Didn't you know that?

I've spent a large part of the last 2 days reformatting my hard drive. Some windows error was causing it to get more and more corrupted so I had to do something about it before the CNY weekend.

Happy Chinese New Year everyone! (Before I forget)

I found out something interesting. Did you realise that many supermarkets in the US stock goods that are $4.99, $9.99, $XX.99 etc? Well we always thought the idea of using the .99 was to make goods look cheaper than it actually are. Which is kinda dumb anyway, because the consumer really isn't that stupid... It turns out that supermarkets price goods at $XX.99 on purpose so that the cashier has to ring the till during a purchase since most people won't have exact change. The practice came about because too many supermarket cashiers will pilfering the money paid for goods without putting it into the till. It's difficult for them to do that if the till has to be opened for change, because there will be a record. Betcha didn't know that!

You know kids always put things into their mouths? I saw a documentary that says that kids keep doing that and it's alright, because the body needs that to build up extra resistance to foreign germs/bacteria. By eating and being exposed to these harmful germs, the body will produce antibodies to fight against them. Interestingly however, I also read a health book that says if you want to get sick less often (for adults only), wash your hands before you eat! Poor hand hygiene is the biggest cause of most adult sicknesses (flu, stomachache etc), which is quite surprising compared to the kids huh?

There is a big tussle in Oregon about some euthanasia law. Voters generally refer to it as "physician-assisted suicide" but advocates object that "suicide" refers to "cut(ting) short a life that would otherwise continue, whereas terminal patients are simply hastening a death that is already near". I think this line of thought leads us down a dangerous path. How near is a death that is near? Everybody dies, eventually, and I doubt anyone can predict death accurately all the time. People given a few days to live have often lived a few more years, and vice versa. Euthanisia is a form of suicide regardless of whether you find it morally appealing or not. Nobody can decide with absolute certainty that death is actually "near" enough so that life would not "otherwise continue".