is it all just hype?

it's that time of the year again when people get all excited with dates like today's - 09.09.09. is it really an auspicious date (read here) or is it all hype?

haven't read the papers yet but i can safely assume there'll be some sort of a mass engagement/wedding held somewhere today. at the hospital, 3 couples found it fit to have their children delivered by caesarean section today. in fact, one was delivered at an almost unbelieveably well-timed moment:

at a neighbouring private hospital, there are 11 (yes, ELEVEN!!) planned deliveries, & some of these will surely make it to the tabloids tomorrow. something tells me we have missed the point altogether. giving birth is as natural as eating or breathing &, except for medical reasons, should be allowed to take its natural course. after all, the Wise Man did say:

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. eccles 3:11

can't live without music

sounds like a Village People hit song, doesn't it?

actually, my daughter made that statement when her iPod finally gave way. the cable of the headphones have become frayed & the battery hardly lasts a few hours after a full charge.

i gave her this iPod (2G, 2nd gen) after the UPSR & now she says it hard to study without it.

so, last week, we went around the mall looking for one. as it turned out, the most popular model is the one with 8G memory, retailing at rm599, which was sold out at all 3 dealers. i asked her if she'd settle for a 4G (rm499) but she (rightly) said it was not worth it. she then asked if i would consider the 16G (rm799) but i thought it was a tad expensive.

that night, we went online to source for the 8G model, & we were pleasantly surprised that we could order one from the Apple store.

today, it arrived & guess who's happy as a lark?

did i mention that it came with free engraving .....
& a gift message?


now, she's got no excuse for not doing well in the PMR.

prophetic power?

i just posted earlier this week about what the boy cheekily said, that he couldn't wait for the next funeral (to savour peanuts served at wakes).

and then......2 people passed on 2 days ago; a brother from the chinese church & a doctor colleague. suddenly, the cautionary remark that one should be careful what one wishes for because it may just come true, became very real.
that, i'm not really worried about but what is playing at the back of my mind now is the common belief that things or events invariably occur in threes. even shakespeare reflected on that sentiment when he wrote in hamlet:

when sorrows come,
they come not single spies,
but in battalions.

now, i wonder if there will be another demise to complete the triad?

she will miss him

i couldn't figure this out - how come they still have sibling rivalry despite being borned 8 years apart? the boy, i can understand because he is still a kid, but my daughter was already a teenager then. & ever so often, as parents, we had to mediate between the warring factions.

be that as it may, of late, the girl had noticeably mellowed down. sometimes, when they talked, i could see from the corner of my eyes that she has started hugging him & kissing him on the cheeks.

i think she has begun to miss him already. isn't it often that we don't realise what we have till they're out of sight?

child's innocence

we were enjoying ourselves, peeling off & eating the last peanuts left over from my father's wake. i jokingly told my son to thank gong-gong for the peanuts.

obediently, he remarked:

"thanks, gong-gong, for the peanuts. i can't wait for the next funeral!!"

the flesh is weak

we were at the mall when this guy tried to get me to apply for a credit card, which i declined. i was glad he didn't persist because we were already hungry & were going for dinner.

after dinner we passed by the same people promoting credit cards, but this time it was a girl who tried to convince me. as usual, i declined but she was more persistent than her male colleague, expounding the benefits of the card plus the free toy gift. as i walked off, she followed me, this time coming up with the sob story about having to work the whole day without a successful application.

that tugged at my heart strings, so i relented but with a condition. i said i'd agree only if my son liked the toy. as it turned out, the boy didn't. not to be outdone, & like a last gasp effort, she offered not one but 2 carrier bags as replacement, again reiterating that she's not had a "sale" all day. i finally caved in.

so now, i'm the proud owner of 2 new carrier bags & soon, another 2 credit cards from citibank.

the decision

signed....


sealed.....


& delivered.....

(well almost)

the devil & the deep blue sea

the road transport dept knows it, we know it, & studies have shown it - putting on seat-belts save lives.

however, seat-belts also cause injuries of their own when the vehicle is involved in a collision. the rapid deceleration from say, 100kmph to zero, results in the human body moving forward but restrained by the seat belt, can cause severe internal injuries. i blogged about this some time back but i think this important message warrants a repeat.

mdm S was a back seat passenger in a car that hit a tree. the driver & all passengers are alive but only mdm S sustained potentially life-threatening injuries as a result of the seat belt,eg .
...fractured breastbone


....fractured right ribs


......fractured left ribs


......lacerated left kidney....


and a cracked spine


she is recuperating in ICU & currently does not need surgery. if i had to choose between the devil & the deep blue sea, i'd still settle for the lesser of the two evils, aka seat-belt.

PS. the advances in medical imaging produced the crystal clear CT scan pictures that allow accurate diagnosis.

flying the nest

she did everything herself.

from obtaining the application form, to filling it up & photostating the various documents. my role was to post it off.

& to give her my full support.

yesterday, she went for the written tests & today, the interview. when they offered her a place, she cried. i thought they were tears of joy but no, she was overwhelmed with sadness.

because she realised she will be leaving home.

i can understand her position. i was already 19 when i left home for varsity. for all her maturity she has displayed at 15, she's still our little girl. when she makes her decision in the next few days & when the impact of the offer has finally sunk in, she knows she has come to the 1st of many crossroads in life.

ah, such a heavy responsibility on a young shoulder....

In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps. prov 16:9

dust to dust

at the crematorium, each of us bade our final farewell before the casket was put through the furnace. my son's brave assertion, in between sobs, said it all:

"bye bye, gong-gong. i love you."












".....for dust you are and to dust you will return." gen 3:19

PS. my late father's ashes will be brought back to JB to fulfill his final wish. his framed photo that was used for the funeral would be hung on the wall facing our front door, to fulfill my son's earnest wish - that he can say "goodbye" to gong-gong as he goes to school & "hello" when he comes home.

tears from heaven

the wake service was an eye-opener. having informed only the church, our relatives & closest colleagues & friends, & not placing an obituary notice in the papers, we were overwhelmed that a hundred people turned up at my humble abode, some having to stand barely within the canopy in the rain.

the pastor shared a message on life after death, following which my daughter & i delivered the eulogy. i've always dreamed of speaking to an audience with standing room only & that partly came true. i mentioned tongue-in-cheek that my father must have been pleased with what i had to say, equating the falling rain to tears from heaven.

overheard was a comment made by a taoist colleague, that he was suitably impressed that christian brothers & sisters often came in full support for each other & (such irony!) that none themselves have christian names.

wasn't it shakespeare who wrote that a rose by any other name would smell as sweet?

gone home.

he lived in malaya through japanese occupation, communist threat, may 19 & SARS;

he underwent 3 major & risky surgeries & escaped the jaws of death each time;

he suffered from parkinsonism for 7 years;

he survived life-threatening pneumonia (not H1N1) 2 months ago;

he stubbornly refused to give up the fight;

but today, he peacefully breathed his last.

father, may you find rest in the bosom of the Lord.

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 2Tim 4:7

GREAT news for men!

the guys will love this....



















so here's something to prolong your lives.....
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but the bad news is that.......
the survey was a fraud & no such study was ever published in the NEJM.

sorry, guys, you still need that gym membership.

have a GREAT (heh, heh) weekend!!

;)

early start

it's common knowledge that if you want to learn something, you should start young. somehow, young minds & limbs acquire skills with ease. hence, they start piano & language classes even at pre-school.

i learned to play chess when i was 6. my kids started piano lessons at 5. but when the boy asked me to teach him solve sudoku puzzles, i told him i'd do it when he's older. however, he was adamant that younger was better. so, i showed him the puzzle in today's Star papers & taught him the rules.

surprisingly, even to me, he seemed to have caught on rather quickly. with some pointers from me, he managed to go this far by bed time.....












not bad for a 1st timer, huh?

Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it. prov 22:6

why most medical reps are women.

the battle lines have been drawn.

company F has been selling its product to the hospital at rm37 each. big mean company B has entered the fray & introduced a similar product, under its own brand name, at a "bargain" of only rm31.50.

both products are just as good.
both companies provide good after sales service.
both companies are prepared to send staff for meetings/conferences to update themselves on new medical practices.

actually, i don't like B because by virtue of its size & extensive range of products, & having dealings with most government hospitals, they tend to be a little arrogant.

but i think they broke the rules for a fair fight by sending their reps dressed like this....









(did the air-con break down, or do i feel a little hot?)

;)

have we become a kiasu nation?

myth #1: taking flu vaccination or tamiflu tablets prevents one from getting H1N1 flu

fact: the current flu vaccine & tamiflu are effective against the common types of influenza A infection but NOT H1N1 (& certainly not against bird flu H5N1)

myth #2: when one has H1N1, taking tamiflu is the cure for it

fact : tamiflu has no beneficial effect on H1N1 (read here)

so, why are some people still taking tamiflu? the only benefit is that it will cure the common flu, so that if they have a flu & don't get better with tamiflu, then it is most likely H1N1. the downside is that with widespread & indiscriminate use, new resistant strains of the virus may emerge.

even the new H1N1-specific vaccine (read here) that is being tested now is only effective against the current strain of the H1N1 virus. by the time it becomes available in a few months, a new strain may have evolved, rendering the vaccine ineffective.

oh yes, closing schools also may not limit the spread of H1N1 during a pandemic. (read here)

what's really important are the back-to-basic concepts (which we all already know!) :
1) cultivate healthy lifestyle,eg. nutritious food, exercise & adequate rest
2) maintain personal hygiene, eg. wash hands frequently after contacts, cover nose/mouth when coughing/sneezing,
3) avoid, as far as possible, crowded enclosed spaces; otherwise, wear a mask.

by all means, take all the necessary precautions as detailed in the media & other sources of information, esp. with the sudden rise in fatalities, but let's not overdo it. a course of tamiflu treatment costs about RM150. think how much this will contribute to the coffers of its manufacturers Roche and Ranbaxy?

my 2 sen's worth.

maybe i should have titled this post : have we become a kiasi nation?
(kiasi = afraid to die)

laughter is good medicine

this pleasant middle-aged gentleman was in OT to have surgery on his amputated leg which had developed an abscess.

me : uncle, your father had a sense of humour when he named you

patient (with a smile) : yes, but what's the use? with 1 leg, i can't even walk, so, how to fly?

looks like a sense of humour runs in his family. his name?
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or, you could read it as SUPERMAN, I AM.

the spoon

A lesson on how consultants can make a difference in an organization (or, why we should let things be)

Last week, we took some friends to a new restaurant, 'Steve's Place,'
and noticed that the waiter who took our order carried a spoon in his shirt pocket. It seemed a little strange. When the busboy brought our water and utensils, I observed that he also had a spoon in his shirt pocket. Then I looked around and saw that all the staff had spoons in their pockets. When the waiter came back to serve our soup I inquired, 'Why the spoon?'

'Well, 'he explained, 'the restaurant's owner hired Andersen Consulting to revamp all of our processes. After several months of analysis, they concluded that the spoon was the most frequently dropped utensil. It represents a drop frequency of approximately 3 spoons per table per hour.

If our personnel are better prepared, we can reduce the number of trips back to the kitchen and save 15 man-hours per shift.' As luck would have it, I dropped my spoon and he replaced it with his spare. 'I'll get another spoon next time I go to the kitchen instead of making an extra trip to get it right now.' I was impressed. I also noticed that there was a string hanging out of the waiter's fly.

Looking around, I saw that all of the waiters had the same string hanging from their flies. So, before he walked off, I asked the waiter, 'Excuse me, but can you tell me why you have that string right there?'

'Oh, certainly!' Then he lowered his voice. 'Not everyone is so observant. That consulting firm I mentioned learned that we can save time in the restroom.

By tying this string to the tip of our you-know-what, we can pull it out
without touching it and eliminate the need to wash our hands, shortening the time spent in the restroom by 76.39%.

I asked quietly, 'After you get it out, how do you put it back?'

'Well,' he whispered, 'I don't know about the others, but I use the spoon .'

**thanks, YO, for the email**

Why men are happier

WHY MEN ARE NEVER DEPRESSED:


Men Are Just Happier People --
What do you expect from such simple creatures? Your last name stays put.
The garage is all yours.
Wedding plans take care of themselves.
Chocolate is just another snack.
You can be President..
You can never be pregnant.
You can wear a white T-shirt to a water park.
You can wear NO shirt to a water park.
Car mechanics tell you the truth.
The world is your urinal.
You never have to drive to another gas station restroom because this one is just too icky.
You don't have to stop and think of which way to turn a nut on a bolt.
Same work, more pay.
Wrinkles add character.
Wedding dress $5000.
Tux rental-$100.
People never stare at your chest when you're talking to them.
New shoes don't cut, blister, or mangle your feet.
One mood all the time.

Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat.... You know stuff about tanks. A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase. You can open all your own jars. You get extra credit for the slightest act of thoughtfulness. If someone forgets to invite you, he or she can still be your friend.

Your underwear is $8.95 for a three-pack. Three pairs of shoes are more than enough. You almost never have strap problems in public. You are unable to see wrinkles in your clothes. Everything on your face stays its original color. The same hairstyle lasts for years, maybe decades. You only have to shave your face and neck.

You can play with toys all your life. One wallet and one pair of shoes -- one color for all seasons... You can wear shorts no matter how your legs look. You can 'do' your nails with a pocket knife. You have freedom of choice concerning growing a moustache.

You can do Christmas shopping for 25 relatives on December 24 in 25 minutes.

No wonder men are happier.. ..

Have a good weekend ahead. 

:)

blast away!

what do cyclops, capt kirk, & ultraman have in common?








yeah, they blasted their enemies with laser. when we were kids, it was a cool to possess such powers & these fictional characters were hero-worshipped week in & week out with our patronage in front of the TV.

well, lasers have come a long way since & their role these days are more beneficial than destructive. remember LASIK? now, it's even used to blast kidney stones & resect prostates. the flavour of the month seems to be green-light laser..

the machine generating the laser is on the left while the patient(all draped up) is on the right...

because of the intense brightness, special protective glasses need to be worn during its use....

...even for the patient.

the claimed advantage for laser in prostate surgery is less incidence of complications, eg.bleeding, urinary retention, impotence, & a shorter hospital stay. the cost, however, is a different matter altogether.

i wonder if kids will rate laser any less, now that it's mostly used to heal rather than destroy.

light at the end of the tunnel

life really boils down to just 2 questions:

1) should i get a dog?


or, 2) should i have children?

no matter how long & treacherous your journey may seem....

no matter what situations life throws at you....

remember, there's always a light at the end of the tunnel!
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adam & eve weren't chinese!

this is an after-thought about the story on face-saving. i can now think of 2 reasons why our 1st parents were not chinese.

1st, when adam & eve realised they were naked, they covered themselves (not the faces) with leaves (gen 3:7);

2nd, & most convincing, if they were chinese, they would have ignored the fruit & eaten the snake instead!

burp!

face saving

"face saving" or not losing one's dignity & honour is important in self-preservation, especially so in chinese culture. this story illustrates the point:

An American, a Japanese & a Chinese went for a hike one day. It was very hot. They were sweating and exhausted.

When they came upon a small lake, they took off all their clothes and jumped into the water, since it was fairly secluded. Feeling refreshed, the trio decided to pick a few berries while enjoying their freedom.

As they were crossing an open area, suddenly a group of ladies from town appeared. Unable to get to their clothes in time, the American and the Japanese quickly used their hands to cover their privates. But the Chinese covered his face while they ran for cover.

After the ladies had left and the men got their clothes back on, the American and the Japanese asked the Chinese why he covered his face rather than his private part.

The Chinese replied, "I don't know about you, but in my country, it's the face that people recognize."

the good, the bad & the ugly

the good.....

(the new wireless modem/router)

the bad....

(the old spoilt one)

& the UGLY...

perkhidmatan? what service when you can't give technical advice over the phone? the 1st time i called when the laptop couldn't log on, the streamyx guy said there was a "port upgrade" in my area but i got a bit suspicious when he couldn't tell me how long it will take before the line could be used.

after 2 days, i called again & this time the lady checked out the connection by asking me to type out a few things on the PC (ping ..something ..something) & telling her the responses on the screen, from which she concluded that the line was intact but she'll get a technician to make a house call anyway. the technician came the same day & promptly diagnosed that my modem was not functioning. if only i had spoken to the lady the 1st time, then i wouldn't have seen the ugly side of streamyx.

husband of the year

5th prize:



4th prize:



3rd prize:



runner-up:



AND, the champion husband of the year:

look, this guy is a true romantic - he's even holding her hand!

Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers. 1 peter 3:7

1st impression

Ah Chong grew up in Kota Lama, a town located on the East Coast of Malaysia, and then moved away to Kuala Lumpur to do his law degree. After graduating, he decided to go back to Kota Lama, because he could be a big man there and he really wanted to impress everyone. So he returned and opened his new law office.

The first day, he saw a man coming up the sidewalk. He decided to make a big impression on this new client when he arrived. As the man came to the door Ah Chong picked up the phone. He motioned the man in, all the while talking.

"No. Absolutely no! You tell those clowns in Kuala Lumpur that I won't settle this case for less than one million ringgit. Yes. The Appeals Court has agreed to hear that case next week. I'll be handling the primary argument and the other members of my team will provide support. Okay, tell the State Prosecutor that I'll meet with him next week to discuss the details."

This sort of conversation went on for almost five minutes. All the while the man sat patiently as Ah Chong rattled instructions. Finally, he puts down the phone and turned to the man. "I'm sorry for the delay, but as you can see, I'm very busy. What can I do for you?"
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The man replied, "I'm from Telekom. I've come to connect your line"

do we see ourselves in the story above? the pastor once asked this of us: why do we buy things we don't need with money we don't have, to impress people we don't even like?

**thanks YO for the email**

99 club

once upon a time, there lived a king who, despite his wealth, was neither happy nor contented. one day, he came across a servant who was singing happily as he worked. this fascinated the king - why was he, the supreme ruler of the land, so unhappy & gloomy, while this lowly servant had so much joy in his heart?

so he asked the servant,"why are you so happy?", to which the servant replied,"your majesty,
although i am just a lowly servant, my family don't need too much - just a roof over our heads & food to fill our tummies."

later that day, the king sought the counsel of his most trusted advisor. after hearing the king's woes & the servant's story, he concluded,"your majesty, i believe the servant has not been made part of the 99 club." the king asked,"the 99 club? what exactly is that?" the advisor replied,"your majesty, to truly know what the 99 club is, just put 99 gold coins in a bag & leave it at the servant's doorstep."

when the servant saw the bag, he took it into the house. when he opened it, he shouted for joy - there were so many gold coins & he started to count them. after several counts, he was convinced that there were 99 coins. he wondered what could have happened to the last coin, for no one would have left just 99 coins. he looked everywhere but the last coin remained elusive. finally, exhausted, he decided that would have to work very hard to earn the 100th coin to complete his collection.

from that day on, the servant's life changed. he was overworked & grumpy, & criticised his family for not helping him get the last coin. he also stopped singing while he worked. witnessing this drastic transformation, the king was puzzled. the advisor then told him that the servant has finally joined the 99 club.

we can be happy with little in our lives, but the moment we are given something better or bigger, we want even more! we lose sleep, happiness, & we hurt people close to us. this is the price we pay for our growing greed & desires. that's what joining the 99 club is all about!
For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. 1 Tim 6:7-9

**thanks, YO, for the email**

queue jumping

it's that time again....the govt has released another 1.6b units of ASM to the public. i still remember the last time the units were sold in april. i walked into the bank at about 10am & had to wait for about an hour before my turn came.

this time, i asked my wife to go around 9am when the bank opened & take a queue number. the crowd this time was bigger & apparently people had already queued up way before it opened. wife's number was #35 & when i went over to the bank at 10.30am, (#22 then attended to) i had to wait another hour before my turn came.

i noted a few things as i waited:
1) people who know people working for the bank get earlier numbers;
2) people will do anything to jump queue, including making friends with others ahead of them with the hope that they may also purchase at the earlier time;
3) as this was a cash transaction, courier bags became the new wallets for keeping wads of currency.

as i told a fellow brother who waited with me, whatever will be, will be, & there're always other opportunities to purchase the units.

2 vs 1

we had dinner at this newly-relocated posh-looking restaurant & when the bill came, i was surprised there was neither govt tax nor service charge imposed. because we really enjoyed the meal & the service was prompt, i casually removed a couple of ringgit notes from the wallet while the waiter was verifying my credit card at the counter.

the conversation that ensued went something like this:

daughter: papa, are you leaving tips?
me: yeah
d: why?
m: because there's no service charge in the bill & i think the waiters deserve something for their hard work
wife: how do you know they will get the money? anyway, the restaurant would have factored their salaries into the price of the meal.
m: it's customary to put all the tips into a common collection & at end of day it's to be divided amongst the workers. it's just a little extra for them, like how people tip hotel workers & taxi drivers for a job well done.
d: these are difficult times, so maybe you should just leave rm1
m: ha ha, ONE RINGGIT! might as well don't tip.
d & w: (almost in unison) that's what we're trying to tell you!

maybe they have a point, so i relented, but they've not met my ex-classmate simon who worked at a pub while waiting for the HSC results many years ago. he used to tell me how hard the work was, running around with the orders & drinks;however, he said something i never forgot,"....but the tips made it worthwhile!" incidentally, i'm happy that he, now a senior manager with a listed developer, doesn't need to depend on loose change.

so, simon, thanks for the tip! (pun definitely intended)

silver, part 2

16 July, 1984

starry-eyed & full of ideals,
looking forward to new life ahead,
i took the 1st steps, full of zeal,
& people say, i've got it made.

after 5 years toil, to some no big deal,
after countless tests, real & mock,
just to gain that licence to heal,
& the right to be addressed as Doc.

the moment of reckoning is here,
the test of the pie is in the eating,
1st posting, dealt with kids without fear,
but it's the mothers that send me reeling!

2nd posting, faced with diabetes & hypertension,
the 3rd with tummy aches & bowel obstruction,
end of housemanship met with trepidation,
still, it's time for that much-needed promotion.

years fly by & i wonder about my skill,,
hippocates meant it to be a calling to heal,
to the young nurses, it's a licence to thrill,
it could well be a ticket to the next meal.

i thank God for the chance to be,
compassionate, patient & a little wary,
though now a tad blurry-eyed, & quite weary,
but i must trudge on to live out my destiny.

So I saw that there is nothing better for a man than to enjoy his work, because that is his lot. eccles 3:22

(ha ha, i chuckled at my own feeble attempt to write sentences that rhyme!)

silver

by current standards, 25 years is a long time to stay married, happily at that, too.

but not when you see (& feel) the love that binds the lives of SY & his wife SY (yes, they have the same initials, & all their 4 children also have been given the same SY initials!). they hosted a dinner to celebrate this occasion, during which they renewed the same marriage vows they recited to each other 25 years ago.

the one part that touched me the most was when the younger daughter stood up to speak of her parents - how much she & her siblings are loved & that when she eventually marries, she hoped she would have as much love as her parents have for each other.

to me, nothing speaks more strongly of a man & his wife's love than a glowing tribute from their own children. no one present last nite doubts that this God-loving couple would stay married till their golden anniversary & beyond. SY sang this song After All These Years in dedication to his wife:


"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate." matt 19:5,6

do seat belts really save lives?

we've all been brainwashed into thinking that wearing seat belts when travelling in a motor vehicle saves lives, right? actually, that's only partly true.

remember when wearing crash helmets was made compulsory for motorcyclists? there may be less deaths on the road but some of those that survive end up with serious injuries that leave permanent damage & disability.

so, similarly, we now have an emerging group of patients who suffer seat belt injuries (read here)

mdm T was a front seat passenger in a car that was involved in a non-fatal accident 3 weeks ago. she developed abdominal pain & was admitted to hosptial for suspected intra-abdominal injury. a CT scan revealed a mesenteric tear, ie. damage to blood vessels supplying the bowel, & she underwent surgery to remove part of the small bowel that was injured.

2 weeks after that, she had to undergo another surgery & more damaged bowel was resected. she will not be able to eat normally for several weeks till the remaining bowel recover from the trauma.

i just have one question: since the government made it compulsory to wear seat belts, can we sue the govt if we sustain injuries as a result of compliance to the ruling?

in litigation-conscious USA, they actually have lawyers that deal specifically with seat belt injuries!!(read here & here)

great white shark

i was amused with this letter posted on malaysiatoday where the writer lamented his & his friends' experiences in dealing with lawyers; so distressed was he & his friends that he resorted to equate lawyers' behaviour to that of a marine predator.

he wrote, "I would reckon lawyers are a desperate lot as they want to be seen living in luxurious houses, driving around in expensive cars and dining in expensive hotels. This has been a trend set by the senior lawyers and therefore any junior lawyer develops the same character devoid of any decency or conduct."

actually, you could replace "lawyers" in the above paragraph with doctors/accountants/politicians & that statement would still hold true. for example, it is well-known in local circles that a private hospital in ipoh has been derisively nicknamed Great White Shark.

it is no urban legend that some doctors would do anything, & i mean ANYTHING, to make that fast buck from their distraught patients. in fact, they are also not averse to making a quick buck at the expense of their colleagues, too. (hmm, why do i suddenly feel like the masked man in Breaking the Magicians Code??)

the writer concluded with this impassioned plea, "Please don't live your life by charging excessive and unconscionable fees from the already distressed clients whose only purpose of seeking your services is to secure some justice from courts."

it is a timely reminder for everyone in every profession who sometimes has their clients/customers at their mercy. it is not against the law to want to prosper, accumulate wealth & possess much. perhaps the fault lies with the instruments/ways we use to achieve that objective. perhaps, it's also timely to recall of the words of the prophet, directed appropriately to the Jews still in exile in Babylon:

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. "
Jer 29:11

favour from the Lord

i'm on-call this weekend, & although i dread weekend calls, it's part of the job. left for the hospital at 9am today & had to skip church service (as well as holy communion).

at 10.30am, the boy phoned to say that he's just outside the OT & he's got a surprise for me...

how nice - lunch!



...& the main (& only course) happens to be freshly-baked shepherd's pie...


which didn't last very long....(burp!)

i don't often blog about my wife but today, she deserves praise...
He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favour from the LORD. prov 18:22

even better is this....

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. prov 31:30

who are the real killers?

DOCTORS:
(1) the number of physicians in the US is 700,000

(2) accidental deaths caused by physicians per year is 120,000

(3) accidental deaths per physician is 0.171

**statistics courtesy of US dept of health & human services**

GUNS-OWNERS:
(1) the number of gun owners in the US is 80,000,000
(yes, that's 80 million!!)

(2) the number of accidental gun deaths per year, all age groups, is 1,500

(3) the number of accidental deaths per gun owner is 0.000188

**statistics courtesy of FBI**

so, statistically, doctors are about 900 times more dangerous than gun owners!!

so REMEMBER : guns don't kill people, doctors do!

FACT : not everyone has a gun but almost everyone has at least one doctor....

ACTION : we must ban doctors before this gets completely out of hand!!!

however, out of concern for the public at large, i withheld statistics on LAWYERS for fear that the shock would cause people to panic & seek medical attention!!


**disclaimer** i received this email from a colleague but can't verify its authenicity**

check out more statistics on gun violence here and medical errors here.