“Dosed” by Red Hot Chili Peppers lays down mellow feelings… “I got dosed by you and closer than most to you. And what am I supposed to do? Take it away I never had it anyway. Take it away and everything will be okay. In you a star is born and you cut a perfect form. And someone forever warm…”

The SARS outbreak continues, with the latest guess being that it originated from space. I love how in the scientific community they’ll always find a way of linking something unknown with space. I guess it is possible that the SARS viral agent came about by some sort of mutation of an existing virus, but the romanticists in the community love to point their questions to the stars.

In this day and age, all it takes is corruption and the lure of (sack fulls of) money to break a biochemist’s morality. Besides speculating that the SARS virus could have come from beyond our solar system, there are also speculations that it is a mutated form of the virus that causes the common cough, though obviously if left untreated would give people an excellent reason to avoid them like the plague. I wonder if deep down it is all a secret well-hatched money-making conspiracy. One down and out of luck bigwig at a lab creates a new strain of the virus which proves to be lethal if untreated. After analysing the virus and its properties for some time, he is able to create an antidote to it. So now he has a new virus and its cure. He doesn’t stand to make any cash nor success by just keeping this to himself, right? Several deliberations later, the lures of riches and popularity finally trap him and he falls for it; unleashing it into society to initiate an epidemic chain reaction. One person contracts SARS and many others are subsequently infected. The tabloids and media jump on the bandwagon, as do manufacturers of face masks. Panic ensues. Over in Hong Kong the epidemic reaches a state of high panic. From SARS patients, scientists are able to isolate the virus to study it. They are slow in their attempts to discover a cure for SARS. Whoever creates the cure for it stands to make a tidy profit. Then from an unknown lab somewhere, a lone scientist eventually discovers the cure after working for a few weeks on samples of the virus. He patents the cure and markets it. There’s no real need for advertising or market research, because the demand for it is already there. Thousands of people purchase the overpriced drug. The scientist that had discovered the cure is able to help thousands of people. He gains worldwide attention and makes a fortune from his discovery. He seems humble, but we all know what really led to the smile on his lips. Yep, sounds like a movie.

Last night was possibly the last Zen night at MoS for a long time. This club event was 70s/80s/disco (and cheerleaders) themed but they didn’t seem to play any disco hits from those eras, though “Push It” by Salt N’ Pepa came close. Was all in all a very fun night. Highlights were dancing on the speakers stage for a while before being told by staff to “Get down” (which was quite appropriate given it was a disco theme) and lowering my water content by dancing for pretty much the whole of the 3.5 hours or so I was there for. I came to realise too that my bottom is never safe at any of these events. It was grabbed twice and the culprits owned up to it afterwards by hitting on me. Was tempted to use the excuse “But I’m gay” but they may not find that too believable {ahem}, so opted for “I’m already here with someone.” That excuse usually works, but if it didn’t I could have followed it up with “… I’m here with my boyfriend.” Yes, that’s the only time you’ll ever hear me say that; out of fear. Go-getter type ballsy women scare me with their crazy ways.
Excellent random quote from mum (on the phone to my brother): “I’m bringing some guests back to the house, so dress up properly. Don’t wear shorts.”