Lowyat.NET: Latest topics by minority

North Korea 'develops special noodle'

minority — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 05:25:18 +0800

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N Korea 'develops special noodle'

North Korean scientists have developed a new kind of noodle that delays feelings of hunger, a Japan-based pro-Pyongyang newspaper has reported.

The noodles were made from corn and soybeans, the Choson Shinbo said.

They left people feeling fuller longer and represented a technological breakthrough, the newspaper said.

North Korea is dependent on foreign food aid. Last month the UN warned that residents were experiencing their worst food shortages in a decade.

But the communist country remains reluctant to allow experts to fully assess the scale of the problem or give them adequate access to deliver aid.

UN warnings

According to the newspaper, which is seen as closely linked to the Pyongyang leadership, the new noodles have twice as much protein and fives times as much fat as ordinary noodles.

"When you consume ordinary noodles (made from wheat or corn), you may soon feel your stomach empty. But this soybean noodle delays such a feeling of hunger," it said on its website.

The noodles would be available soon across North Korea, the newspaper said.

An estimated one million people starved to death in North Korea in the late 1990s after natural disasters and government mismanagement devastated the country's economy.

In July, the World Food Programme warned that six million people were in urgent need of food aid, following severe flooding last year.

Most households had cut their food intake and more people are scavenging for wild foods, WFP assessors found.

Piss poor people and students rejoice.

If this is true, I'll buy shitloads of the noodles and start praising Kim Jong Il in tears.

cheers

Beijing approves Olympics 'cheer'

minority — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 10:59:42 +0800

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Beijing approves Olympics 'cheer'

Beijing Olympic chiefs are introducing an official cheer for patriotic spectators to spur on Team China at the Games, Chinese media reports.

The authoritative, four-part Olympic cheer, accompanied by detailed instructions, will be promoted on TV, in schools and with a poster campaign.

It involves clapping twice, giving the thumbs-up, clapping twice more and then punching the air with both arms.

The cheer is accompanied by chants of "Olympics", "Let's go" and "China".

The Beijing Olympic Organising Committee has hired 30 cheering squads who will show spectators how it is done at Games stadia, reports Xinhua state media.

'Civilized cheering'

A committee official said the simple chants and gestures were designed to help spectators cheer for their favourite athletes in a smooth, civilized manner.

The Ministry of Education is also arranging special training sessions in schools for the 800,000 students who are expected to attend the Games.

Li Ning, president of the Beijing Etiquette Institute, told the Beijing News that the cheer was in line with general international principles for cheering, while at the same time possessing characteristics of Chinese culture.

sauce: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7438367.stm

Attention to detail or too much attention to detail?

Or excessive control freak-ism?

cheers

Cat Saves Japan Rail Company

minority — Wed, 28 May 2008 11:03:40 +0800

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Cat puts Japan rail firm on track

A loss-making Japanese railway company is back on track thanks to the popularity of a stray cat.

Wearing a black cap and posing for photos with passengers, Tama the tabby is credited with boosting Wakayama Electric Railway's revenue by 10%.

The firm had to axe all staff at Kishi station in western Japan two years ago.

But Tama stuck by her post and was rewarded with promotion to station manager. The pet mascot even has her own office, a former ticket booth.

The feline, who was born and raised at the station in the city of Kinokawa, Wakayama prefecture, is living proof of the Japanese belief that cats are good luck.

"She never complains, even though passengers touch her all over the place. She is an amazing cat. She has patience and charisma. She is the perfect station master," said Yoshiko Yamaki, a spokeswoman for the rail company.

The nine-year-old - who receives cat food in lieu of a salary - won national stardom last year when the firm formally appointed her as "station master".

Since then passengers have been gradually returning, recently rising 10% to about 2.1 million a year.

The cat has spawned a range of popular merchandise, including a picture book called: "Diary of Tama, the Station Master."

sausage: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7421259.stm

Meritocracy can include animals as well. Humans should not get all the jobs just because they share the same species as the government ministers!

Fave part:

QUOTE

She never complains, even though passengers touch her all over the place.

Japs and their railway molestation.

cheers

Windows XP Setup not really setting up

minority — Sat, 14 Jul 2007 23:16:03 +0800

Hi guys,

Right I've just changed my mobo and so I couldn't boot up my old install of Windows anymore. New install it is.

Problem is, I get into the blue screen bit of the XP setup, format the partition I want to use and then it copies the needed files into. Now, by my experience it should now go into the more beautiful GUI bit of the setup but surprisingly it goes back into the blue screen part and it tells me that I already have one copy of Windows installed while at the same time I notice no change in the amount of free space in the partition I used.

Any ideas?

cheers

Temporarily Changing Mobos

minority — Thu, 06 Jul 2006 16:45:06 +0800

Hi there I'm planning to temporarily change my Mobo (and subsequently the processor and gfx card) for a few months and then revert to the old hardware.

Now I understand what needs to be done to move on to the newer hardwares, but is it possible to simply revert to the older components (the older ones are much much older) without doing any extra actions?

Thanks in Advance!

cheers