"When I was, God was not. When God is, I am no more"
(An Indian Mystic)

INDONESIA'S MUD VOLCANO

From ScienceDaily.com (Nov. 3, 2008) — A resounding vote of international petroleum geologists from around the globe concluded that the mud volcano was triggered by drilling of a nearby gas exploration well.



This may have implications for compensation of the local population affected.
Lusi started to erupt in East Java, Indonesia, on May 29th 2006, and is still spewing huge volumes of boiling mud over the surrounding area. It has displaced around 30,000 people from their homes and swamped 12 villages.



The cause of Lusi was considered at a debate this week at an International conference in Cape Town, South Africa, which concluded with a vote between 74 world-leading petroleum scientists who considered the evidence presented by four experts in the field.
Some 42 scientists voted that gas exploration well, Banjar-Panji-1, which was being drilled by oil and gas company called Lapindo Brantas, was the cause.



Only 3 scientists voted for the alternative explanation – that the Yogyakarta earthquake two days before the eruption, whose epicentre was 280km from the mud volcano, was the cause. Some 16 scientists voted that the evidence was inconclusive and 13 that a combination of earthquake and drilling were the cause.



The vote, taken in the last week in October at the American Association of Petroleum Geologists Conference in South Africa, follows months of scientific investigation and analysis published by some of the world's leading experts in their field.



Key reasons supporting drilling rather than the earthquake as the cause include:
the earthquake was too small and too far away to have had a role.
the well was being drilled at the same time and only 150 m from the volcano site.
the well took a huge influx of fluid the day before the eruption, resulting in pressures that the well could not tolerate.



the pressure measured in the well after the influx provides strong evidence that the well was leaking and even evidence for the initial eruption at the surface.
One of the speakers, leading geologist Professor Richard Davies of Durham University, UK, commented: "The conference allowed us to present new data on the pressures in the well the day before the eruption and these provide a compelling tape recording of the well as it started to leak.''



"We were particularly grateful to Lapindo, the company involved in the drilling, who were widely applauded at the meeting for their willingness to take part in the discussion."
Prof Davies added: "I remain convinced that drilling was the cause of the mud volcano. The opinion of the international scientists at the event in South Africa adds further weight to my conviction and the conclusions of many other leading scientists who have studied Lusi."
Susila Lusiaga a drilling engineer and part of the Indonesian police investigation team said: "There is no question, the pressures in the well went way beyond what it could tolerate – and it triggered the mud volcano."



Michael Manga, Professor of Earth and Planetary Science at the University of California, Berkeley, said: "The key observation from an earthquake perspective is that there were many much larger and quite a bit closer earthquakes that did not trigger an eruption'.
"The Yogyakarta earthquake was simply too small and too far away to initiate an eruption."
Lusi is still flowing at 100,000 cubic metres per day, enough to fill 53 Olympic swimming pools.
Recent research by Durham University UK, and the Institute of Technology Bandung in Indonesia, showed Lusi is collapsing by at about 13 m per year and sometimes 3 m overnight and could subside to depths of more than 140 metres, having a significant environmental impact on the surrounding area for years to come.

LET THERE BE LOVE - JULIE LONDON Live

Oh Julie, you really make my day!

If You Ask Me
by our dear Yusuf Islam.

before you ask me, i think i'd better ask mySelf first.

because this wretched Self doesn't seem to bother.

this Self is too much into itSelf

God knows best. God is merciful.

Not bad, Sheryn.

mens underwear quite costly nowadays. but they come in cool designs and brands. fortunately renoma's on x'mas sale. still awaiting for the right day to grab a Calvin Klein. my goodness, price for a pair is almost equivalent to a marks and spencer pants.

dear lady who took ten bloody minutes on the dbs atm, are you married to the machine?!

YEO YANN YANN- The Night Club Ah Lian from Yasmin's 'Muallaf'. You very cool girl! I like.

Have we sacrificed enough?

Eid Mubarak to all.

Yahoo! I pass!

I'll be getting my Diploma In Creative Entrepreneurship soon.

Looking forward for Graduation Ceremony in Feb 09!

Alhamdulillah.

Thieves escaped with over S$155m worth of jewellery in Paris without a single shot being fired??? Awesome!

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/afp/20081205/tts-france-crime-luxury-diamonds-509a08e.html

It Might As Well Be Spring- Astrud Gilberto

Insensatez (How Insensitive) - Maria Toledo (from Jazz Samba Encore Record)



How Insensitive - My rendition. Haha.

What's Inside Little Broccoli

A compound found in broccoli and broccoli sprouts appears to be more effective than modern antibiotics against the bacteria which causes peptic ulcers. Moreover, tests in mice show that the compound offers tremendous protection against stomach cancer - the second most common form of cancer in the world.
broccoli and cancer

The recent study, led by scientists at Johns Hopkins University, is the latest in a series of studies done in the past 10 years on the cancer-fighting potential of broccoli.

Back in 1992, Johns Hopkins University pharmacology professor Paul Talalay and his colleagues showed that sulforaphane - a substance produced by the body from a compound in broccoli - could trigger the production of phase II enzymes. Phase II enzymes can detoxify cancer-causing chemicals and are among the most potent anti-cancer compounds known to man.
It should be noted that broccoli sprouts have shown to be every bit as beneficial as full grown brocoli.

A different study showed that consumption of broccoli was strongly associated with a reduced risk of coronary heart disease death in postmenopausal women.

In yet another study conducted jointly with US and Chinese researchers, it was found that chemicals present in broccoli, cabbage, bok choy, and other cruciferous vegetables may protect against lung cancer. Researchers studied more than 18,000 men. They recorded 259 cases of lung cancer during the study's follow-up period. The researchers found that the men with detectable amounts of a substance known as 'isothiocyanates' in their bodies had a 36% lower risk of developing lung cancer over a 10-year period.

Source: www.healingdaily.com

Time to make broccoli soup with carrot and fish. Yummy!

NUTRITIONAL FACTS (wikipedia)

Broccoli, raw (edible parts), 100g Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy 30 kcal 140 kJ
Carbohydrates 6.64 g - Sugars 1.7 g - Dietary fiber 2.6 g Fat 0.37 g Protein 2.82 g Water 89.30g Vitamin A equiv. 31 μg 3% - β-carotene 361 μg 3% Thiamin (Vit. B1) 0.071 mg 5% Riboflavin (Vit. B2) 0.117 mg 8% Niacin (Vit. B3) 0.639 mg 4% Pantothenic acid (B5) 0.573 mg 11% Vitamin B6 0.175 mg 13% Folate (Vit. B9) 63 μg 16% Vitamin C 89.2 mg 149% Calcium 47 mg 5% Iron 0.73 mg 6% Magnesium 21 mg 6% Phosphorus 66 mg 9% Potassium 316 mg 7% Zinc 0.41 mg 4%
Percentages are relative to US recommendations for adults. Source: USDA Nutrient database

Regular swimming builds endurance, muscle strength and cardio-vascular fitness. It can serve as a cross-training element to your regular workouts. Before a land workout, you can use the pool for a warm-up session. Swimming with increasing effort to gradually increase your heart rate and stimulate your muscle activity is easily accomplished in the water. After a land workout, swimming a few laps can help you cool-down, move blood through your muscles to help them recover, and help you relax as you glide through the water.

ok, time to get back to the water.

Another cool classic bossanova cover by a Canadian youtuber named Cristiane. Astrud and Jobim will be proud.