Do you know your friend? - a simple question.  It has been in my mind for a while since my wife adopted a dog more then a month ago.  Her long time friend persuaded her to adopt the dog even though knowing my objection.  According to this friend why should I object since I love dogs too.

Yes I love dogs and years ago I used to keep 3 /4 dogs at a time.  Years ago I am young and do not travel and I had the interest.  Now I am not young anymore and my interest have changed.  I know the responsibilities in keeping pets and it is best not to have one if we are not capable of caring for it.  I gave away my dogs when my interests changed to gardening and travel.

I know my wife better than her friend knew her.  I know her limits in interest and capability and I really objected to this adoption idea.  Well in the end her friend's persuasion is stronger much to my anger.  Once my wife sits down to play "Farmville", a Facebook game, the dog do not exist anymore.

So do not think you know your friend in and out.  People can and do change with age.  Our health, interest, outlook, in fact our life change as we grow older.  We are not the same now as when we were years ago.
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The empty nest 06/30/2010
 
My garden has lots of trees, plants and bushes.  These attract birds and many build their nests all over my garden.  I have watch the eggs hatch, the small birds grow up, learn to fly and then leave the nests.
My home now has my wife and myself only.  It is the same with some of my brothers-in-law and friends.  In fact this is now the usual family life where the children grow up and move out to start their own family - another nest. 

Life in an "empty nest" becomes routine.  Time to rest, time to eat and time to do this and that.  Sometimes I feel funny when I really look forward to sleeping time.  There is a danger, though, when one gets into a routine  and with lots of time in hand.  There is a tendency to drag or postpone a chore and eventually one can become lazy to do anything - it's the end of a healthy life.
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Health Food 06/21/2010
 
The following article appeared in The Sun2Surf media and I would like to share with others who are interested.  We can easily purchase the mentioned fruits & vegetables in Malaysia.

Food to chew on
> Diets rich in certain fruits and vegetables can keep illnesses at bay
by Steve Yap
In nutritional medicine, fibre is recognised as an essential bulk nutrient just like protein, carbohydrate and fats. However, too much fibre could bring about a reduction in the absorption of micro-nutrients.

>> Banana

Research shows that regular consumption of banana in place of refined carbohydrates could reduce colon cancer by some 40%. Colon cancer has the highest fatality rate for men and third highest for women in this country.

Banana (actually a berry) has rich dietary fibre and mineral contents and it should be consumed when slightly ripe. Overly ripe banana contains higher fructose and may be infested with fungi.

Like potato, more potassium is found in its skin.

>> Bamboo shoot

It is high on dietary fibre and research suggests it possesses strong anti-tumour properties.

Its bitter taste is believed to come from rare phyto-chemicals and vitamin B17 (amygdalins) found in grass and in some plants and seeds eaten in olden days.

Limited in-vitro studies have shown positive results against some cancer cell lines.

>> Bittermelon (Bitter gourd)

This fruit – not a vegetable – helps to lower elevated blood sugar and is helpful to those who consume refined starch on a daily basis.

It can be served fresh or cooked. Its protein – charantin – acts like the hormone insulin, but without the possible adverse health effects of elevated insulin from repeated injections.

Excessive insulin promotes weight gain, hunger spell, and possibly tumour growth. So, maintaining healthy blood glucose can pay rich dividends since the majority of those who suffer from diabetes are likely to die from heart attacks and/or strokes. 

>> Chinese cabbage

Local research demonstrates very strong in-vitro anti-tumour properties against colon cancer cell line for this vegetable though some Chinese traditional medicine practitioners believe it to be "too cooling".

Since most chronic diseases are linked to inflammation (‘fire’), it may explain why we need to consume Chinese cabbage regularly to ‘extinguish’ the fire from within. 

>> Cucumber

This fruit (not a vegetable) stands out as being extremely low in fructose, yet rich in soluble fibre. It possesses anti-tumour properties too.

Contrary to popular belief, regular consumption of sweet fruits high in fructose greatly accelerates the onset of diabetes despite fruit sugar having a very low glycemic (GI) index due to its different metabolism.

Cucumber is a rather low GI food. The lower the GI, the lower our risks of contracting chronic health disorders. It’s healthy to consume cucumber after a meal containing lots of refined starch, simple sugars and fats.

>> Garlic

Allicin in this root vegetable helps keep our arteries clean. Garlic also raises good cholesterol and reduces ‘bad’ cholesterol. It is helpful in promoting detoxification since it’s rich in sulphur amino acid called L-cysteine needed in conjugation (binding of toxins for excretion).

Garlic is also a rich source of the amino acid L-arginine. Arginine-derived nitric oxide promotes cardiovascular health.

>> Guava

The vitamin C content in this fruit is much higher than that of other fruits like apples. Chronic deficiency of vitamin C has been linked to elevated stress and toxic load, heart disease, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, stroke, low collagen production and accelerated ageing.

Guava and its leaves contain quercetin, which is used to treat allergies via its positive actions on IgE.

However, its seeds should be avoided as well as the genetically-modified seedless guava since its nutritional and health properties have yet to be fully studied.

>> Pineapple

It is rich in the enzyme bromelain, which is used in nutritional medicine to treat the No.1 cause of most chronic health disorders: inflammation.

Unfortunately, most of the enzyme is found in the stem which is usually discarded before serving.

Unlike many other sweet fruits, the pineapple helps make our body more alkaline. Its detoxification properties are highly valued in natural medicine.

>> Sengkuang (white turnip)

Of all local produce, this root vegetable contains probably the highest potassium content, which is useful for reversing the adverse effect of excessive sodium in our modern diets.

Too much sodium is linked to hypertension, kidney damage, stroke, anxiety, edema and elevated stress.

>> Sweet potato

The local purple- or orange-coloured sweet potato is an excellent substitute for the starchy potato or chips or fries. It is rich in alpha- and beta-carotene, which is a pro-vitamin A.

Carotene is an oil-soluble antioxidant and should be consumed with some dietary fats to enhance its absorption. Unlike other popular antioxidants, this vitamin is not recycled by other nutrients. Liver toxicity should be monitored when consuming high dosages.

Views expressed are those of the author, who’s president of the Federation of Complementary & Natural Medical Associations, and not necessarily those of the professional bodies and government committees of which he’s a member. Dato’ Steve Yap can be contacted at dsy@dsywellness.com.

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Inspiration 06/01/2010
 
 Inspiration - by the young US president (at age 10) to the young Indonesians not to be afraid to dream of the unknown future.  I wonder how many 10 year old kids ever dream of being a US president one day.  Well the US president can never dream that his young boy's statue at Menteng Park, Indonesia can spark such controversy and protest that it had to be moved to the compound of his former school.
My son send me these photos when he visited the school recently.  I read that the school received a good number of "tourists" after the statue was relocated to its compound.

I remembered my daughter, when she completed her primary education, had the opportunity to continue her secondary schooling at a government science boarding school.  Her primary school was just a village school with average result and what a difference one student can make by being offered a place in the boarding school.


Now here's something to inspire everyone.
 
 
Photography - everyone can take photos with a compact camera set at auto.  Is it?  Take a look at the picture below taken by one of my brothers-in-law's wife.
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Well, it is still a picture, but with a fraction of a story to tell. 

I do not snap at anything I see although there are people who just have to finish their camera card.  I do have a creative mind and I quite often visualize the scene in my mind before I take a shot.  Is the object easily edited, the lighting of the foreground and background, depth of field or I want the viewer to concentrate on the foreground only.

To me, a photo without editing can be dull.  The problem is I am colour blind and I have to see strong contrast and deep colour.  Take a look at my photo section and see my world of weird colours.  Anyway , colour is just one of the factors that attract viewers.  I like to mix and match the objects and background to have more "action".

I believe photography is not just to take pictures of what you see and then file them away.  I like to make my photos "special" and share them with like minded people.


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Here I blur the background and add 2 sections of similar scene with a butterfly in each section.
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The picture of the window and bicycle can be quite plain and dull.  However, with the addition of the person, the picture becomes "exciting".
I usually spend some time looking over my photos after uploading onto my computer from the camera.  I will try to crop, sharpen or blur and add something here or there to see the effect. 

Pictures do tell a story.  Well, you can tell a story in many different ways to make it interesting.  So I like to manipulate my photos to make viewers take note of them.

You will only look at your ordinary photos once or twice and keep them in you computer file or just burn into a disk and keep them.  However, you will want to see interesting photos over and over again.
 
Facebook..... 05/04/2010
 
 Facebook .... what an addiction,  just like tv addict, drug addict, etc.  Adults and children are so caught up with this Facebook  and the games -  that's why my choice of the word "addict".  

My wife now hog on the computer day in day out.  She seldom uses the computer before joining Facebook.   She is not the only person that is obsessed with this farming programme/game.  Everybody seems to be playing and some to the extend of neglecting their family duties.  The wife of a friend forgot about her toddler and housework when she became too engrossed in the game.

Yes one can find long lost friends or make more new friends by joining Facebook.  But some how lots of members become "attached" to the games.  My wife, daughter, son, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, granddaughter, brothers-in-law - and the list goes on - are on Facebook.  I'm not.


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 A simple lifestyle - on April 1, I made a trip to Kota Bharu, which is the capital of Kelantan a northern state of Malaysia.  I have not been here for a few years but not much changes going on.

The people here, majority Kelantan malays, lead a simple life.  Most probably this might be due to their leader's way of life.  He is a simple man and is the head of the political party which governs Kelantan.

The local food is different and has a variety of green leaves/herbs added.  My favorite is satay, marinated pieces of chicken meat roasted over burning coal.  Dip this into the accompanying sauce and you will remember the taste forever!

There is an event which I missed on a Friday.  It seems every Friday  morning there is a huge gathering of people (mainly muslims) to listen to religious talk.  There is an air of festivity with many stalls set up to sell a variety of food, vegetable, etc.  That day we had to rush to the temple early to pray.

There is a slow pace of development in Kelantan compared to Penang or Kuala Lumpur.  I always have the feeling of going back in time when I'm here in Kelantan. 

Photos and more comments will be posted on my travel section.
 
Photo printing 03/20/2010
 
Photo printing - I do not realize that printing your own photos can be so interesting.  It is also creative work.

My daughter, who come home from England for the Chinese New Year, presented me  a book printed with photos taken by me.  Wow, just like I published my own book!  It was done in England and very beautiful.
Since I have a printer my daughter suggested printing my own photos.  She bought the photo printing paper and  got me started on this interesting "project".  Yes it is something I do not think of doing earlier.  I have lots of photos, original and others edited beyond the original form, stored in my computer.  No one sees them except those posted on my various photography websites. 

The printed photos are much better than those in the computer and now others can see my "work".  I had tried printing my photos at the photo shops.  These were not satisfactory.
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On my own, I can mix and match the background with the main photo, control the size of the print and enhance the colour.

I can never imagine myself creating and printing my own pictures.  What a surprise!
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Memories - ah.. the wonderful feeling of looking back.  Now I am able to scan into my computer my old photos of my earlier travel to Thailand, New Zealand, Australia and England.   The old photos had been put aside but not forgotten.  Our memories are not so good but the old photos still bring some good feeling of our travel.

During my children's schooling years only my wife did the traveling as it would cost a bomb for two of us to travel together and at the same time have to take care of school/college fees.

My first destination was Chiangmai, Thailand in 2001.  Thereafter,  a few destination each year. 

I will upload whatever photos I can scan into my 'earlier travel" section.

 
What a life 02/19/2010
 
What a life - this is my experience during my recent trip to Jakarta, Indonesia.  Being poor means one will do anything just to earn a few cents - excluding crime and begging.  The man in the photograph is a villager who is doing the job of a traffic police (seldom seen here).  In view of the volume of traffic and narrow roads, the vehicles from the side lane will not be able to turn left or right.  Therefore, this man is doing a social service to road users and earn some money from some good & appreciative drivers.
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I could not imagine the situation when my son told me about it as no one can just simply take over the job of a traffic police.  I took this shot outside the place where we stayed (behind the wall).

Being poor do not mean that the people are rude and of poor behaviour.  The Indonesians that we came across are very polite - in the shops and other places we went.  The workers in the shops and restaurants do not wait for you to approach them for help.  When they noticed that you are not familiar or looking for something they will immediately come to your aid.  Low salary but good attitude.

Read more of my trip to Indonesia under "my travel".
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