempted to respond to a question with no acceptable answer.

I imagined an aircraft oxygen mask descending from the ceiling and red lights flashing as a voice boomed bort, Abort?from a loudspeaker.

o one, baby,?he said.

But the girl continued to prod.

It just a hypothetical,?she said in the sweetest tone, setting up the impending verbal ambush.

He bought her fake airy tone and said: ell, Amy is kind of fun.?/P>

I bowed my head, unwilling to witness the subsequent exchange that would lead to: oue thought of her naked, haven you??/P>

A handful of questions exist that you should never ask your significant other, and that significant others should avoid answering. These questions are born of insecurity and jealous curiosity and never beget answers that satisfy the asker.

Yet it seems that girls continue to ask their boyfriends whether they look fat and guys still inquire about how they compare to ex-es in bed.

Consider o I look fat?? the question every man and some women must field. Let be honest: Unless she is thin with extreme body issues, if she is asking the question, she is likely overweight and quizzing you because she wants to hear that she isn. A simple white lie won do because deep down she knows she is chunky and will probably accuse you of lying to her.

The elling her what she wants to hear? approach will only incite a barrage of questions through which she tries to get you to rack?and admit you have noticed her weight gain.

A cheesy canned response like some version of ?You are beautiful in both spirit and body, and every day I strive to remain worthy of your love?won suffice either. Shel assume that your nice comments are a way to skirt the issue, which in her mind means you think she fat but don want to lie to her.

This is not a time for jokes or teasing, such as es, youe fat? then when she starts freaking out, mitigating the statement with hat with a h??/P>

And because many women equate being heavy with being unattractive or unlovable, reserve the harsh honesty for people whose weight is affecting their health.

Respond to the average o I look fat??asker by suggesting healthy restaurants or an evening walk instead of vegging in front of the television.

The best approach is to stonewall the question by repeating one phrase and not wavering. A good one is: oue beautiful, stop it.?Or try turning it around on yourself, like: an, I must not be doing my job if you need to ask what I think of you.?/P>

This will make her feel guilty for asking, and youl be off the hook.

Keep your responses short as you let her talk out her weight frustrations.

Another common question people in relationships ask their partners is how do their looks or personalities compare to past boyfriends?or girlfriends?

Ideally, a person would never ask such a fatal question, but only the prepared survive when she is staring at you, unwilling to accept that she has been your overall best, but not wanting to hear otherwise.

You can be firm and say  not going to go there? but then your partner will probably just assume you are not wanting to admit youe dated people more attractive or more fun.

However, I stand by my opinion that refusing to get caught up in that conversation will have a better outcome than if you dissect the ests?of past relationships.

Telling her that you have experienced better lovers or had more fun times with other people will only create complexes about those issues and make her feel like a disappointing partner.

Reiterate that you would not be with her unless you thought she was the best partner for you.

Hopefully, you will never ask or be asked such questions. But the reality is that at least one of the above questions will creep into your pillow talk.

And if your partner has the tenacity to ask, then he or she is probably just as determined to get an answer.

My best advice is to refuse to answer the question or seek out your inner politician and try to weasel your way out of a straight answer.

They might be silly, insignificant questions, but hurtful answers may harm the relationship indefinitely.

-Katherine Heine
-New York Times News Service

The three-times Masters champion from Leeds passed away at 8.20pm at Kirkwood Hospice in Huddersfield, five days before his 28th birthday.

The death of the popular Yorkshireman will bring immense sadness to the snooker world and to British sport.

Hunter was diagnosed 18 months ago with neuro-endocrine tumours, a rare form of cancer which causes slow-growing tumours in the lining of the body to release excessive amounts of hormones.

He underwent several gruelling courses of chemotherapy in hope of beating the disease, but to no avail. His condition deteriorated rapidly in recent weeks and he was taken into the hospice on Saturday.

Hunter leaves behind wife Lindsey and daughter Evie Rose, who was born on Boxing Day 2005.

World Snooker chairman Sir Rodney Walker said: “I sure that everyone who met Paul, as well as his millions of fans and the sporting public as a whole, will join me in sending most sincere sympthies to Lindsey, Paul parents, his family and friends.

“Paul was a man who had everything going for him – an oustanding talent, good looks, fame, riches, charm and a beautiful wife. This shows us just how quickly life can change.

“It a bitter blow for snooker but most importantly for his family and our thoughts are with them.”

Hunter grew up in Leeds and attended Cardinal Heenan High School, spending most of his spare time developing his natural aptitude for snooker. He was coached in his formative years by 1986 World Champion Joe Johnson.

After winning the Pontin Star of the Future event twice, he turned professional in 1995 and made an immediate impact, beating Stephen Hendry on his way to the semi-finals of the Welsh Open at the age of just 17.

Two years later he returned to the same event at the Newport Centre to win his first ranking tournament, beating John Higgins in the final to establish himself as a major contender in the sport.

That victory helped Hunter break into the top 16 and he continued to climb the rankings to reach a career peak of No 4 in 2004/05. He won the Welsh Open again in 2002 and the British Open later that year.

But Hunter most significant success came in snooker most prestigious invitation event – the Masters.

In 2001, he reached the final at Wembley for the first time and came from 7-3 down to beat Fergal Orien 10-9. His comeback was aided by a flurry of rapid high scoring as he rattled in four century breaks in six frames.

His media profile developed swiftly and he became known as the eckham of the Baize?for his glamorous image.

Hunter won the Masters twice more in the next three years, remarkably both times by a 10-9 scoreline after recovering an apparently insurmountable deficit.

In 2002 he came from 5-0 down to beat Mark Williams and in 2004 over 5million viewers on BBC Sport saw him beat Ronnie Oullivan having trailed 7-2.

When the diagnosis of cancer was announced in April last year, Hunter promised his fans that he would be as “tenacious and positive” in his fight against the disease as he had been throughout his snooker career.

Despite suffering from considerable pain as well as numbness in his limbs, he bravely competed on the circuit throughout the 2005/06 season. He subsequently announced his wish to take a break from snooker in order to receive more treatment.

In July this year, his fellow professionals voted for a change to the constitution of the WPBSA which allowed Hunter to successfully apply to have his official world ranking frozen at No 34 for a season.

But the news that Hunter will no longer grace the green baize will cause great sorrow to the likes of Matthew Stevens, Jimmy Michie and his many other close friends on the circuit.

Backstage at snooker events, Hunter charisma, cheerful persona and laid-back approach to life made him universally popular among players, officials, media and fans. He will be sadly missed by all.

His unselfish nature and appreciation of his support is underlined by an incident at the 2005 China Open in Beijing.

Following his first-round match, Hunter was requested for a press conference. When he did not appear within 20 minutes, his whereabouts was sought.

Hunter was soon discovered in the arena, patiently signing autographs and having photos taken with Chinese fans, and he remained there until every request was met. This was just a few days after he had been diagnosed with the disease which was to bring his end.

College men–and women, too–are drinking alcohol. A lot of alcohol. So much alcohol that the term “binge drinking” doesn’t even begin to portray what they are doing. So much alcohol that there is now a new phrase to describe it: “extreme drinking.”

Ivanhoe Newswire reports that one in five first-year college men often drink more than double the amount of booze that is considered a binge. Binge drinking is defined as five or more drinks at a time for men and four or more for women.

What Dr. Aaron White and a team of researchers from Duke University in Durham, N.C. and the University of California, San Diego found is that many college students go far beyond this amount:

• 20 percent of freshmen males reported having 10 or more drinks at a time at least once in a two-week period.
• 8 percent admitted to having 15 or more drinks at a time.

The men are not drinking alone. One in 10 freshmen women reported consuming eight or more drinks on at least one day, which is twice that of the binge-drinking rate for females. In addition, nearly 2 percent said they had 12 or more drinks on at least one day.

For both men and women, the number of drinks could be even higher since many college students often underestimate the standard size of an alcoholic drink. While most of the college men and women surveyed did not engage in extreme drinking, 55 percent said they did drink some with the average number of drinks almost six for men and four for women.

To come to this startling assessment, White’s team analyzed data from 10,424 college freshmen who attended 14 unnamed U.S. colleges. In 2003, the students took a survey prior to taking an alcohol education and prevention class, revealing how many drinks they had consumed each day for the previous two weeks. Their answers were anonymous. “Alcohol is more dangerous than many street drugs, yet it is advertised like candy. It is time for us to finally start taking this drug seriously,” White told Ivanhoe Newswire.

The study’s findings were published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.

The bus which I was on board broke down. Fortunately, I was one bus stop away from my destination. Then, a question randomly popped up in my head, do commuters have to pay again when the next bus comes along? During the days of Transitlink and cash payments, passengers of a bus that broke down would not have to pay for their next bus ride as long as they retained their bus ticket. Is the Ezlink system sophisticated enough to handle such situations?

Most people do not bother moving to the back of the bus when it is crowded, resulting in congestion at the front half of the bus, which in turn prevents passengers from boarding the bus when there is still space on the bus. Undergraduates are no exception, most of them selfishly refuse to budge and clusterfuck near the exit and entrance. 

The chap with the cap is one of the few people I have seen who bother to move all the way to the back of the bus, and he does not even hail from Singapore…. Singaporeans…

My father is a liar and coward.

Life has been pretty routine, nothing much to talk about…