Oxymoron In The Tropics

I'm sitting at my table, checking my email while keeping an eye on my five-year-old who is wrenching the life out of his PS2's joystick.  He insists on calling it a remote...well, whatever. This particular game he's playing is both entertaining and horrifying me.  The warthogs trying to flatten a panda are entertaining.  The lines scrolling across the screen at the beginning of every episode horrify me. Long ago, in a time of ancient timeless time.... (Huh?) Legend tells of a legendary warrior whose skills are the stuff of legend... (OMG.) Haven't the game writers heard of a thesaurus????  Now I'm not only worried about the violence level...I'm worried about the dearth of creative vocabulary on offer!

Some more info I got during my surfing... It's amazing how many of us take objects & services for granted (and some even dare to call it a NECESSITY!). The list below is of LUXURIES which, according to the dictionary means –noun 1. a material object, service, etc., conducive to sumptuous living, usually a delicacy, elegance, or refinement of living rather than a necessity: Gold cufflinks were a luxury not allowed for in his budget. 2. free or habitual indulgence in or enjoyment of comforts and pleasures in addition to those necessary for a reasonable standard of well-being: a life of luxury on the French Riviera. 3. a means of ministering to such indulgence or enjoyment: This travel plan gives you the luxury of choosing which countries you can visit. 4. a pleasure out of the ordinary allowed to oneself: the luxury of an extra piece of the cake. 5. a foolish or worthless form of self-indulgence: the luxury of self-pity. 6. Archaic . lust; lasciviousness; lec

Didn't join in the mad hustle for fuel two days ago. Wouldn't have made it before midnight anyway. The crowds were unbelievable. So yesterday I went to the fuel station. Filled the tank up and for 43 litres, I had to pay about RM117. Wowch... Before I would have had to pay only RM85 (plus minus). 43 litres would only last me about a week and a half. But this has been coming for a long time... The Malaysian government couldn't have maintained the subsidies forever. So what does it mean for an ordinary civil servant like me? Less of everything I want and moderate amounts of everything I need. I surfed the net for strategies on achieving the above and here are some pointers I found: a) Buy less books. You can download thousands of free ebooks from : Project Gutenberg ( http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page ) The BAEN Library ( http://www.baen.com/library/ ) Free Ebooks.net ( http://www.free-ebooks.net/ ) and most online ebook sellers offer free ebooks (google and