From a hanging wall calendar I got to see drawings from Kota Taniuchi (谷内こうた), an author and illustrator. The calendar was given to hub by a business associate from Hitachi some years ago.

He has also written several children’s books, some are available at Kodansha (limited titles @ Amazon jp/fr) while others are out-of-print.

I try to be here as often as I can to take down notes but when I’m not, I’ll be here or even here if time permits.

So here I’m enjoying my 2nd cup of tea. Made possible by Valerie who sent me lots of it last Thursday! I’ve been spoilt and it’s good to be.

I’m now heading here, a bustling place for many things related to cameras and photography!

Eco-Friendly Gift Wrap for Christmas – by Shiho Masuda

Okay, shall I do a little name calling today? On these pretties I met along the way?

In Latin, it’s of course lantana camara, a nice botanical name that’s easy enough to pronounce. In the Malay language, it’s bunga tahi ayam, meaning chicken droppings flower. The scent from the stem and leaves reminded some people of chicken poop. I wasn’t aware of any smell when I went near them.

In Mandarin, it’s 五色梅花, meaning plum blossom in 5 colours.

Other names: Spanish Flag, ham and eggs, and yellow sage.

This shrub has got quite a lot of medicinal uses recorded in the handbook Medicinal Plants of the World.

How to Gift Wrap a Christmas Present

The sound of roaring engines in the sky was clear that we were having company on Saturday evening. Just after hub and I had walked across to Bugis Street, diagonally above us were these F-16Cs…looking teeny weeny. Evidently they were busy practicing for next month’s parade to celebrate our nation’s 43rd birthday.

We were about 2-3km away from the parade venue, much further than we were the other time, if you recall. While we remained on the side of the street and with hub watching out for traffic, I slip out my camera in time to catch them leaving their smoky trails. This zoom-up-and-dive act is called ‘Curtains’, hub pointed out to me.

As I view the curtains on the LCD screen on my F31fd, a true teeny weeny camera, I’m continually blown away by its astonishing point and shoot capability!

A list of foods with and w/o GM ingredients from True Food Now

How to tell from the PLU (price look-up) code on the stickers if the produce is conventionally grown, organic or genetically-modified?

How do you know if your food is GM? @ Mercola

GM peas study abandoned after causing lung damage in mice @ New Scientist

Fears over secret study into GM food @ Znet

Even mice prefers non-GM from the Institute of Science in Society

Are GM crops killing honeybees? @ Mercola

How the government is causing the global food crisis and why GM crops are failing @ Mercola

GM ingredients overview @ Seeds of Deception

Syngenta chairman confesses: genetically engineered crops cannot feed the world + Latest news and resources on GE food @ Organic Consumers

Institute for Responsible Technology

Japan Offspring Fund

Tip #22 – Gift wrap with ATG tape gun – “tapeless” seams