I came across this term after " Bersih 2" in the facebook. I have also read articles which expressed freedom , basic rights and about their love , heartaches and feelings in facebook. This new found tool is really the users' life and world but most of all their contacts and the communication with their pals.
During the ancient days in China, the message was spread by the use of moon cake to promote a revolution and this activity became a part of the Chinese culture until today. It is called the "lantern festival" or the "moon cake" festival. This festival is celebrated on the 15th of the Chinese eight lunar calendar every year. Nowadays, there is no message in the moon cake but just different type of sweet paste and ingredient to make it tasty. Now, the facebook users sent your message instantly and can be assess by multi-users at the same time. There is also a chat room facility which acts like an instant fax or SMS. The speed and its capability is enormous and powerful.
Theis communication tool is more powerful than the phone and its access to multi-user at real time can link people , keep them up-to-date and organized and coordinate group actions. It is a blessing as well as a curse. If it is used properly, it is an amazing tool of communication and linkage but at the same time if it is used wrongly, it can create a disaster. Now, it you do not google, facebook or tweeter then you are considered an out caste. It is frightening what tomorrow will bring as technology improves by leap and bound.
Anyhow, I want to pay tribute to the facebook generation for their ability to scheme and organized an event so big recently and it was for a good cause.
Keep it up, guys and gays of the FB. Keep connecting and communicating and be happy in what you are doing. Syabas to all of you.
Namaste.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
How you ask your boss for a salary increment? Joke!
One day an employee sends a letter to his boss asking for an increase in his salary!!!
Dear Bo$$
In thi$ life, we all need $ome thing mo$t de$perately. I think you $hould
be under$tanding of the need$ of u$ employee$ who have given $o much $upport
including $weat and $ervice to this company.I am $ure you will gue$$ what I mean and re$pond $oon.
Your$ $incerely,
XYZ
The next day, the employee recieved this letter of reply:
Dear XYZ,
I kNOw you have been working very hard. NOwadays, NOthing much has changed.
You must have NOticed that our company is NOt doing NOticeably well as yet.
NOw the newspaper are saying the world`s leading ecoNOmists are NOt sure if
the United States may go into aNOther recession. After the NOvember
presidential elections things may turn bad.
I have NOthing more to add NOw. You kNOw what I mean.
Yours truly,
Manager
-
Dear Bo$$
In thi$ life, we all need $ome thing mo$t de$perately. I think you $hould
be under$tanding of the need$ of u$ employee$ who have given $o much $upport
including $weat and $ervice to this company.I am $ure you will gue$$ what I mean and re$pond $oon.
Your$ $incerely,
XYZ
The next day, the employee recieved this letter of reply:
Dear XYZ,
I kNOw you have been working very hard. NOwadays, NOthing much has changed.
You must have NOticed that our company is NOt doing NOticeably well as yet.
NOw the newspaper are saying the world`s leading ecoNOmists are NOt sure if
the United States may go into aNOther recession. After the NOvember
presidential elections things may turn bad.
I have NOthing more to add NOw. You kNOw what I mean.
Yours truly,
Manager
-
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Health: danger of excessive salt
High salt + low potassium = early death: study
Mon Jul 11, 2011 5:30PM EDT
By Julie Steenhuysen
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Put down the salt shakers. Eating too much salt and too little potassium can increase the risk of death, U.S. government researchers said on Monday.
The findings from a team at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are a counterpoint to a fiercely-debated study released last week that found no evidence that making small cuts in salt intake lowers the risk of heart disease and premature death.
"Salt is still bad for you," said Dr. Thomas Farley, Health Commissioner for New York City, which is leading a campaign to reduce salt in restaurant and packaged foods by 25 percent over five years.
Most health experts agree with Farley that consuming too much salt is not good for you and that cutting salt intake can reduce high blood pressure, which raises the risk of heart attack and stroke. Salt intake has been rising since the 1970s, with Americans consuming about twice the recommended daily limit.
The CDC study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, specifically focused on growing research that shows a diet high in salt and low in potassium is especially risky.
Farley, who wrote an editorial on the CDC study, said it is one of the best yet looking at the long-term effects of eating too much salt.
"It is entirely consistent with what we've said all along about sodium intake," Farley said in a telephone interview.
For the study, researchers looked at the long-term effects of sodium and potassium intake as part of a 15-year study of more than 12,000 people.
By the end of the study period, 2,270 of the study participants had died; 825 of these deaths were from heart disease and 433 were from blood clots and strokes.
POTASSIUM IS KEY
They found that people who had a high salt intake and a low potassium intake were most at risk.
"People who ate a diet high in sodium and low in potassium had a 50 percent increased risk of death from any cause, and about twice the risk of death -- or a 200 percent increase -- from a heart attack," said Dr. Elena Kuklina of the CDC who helped lead the study.
She said consumers need to increase the levels of potassium in their diet by adding more servings of fresh fruits and vegetables, such as spinach, grapes, carrots, sweet potatoes, and low fat milk and yogurt.
The Salt Institute, an industry group, challenged the findings, pointing out that the CDC study found that the link between salt intake and heart disease was statistically insignificant.
"This is a highly flawed publication that reveals more about the anti-salt agenda being pursued by the CDC than about any relationship between salt and health," said Mort Satin, the Salt Institute's Director of Science and Research.
"The only significance is between low potassium and mortality," Satin said in a statement.
Dr. Robert Briss, director of the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion at the CDC, said the findings support the general weight of evidence and suggests that higher doses of sodium are linked with poor health consequences.
And it suggests "that higher potassium may be better for you," Briss said in a telephone interview.
"About 90 percent of Americans consume more sodium than is recommended. This impacts their blood pressure," Briss said.
"Most of that sodium is not related to the salt shaker but it is in foods and especially processed and restaurant foods that we buy and order from restaurants. Consumers, even motivated ones, don't have as much choice as they could," he said.
Kuklina said potassium often counteracts the effects of salt in the diet. This equilibrium is affected when people eat highly processed foods, which tend to increase sodium levels and decrease potassium content.
"If sodium increases your high blood pressure, potassium decreases it. If sodium retains water, potassium helps you get rid of it," she said.
Instead of focusing only on salt, Kuklina said researchers should focus on the balance between potassium and salt.
"We need to strive to do both -- decrease your sodium intake and increase your potassium intake," she said.
(Editing by Sandra Maler)
Mon Jul 11, 2011 5:30PM EDT
By Julie Steenhuysen
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Put down the salt shakers. Eating too much salt and too little potassium can increase the risk of death, U.S. government researchers said on Monday.
The findings from a team at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are a counterpoint to a fiercely-debated study released last week that found no evidence that making small cuts in salt intake lowers the risk of heart disease and premature death.
"Salt is still bad for you," said Dr. Thomas Farley, Health Commissioner for New York City, which is leading a campaign to reduce salt in restaurant and packaged foods by 25 percent over five years.
Most health experts agree with Farley that consuming too much salt is not good for you and that cutting salt intake can reduce high blood pressure, which raises the risk of heart attack and stroke. Salt intake has been rising since the 1970s, with Americans consuming about twice the recommended daily limit.
The CDC study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, specifically focused on growing research that shows a diet high in salt and low in potassium is especially risky.
Farley, who wrote an editorial on the CDC study, said it is one of the best yet looking at the long-term effects of eating too much salt.
"It is entirely consistent with what we've said all along about sodium intake," Farley said in a telephone interview.
For the study, researchers looked at the long-term effects of sodium and potassium intake as part of a 15-year study of more than 12,000 people.
By the end of the study period, 2,270 of the study participants had died; 825 of these deaths were from heart disease and 433 were from blood clots and strokes.
POTASSIUM IS KEY
They found that people who had a high salt intake and a low potassium intake were most at risk.
"People who ate a diet high in sodium and low in potassium had a 50 percent increased risk of death from any cause, and about twice the risk of death -- or a 200 percent increase -- from a heart attack," said Dr. Elena Kuklina of the CDC who helped lead the study.
She said consumers need to increase the levels of potassium in their diet by adding more servings of fresh fruits and vegetables, such as spinach, grapes, carrots, sweet potatoes, and low fat milk and yogurt.
The Salt Institute, an industry group, challenged the findings, pointing out that the CDC study found that the link between salt intake and heart disease was statistically insignificant.
"This is a highly flawed publication that reveals more about the anti-salt agenda being pursued by the CDC than about any relationship between salt and health," said Mort Satin, the Salt Institute's Director of Science and Research.
"The only significance is between low potassium and mortality," Satin said in a statement.
Dr. Robert Briss, director of the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion at the CDC, said the findings support the general weight of evidence and suggests that higher doses of sodium are linked with poor health consequences.
And it suggests "that higher potassium may be better for you," Briss said in a telephone interview.
"About 90 percent of Americans consume more sodium than is recommended. This impacts their blood pressure," Briss said.
"Most of that sodium is not related to the salt shaker but it is in foods and especially processed and restaurant foods that we buy and order from restaurants. Consumers, even motivated ones, don't have as much choice as they could," he said.
Kuklina said potassium often counteracts the effects of salt in the diet. This equilibrium is affected when people eat highly processed foods, which tend to increase sodium levels and decrease potassium content.
"If sodium increases your high blood pressure, potassium decreases it. If sodium retains water, potassium helps you get rid of it," she said.
Instead of focusing only on salt, Kuklina said researchers should focus on the balance between potassium and salt.
"We need to strive to do both -- decrease your sodium intake and increase your potassium intake," she said.
(Editing by Sandra Maler)
Monday, July 11, 2011
Everything is so unreal !
I am sitting oppersite my father-in-law. He is terminally ill. I caught him staring at me as if loss in thoughts. I shift my sight away from him. I am speechless and do not know what to say to him. All advise have been exhausted and said by other people or by myself. It is easy to tell him to let go but it is damn Harris to do it. Within six months catching the sickness he has aged 10 years or more.
This morning , my wife told me that his father in his dream and with his eyes open say thar he saw children playing around him. This information shock me to my bones. In Chinese culture, this is a bad omen. The last time I heard from my mother in law before her death. She saw the horse and cow face men coming TI get her. She told me that she was not scare and after a short period, she went to the other side I hope this us not true and it was just a dream.
Everything USB so unreal. It was like only yesterday that I was with my mum and her brother and sisters I was running around playing happily and all of them is gone now. I look at my father-in-law and inhia mind his youthful memories flashing through his mind. Fond and bad memories. Very soon it will be my turn.
In Buddhism, this is called impermanence. Nas
This morning , my wife told me that his father in his dream and with his eyes open say thar he saw children playing around him. This information shock me to my bones. In Chinese culture, this is a bad omen. The last time I heard from my mother in law before her death. She saw the horse and cow face men coming TI get her. She told me that she was not scare and after a short period, she went to the other side I hope this us not true and it was just a dream.
Everything USB so unreal. It was like only yesterday that I was with my mum and her brother and sisters I was running around playing happily and all of them is gone now. I look at my father-in-law and inhia mind his youthful memories flashing through his mind. Fond and bad memories. Very soon it will be my turn.
In Buddhism, this is called impermanence. Nas
Stupid or idiots and stupid idiots. Which is right?
When I travel to work everyday across the Penang bridge, I got very upset when a motor-cycle dashes out and cut into my lane or another car over take me from the left. I will scold them stupid or idiots or stupid idiot. We got every upset when our safety is threaten or our car is to be damaged. Are there stupid people or stupid acts? It is very important to differential between stupid act or stupid people and it is not the same. I think there are no stupid people but only stupid acts.
Everyday, we encountered events or incidents that defy our logic or understanding. People do things differently and in the process, it hurts or threaten to hurt the people around them. People cannot be stupid all the time if not, they will be doing stupid things the whole day round. I don't think stupid people can survive long as they will get killed if they are not protected. If a person does stupid things too often they will deemed as mad and should be lock up in a mental institution where they are safe.
So, those fearless dare-devils who zoom in and zoom out of the traffic lanes are not stupid as they enjoy the cheap thrill of their death defying acts. What else can they do to boost their ego apart from all the narrow misses and stupid stunts. However, it is better to define what is a stupid act. Is driving slow on a Sunday or a fast lane stupid ? or over taking the cars on the left and right or varying the over taking stupid ? This is only your version or your judgement or your assessment. When you scold a person a stupid fool, he maybe a hero to his family member because he rushes home to spend time with them or he is urgently needing to meet another people at a scheduled time so they behave very irrationally. Other times, they could be a smart or careful person. But , such acts which threatens our safety, we deemed that person is a stupid idiot rather than a stupid act. We have loss our rational and judgement in the heat of the moment.
So, again we are victims to our mental habits. Our outburst is because of the instinct to protect our self and our property and up bring or exposure or experience have deem an act which is committed by a person and that person must be a stupid idiot. Calm down. We must realize that there is no such thing as a stupid idiot but a stupid act as we are not together with the person the whole day or his full life time. Irrational acts are excusable as it can be merely a mistake or a flaw in our mental judgement or vision. Look back and check whether you have done this dangerous act yourself during one of your off days. You will realized that you are just as stupid at times. You may not realize it when you are inside but when you are outside, you could laugh to yourself and you will not understand some of your own actions. Now, is the act a stupid act or the person is a stupid idiot? Think.
Namaste.
Everyday, we encountered events or incidents that defy our logic or understanding. People do things differently and in the process, it hurts or threaten to hurt the people around them. People cannot be stupid all the time if not, they will be doing stupid things the whole day round. I don't think stupid people can survive long as they will get killed if they are not protected. If a person does stupid things too often they will deemed as mad and should be lock up in a mental institution where they are safe.
So, those fearless dare-devils who zoom in and zoom out of the traffic lanes are not stupid as they enjoy the cheap thrill of their death defying acts. What else can they do to boost their ego apart from all the narrow misses and stupid stunts. However, it is better to define what is a stupid act. Is driving slow on a Sunday or a fast lane stupid ? or over taking the cars on the left and right or varying the over taking stupid ? This is only your version or your judgement or your assessment. When you scold a person a stupid fool, he maybe a hero to his family member because he rushes home to spend time with them or he is urgently needing to meet another people at a scheduled time so they behave very irrationally. Other times, they could be a smart or careful person. But , such acts which threatens our safety, we deemed that person is a stupid idiot rather than a stupid act. We have loss our rational and judgement in the heat of the moment.
So, again we are victims to our mental habits. Our outburst is because of the instinct to protect our self and our property and up bring or exposure or experience have deem an act which is committed by a person and that person must be a stupid idiot. Calm down. We must realize that there is no such thing as a stupid idiot but a stupid act as we are not together with the person the whole day or his full life time. Irrational acts are excusable as it can be merely a mistake or a flaw in our mental judgement or vision. Look back and check whether you have done this dangerous act yourself during one of your off days. You will realized that you are just as stupid at times. You may not realize it when you are inside but when you are outside, you could laugh to yourself and you will not understand some of your own actions. Now, is the act a stupid act or the person is a stupid idiot? Think.
Namaste.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Balancing your life
Why do we need to balance our life ? Life just goes on as it is. Yes, if we give up all our needs and wealth, life will go on as it is like the monks. Life is simple and we eat what we have been offered or make available by other people. As a layman, we have a lot of burdens, responsibilities and basic needs. Our resources and time is limited and we need to balance all these factors properly.
For example, we need money and we need time for our self or our family members. If we need more money, we will need to work more or longer . Time is the limiting factor. If we are sick because we over work, the time factor comes in , that is our health. So, instead of having to balance our money and our working time, we have to spare time and money to maintain our health. If we still have our parent, again, the fourth factor came into play and we have to balance the four factors and so on or so forth. More and more factors will come into our life ie wife, children, mistress , brothers and sisters, etc. So, imagine the list gets longer and longer.
So, 24 hours is not sufficient for us to handle all these factors and we will do it on alternate days or once a week or once a month. Now, we have to prioritize things and allocate sufficient time for each factor to ensure everything is managed properly. If one of the factors fall out of alignment or time, all other factors will need to be re-arrange again and adjusted accordingly to bring back the harmony in all the factors.
Life is juggling with more and more balls in the air with our two arms or time which is the limiting factor. We have to time the throw and the catch of each ball and if one factor missed the timing, the whole act collapse and we may hurt our self in the progress.
We have to be careful and cruel at the same time and we will need to eliminate some of the factors, so that we have time for the remaining factors. If we are wise and simple then we can reduce the “ ball in the air”. As the first step, re-look at all the factors . Look at it seriously and eliminate as much as possible to make your self lighter and more manageable. Do not be too ambitious at the start and acknowledge the difficulties as you cut deeper and deeper.
Most important factor is to balance your monetary needs with your health. As good health means you get more money or spend less money. Health is wealth and these two factors are closely linked. If we balance these two factors well, the rest of the factors will fall in line and will listen to you.
Namaste.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Our tipping point
Why do people end their lives so abruptly or do stupid things like killing people ? Some of the actions is beyond logic or basic understanding. If only we know the source of the stress and neutralize it before it reaches the tipping point , we are safe. The tipping point also applies to the management of our health. Why do people suffer strokes or go crazy ? The pressure or the emotions have exceeded the tipping point.
If we are angry and we keep focusing on the anger, it will create a lot of different thoughts or propositions which is unreal and fake. Our imaginations will run wild and we keep agitating our mind and this creates more agitating thoughts. The more we try to kill the thoughts , the thoughts seems coming back stronger and stronger. It is like boiling a pot of water, once it reaches its boiling point, the water will spill out if we continue to boil it. If we choose not to kill the fire, the water in the pot will go dry and the whole pot will burn until it crack.This is the tipping point which I am trying to tell you. If it reaches its boiling point, if we add water, it will cool down and it will again reach its boiling point again. To extend it further, if the pot is dry and we add in water before it gets over heated, the pot will not crack.
This is the same logic applying the management of the tipping point. If our anger is left uncontrolled, the anger will be stronger and run wild and just the water, it will reach a tipping point and becomes uncontrollable and illogical. The outcome of exceeding the tipping point is unknown and can be disastrous. A timely intervention like adding water will cool the mind and prevent it from overheating. The temporary loss of sanity is where strange things happen.
So, if we know the working of our anger and our mind, we have to learn to kill the anger or the troubling thoughts at its early stage. There are many ways to control our anger and mind. We have to learn and understand how our mind works and how it can control our anger or our emotions. Have a clear and wise understanding of life and its various religious philosophy . Finally, it is up to you to control it. You can kill the fire before the fire kills you.
Namaste.
If we are angry and we keep focusing on the anger, it will create a lot of different thoughts or propositions which is unreal and fake. Our imaginations will run wild and we keep agitating our mind and this creates more agitating thoughts. The more we try to kill the thoughts , the thoughts seems coming back stronger and stronger. It is like boiling a pot of water, once it reaches its boiling point, the water will spill out if we continue to boil it. If we choose not to kill the fire, the water in the pot will go dry and the whole pot will burn until it crack.This is the tipping point which I am trying to tell you. If it reaches its boiling point, if we add water, it will cool down and it will again reach its boiling point again. To extend it further, if the pot is dry and we add in water before it gets over heated, the pot will not crack.
This is the same logic applying the management of the tipping point. If our anger is left uncontrolled, the anger will be stronger and run wild and just the water, it will reach a tipping point and becomes uncontrollable and illogical. The outcome of exceeding the tipping point is unknown and can be disastrous. A timely intervention like adding water will cool the mind and prevent it from overheating. The temporary loss of sanity is where strange things happen.
So, if we know the working of our anger and our mind, we have to learn to kill the anger or the troubling thoughts at its early stage. There are many ways to control our anger and mind. We have to learn and understand how our mind works and how it can control our anger or our emotions. Have a clear and wise understanding of life and its various religious philosophy . Finally, it is up to you to control it. You can kill the fire before the fire kills you.
Namaste.
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