Mount Pinatubo lake safely drained

This BBC News report on the successful draining of a crater lake on Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines caught my attention.

A lake had filled the crater after Mount Pinatubo erupted in 1991 and had reach dangerous levels. If the lake breached the crater wall, it would have caused a huge mudslide that would endanger surrounding villages. Workers have now dug a drain to drain off some of the water in the lake, making the area safe.

There had been fears the drainage operation may cause the mudslide it was designed to prevent (villages around the area had been evacuated), but this appears not to have happened.

Wonderful news indeed for the people living around Mount Pinatubo.

Finished reading the first part of Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings"

I have finished reading the first part of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. The first part of the book is usually called The Fellowship of the Ring. This is in anticapation of the upcoming movie by Peter Jackson. I usually go the TheOneRing.net for the latest news on the movie.

People usually consider The Lord of the Rings as a trilogy but that is an artifact of how the story is presented (broken up into three books). I think Tolkien intended it to be six books since that is how they are actually labeled in the story.

I intend to continue reading the entire story even though the movie (to be released this December) covers only The Fellowship of the Ring. The story is way too exciting to just stop now and wait for the second and third movie to come out next year and two years from now. Does this mean I'll be reading the story again next year (when The Two Towers is released) and the year after next (when The Return of the King is released)? Very probably.

I have read the books many times over the years and still enjoy reading them. The pleasure is not in the sequence of events (I know just about everything that will happen in the story), but in the way the story is told. Tolkien went to a lot of trouble to think up languages and ways of life for the various races of elves, dwarves, men and (of course) hobbits and it shows in how the characters seem to have a life of their own, separate from what they are actually doing in the story.

If you haven't read The Lord of the Rings yet, you may want to do so. Start with The Hobbit before tackling this massive book. Be sure to put aside time to read it slowly and thoughtfully. This is not a book to skim through rapidly if you want to get its full flavour.

BBC's "Walking with Dinosaurs" and "Space" series

The BBC (British Broadcasting Service) has a reputation of producing excellent documentary series. Two recent ones that caught my eye are Walking with Dinosaurs and Space.

I have seen Walking with Dinosaurs as well as The Ballad of Big Al, a special documentary concerning the near complete skeleton of an allosaurus. I have yet to see Space but no doubt it should be as entertaining and informative.

Catch them if your local TV station is showing them. You will be amazed and entertained.

New agreement between Malaysia and Singapore

I read via Yahoo News that Malaysia and Singapore have reached a new agreement which should help to end long standing disputes between them.

Since I'm a citizen of Malaysia while residing in Singapore, this is a big deal to me. Prickly relationships between the two countries always worry me somewhat.

Among the points agreed to include:

• a new water contract for Malaysia to supply water to Singapore


• building of a new bridge and tunnel to form a link between Singapore and Johor (a state in Malaysia bordering Singapore), demolishing the existing causeway


• a deal on pension contributions of Malaysians working in Singapore


• Singapore offered Malaysia a piece of land as part of deal to
  settle the dispute over railway land

Here's to a better working relationship in the future.

New Lego Mindstorms version coming soon

A new version of Lego Mindstorms is coming soon according to this MSNBC article.

Lego Mindstorms is an amazing interactive set that combines the fun of Lego with computers, allowing you to build your own robotic lego creations.

This is definitely loads of fun for kids and adults.