This time, I was going through a past issue of the New Zealand Woman’s Weekly and its brain teaser spread prompted me to get on with this compilation. The first one on this list is from the magazine, the rest are long-time + newly-discovered favorites.

[Btw, here is part I, if you haven't seen it yet]

Tease someone today, won’t you? And if the next time someone tries them on you, you can then surprise them with your clever answers!

We extended our stay in Prague after our Trafalgar tour ended. And back then when it was hardly possible to research or book accommodation online, we went to the visitor’s center to help us find a place to stay.

This was the photocopied leaflet featuring the pension we picked.

Our room was either on the 2nd or 3rd floor. Can’t remember.

The few things I can remember: 2 big black dogs in the house, the lady who rented out the apartment also spoke German and further down on the path which led to the subway (hidden but to the right of this picture), there were no street lamps…literally pitch-dark after 7pm. It was a great way to live among the locals.

Picture taken on: 8 October 1998

The other day I popped by into a small backpack-cum-adventure gear shop looking for a first aid pouch. As expected, most of the items in that shop were dressed in non-adventurous (aka solemn) colours…but something stood out and made my eyes pop!

Pink + brown!

For the love of both colours, their rare partnership (in the world of sports) and the practicality of this item (I was still thinking), I bought it, together with the first aid pouch that comes with many compartments.

So how practical is this? I can think of all sorts of places for storage use: on the back seat of the car, in the closet, on your baby stroller or in a kids’ room and of course in my luggage for a next trip. And that reflective piece is a detachable mirror.

Besides Lafuma, from now on, I’ll be sticking to Tatonka for things sporty, chic and functional.

This red sculpture stood before me as I stepped out of the subway exit last Saturday. Took some pictures from where I stood and went on my way…not knowing what I’ve taken.

Yesterday we drove round it to see if there was a description. There is. It’s ‘Momentum’, the work of an Israeli artist David Gerstein. The spiral structure is meant to represent this, perhaps that’s why it’s seated along the financial district. A little more googling revealed that it was unveiled in December last year.

On this next picture, I didn’t just gain Momentum but also a bird + a man and I only found out about their presence when I was zooming in on the sculpture with Paintshop. For a moment, I felt like a detective uncovering clues on a picture!

Lately my sff (small form factor) computer has become really cranky…producing a lot of noise and heats up very quickly! It will make a scene when I play a video, edit an image or land on a page heavy on flash. If only I could capture all that heat and have it power another appliance, say a blowing fan.

Maybe it’s time to change (I hope not) but for the time being hub has removed the cover to help cool it down and that has certainly restored some peace and quiet.

So everyday I take a look at the open unit, wonder what’s going on, marvel at the picturesque environment and do some dusting.

No samples required, just a test of your knowledge.

Answer True or False.

1. Urine made by healthy kidneys that has not left the body is actually sterile.
2. A bacterial infection makes urine cloudy.
3. Urine from fox and wolf is used as an animal repellent to keep other animals (e.g. deers, rabbits) away from man’s properties.
4. Cancer-causing compounds were never once found in the urine of babies who were in constant exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS).
5. Gross hematuria means that blood cannot be seen in the urine with the naked eye.
6. Asparagus can make urine green and smelly.
7. The drug Premarin is not made from estrogen extracted from pregnant mares’ urine.
8. Children with a rare inherited condition, known as the “blue diaper syndrome” has blue urine.

Answers: 1. T :: 2. T :: 3. T :: 4. F :: 5. F :: 6. T :: 7. F :: 8. T

How did you fare? Think you can handle some more?

Here’s my aged garlic, which is something new and available at our Japanese supermarket.

It has a strong but mellow garlicky scent which smells kind of like soy sauce. It’s also incredibly soft.

According to its maker, this amberish garlic had undergone a maturing process for 2 weeks under low temperatures which in turn raises the level of S-allyl cystein (a beneficial compound broken down from allicin) to an exceptional high.

You should really see the wrinkles!

[Update It has a mild pickled taste, otherwise almost bland.]