The Olympics 2008
Has anyone managed to watch the Olympics recently? The past week of watching Olympics was so enjoyable - even though sometimes I would sleep late and look like a panda because of it. I watched some different categories - both men and women - and I wondered how many categories are there in Olympics? Can anyone tell me so I know how many gold medals in all are up for claims? I would guess probably more than one hundred.

Reward for athletes:
I learnt that athletes get fame and recognition when they win a medal in Olympics, though they don't win any money or prize. But some countries have their own reward system for their own athletes. Canada reward athletes 20,000 USD when they bring home a gold medal. So far, I don't see a single reward from any country that is bigger than Singapore's reward.

Why didn't Singapore win a single gold medal? The reward is $1 million SGD ($710,000 US) for each gold medalist. Guess we have to accept the truth, Singapore is strong in financial sector, but not in sports. You would have thought that such a small island like Singapore would probably produce some good swimmers huh? More info about Singapore's reward system, click HERE.

UPDATE: If it's accurate, I just saw that there's 215 categories. China is currently leading with 45 gold medals, followed by USA with 26 gold medals.

MASS SLUGS in the garden!
In the summer, Manuel's mom usually leave for the caravan for mini holidays every weekend. Sometimes she would leave a note for us - to keep the slugs away from the garden - away from her flowers! Because of a good summer and an interest in gardening, she is now the owner of a colourful flowergarden. So last weekend evening, we entered the garden and looked around for slugs and snails. We just couldn't imagine that we would find sooo much of them in just 1 garden. They are eating all the flowers and plants. In fact, they seem to have an insatiable appetite. If we don't get rid of them, Mom will probably come back to a half empty garden.

So we put on rubber gloves - because we don't dare to pick up the slugs with our bare hands, they are so slimy! - and start the dirty job of collecting all the slugs and snails that we can see.

Slugs collected on the first day.

Slugs collected on the 3rd day, which happens to be a rainy day. We realised a lot more slugs will be present on rainy days. The wet floor makes it much easier for them to move around, so they don't need to use so much slime!

When we came out of the house.... we saw there are even much more slugs on the pavements near our neighbourhood! Mom's friend says it's the year of the slugs, as there will be a lot of slugs this year.

We decided not to kill the slugs, because we read on the internet that slugs are an important part of the eco system. They clear up the decaying matter, and the ducks prey on them. Also because we feel bad about killing creatures, taking away their lives so easily (we don't feel the same about mosquitoes because they actually attack people). So we walked for 5 mins to another more secluded part of the neighbourhood to find them a new home. Ok! Job done!! :)

When we buy our own house, we wouldn't want to grow too much plants in our garden. It's too much work, we wouldn't have time to take care of it. :p

Grubby's first blog on MYM
His first blog topic was in defense of a poor boy Toad who had been attacked by the SK trolls and news writer Malystryx.

When reading the Malystryx's post of "SK wipes their hands with MYM in 4-1 Victory", I saw they used pictures of an innocent guy to make fun of him, while gloating about their victory over MYM. It's ok to announce victory, but they shouldn't overdo it.

The pictures posted in the post was Toad's picture photoshopped with speech bubbles, quoting him say things he had never said before or would never say. When I first saw that, I felt sorry straight away.

The first feeling I got was disbelief and I ask "Why?". Just months ago, before the NGL play-offs in Berlin in February, Malystryx was the one who wrote a big article about Toad, interviewing him and quoting him as a very cool guy and the biggest SK fan. Now just 6 months later, he wrote this news to insult Toad. No offense to Malystryx though, anyone could make a mistake or a wrong judgement at anytime.

Where's the love?

A week ago, Toad joined MYM as coverage staff. He came to join MYM community after months of being insulted and flamed by SK trolls in the forums. He wasn't happy hanging out in SK forums anymore. Anyone who ever visit SK Warcraft III forums would understand that some of these people could be harsh and mean at times. They have no mercy with what they say. These people love dramas, and thrive on insulting/flaming famous people online. Just look at all the useless/unconstructive threads that were created, then judge for yourself. If you are in Toad's position, how would you feel, enduring this treatment for months in the SK community? People are teasing him, calling him names, just because an article was made about him, making him kind of famous.

The fact that he joined MYM community has nothing to do with being a "traitor". In his heart, he had always admired Warcraft III players from both SK and MYM - such as Lyn, Remind, Grubby. Even till today, nothing had changed. He can be a MYM news editor and still be a fan of any player he likes, even if it's from another team. Even if one day, he is a total fan of MYM, it's also his total freedom. It's normal for people to do a switch at anytime.

Take for example: You play Starcraft and thus you are a big fan of Starcraft. When Warcraft III comes out, you switch games. Though you play Warcraft III now, but it doesn't mean you are a "traitor". You could still be a fan of both games, even if you only play Warcraft III and joined the Warcraft III community. Why can't anyone do a switch? Even if you become a Warcraft III fan now and Starcraft is history to you, you are not a "traitor". I find it so silly that some people so easily name someone else a "traitor". Just look it up in the dictionary and find the real meaning.

Toad is a passionate fan of the game of Warcraft III and the professional gamers revolving around it. Before his accident, he was into sports (great at skiing/snowboarding). After a big accident which nearly end his life, it ended his ability to do sports. Though he was lucky to be alive, he had to walk with permanent pain in his knee. Eventually he discovered Warcraft III and found lots of fun playing it and speculating games. He became a big Warcraft III fan.

In fact, I think being a fanboy is something to be proud of. It shows you are passionate. Being a fan of something makes you feel alive!

Even if one day, he stopped being a Warcraft III fan, he is still a great person, a kind hearted soul. I wouldn't call him a traitor.

Don't gang up and attack on someone just because you think it's funny.

Click HERE to read Grubby's blog.