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The Evolution of Birds

Archeopteryx bavarica

      Birds, with their feathers and toothless bills, bipedal locomotion and flight form such a distinct class, it is hard to imagine that they derived from any other group of animals. But Archeopteryx provides an excellent example of an intermediate evolutionary form among the vertebrates. The fossil record of birds is slim, though, because they are so lightweight that they tend to float and decompose or be eaten by scavengers before they become entrapped in sediments.

            About 150 million years ago a feathered creature the size of a crow died and was trapped in sediments. Archeopteryx lithographica is considered to be a missing link between reptiles and birds because it has characteristics of both groups. Archeopteryx had a shoulder girdle, pelvic girdle, and legs similar in shape to modern birds. Its feathers were exactly like those of modern birds except in arrangement; it had paired clavicles to form a furcula (wishbone), a distinctly avian feature; and a foot with three digits forward and one back.

           Distinctly reptilian features include: small teeth in jaw sockets; a long tail of 20 vertebrae; six fused vertebrae (vs 11 in birds); free toe bones with claws on all digits; simple ribs with no lateral extensions; abdominal ribs. The bones of the wing and leg were relatively short and stout. Although it had a sternum (breasstbone), there was no keel where flight muscles attach. Thus it was a weak flier or a glider. It weighed about 2000 grams, was probably predatory, and may have been homeothermic.

       Is Archeopteryx the ancestor of all modern birds? Most likely, it is on a sideline of bird evolution although closely related to the mainstream of evolution. The Pterosaurs and pterodactyls were once considered ancestors of birds, and there are certain similarities such as pneumatic bones, but the pterosaurs had a wing membrane like bats and no feathers. Birds evolved from a group of small bipedal dinosaurs.

Evolution of Flight

            We find a number of animals that are gliders or fliers. Several kinds of reptiles and amphibians developed the ability to fly with horizontal ribs stretched into sails, or with a membrane between the ribs and hand. The Malay frog flattens its body and stretches its limbs to glide. Even one tropical snake parachutes by flattening its body. Also flying squirrels, bats, phalanger (primate), fish, etc. Almost all of these vertebrate forms evolved from an arboreal ancestor (except for flying fish and pterosaurs that jumped off cliffs.)

        So it is likely that early reptiles in the bird-to-be stock climbed trees and jumped from them with elongated scales being used to lengthen the glide, scales having evolved a lengthened shape perhaps for protection or insulation as Archeopteryx was probably partially homeothermic. Selection for longer glides would have selected for longer scales/feathers. Archeopteryx probably climbed trees with its claws

Evolution of Homeothermy

      Living reptiles are poikilothermic (“cold-blooded”) and so extinct reptiles have been regarded likewise. But both mammals and birds are homeothermic (“warm blooded”), so the transition must have occurred in the later reptiles.

Geologic History

Archeopteryx appeared 140-160 million years ago in the Jurassic Period of the Mesozoic Era.

       About 100 million years ago, birds had evolved into essentially modern-looking forms. Birds probably evolved a carina for flight and flightless birds lost them later.

      Roughly 1700 species of birds have been identified by fossil remains. Of this number, about 800 are extant and 900 extinct. So we have been able to identify about 10,000 species, which is perhaps only about 6% of all species that have ever existed- we just don’t have fossil evidence for the rest.The latest estimate of the total number of bird species that have ever lived is 166,000.

More on evolution from PBS.

Bird Evolution- Wikipedia.

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SIPO Approved the Amendments of the Guidelines for Chinese Patent Examination

By: Han-Mei Tso and Jude Yi

The patent office of China, the State Intellectual Property Office (“SIPO”), has approved the Amendments of the Guidelines for Patent Examination (“Guidelines”) on March 1, 2017. The Amendments cover subject matter relating to protection of business models and computer programs, supplementary experimental data, claim amendments in invalidation proceedings, patent examination information disclosure, as well as suspension procedure which will affect the patent owner and patent practitioner in many aspects.  In general, these amendments demonstrate SIPO is open to adjusting the Chinese patent examination practice so that it is closer in alignment with international norms and to make examination more open and clear.  The approved Amendments will take effect on April 1, 2017

Here we address some important amendments and their possible impact:

Eligibility of Computer Program Related Inventions

In the Amendment of Section 2, Chapter 9, Part II, a notable change is the insertion of “per se” after the phrase “computer program.”  Such an amendment clarifies the difference between computer programs per se, and computer program related inventions.  Computer programs per se, i.e. sequences of certain codes are not patentable.  However, a claim drafted in the computer-readable medium plus computer program process format is permissible and should be regarded as a subject matter eligible.

Additionally, in the Amendment of Section 5.2, Chapter 9, Part II, the revised Guidelines clarified that the component parts recited in a software invention apparatus claim may not only be hardware but also software.  This Amendment will allow applicants to properly claim inventions relating to computer programs with greater flexibility.

Apparatus Claim Drafting for Computer Program Related Inventions

In the Amendment of Section 5.2, Chapter 9, Part II, the revised Guidelines replace “function module” with “program module” in the context of drafting an apparatus claim on the basis of a computer program process with each component of the apparatus corresponding to each step of the process.  This Amendment clarifies that the module in such claims should be recognized as a program module instead of a functional module. This avoids interpretation of these limitations as functional features, which would lead to an incorrectly narrow interpretation of the claim scope during claim construction in a patent litigation

Eligibility of Business Method Related Inventions

The newly-added example in Section 4.2, Chapter 1, Part I clarified that as with claims including rules or methods of mental activities, a claim that includes a business rule or method should be patentable provided that the claim includes technical features such that, when viewed as a whole, it is not merely a claim to the business rule or method.  This amendment may show SIPO’s positive attitude and encouragement in connection with business rule or method related inventions.

Supplemental Experimental Data for Chemistry Inventions

The previous Guidelines precluded consideration by an examiner of any embodiment or experimental data submitted after filing of the application for determining whether a chemical invention is sufficiently disclosed.  With the Amendment to Section 3.4, Chapter 10, Part II, examiners should consider and examine supplemental experimental data submitted during examination, and the technical effect to be proven by the data should be derivable by persons in the art from the original disclosure of the subject application under examination.

Claim Amendment during Invalidation Proceeding

Currently a patent owner can only amend a claim by combining two or more claims in their entirety, deleting technical solution(s), or canceling the claim during an invalidation proceeding.   The Amendment to Section 4.6.2, Chapter 3, Part IV will give a patent owner more flexibility to amend claims during an invalidation proceeding by adding one or more technical features recited in other claims in order to further narrow the scope of the claim.  Correction of obvious errors in a claim will be permitted as well according to the Amendment.  Nevertheless, a patent owner is still not allowed to amend a claim by adding a technical feature from the specification, unlike in the United States.

Osha Liang will continue to watch these developing trends in China’s patent practice and will provide instant reports and insights to our readers.

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Saturday, November 14, 2009

Original, unedited Osho ("Rajneeesh") books

Over the past years I have noticed that the demand for original, unedited Osho books is huge. Many of our book buyers do not want the compilation books produced by mainstream publishers and request the original books, many of which are out of print.

I am always on the lookout for such books and was recently able to buy a small collection. Book collectors know that prices for such books are skyrocketing on sites like or on ebay.

I am excited to be able to offer the following “Rajneesh” books, all of them out of print. I have only one copy per title, so please email us soonest with your interest.

Title publication date price
Take It Easy Vol. 2 1979 37.95
Discipline of Transcendence Vol. 2 1978 36.95
Ecstasy: The Forgotten Language 1978 36.95
Rajneesh Upanishad 1987 28.95
The Ultimate Alchemy Vol. 1 1976 37.95
The Book of Secrets Vol. 4 1976 29.95
The Book of Secrets Vol. 5 1976 35.95
Zarathustra: Laughing Prophet app.1989 36.95
Ta Hui: Great Zen Master app.1989 36.95
Gold Nuggets app.1989 22.95
More Gold Nuggets app.1989 22.95
Come Follow Me, Vol. 1 1976 37.95
Come Follow Me, Vol. 2 1976 37.95
The Razor’s Edge app. 1989 36.95
From the False to the Truth app. 1989 35.95
The Sword and the Lotus app. 1988 35.95

Books about Osho:
The Awakened One
(by Satya Vedant) 1982 22.95
The Rajneesh Papers
(by Palmer & Sharma) app. 1987 23.95

Sourced from Osho Viha Connection Magazine

  1. These rare, out-of-print Osho (Rajneesh) books sell pretty much like hot cakes, so many of these books sold within hours.

  2. Hi I am a avid reader of OSHO Books. Can you please guide me where can I download all the above mentioned books in your blog. Please help me I shall be thankful to you.

    1. These books are not available for download, but printed, hardcover books that we were offering for sale seven years ago. Check our website for Osho books for sale.

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Aug 20, 2010

Creeping On All-Time Wettest Summer

The middle part of August saw a welcomed cool down. A string of days recording below normal temps and low dew points made everyone much more comfortable. Unfortunately we were in Brooklyn, NY during this period to enjoy it. However, the daily weather descriptions left by the back-up OSNW3 observers, MarkMartin and Jeff Bollier, made my daydreams of cooler weather come true. I thank you gentlemen! WeatherScout also noticed and documented the great weather pattern. I am certain that this autumn will feel a bit cooler than usual even though the temps will be average due to our extremely hot and humid summer. My acclimation to dew points in the middle sixties is disheartening.

(OSNW3 Weather Brief)
(OSNW3 August Observations)

(OSNW3 August 2010 Summary)

(click on graph for the month summary data - it will open a new tab/window)

Oshkosh City Tournament
Since the early 1930's, the city of Oshkosh has held an annual city golf tournament. I'm fortunate enough to have been participating in it since 2005. This weekend is the big weekend for 2010. 170 participants will battle through a two day 36 hole grind. I say grind because it's going to be sticky. Much more humid than the past five, from what I can remember...

(Weekend Forecast)
Saturday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 7am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 83. Calm wind becoming north northeast between 4 and 7 mph.

Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 84. North northeast wind around 7 mph.

(City Tournament Weather since 2005)

For information on the tournament please visit the Lakeshore Municipal Golf Course website. Good luck to all the golfers!!

Front Of House
We're on cut number 9 and August is starting to dry us out. The morning of Aug 24 I noticed some color coming through on the tree across the street, see below. OSNW3 is still in second place for all-time Oshkosh wettest summers. The data set for the precipitation rankings can be found here.

This entry from the NWS Milwaukee is interesting...

(FOH - Aug 24, 2010)

(TAS - Aug 24, 2010)


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Tuesday, February 28, 2006

gentlemen, start your chainsaws

The Single Block Classic is now underway! Lars was disappointed not to hear a starting gun and a "symphony of chainsaws" at 9:00 AM. I guess this sort of thing starts slowly. A little over an hour into the event, we are still waiting for the zoom boom to get around to our site (#17) and re-orient our ice block to our specifications. We placed some timbers on the ground last night and leveled them this morning so that the block will be mostly level but leaning just slightly away from the side we will cut. We're hoping this will minimize the chance of having 450 pound slabs fall on us!

I'm typing this on a PC in the Ice Art warming hut. It is a good way to exercise my fingers out of the -13°F outside air. It's a shame I don't know how to type with my toes.

Sunday, February 26, 2006

on my way

After packing an unbelievable array of footwear, I'm leaving for the airport and will arrive in Fairbanks at 12:50 AM. I had some time to work on a set of custom spade bits today, but I'll have to finish the job at Belfair.

Saturday, February 25, 2006

After spending about 18 of the last 22 hours working on design finalization and template layout, the templates are finally in the hands of the Kinko's in Fairbanks. We'll be able to pick them up on Monday. The reason it took so long was that I had to do some significant last minute design changes. One of the main purposes of the plywood escapement was to experimentally determine the amount of time the escape wheel has to turn from one tooth to the next. I had estimated half a second, but it turned out to be about a third of a second. This small difference caused the anticipated required sled weight to increase from 103 pounds to 220 pounds!

Fortunately, I was able to drastically reduce the weight to 83 pounds by scaling down the escapement and the last couple gears in the gear train. Unfortunately, it was the kind of change that affected many other things. Quite a few parts had to be re-drawn, some extra parts for the gear tooth cutter had to be worked out, and I had to start over my template layouts from scratch.

Meanwhile, Lars has finished his home-made lathe and is proceeding with his bandsaw for slab cutting. We had been counting on being able to rent a 48" bar chainsaw in case the bandsaw doesn't work, but that plan has fallen through. Now all our eggs are in one basket, and our second best option is a smaller bar chainsaw that would be rather suboptimal. Go, Lars!

Friday, February 24, 2006

I got to bed early tonight after being short on sleep for a couple nights in a row, but I ended up waking up around 4:00 AM anyway. There is so much to think about!

Lars finished his mobile drill press. I can't wait to see it. He ran into some obstacles with his lathe, but it sounds like he is getting past those. Lars is also working on a custom band saw for cutting our big slabs.

I'm trying to finalize the design. There aren't many major changes to make, but there are a whole bunch of little ones. I need to get them all done so that I can finish the template layouts and get them to the printer.

Thursday, February 23, 2006

extended forecast

It is starting to look like the weather will be favorable with highs around 15° to 20°F. This is slightly cooler than ideal ice carving conditions, but it certainly could be a lot worse. Too warm, and the ice melts; too cold, and it gets very brittle.

Steve Munk, an old friend and roommate, writes that "the roads have been nightmarishly icy all week. Like skating rinks all over town." I'll have to bring my skates.

In our correspondence this week, Steve helped me get over my sticker shock at the cost of printing a couple dozen 5' by 3' paper templates at a Fairbanks print shop. It turns out that the cost isn't really that much more than they pay at ARSC. Steve also writes, "I have a suggestion. Make the bushings out of ice. It's slippery. ;)"

escapement testing

I finished building a pendulum and escapement out of plywood this evening. I haven't added any way to power the escape wheel, but just turning it by hand is enough to tell that the design works. I was afraid that the design required too much precision when cutting out the parts, but the thing worked on the first try with parts cut by hand with a jigsaw.

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

how to build a gear tooth cutter, part one

Okay, Lars, this rather lengthy post is for you. I've sent you a number of parts for the gear tooth cutter in the mail, but these first steps you can do before the package arrives if you have time. My prototype was constructed primarily out of wood. You may decide it would be better to use steel or have other ideas for improvements, but I'll assume for the sake of expediency that you'll build it just like mine.

Precision during construction significantly affects the machine's ability to cut precise gear teeth. You should make sure your table is level before starting so that you can level various components throughout the assembly.

First, build the frame out of two-by-two lumber. The frame should be assembled exactly as in the photo (except for the diagonals which were not correct when this photo was taken) with 48" and 21" horizontals, and 27" verticals. I used 24" verticals, but you should build yours taller in order to accommodate our increased gear thickness.

Diagonals should be added to keep the structure rigid, but the position of the side diagonals must be correct. They can terminate at the front no more than eight inches from the top of the frame. The side diagonals should be attached to the verticals so that there is a gap between the diagonals and the side horizontals.

Next, build the spindle bar rails. The spindles will be mounted in top and bottom spindle bars (two-by-twos) that will run lengthwise through the frame. The spindle bar rails will guide the spindle bars, allowing them to move freely lengthwise. The spindle bar rails will also be adjustable front-to-back, allowing various gear blanks to be positioned nearer or further from the cutting blade.

The left spindle bar rail is made from two 27" two-by-twos separated by short two-by-two spacers at the top and bottom. Unlike mine, your spacers should be no more than two inches long.

Place the rail along the left side of the frame so that it is held against the frame by the left diagonal.

Then carefully attach a short two-by-four (mine was 9.5" long, but I recommend about 14") such that the rail is held perfectly upright as it is adjusted from front to back. There should be a small gap between the rail and the table so that the weight is held by the two-by-four. Drill a pilot hole near the bottom of the rail, but do not drill it through the frame horizontal. This is for a set screw (see two photos up) that will be used to hold the rail in various positions.

Make the right spindle bar rail the same way as the left one, except that the two-by-four must extend 8.5" from the front edge of the rail. You might want to make your two-by-four few inches longer than mine toward the rear for improved vertical stability of the rail.

The reason the right spindle bar rail has a longer two-by-four is to support the guide rack table. This is a 21.5" long, 7.5" wide board supported by two-by-fours at both sides. Use a short length of two-by-two as a foot at the rear of the left two-by-four. Note that you cannot add a foot at the front because the table must be able to extend over the front frame horizontal when the spindle bar rails are positioned forward for cutting smaller gears.

The left two-by-four needs to extend far enough to the rear so that the bottom spindle bar can ride on top of it. Hopefully you won't have to, but I had to chisel the top of mine down a bit due to a bowed bottom spindle bar. With the spindle bar (or any two-by-two since you haven't made the real spindle bar yet) in place, add little front and rear guide blocks to the top of the two-by-four. These will keep the guide rack rigid with respect to the spindle bar path. The rear guide block needs to be pretty short.

Attach a 12" two-by-two to the top of the guide rack table along the front so that the edge facing the spindle bar is parallel to the spindle bar and exactly 22.8 cm from the center of the spindle bar.

Make the bottom spindle bar from a single 61" two-by-two. Drill 1/4" holes into the top of the bar about 1" deep (not all the way through) for the blank spindle and guide spindle. The holes should be made along the center line of the bar and should be perfectly vertical. The blank spindle hole should be 26" from the left end of the bar, and the guide spindle hole should be 13" to the right of the blank spindle hole.

Add the tension bar perpendicular to the bottom spindle bar. It should be 18" long, attached about 1/2" to the right of the center point between the two spindles.

The tension bar needs a little cut-out at the spindle bar end in order to move freely above the little guide block on the rack table support. You should also add a foot to the tension bar, precisely sized to level the spindles. The foot can be no more than 3.5" away from the spindle bar or else it will run into the rear frame horizontal when the spindle bar rails are positioned toward the rear for cutting larger gears.

Make a little tension slider that slides freely along the tension bar. Drill a 1/4" hole about 1" deep into the slider for the tension spindle.

Mount the slider on the tension bar and add rubber bands that pull the slider toward the end of the bar.

The top spindle bar is identical to the bottom spindle bar except that the spindle holes go all the way through, and there isn't any of that tension bar nonsense. You'll need to sand down the ends of both spindle bars in order to allow smooth motion through the spindle bar rails.

Tuesday, February 21, 2006

one week to go

Next Tuesday morning the Single Block Classic begins. Lars and I are making preparations at a feverish pace. I took apart my gear tooth cutter and sent most of the parts other than lumber to Lars this morning. Last night I made a full-scale, plywood escape wheel, but I won't have a chance to make the pendulum and test the complete escapement until tomorrow night or later. Some last minute design modifications are required, including thickening a couple gears and several minor frame changes.

Monday, February 20, 2006

broken teeth

I built a load tester to try to find out how much force the gear teeth could take before shearing off. Unfortunately my results were somewhat discouraging and not entirely conclusive. The first tooth supported 65 pounds (on a 60° ramp, the same angle as the clock's ramp) but failed with 220 pounds. The second tooth failed with 150 pounds. The third tooth supported 150 pounds but failed with 220 pounds.

In ideal circumstances, such as a complete lack of friction throughout the gear train, I estimate that the sled will have to weigh 103 pounds. We may be able to do some things to reduce the required weight a bit, but I'm not certain how much. To be safe, I would prefer to be able to count on the teeth supporting a sled of 150 pounds.

The test was non-ideal for several reasons. The gear was only 9 cm thick whereas the gears experiencing the most force in the clock are designed to be 10 cm thick. The gear was not cut very well, mostly because my lack of a drill press prevented me from using a very precise method of aligning the gear blank on the gear tooth cutter when I flipped it over to the second side. The quality of the ice was marginal. It had quite a few air bubbles, unlike the arctic diamond we will be working with at the competition. The load tester was hastily designed and constructed, so the gear wasn't seated perfectly against the racks, and I believe the load was uneven across the length of each tooth.

Even taking into account the imperfections of the test, the results were a bit troubling, so Lars and I have decided to increase the thickness of the first two gears in the gear train from 10 cm to 15 cm. The test also points out that we absolutely must make our best effort to cut the gear teeth precisely and align all of the axles correctly.

Sunday, February 19, 2006

how to make an ice gear

This is the process for making a gear out of ice using the gear tooth cutter. Start with a slab of ice. This one was about 10 cm thick.

Use liquid water to paste a paper template to the slab. I thought that a paintbrush would be good for this, but it turned out that just dribbling water on the paper was easier. A spray bottle might work well too.

Following the template, cut out the gear blank. I used a hand pruning saw which is good at cutting ice but not particularly precise. Ideally, the cut would be perfectly perpendicular to the surface of the slab and exactly following the outer circle on the template. Use a 1/4 inch spade bit to drill the center hole and two holes for the sprocket assembly.

Mount the appropriate sprocket and guide pinion on the guide spindle. Clamp the corresponding guide rack to the rack table. For this gear, I used a 24 tooth guide sprocket and a 20 cm guide pinion.

Mount the appropriate sprocket on the blank spindle. For this gear, I used a 20 tooth blank sprocket.

Any sprocket will do on the tension spindle. Make sure that the chain is properly engaged with all three sprockets and that there is enough tension to keep it from sagging.

Mount the gear blank on the blank spindle. It should be seated on the sprocket assembly so that they turn together. Place the top spindle bar through the bar rails and onto the spindles. Now when you manually move the spindle bars from side to side, the guide rack and pinion cause the sprockets on all three spindles, as well as the gear blank, to rotate. At this point, you will probably need to adjust the guide rack position to the left or right in order to allow your first cut to follow the template. Your first cut should be with the gear spindle to the left of the saw blade.

With your left hand, provide a little clockwise tension on the gear blank. Make your first cut with the circular saw by pulling it down through the gear blank and then back up until the saw blade is clear of the blank. Move the rack to the right (you'll soon get the hang of how far), provide clockwise tension, and make your next cut. This process allows successive cuts to follow the involute tooth profile.

After finishing each tooth, manually advance the guide pinion with respect to the guide rack to set up the next tooth for cutting. For this gear, I advanced two guide pinion teeth for every one tooth on the gear blank.

After making your way completely around the gear blank, you are halfway done. Now you must flip the blank over and repeat the process on the other side to cut the other edge of each tooth.

After finishing all of the teeth with the gear tooth cutter, remove the blank from the cutter and use an iron to remove the template.

The area halfway between each tooth will be left a bit rough by the gear tooth cutter. Use a small drum sander or a round file to finish those spots.

Friday, February 17, 2006

on the phone

I spoke with Lars today for the first time in six weeks. He has already raided Fairbanks dumpsters, and he answered the phone while salvaging a motor from a discarded washing machine. It will probably end up driving his lathe. He's also building a steel work table, a slab cutting rig, a copy of my gear tooth cutter, and his mobile drill press. It would take me months to do all that stuff, but, knowing Lars, he'll probably be looking for new projects by Wednesday.

I finally found a place that sells an adjustable spade bit that goes up to a 5 inch diameter, but at $169 it probably isn't any more cost effective than a handful of large forstner bits. Lars is going to see if he can improve on my design (I'm sure he can) and make a few custom spade bits instead.

the nerve of some wives

Not only am I not allowed to operate my circular saw in the middle of the night, but now I can't leave the garage doors wide open in sub-zero weather to create realistic practice conditions, inadvertently allowing pipes to freeze in the pump room! Can you imagine?

Thursday, February 16, 2006

custom spade bit

I made a proof-of-concept adjustable spade bit tonight. It worked pretty well on ice, although the poor design resulted in the cutting blade rotating around the machine screw. This caused the bit to bore a conical hole rather than a cylindrical hole. Even so, it was an effective proof of concept.

I also tried my jigsaw on ice for the first time. It was terrible. In general, it seems that power tools capable of automatically clearing snow from their cutting blades (chainsaw, circular saw, spade bit) rock while tools that harbor packed snow (twist bit, jigsaw, hole saw) suck.

he's back

Lars is home from Russia and "looking forward to building MACHINES!!! Like Morpheus would say it." Now the fun begins.

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

two weeks to go

The gear tooth cutter is working well, although so far I've only had a chance to use the full process on plywood blanks which splinter quite a bit. It doesn't look like I'll have enough time to make a complete working model of the ice clock, but I will at least make a model of the escapement.

A matter of much debate at the moment is the method we will use for putting the axle assemblies together. The two main techniques under consideration are the sandwich method, two separate axle pieces bonded to either side of a solid gear, and the through-axle method, a single axle piece inserted through a hole in the middle of a gear. Until this week, I had been leaning toward the sandwich method because I thought it would be much easier to get a good waterglue (Lars's term) bond between flat surfaces than between cylindrical surfaces. The biggest drawback of the sandwich method is probably the difficulty of getting the parts aligned correctly.

Now I'm leaning toward the through-axle method, mostly because of Lars's plans to build a mobile drill press and an ice lathe. Those tools should make it much easier to get good cylindrical waterglue bonds, eliminating the only major drawback of the through-axle method.

about Lars

It's hard to imagine a better partner in this crazy endeavor than Lars Hansen. I met Lars at the very beginning of our first year at UAF, and we became fast friends. I like to think that I'm a bit like Lars, but Lars is, uh, more so. Allow me to explain.

Lars is always making something. Now a brewer of excellent beer, he made wines in his dorm room at Nerland Hall. A few of his wines were pretty good, including a strawberry wine and, surprisingly, a batch made from a bag of frozen, mixed berries. Most of his wines were terrible, however, because he was forever experimenting with strange and new concoctions. Two of his more dismal failures were banana wine and rhubarb wine. Always one to make the best of any situation, he would pour the undrinkable batches into a stainless steel bowl and place the bowl outside to freeze on cold, Fairbanks nights. After skimming off the ice a few times, the remaining everclear was bottled for future use as a mixer or as a combustible for one of his famous party tricks.

Over the last few years he has built his own house, called Belfair, near Fairbanks. The four story, plywood palace features a secret door; a room with a dome ceiling; a dual axis, steel framed, spiral staircase; a room ("the West Wing Theater") suspended over open air between the house proper and a nearby hillside; and a fifty foot long, two story wood shed. During early phases of construction, there was a half-pipe in the living room.

Lars is strong. He used to walk around the dorm on his hands, even up and down stairs. When his high school (junior high?) gym teacher noticed his muscles, the teacher asked, "Lars, do you lift weights?"

"No, I lift rocks!" he replied enthusiastically.

Lars is enthusiastic about, well, absolutely everything. While visiting Belfair last year, everyone in the house settled down for an afternoon nap one day. After we all woke up, Lars said, "Isn't it great to be awake again?" He meant it. Late at night at Nerland Hall he would knock on my door and say, "Let's go slogging through the snow!" You simply can't turn down an invitation like that, so I'd put on my slogging boots and my warmest clothes, and out we'd go out into the sub-zero midnight just to find the nearest, untouched field of three foot deep snow and trudge through it as hard as we could. You can count on getting plenty of exercise when you hang out with Lars.

His tolerance for cold weather is unparalleled. People used to stare in amazement as he ran from class to class in -20°F weather wearing shorts, birkenstocks, socks, a jean jacket, and a sheepskin hat. Partly he's just tough-skinned, but I think the main reason he was capable of running around like that was his amazing metabolism. He eats more than anyone I've ever known yet is skinny as can be. When friends didn't clean their plates at Lola's, Lars would scrape the remnants off every plate onto a big pile on his own and chow down.

Terrifyingly thrifty, Lars never lets anything go to waste. Generally this is quite admirable, but I have witnessed the dark side of the tendency from time to time. Once Lars brought a home-made rhubarb pie to a party at school. It was grey. I asked, "Lars, was that rhubarb, uh, used?"

"Yes!" he proudly replied, "it was left over after making the rhubarb wine!" I'm sure I was the only person to eat a whole piece of that pie (except perhaps Lars, himself, who is capable of superhuman feats of ingestion). Never have I suffered more just to be polite.

Every day spent with Lars is another story. Sometimes the story is bizarre, sometimes it is touching, and sometimes it is downright amazing; but it is always a story worth telling. I want the ice clock to work, and I can't imagine anyone more ingenious and fun to work with while "freezing and suffering" (his words) through the competition. Mostly, though, I want this experience to be a good story, whatever the outcome. With Lars along for the ride, it can't help but be a story worth telling.

Thursday, February 09, 2006

"When I was carvnig the sea turtles out of the river ice in тйгйль, I only had a leatherman to work with. . ."

Ah, it's good to hear from Lars again. He's back online, though infequently and with a slow connection. Still, it's good enough to exchange a few emails for the first time in more than a month. He has some great ideas for tools and techniques. One of my favorites is a plan to mount his drill press on a carriage assembly so that we can drill precise holes in the middle of large parts.

functionally complete

The gear tooth cutter is now functionally complete and ready to cut its first gear. The starter gear, although imperfect, moves pretty smoothly as part of the rack and pinion mechanism. I have a gear blank mounted and ready to go, but it is getting too late to be operating the circular saw. Impatience!

Wednesday, February 08, 2006

three weeks to go

I've been under the weather for the last three days and haven't made much progress. I managed to finish my starter gear tonight. It isn't perfect, but hopefully it will be good enough. Sandra Skibsted is traveling from London to film a documentary of this year's Ice Art. I've corresponded with her a bit, and it looks like we'll get to be part of the project. I haven't heard from Sharon this week, but Lars should be back in another week or so. The weather is warming up in Fairbanks (highs above 0°F!), and the days are getting longer by several minutes each day.

Sunday, February 05, 2006

The prototype gear tooth cutter is less precise than I would like (which is one of the reasons I'm starting to call it a prototype). I've tried to do the best job I can making the parts, using threads to center the sprocket assemblies, for example. Unfortunately I don't own a drill press, and that has been the biggest factor limiting my precision. It sure is hard to make holes through metal in exactly the right spot with a hand drill. I thought about buying a press, but so far everything is good enough for a prototype.

The other reason I'm calling this a prototype is that it will probably be quite expensive to ship the whole contraption to Alaska. It looks like it may cost $25 each way to ship the circular saw alone (a $38 item that is most likely available for sale in Fairbanks). Instead of shipping it, I think I'll ask Lars to build a second gear tooth cutter after his return. I'll refine the prototype as much as possible, and then he can make the parts more precisely in his shop. (He owns a drill press and is much more experienced with metal in general.) I'll just bring a few key components such as the sprockets and starter gear.

starter gear

Well, I didn't meet my goal of having my first ice gear made by the end of the weekend, but I came close. I am more than halfway through cutting my first wooden gear, but it has been more challenging than I thought. The trouble is that my gear tooth cutter requires a gear as part of the mechanism to move the gear blank you are cutting, so I have a chicken/egg problem. I had supposed that I could carefully use a plain wooden disc instead of a gear, but I gave up on that idea after a couple failed attempts.

I ended up printing a paper template, pasting it to the wooden blank, and manually positioning each of several cuts per tooth. This method is slow but fairly precise, and I am able to duplicate each cut across every tooth by manually advancing the chain along the sprockets. One edge of each tooth has been finished, and I have started on the other side. I think this will result in a usable starter gear, but, if all else fails, I can always have someone make one for me.

Thursday, February 02, 2006

Word from Sharon is that Lars, still waiting for cargo, has been practicing cutting ice blocks out of a nearby river. He's still saying he'll be back in mid-February. I haven't practiced with ice for several days as I have been spending all available time on the gear tooth cutter. My goal is to have made my first gear out of ice by the end of the weekend.


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Friday, January 28, 2011

Free Pathfinder RPG Armor

I'm not working on any thing in particular right now, so I thought I'd toss this up here for fun. I'll be heading down to San Antonio tomorrow and hitting the comic shops this weekend.

The Breast Plate of Rusting Pipes
Aura: moderate conjuration CL: 10th
Slot: armor Price: 75,000 gp Weight 42 lbs

This +1 Heavy Fortification Breast Plate is made from some strange, rusted orange alloy that rings like steel when struck. Bulky beyond the ability of most warriors to wear, this breast plate is not a single piece of steel- rather it is a twisted knot of pipes and pressure gauges that hiss enigmatically. Bulky vents built into the spinal plating and the lopsided and exceptionally bulky left shoulder plating belch out a foul smelling odor that only gets more intense as the battle wears on.

Anyone coming within 10 ft of the wearer of this strange armor is considered Sickened for as long as they remain near the armor and for 1d4 rounds afterward (FORT DC 12 negates). Anytime the wearer suffers a critical hit negated by the armor’s Heavy Fortification feature, the stench only gets more intense as strange pressures build within the armor. For one minute after the hit, those who fail their save are considered Nauseated.

The wearer becomes immune to inhalation toxins and poisons while wearing the air, including magical gasses. However, the armor’s bulk imposes a -8 armor check penalty.

Requirements: Craft Magic Arms & Armor, stinking cloud
Cost: 37,500 gp

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Join Russ on location at North Hy-vee Oct 21st from 10am to 12pm. Join Big D on location at Ottumwa Cab Oct 25th from 8am to 10am.
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Walter Meeker

By Melissa Lambrecht, February 24, 2014

WALTER MEEKER, 91, of Ottumwa

Funeral services will be 10 a.m. Tuesday at Reece Funeral Home.  Burial will be in Shaul Cemetery with military

services conducted by Walter B. Schafer Post #775 Veterans of Foreign Wars and O.B. Nelson Post #3 American Legion

Visitation begins at 1 p.m. Monday (today) at Reece Funeral Home with the family present from 6 to 8 p.m.

Memorials may be made to Helping Hands

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Diane Childers Leviner

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Diane Childers Leviner

Postby Bill Dennis » Fri September 15, 2017, 1:59 pm

Diane Childers Leviner,76, of Anderson, SC formerly of Rockingham died Thursday, September 14, 2017 at Rainey Hospice House in Anderson. A graveside service will be conducted Monday, September 18, 2017 at 11:00 A.M. at Richmond Co. Memorial Park. Surviving; Her husband Harold Leviner of Anderson, SC; A daughter Kay Leviner of Anderson, SC. Watson-King Funeral Home in Rockingham is serving the Leviner family. Online condolences may be made at www.watson-kingfuneralhome.com
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Monday, January 26, 2009

Lisa's day at the temple...

On Saturday we were able to have the privilege of seeing Lisa go through the Timpanogos Temple to receive her endowments. She is preparing to go on her mission to Tokyo, Japan in just a couple of weeks. We are so excited and proud of her choices to serve the Lord. She is such a great example to our family.

My sister Jennifer & her husband Randy helped Rick and I represent the Cozzens side of the family.

Lisa's brother Mark and his wife Aersta.

Because Lisa's mom and dad are serving in Italy, her aunt Laura (Jeff's sister) was her escort through the temple.

The Acerson family.

These are good friends of the family, Mike & Debbie Judson.

Brenda Dickerson said...

It is great to see a picture of Randy and Jennifer. I haven't seen them in years but they haven't changed much! I am shocked that Randy still has a full head of hair.


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God cares about the...

Well, today I tested... How did it go? I probably did ok. Afterward, my Mom was a little late in picking us (Kole and I) up, so we helped a couple of ladies move some tables, chairs, etc. And they were really blessed by that! And even if we didn't do so well in our testing... We still had a good attitude, and we were being a servant. And you know what?! God cares about the heart! He is pleased with that!

But we should always do all (even test) to the glory of God. And if we all got F's... do you think that would bring God glory? No. So we should try to do well. (By the way, I made this cheer, "Do your best, in the test, and let God do the rest!" cool, huh?(I kind of stole a little bit from somebody else, sorry) In a song that I really like, the guy says "It's the heart that really matters in the end!" And that's right! And our actions will reflect what is in the heart!

Alright now, I'm going to steal a saying that my Dad's friend says all the time, "Saved to Serve." That's awesome! That's why God saved us! We are saved to serve!

All Christ,

Rachel April 17, 2008 at 8:39 AM

That's true, we should always do our best, and have a good attitude about it.

E.Go. April 17, 2008 at 10:37 AM

ok so like i know that you had a REALLY good attitude because i was with you...you helped me have one too! thanks!

Life Savior April 17, 2008 at 11:22 AM

I tried to be a little funny, to cover my nervousness :) Is that a word? Nervousness?

Rachel April 17, 2008 at 11:58 AM

I think it is... I get nervous every single time I do testing! But I can trust God to help me!!!

E.Go. April 17, 2008 at 12:02 PM

This was the first time that I came out of testing wanting to talk about it. I told everyone about the bug! I had a lot of fun! THANKS!

P.S. By the way I think that you over stomped the bug...

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And, in testimony of our desire, and assurance to be heard, we say, Amen.

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In Victoria a Certificate of Roadworthiness is generally required when a vehicle is sold or being re-registered. This helps reduce poorly maintained vehicles on the road.

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The inspection is a check of the vehicle to ensure that key components have not worn or deteriorated and that the vehicle is safe for normal road use.

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Monday, November 16, 2009

to the barracks!

You steer towards the barracks in the distance. The other soldiers follow your lead.

Gun shots fly through the air. Oh no! Your captain is down. You hit the ground and immediately assume command.

"To the barracks, men!" you shout. They remove their parachutes and run towards the barracks.

As you approach, you notice a stream of smoke rising from the barracks roof. Do you instruct your soldiers to retreat or keep going and investigate?

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Hiking: Slieve Mish on the Kerry Camino

Declan Cunningham tells us everything we need to know about this not too taxing hike around Slieve Mish on the Dingle Way in Co Kerry.

15 of the Best Activities in Ireland for Rainy Days

Feeling motivated to do something, but there's a hurricane brewing outside, here are some of the best activities in Ireland for those wet weather days.
Weekend Adventures in the Shannon Region

Weekend Adventures for under €50 in the Shannon Region

All dressed up in your activewear and nowhere to go? We suggest heading to the Shannon Region for some fun in the great outdoors.
Saltmills EuroVelo

EuroVelo Wexford: Exploring the Road Less Travelled by Bike

With more square miles of road than any other county, Wexford is any cyclist's dream come true. And now with the arrival of the EuroVelo, it's even better.
Con Doherty Triathlete

Con Doherty’s Favourite Training Routes

Ireland's top triathlete, Con Doherty, shares his favourite swim, bike and running routes in Co Mayo.
causeway coasteering

Weekend Adventures for under €50 in Northern Ireland

Heading north for the weekend? There are adventures galore up there, from ziplining to coasteering, here are some of the best for your budget.
Inchydoney Island

Inchydoney: The Perfect Combination of Luxury and Adventure

Planning a weekend escape? Inchydoney is the perfect place to find adventure with a dash of luxury.

Weekend Adventures for under €50 in the South West of Ireland

Heading to the South West of Ireland for the weekend, here are some outdoor pursuits to do that won't break the bank, costing just €50 or under.
SUP Yoga

Adventure in the City: SUP Yoga in the Docklands

If you are in search of something different to do in Dublin, then SUP yoga may be the very thing. Surfdock has sessions every Saturday.
Weekend Adventures in the South East

Weekend Adventures for under €50 in the South East of Ireland

Is the weekend looming and you have zero plans? Everyone thinks West is best, but why not head to the ‘sunny’ south east for some adventure.


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Thursday, January 29, 2009

Let's talk about Sex

This week we have been more focused on woman and sexuality in our society.

As I was reading in the Douglas book, I could find myself getting as little defensive to her thoughts and sediments. I felt like not only was she angry at the media with regards to her sexual ideals, but that if you were a woman who DID want to wait until marriage to have sex, you were jaded and weren't making the decision for yourself. I can see after our discussion that maybe her intentions were just to show the confusion and frustration for many women as the media portrayed sex in contrasting lights.

Ultimately, this made me think about my own values and ideals on sex. I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and my religion teaches that premarital sex is in violation of sacred Gospel principles. However, that does not mean that sex in itself is a horrible and sinful thing.

I've noticed that for my generation, sex is more of an open subject with regards to the LDS faith. I have talked about it with my friends and have had leaders and teachers discuss it in classes. I know that I will enjoy sex with my future spouse. I would consider myself a very sexual person, but I have chosen to wait and have those experiences until I am entered into a bond of marriage. I know that sex is for procreation, but I also believe it is an expression of love between two people and is meant to be enjoyable. Otherwise, why would we do it?! For those reasons, I do consider it sacred and will hold to that belief.

That choice I've made is my own, and I don't feel it makes me a "bad" or "good" girl. I've made mistakes and stupid decisions that would label me as bad, and done great things that some might label me as good. I don't think that one particular area of my life, such as sex, can define who I am. I think these are choices every person needs to make after careful consideration of the consequences to their actions.

P.S. I would marry this guy tomorrow if I could! Yummy....

Thursday, January 22, 2009

I'm a chick...and I'm down with that!

In reading the first chapter of the Douglas book I noticed myself getting increasingly anxious. It was frustrating to read as well as a little bit eye opening. My mind shifted to thinking about women and young girls in other countries, wondering if they had the same self esteem issues as American women always seem to posses (being that in they most likely did not share the same media influences). It really is all about self esteem you know. The only reason we sometimes want to bring down others is to feel good about ourselves. I do think this is something we have learned through the media and our environment. HOWEVER, I don't think that should be an excuse.

I have always been someone that does what I want. I hate people telling me what to do; I do things because I feel it's what is best for me. I don't want to be tied down to what the media or society tells me what I am. I honestly think it's sort of a cop out. Having worked in the corporate world for a couple years, there were times when I was treated stereotypically. That doesn't mean that I responded stereotypically. No matter who we are or how people treat us, we have a choice. We have a choice to become invaluable. If my boss can't afford to lose me because of the work I produce, he won't fire me because I'm a women. I believe this goes for any race or sex. We are people. People are assets.

Of course there will always be people who are close minded and accept stereotypes as realities. But if we don't succumb to that and continue to work and provide to the best of our abilities, eventually even their mind can be opened. It takes time, it's not easy. But that doesn't mean it isn't possible. I think Douglas has a bitter taste in her mouth and seems to be playing the blame game right now. I just won't play with her.

On another interesting note, check this chick out:

She is another Real World cast member this season...and I bet you wouldn't have guessed that she is Transgendered. Meaning, she was born a dude. I seriously cannot even seem to grasp this concept yet, it is completely out of my realm of understanding why anyone would do this, but I think maybe as we study more about gender vs. sex I can understand what the heck is going on with her. Maybe.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Learned my Lesson

I really wanted to post about something I care about. Nothing seemed to click for me this week in all our discussions about stereotypes and even listening to the civil rights panel, I just couldn't quite connect with my inner careness level (I cared, just not enough to blog).

So last night, around 11 I'm watching the new season of The Real World. I love love TV, totally not ashamed mind you, but The Real World has never been on my list of must-sees. However, this season they have this LDS guy named Chet. So I'm like, hey I'm LDS, I'm interested in seeing how this guy represents my "culture".

So as I'm watching the show, all I can think about is what a tool he is. Seriously, I don't think I would ever choose to be friends with him. He doesn't seem to have any tact and half the time sounds like he will be the first one back (to douchebagastan).

And then it hit me. I was totally stereotyping what he would be like. I assumed he would be this clean cut missionary esq down to earth dude. In all honesty, I hoped he would be the "stereotypical" non crazy respectful Mormon guy, but instead...we got Chet. CLEARLY, I was way off base. Totally my bad for assuming anything!

Personally, I hope I never run into anyone that asks if I'm LDS and then stereotypes me as Chet's counterpart. Hopefully in realizing I've made a mistake in stereotyping him, I won't get the icky Karma that will send Chet hating people my way. Cheers to realizing stereotypes are NOT right, and here's to hoping Chet doesn't continue being an idiot.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

So here is my new blog dedicated to thoughts and inspirations derived my from Communications 2010 class. I hope this blog to be of benefit to my ever increasing drive for knowledge and learning. I welcome any and all opinions and comments with exception to those who resist class and taste. Lets keep it classy people!

For a little taste of what I plan to write, check this out: Can you believe it?! Honestly, I can. Giving every other industry in America a free handout, why not adult entertainment?

Ugh. I have NEVER agreed with any bail out plan, and I certainly will not add my name to any list of supporters for this one. By shoving loads of money to failing companies we send the message that mistakes are acceptable. Drove your company into bankruptcy? No problem, the federal government will get out its tax payer check book and all of your problems will be solved.

Take some responsibility people!!! Clear out all greedy dirty evil socialist company owners and lets get some fresh blood in there! People with a sense of direction and innovative ideas are what this country needs-Not a government promoted sex handout.


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Friday, May 30, 2014

In (and out of) the studio

A Julian Dashper exhibition was always a big event at the Peter McLeavey Gallery. Julian had a way of making his exhibitions and the openings into something to look forward to. His exhibition in March 1989 was a surprise. There were none of the hand painted works we were accustomed to and instead the canvases were preprinted commercial patterns like you might see on awnings outside holiday baches or shops.

We have put up some images on OTN:STUDIO of Julian, Peter McLeavey and Ivan Anthony as they set the exhibition up in McLeavey’s Cuba Street Gallery. Also added to this set are some black and white images of Popular Production’s studio in 1990, Neil Dawson’s studio and workshop in 1995, Peter Robinson’s studio in 2004 and photographs of Martin Basher’s studio we took in New York a couple of weeks ago.

Image: Julian Dashper setting up his March 1989 exhibition at the Peter McLeavey Gallery


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A migration advice professional who helps potential migrants with visa applications and other paperwork for a fee. Migration agents operating in Australia must comply with the Migration Agents Code of ...

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polar mesocyclone

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A weak secondary depression that forms, without associated fronts, in the unstable air mass behind the cold front of the primary depression. Its main feature is a line of precipitation associated with a trough that extends on the side away from the primary depression.

Subjects: Meteorology and Climatology.

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Quadrantid meteors

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A meteor shower active between January 1 and 6, but with marked activity confined mainly to a 12-hour interval around January 3/4. At maximum, the radiant lies at RA 15h 20m, dec. +49°, a few degrees northwest of Tau, Phi, and Nu Herculis in what used to be the constellation of Quadrans Muralis. The ZHR at maximum can be as high as 120, placing the Quadrantids among the three most active regular annual showers. Quadrantid meteors are moderately fast, with a geocentric velocity of 41 km/s. The stream orbit oscillates up and down relative to the ecliptic over the centuries. As a result, the stream will fail to encounter the Earth after about ad 2200. Attempts to identify a parent body are also confounded by this rapid motion of the orbit, although a strong connection with minor planet 2003 EH1 has been suggested. This object may be the remaining fragment of a comet that broke up a few hundred years before 1600, possibly Comet 1490 Y1. The Quadrantids may be an end member of a complex that includes the Delta Aquarid meteors, the Kracht and Marsden group comets, the daytime Arietid meteors, and Comet 96P/Machholz.

Subjects: Astronomy and Astrophysics.

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Graceland (Paul Simon album)

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Through the mist of subsequent pale imitations, it is difficult now to recall the enormous impact of this trans-cultural album. The mould-breaking blend of rock and African rhythms is exemplified ...

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Paul Simon (b. 1942) American singer and songwriter

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Diamond & Associates Looking to Fill an Intern Position

Diamond & Associates performs exciting, creative work in support of the revitalization of communities and the development and operation of affordable housing.

We are the financial and project management specialists who collaborate with community leaders and entrepreneurs to develop affordable housing communities for seniors, families and people with special needs. We coordinate the work of architects, contractors, lawyers, market analysts and all of the professionals required to build apartments, homes, and commercial buildings that have community revitalization impact.

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Allowing user-written CGIs, scripts, etc. would leave any machine vulnerable to crashing, file manipulation, or worse. Although we could try to review scripts before they are allowed on the machine, this would require more resources than it is worth and we would not be able to catch all bugs and corruptions in the scripts.

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Tuesday, December 30, 2008

TB Peritoneum

A man (one of the many foreign workers in Malaysia) was referred to me with ascites (fluid in the peritoneal cavity) and weight loss. The working diagnosis was tuberculosis. Mantoux test was negative, PCR and ESR were not suggestive. Chest X-ray was clear. The peritoneal fluid was tapped but the cytology was negative. I did a laparoscopy recently; and this is what I saw. Thousands of small 'soft' nodules (which I prefer to call tubercles) studded the surface of the peritoneum, intestines and other intraperitoneal organs. These were biopsied and the diagnosis of tuberculosis confirmed. He was sent back to the referring physician to recieve anti-tuberculosis treatment.

The prevalence of tuberculosis mainly PTB was high in Malaysia previously. With good public health programme and vaccination, it was brought under control. Unfortunately, lately it has resurged. One of the reasons given was HIV; low immunity. But I believe the influx of immigrant workers from countries which don't have efficient anti-TB programme is the main reason.

The authority should look seriously into this. Now, we have new diseases that we never heard about before: Chikungunya, Yellow Fever, Kala Azar and what not !!!!

Globalisation doesn't come without a price .....

Sebaceous Cyst
A sebaceous cyst is a closed sac below the surface of the skin that has a lining that resembles the uppermost part of a hair follicle and fills with a fatty white, semi-solid material called sebum. Sebum is produced by sebaceous glands of the epidermis. Usually patients present with a lump (most often painless) on the body or limb. Not unusual, the cyst gets infected and patients present with and abscess, and this is painful.

This is one of the few huge sebaceous cysts that I have removed. The patient was a man who had kept the lump for more than 10 years, and he came only when he couldn't sit properly.

He was lucky; this is a benign disease, not a cancer. If this were cancerous, then he would be in deep trouble !

SUSAH SANGATKAH NAK DATANG AWAL ???(Is it difficult to come for treatment early ??)

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

3 in 1
Three cancers in one patient

Last year, a woman came to me with progressive jaundice (deepening yellowish discoloration of the skin). Initial investigations showed that it was an obstructive jaundice; meaning, the bile flow was obstructed resulting in bile seeping into the skin and sclera. In this lady, the obstruction was caused by a cancer in the head of pancreas, as shown in the CT-scan picture below.

However, she was also noted to have a fungating
tumour in her left breast. (picture below)

Biopsy (core-needle biopsy) showed that it was an infiltrating ductal carcinoma; meaning this was a confirmed breast cancer.

The CT-scan film showing the primary cancer of the left breast

Further examination also revealed a tumour in her right thyroid lobe.

Biopsy (Fine needle aspiration cytology - FNAC) showed that it was a follicular lesion.

A follicular thyroid swelling can be either benign or cancerous, but looking at the tumour clinically and on CT-scan, I was almost certain that it was a follicular cancer.

She underwent a surgery for the breast cancer (left mastectomy with axillary clearance ), a palliative by-pass of the pancreatic head cancer (gastro-jejunostomy, hepatico-jejunostomy - biopsy confirmed adenocarcinoma of the pancreas)

So, what am I trying to say ?

I am saying that this lady had three (3) primary cancers. This is extremely rare (I am waiting for my report to be published in a peer journal). But this is not my point to you. What I want to highlight here is how 'fantastic' our patient can be. Should she presented much earlier, she could have been saved. She succumbed to her diseases not long after the surgery.

By the way, it was reported in most news today, that the country is in need of more oncologists (cancer specialists) - "We need more than 200 oncologists but the country has only 39" - say the Health Minister. But with this attitude of not seeking treatment until it is too late, I dont see the urgency. The ministry of health has to come out with a policy / campaign / or what so ever to get cancer patients to the hospital, and to do so early !

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Most solid cancers are treated surgically. Cancers such as breast and colon cancers require surgery as the mainstay of their treatment. However, for advanced diseases, other modes of treatment are required to eradicate 'left-over' cancer tissues or cancer cells that have spread to distant organs (metastasis). These treatments are called adjuvant therapies; examples are chemotherapy, radiotherapy, hormonal and etc. So if a patient presents with advanced disease, beside surgery, he or she would requires other form of adjuvant therapies to treat the cancer.
For example, patients with cancer of the rectum (the lower end of the colon) would need surgery to remove the segment that contains the cancer (see pictures below). The removed specimen would then subjected to a thorough examination by a pathologist to determine the aggresiveness (grading) and how advance (staging) the cancer is. The managing surgeon or the oncologist would then decides on whether the patient requires some form of adjuvant therapies or not.
Low rectal cancer removed in a surgery called abdomino-perineal excision
The specimen opened to show the cancer within it
What I want to highlight today is that many patients do not understant the importance of adjuvant therapy after having had their surgery. Today a patient whom I operated two weeks ago for 'stage 3' rectal cancer (Duke C - staging) refused chemotherapy. She is a nurse and she said "I have seen enough patients who suffers the side effects of chemotherapy.." What could I do? When I was a medical student, there was a patient with a lymphoma (cancer of the lymphatic system); the only curable cancer at that time (1984), when told that he requires chemotherapy, said 'cukuplah ..! Now almost 25 years down the line, the attitude is still the same. The problem is; when they are very sick and the cancers are very advance involving all over their body, they come back asking for all sort of things. Last month, a man requested me to insert a chemo-port (a special catheter for administeration of chemo-drugs). He had advanced renal cancer, had refused treatment earlier, and now in acute renal failure. In that condition nobody is going to give him the chemo ! He died a week later.
Bak kata pepatah....Bila sudah terantuk, baru terngadah.

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Semalam, dalam HARIAN METRO terdapat satu berita yang memapar kekecewaan sebuah keluarga yang kehilangan seorang anggota keluarga mereka. Yang mereka kesalkan adalah sikap doktor yang merawat anak mereka, bersikap sombong dan biadap, sehingga sanggup mengeluarkan kata-kata 'Kamu boleh tunggu, tunggu dia mati" Mulanya saya rasakan ini biasalah bagi seorang yang baru ditimpa musibah (grief reaction). Apatah lagi dalam kesibukannya doktor itu gagal memberi penerangan yang memuaskan. Di petang hari yang sama seorang lelaki datang ke pejabat saya, bertanyakan sanggupkan saya merawat anaknya yang mengalami perdarahan di otak selepas satu kemalangan jalan raya. Anaknya masa itu sedang dirawat di unit Neurosurgeri hospital yang sama; beliau takut anaknya itu 'diapa-apakan' oleh seorang doktor di situ yang dikatanya sangat sombong dan tidak bertimbang-rasa. Saya jelaskan kepadanya bahawa pembedahan otak bukanlah kepakaran saya, dan saya nasihatkan beliau untuk selesaikan perkara itu dengan pehak bertanggungjawab di hospital tersebut.
Wow, mungkinkah ini satu sebabnya pesakit datang lewat mendapatkan rawatan seperti yang saya 'highlight'kan sebelum ini. Sikap doktor-doktor yang dikatakan sombong dan kurang bertimbangrasa. Sedangkan rata-rata tok bomoh dan singseh bermulut manis memukau. Bomoh patah mengurut tulang penuh sopan dan mesra sedangkan doktor otopedik menarik tulang sambil menyumpah seranah (pesakit mungkin sedar walau pun diberi sedation).
Petang tadi seorang pesakit datang kepada saya memohon penjelasan tentang penyakitnya. Beliau ada satu ketumbuhan kecil dipayudaranya, telah dibiopsi di hospital (yang sama di atas) dan tak faham penjelasan doktor yang merawat beliau. Lapurannya (biopsy report) tiada dibawanya. Saya terangkan kepada beliau, yang saya tidak dapat membantu, lainlah kalau ada lapuran itu ataupun beliau dapat sebutkan nama doktor berkenaan. Bolehlah saya 'hello'kan kepadanya dan tanyakan perkara tersebut. Inilah masaalahnya, sukar sangatkah untuk memberi penjelasan. Kalau pesakit tak faham istilah perubatan, buatlah analogi dengan barang, tumbuhan sekeliling agar mereka mudah faham. Kalau bahasa yang menghalang carilah seorang penterjemah. Hendak seribu daya, tak mahu seribu dalih!
Fikir-fikirkanlah .....................
Senyumlah wahai doktor-doktor ! It makes a lot of difference.

Saturday, May 31, 2008

Malam Pertama - Rupanya Sudah Ditebuk Tupai !

When I was working in the university few years ago, I was once invited by a gynecologist colleague to assist him in a surgery to removed a huge fibroid (a non-cancerous uterine tumor). The patient was a 30 something year old lady who seek treatment only to proof that she was a 'virgin'. The story went on like this. This particular girl had a progressively enlarging tummy for several years. She used to avoid marriage proposals due to that, until the day she could not give anymore excuses to her parents. It was an arranged marriage - much a common practice in Kelantan. Came 'malam pertama' - the first night after concilliation of the marriage vow - in her husband's advance he noticed the big tummy, almost the size of a full-term pregnancy. Wow... he became furious...... accusing the poor girl and his in-laws of cheating him. "Apa ni, sudah ditebuk tupai !" Only to proof her innocence, did the girl came to the gynecologist. And we took out a 6.5 kg fibroid.

These pictures were given to me by another gynecologiost working in my present hospital. The presentation was more or less the same except this time it was a huge ovarian cyst, not a fibroid.

At the begining of surgery, I thought she was going to do a ceaserian section

A long midline incision; the usual ceaserian section is through a pfnenstiel or bikini incision

There was it; a huge cyst, the fluid was being sucked out !
So you see my point, our peoples wait till the last minute. If you are a girl, and something starts growing in your tummy, you should become worry, very worry. Unless you know for sure that it is your much-awaited baby.
I really hope that the authorities do something about this. I wish my ex-classmate (MU 80/85) who is the Deputy Minister of Health gives some emphasis on this. Forget about certain 'license to . . . . !

Thursday, May 29, 2008

(School Holiday - Circumcision time)
Di Malaysia, bila bermula cuti sekolah, tibalah musim bersunat. Kalau dulu inilah masanya tok-tok mudim buat bisness, tapi sekarang tak lagi. Ramai ibubapa membawa anak-anak mereka ke hospital atau ke klinik bertauliah untuk menyunatkan anak lelaki mereka. Namun masih ada yang selesa dengan yang tak bertauliah. Dalam banyak kes, yang haram tu lah yang seronoknya. Sesetengah tok-tok mudim itu pula adalah kakitangan paramedik yang cari duit tambahan. Musim cuti ni ambil cuti tahunan. Jadi kenalah buat cepat-cepat, maklumlah ramai yang beratur diluar menunggu untuk disunatkan. Setiap musim bersunat ini, ada saja kes yang dirujuk ke pakarbedah untuk tolong repairkan yang dah terlebih potong. Biasanya kes macam ini tidak dihantar ke hospital kerajaan, sebab besoknya akan terpampanglah cerita di Harian Metro yang tunggu saja berita-berita sensional.
Ini adalah satu darinya, habis seluruh kulit burung budak tu dilapahnya. Nak repair bukannya senang, terpaksa ambil kulit dari bahagian lain ditampalkan ke situ.

Akhir tahun lepas, seorang kena potong 'kepala'nya, terkulai. Ini baru yang datang kepada saya, tapi masih ramai lagi pakarbedah yang dapat kes semacam ini. Moga-moga cerita ini menyedarkan ibubapa. Janganlah kerana seringgit dua, naya anak tu. Tapi orang kita memang macam ini, duit beli rokok habis beratus ringgit sebulan, tapi untuk kesihatan atau pelajaran berkira macam nak mati.
Kepada ayah ibu tu, bawalah anak anda ke tok mudim atau doktor yang bertauliah. Bagi kebanyakan kanak-kanak yang berumur 9 tahun ke atas, bersunat dengan bius setempat adalah selamat. Bagi yang kurang dari 9 tahun, pilihlah bersunat dengan bius penuh (general anaesthesia). Sekarang telah jadi trend, bawak anak-anak berumur 5 - 6 tahun untuk bersunat, puas lah pujuk; dan setelah kena sejarum, selak budak tu. Kesian budak tu - sampai ke tua takutkan doktor. Selari dengan garis panduan Kementerian Kesihatan; bagi yang berumur kurang dari 9 tahun, bersunat disyorkan dengan bius penuh. Kalau tidak, tunggulah sehingga anak itu cukup umurnya.
Dan kepada anak-anak tu, selamat bersunat !

Monday, May 26, 2008

HEMORRHOIDECTOMY; Surgery for Hemorrhoids

Today I received an e-mail from someone who enquired about prolapsed hemorrhoids, and what to do to it. Hemorrhoids or piles is an interesting disease. It is an 'old' disease that surgeons thought the treatment is already established long time ago. However with the 'new' understanding on the pathogenesis (how it comes about) of the hemorrhoids, came new treatment modality. We believe that hemorrhoidal tissue is a part of a normal structure (endocushions) in the anal canal that helps in maintaining continence of the anal sphincter. You just imaging without this, if you fart or jump, you might get fecal soiling of your underpant. I prefer to use the word 'hemorrhoidal disease' to 'hemorrhoids' per se.

Some Malaysians go to Singseh or Tabib Buasir for their hemorrhoids. I am not against 'alternative medicines'. Unfortunately not all prolapsed anal lesions are hemorrhoids. I have seen many anal or rectal cancers 'treated' as hemorrhoids. Furthermore they are something called secondary hemorrhoids; these are hemorrhoids that formed as a result of (secondary to) other rectal disease, usually cancers. My advice is that if you notice some mucus on your feces or the blood from your 'hemorrhoids' mixed (not stain on the surface) of your feces; you should go to a surgeon instead of a singseh. You might be having life-threatening cancer.

This is a hemorrhoids, the more reddish inner part is the internal component,

while the darker outer part is the external component.

Prolapsed hemorrhoids is best treated surgically. The old surgical techniques are usually painful. Now, there is a new technique recently introduced by Prof. Antonio Longo from Italy called the Stapling Hemorrhoidectomy or the PPH (Procedure for Prolapse and Hemorrhoids). I personally believe that this method has revolutionised surgical treatment of hemorrhoids. The main advantage is painlessness of this surgery. This is how some of the staplers look like.

Basically it cuts out a segment of rectal mucosa and staples the two ends together with small titanium staples. As a result, the prolapsed tissues are pulled back into the anus and rectum back to their original position. Since the cutting and stapling are done well inside the rectum, you won't feel the pain. Some patients might complain of some degree of pain, this is from the stretching of the anal canal , and this is usually minimum. The only 'setback' of this instrument is its cost. You may need to pay about RM 1700 for this single-use gadget.

These pictures show the hemorrhoids after and before stapling (PPH)

Before procedure
Immediately after completion of surgery

A nurse told me this morning that one of her relatives has a 'huge' prolapsed piles that made him unable to wear a trouser for many months. The same old story, repeatedly....LATE PRESENTATION !

Apa nak jadi ni?
Mat Saleh pun sama laa ....

From the web !

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Late presentation of cases occurs in all types of cancer. I believe the common cause for this is absence of pain. Unfortunately for many cancers, pain is not an important feature; unlike inflammatory disease such as infection. Look at these pictures; the elderly lady had a fungating cancer in the groin. An infective ulcer would usually be very painful, but this is a lymphoma; a potentially curable cancer of the lymphatic system. The lymphoma is usually treated with chemotherapy. Surgery is usually limited to biopsy in order to get to the diagnosis. The lady had to be operated, leaving a huge defect that required a vascularised myocutaneous flap from her thigh to cover the defect. She was then referred to the oncologist for chemotherapy, ...... and she defaulted !

The fungating tumour

Covering the defect with a flap

End of surgery

There are cases of neglected inflammatory or infective ulcers. As the general rule, this is usually painful, but some patients do come with advanced lesion; more appropriately neglected lesions. These are usually elderly peoples, diabetics or in the next pictures a schizophrenic.

You can see maggots squirming in it

During surgery; the infection was noted extending into the pelvis, perineum and even the bones. And at the end of the operation I did not charge for the procedure I did, but for the smell that I had to bear !
After all these, I am still wondering why patients need to wait till it is very late !

Friday, May 23, 2008

Other than doing surgery, I love 4X4 driving. Venturing deep into tropical forest of Malaysia, experiencing the beauty of its flora and fauna. During my latest expedition, I was caught in a flash flood 20 minutes after a heavy tropical downpour.
At 5.30 pm; not able to cross a river, the log-bridge couldn't be seen

7.30 pm; it was getting dark, alone, 28-km from the nearest civilization

Finally out by 8.40 pm, intact to continue the challenge of a life of a surgeon !

Surgery time
(Simple mastectomy with axillary clearance and immediate breast reconstruction using free transfer TRAM flap)
This is a picture taken during one of my cancer surgeries. We were removing a cancerous breast (mastectomy and axillary clearance) and immediately reconstructing a 'new breast' using the abdominal wall muscle (free TRAM-flap). You can see me (using a magnifying operating glass) doing the mastectomy, and the plastic surgeon harvesting the TRAM flap simultaneously. My part usually takes 2 hours but the plastic surgeon takes another 6 to 8 hours. Patients having mastectomy with immediate breast reconstruction were usually much happier as their 'body contour' is maintained. They didn't feel 'mutilated' after the surgery. I am hoping that with the availability of this type of surgery, Malaysian patients should not be delaying their treatment for fear of loosing their 'womenhood'. And of course we practise breast conservative surgery for early diseases.
Goitre (thyroid enlargement)

Multinodular goitre is another disease which I used to see late presenters. Now the incidence of huge goitre is much less; I presume that it is not easy to hide. This is one of those cases. She was a patient of one of my colleagues.

During my days working in the university, I had a patient with a thyroid cancer (papillary type)weighting 1.3 kg. Way back in the late 80'th when I was a junior doctor in Mentakab, I used to see young women from Jerantut (Kg. Bantal) with large multinodular goitre. Those were the so-called endemic goitres; due to deficiency of iodine in their drinking water.

In Kelantan, we have a specific term for this large multinodular goitre; GONDOL

Monday, May 19, 2008

Late presentation of surgical conditions is not only in cancer cases, but in other non-cancerous conditions as well. Most common is hernia. Our people tend to keep their hernias 'secret' till the time they couldn't hide it anymore. Either it is too big or it gets obstructed or strangulated.

There are the 'common' presentations;

A 42 year old man

A 63 year old man

I could not imaging how these people get on with their life, having to carry huge things in between their thighs. How did they hide this from other peoples? Once I saw a man in a 'kenduri' who had to adjust something in his sarong in order to sit down and eat; and the way he did that, it must be a huge thing.

The usual hernia that you see bulging in the groin (called bubonocele-type) or that of inguino-scrotal type is usually repaired in a relatively simple and fast operation; herniotomy (in children and adolescents), herniorrhaphy (the weak area is sutured to strengthen it) or hernioplasty (meshes used to strengthen the posterior wall). This operation usually never take more than one hour to do and in my hospital it costs between RM4000 - RM5000. Huge hernias are of course more difficult to repair and more costly.

This is a hernia that I repaired two years ago. It tooks the man 40 years to come, seven days in the hospital including two days in ICU, and RM35,000 in hospital bill.
A 57 year old man

Almost the whole bowel, from the jejunum to the sigmoid colon were in the hernia. X-rays taken before operation showed bowel shadows lie near the knee joints.

Is there a way to make patients come early?

Probably the goverment (Ministry of Health) should start putting billboards on the highways with a picture like the above with a caption " JANGAN TUNGGU SAMPAI MACAM INI" or "MACAM MANA NAK BUAT KERJA KALAU INI MACAM!"

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Why breast cancer patients in Kelantan present late ?

I have been asking this question to my patients and to myself regularly in an attempt to understand their attitude towards this deadly disease. Some of them found the question insulting, others didn't mind sharing.

1. In Bahasa Melayu, cancer is 'barah', breast cancer is 'barah payudara' . In Kelantanese dialect, there is something called 'barah susu'. This is not breast cancer, but it is used to describe lactating breast abscess. If you ask a patient whether she has a family history of barah, she might say yes, you ask what happen to the patient, you will get: 'OK sembuh dah, tak payah buat operation pun!" and this is misleading. When I was working in Penang, a friend of mine told a Chinese patient that he had a barah, the man jumped off the then newly-built Penang bridge. He knew exactly that he had a grave disease that he took his own life prematurely. Now I never use the word barah when communicating with my patients, I use 'kanser'. Tak faham juga, I said; penyakit yang membunuh our ex-No.1 lady. Ohh... baru faham. Bagus juga if some well-known peoples get certain diseases, boleh buat contoh. Anyway, I used Kylie Minogue's name to explain breast conservative surgery.

2. Even if the lady understands that she has a breast cancer, and she knows that she needs to remove the breast in order to save her life, she may not in a position to decide on that. You might laugh on this, but I have seen cases after cases where the ladies said no because the bloody husbands said no to mastectomy. In 1998, a man told his wife(my patient); if you consent to the surgery I am going to divorce you! Somehow she agreed to the mastectomy which I did. When a nurse asked me where to put the specimen, I told her to send it to the man so that he could do whatever...(He divorced the poor lady a as soon as she went home after the operation) Of course not all husbands are the same; there was man who told his wife; I love you with or without your breasts!

3. BOMOH - This is an irritating element in the society. They offer to treat all sorts of diseases, usually without surgery. Of course the poor patients fall to their trick, and in the end the patients come to seek your help with a locally-advanced or metastatic disease.

This experience has thought me to offer breast reconstruction to patients undergoing mastectomy surgery; either immediate or late reconstruction. And whenever possible, I will always offer them breast conservative surgery.

Mastectomy - surgery where the whole breast is removed

Metastasis - cancer that has spread to distant organs

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Let's get real. I will show you some statistics

Are Malaysian Chinese and Indians more prone to get breast cancers compared to Malay women? I don't think so. The apparent lower incidence among Malay women is because we lost these people to the bomoh; they didn't come to the hospital.

They prefer to go anywhere else, but not to the doctors. For example , this 25 year old well-educated girl seek treatment from a 'bomoh who operates" for her breast lump.

"Picture DELETED"

After undergoing 'surgery' and acquiring disfiguring scars, the lump was still there. She came to me for a' second opinion'. Luckily it was a breast mouse; a fibroadenoma, a non-cancerous or benign condition.

Whooi, what's this?

During my 20 years of surgical practice, I have seen 5 such cases. The first one was 15 years ago in Mentakab, the woman walked into my clinic with a towel over her shoulder and her arm was supporting something underneath the towel. It was a FIFA-standard-football size lesion. This lady in the picture came last year. The last patient came last week, all the way from Penang. This lesion is called Phylloides tumour (giant fibroadenoma - but ours are really giants!) The point is, why our ladies presented with this huge lesion? Why so late? Why don't you come early and get treated with a small lumpectomy. This tumour changes to cancer after sometime. When it does, it becomes a sarcoma; a cancer with even worth prognosis compare to that of the usual breast cancers.

When I decided to start this blog, all I have is this in mind... To get rid of this third world mentality out of our mind. We have first class medical facilities ! I am not talking about KL or Penang, but in most major towns and cities in Malaysia. Probably before we start talking about medical tourism, we should get our people to recognised our hospitals as a place to come for medical treatment !

I am going to start with breast cancers.

In the last 5 years of my private practice, many women came to me to seek treatment for their disease (breast cancers). Unfortunately many of them came with advanced diseases. They were not old ‘makcik’ from far-away ‘kampongs’, but they were women with good education, wealthy background or wives of ‘somebody’. The usual story is that they were diagnosed to have breast cancers one or two years’ earlier, advised treatment but defaulted. They then seek ‘treatment’ from bomoh or singseh, spend thousands of ringgits, went overseas as far as Turkey or Egypt, not to see surgeons or oncologists, but the bomoh-equivalents of course. When the cancers ulcerated, infested with maggots and they themselves couldn’t bear the smell, they came to me; ‘Doktor, tolonglah, buatlah apa saja, saya terimalah !’ At that stage, the most I could offer is palliative treatments. In two circumstances, the only thing I did was to chase-away the maggots with turpentine, before they succumbed to their disease; ‘peacefully’- maggot-free !

This was one of the cases.

When I was working in the university, after seeing many of these ladies dying in this miserable way, I hope not to see this again. Now, after so much publicity on the cancer and the government efforts in preventing advanced diseases, campaign on free mammogram; things are not changing. What has happened to Malaysian women?
Is this is part of the famous ‘tunggu saat-saat akhir’ attitude of Malaysians? Wait till the last minute to renew your licence – fair, but this cancer, you lost your life.

I will try to discuss the causes of this in my next posting. Before I stop, see this….
This is mat saleh,….. minah saleh to be exact, from a textbook.
Bukan Pak Pandir sorang yang mati anak !


text:
Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah Presidential address to the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan on August 11, 1947

You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place or worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed that has nothing to do with the business of the State …  Full Speech

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text:
Federal Minister for Narcotics Control visits ANF Headquarters

Staff Reporter

Federal Minister for Narcotics Control Lt. General (R) Syed Salahuddin Tirmizi visited Anti Narcotics Force (ANF) Headquarters after assuming portfolio of Federal Minister for Narcotics Control.
He was welcome by Director General ANF, Major General Musarrat Nawaz Malik and senior ANF staff officers. Federal Minister laid floral wreath on ANF Shuhada Monument and offered Fateha for ANF martyrs who laid their lives in the line of duty.
The Director General briefed the federal minister on counter narcotics achievements of ANF, current drug situation and major challenges being faced with regard to trafficking of narcotics, precursor chemicals and psychotropic substances. During the briefing, the DG highlighted that ANF has surpassed all previous records of its successes during 2017 and registered 693 cases besides arresting 771 persons involved in drug trafficking. The force seized 31,598 kgs Opium, 26,564 kgs Heroin, 92,695 kgs Hashish, 55,444 kgs precursor chemicals and about 2000 kgs of synthetic drugs. Eight drug trafficking organizations involved in heinous crime were also busted. The Minister was apprised that ANF is also undertaking drug demand reduction campaign through public awareness drives and community participation activities throughout Pakistan apart from running rehabilitation centres providing free of cost treatment to drug addicts.
He highlighted that Pakistan is sharing over 2600-KM porous border with Afghanistan and has become the major victim and transit country for Afghan Opiates and Hashish. However, Pakistan has enforced a very effective Drug Supply and Demand Reduction Mechanism despite massive challenges and limited resources. The Minister was also informed about the organizational requirements of ANF with respect to enhancement of manpower, development of infrastructure, acquisition of latest technology and establishment of more drug treatment centers in the country. The Minister appreciated ANF’s achievements, its role in combating trafficking of illicit drugs at national, regional and global level and assured his all-out support to DG ANF for addressing the inadequacies of the force to tackle the menace more vigorously.


text:
This Blog Now Following EU Statist Guidelines And Lifting Postings On Transgendered People To 6%

I am dedicating myself to ensuring that I up my reporting on transgender people to at least 6% of my blog posts to help get to the EU guildelines.

We should all ensure that we follow statist guidelines for how we view and report on the world although I am unsure how much coverage to give to handbag fetishists as we must not leave anybody out so as to not hurt their feelings.

"Sport media coverage contributes to inequity by not reflecting social and cultural diversity. The MARS - Media against racism in sport programme– developed by The Council of Europe and the European Union recognises the following inequalities in representation in sports news stories:

• Gender under-representation -where women comprise only one quarter of all stories despite making up half the population.

• Migrants making up around 10% of the EU population but representing less than 5% of the main actors in the news in Europe.

• Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) people representing roughly 6% of the population of the United Kingdom but accounting for less than 1% of the population seen on TV.

• 20% of the British population has an impairment or disability but less than 1% are represented on British TV.