Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Timberland's Vivocity Concept Store opens

P1250050

It's been months since I last saw my travelling companions and friends during my trip to Inner Mongolia and Sichuan in August, and last Friday, I had the excellent opportunity to catch up with them at an event organised by Timberland Singapore: the official opening of the new 2,400 sq ft concept store at Vivocity, a first for the brand's Asian outlets.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

My Nuffnang Story



Where it comes to blogging, it's essential to establish good relationships with people. Bloggers inevitably tend to form communities, reaching out and building friendships with not just readers, but also with fellow bloggers. We are after all highly social animals, and the whole point of blogging is to communicate ideas to an audience that could potentially number in the thousands, if not millions.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

The Chironomids Part II: Millions of Midges

IMG_9576
Male adult midge, Sungei Buloh;
(Photo by Marcus)

Then the Lord said to Moses, "Get up early in the morning and confront Pharaoh as he goes to the river and say to him, 'This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me. If you do not let my people go, I will send swarms of flies on you and your officials, on your people and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians will be full of flies; even the ground will be covered with them. But on that day I will deal differently with the land of Goshen, where my people live; no swarms of flies will be there, so that you will know that I, the Lord, am in this land. I will make a distinction between my people and your people. This sign will occur tomorrow.'" And the Lord did this. Dense swarms of flies poured into Pharaoh's palace and into the houses of his officials; throughout Egypt the land was ruined by the flies.

- Exodus 8: 20-24

BUGS
Midge swarm, Utah;
(Photo by AMICHAELMURRAY)

In the previous post, I discussed some aspects of the biology and ecology of the Chironomidae, also known as non-biting midges. I briefly mentioned the tendency of many midge species to form huge swarms, which can have negative effects on human communities in the vicinity. This post will look at one such swarming event in Singapore.

Monday, November 14, 2011

The Chironomids Part I: Marvellous Midges

Bedok Reservoir Park 27
(Photo by zh3nG 正)

Most of us are familiar with mosquitoes, and public service messages constantly remind us of the fact that there are commensal species which breed in stagnant water in and around our homes. In one aspect of their life cycle, mosquitoes (F. Culicidae) are not unique; numerous other species of flies have aquatic larvae, and the adults are often referred to as midges. One family in particular, commonly known as the chironomids or non-biting midges (F. Chironomidae), is well-represented throughout the world.