And I was aggravated by a thousand fears

Good news, everyone. According to a letter sent, apparently, to everyone in the apartment complex, the dengue fever outbreak has been successfully treated. According to the report since the initial three cases -- they said ``two'' before -- there haven't been any more cases. They also say ``we had in the last two weeks removed almost 500 air-con trays,'' and one of them is probably mine. It's a slightly odd thing to boast about, but, you take pride in what you can. They thank residents for letting their contractors in to remove the trays, which increases the chances that I wasn't visited by a roving band of air conditioner tray thieves.

Singapore, meanwhile, is sending its National Culinary Team to the Expogast 2006 Culinary World Cup. I never heard of this before, but next month in Luxembourg the team of seven chefs will have five hours to start from scratch and while being ``scrutinised for hygiene, method of preparation, and professional practices'' attempt to out-cook about nine hundred competitors from 35 countries, according to National Culinary Team manager Randy Chow. The team's supported by the Work Development Agency and by the Food and Beverage Industry Skills and Training Council, in a project to ``increase the profile of local chefs and highlight the fact that it is a prestigious profession'', which put that way makes them sound a bit insecure. The only food shown as completed was cured ocean trout on saffron-scented vegetable jello, which is about two orders of magnitude too classy for me to eat.

And there's a new plan by Eighth Wonder for a Sentosa Island Integrated Resort. This one is named Harry's Island, for ``Hurricane'' Harry O'Brien, founder of the resort, who was born in Raffles Hotel in 1900. The explorer, researcher, and adventurer whose spirit inspired the resort has only the minor character flaw of being a fictional construct designed for the marketing of Harry's Island. Features are to include a ``ride restaurant'', a Pelé football stadium and academy surrounded by a hotel, a tree house hotel, and artificial waterfalls used as curtains for a nightly spectacular show. I'm startled to learn Pelé is still alive, although I don't know why I had thought otherwise.

Trivia: Alaska had an eight-day week in 1867. Source: Mapping Time: The Calendar and Its History, E G Richards.

Currently Reading: V Was For Victory, John Morton Blum.