Enlisting help to stay mentally alert

I have been told repeatedly that for old people to stay mentally young it is good for them to interact more with young people. This would help to keep their hearts young and their minds alert.  This strikes me as logical and I tend to agree with the sentiment expressed.

It is certainly my intention to keep myself mentally active and alert so it is my hope I can interact more actively with more youngsters. In this post I hope to enlist help from young people who may have the desire to help people in my age group. I would not be a pest to you, I impose no demand or conditions. All I ask for is for you to give comments on what I write, to inform me of any topics or articles concerning the young, or to alert me to any interesting blogs written by your contemporaries so that I can stay current on the thinking of the younger generation. Would you be willing to extend yourselves to help  me maintain my mental health without the prospect of any rewards, any benefits or returns?

Come visit again. Thank you.

Now is as good a time as any for gratefulness

Ordinarily when I think of what I do possess or own that will cause me to give thanks, to be grateful, nothing much really come to mind.

Now when I took time out to ponder on it, I find there are many things that had simply skipped my mind or just had not registered. There are, in fact,  many, many things for which I need to express gratefulness for! I have taken plenty for granted, this shouldn’t be the case. Now that I am aware of how fortunate I have been and am, I will be ever mindful of this good fortune and will give thanks daily.

My Blessings :

“Health is wealth” - I have hear this since I was in my early teens but it didn’t register or make any impression on me.  The truth of this saying was finally realized when I myself walked past the half century mark. At this stage of life it finally dawned on me that I did not have the same strength and agility I used to possess in my younger years. Seeing my contemporaries and those older than myself struck down by illnesses and sicknesses confirmed the truth of this phrase. Health is really wealth, you may be the richest person in the world but if your health is feeble you won’t be able to enjoy what your wealth can get you, this is a fact.

Family - Having a partner who is a self-sacrificing wife and mother is a great gift to any man and I am one of those lucky men.  Usually a man and wife spend more than half of their life-spans with each other. Pity is a man who has to spend half a life time stuck with a nagging, demanding and self-centered woman. Just imagine what a living hell that is. I thank my lucky start I am spare that.

- Having children can be a great source of happiness or it can be just a great a source of pain and suffering for the parents. Though I have my ups and downs with my children, they have never been a source of great pain and suffering for me. This I count as a blessing having seen what some unlucky parents had gone through.

Friends

If I have lived to this age and cannot claimed to have some good friends then I could not consider to have live a very meaningful life. Fortunately there are a few of have openly professed to be my friends, to them I want to say I consider this one of the blessings in my life. I would like to thank them for this privilege. To have their respect I am most honored and I treasure my friendship with them. Words could not adequately express my appreciation of their concerns and love.

Extended family members

In one of my earlier posts, I mentioned that if ever two persons were to meet then there must be affinity between them (here). To be able to become family members this must be even more so. I treasure the synergy generated when there is problems confronting any member of the family. The gaiety  and merriment that flow out of any happy gatherings is something to be experienced to be appreciated. I enjoy all these. Of course with more people in the family there bound to have its squabbles and frictions but in the end the benefits outweigh the disadvantages. The support, concern and closeness when these relatives close ranks are what I appreciate most.

There are many things that are so ordinary, so common that they have been taken for granted. Pondering on them convinced me that they should not be so taken.

Roof over my head

Television has shrunken the world, what is happening in one part of the world can be instantaneously seen in all the other parts of the world. We now know that there are many in many parts of the world who do not have a roof over their heads. Many others are without them, either they cannot afford them, or the environment and circumstances deprive them of the opportunities. I see them as blessings given me, I count myself extremely lucky not having deprived of a roof in all my years of existence.

Good life

Many of us fortunate ones have never experienced empty stomachs or have to go without clothes to shield us from the cold. We not only have ample food, we also have nutritious foods, and just in case we do not have a balanced diet we have vitamin supplements.  We not only have clothes, we have expensive and stylish clothes. Many children, men and women go about without shoes, we not only have shoes, we can choose what color of shoes we would wear each day, our toddlers go about in branded-shoes. I will never abuse this privilege any more, I will be mindful of my blessings.

No financial obligations/burdens

Such financial obligations and burdens have destroyed many men who have to shoulder them. The hardship caused by them have broken the spirits of even the hardiest of men. Circumstances and luck have conspired to to bring them sorrows and pain but they have conspired to bring men like me peace of mind and ease of life. I am truly blessed.

Freedom

Those of us who have always enjoy the freedom to move about, to do what we like, practice what we believe have often take these as our natural rights. Hardly am I aware these are not natural to me, that they are not part of my DNA. Many things come together to bring about the flowering of this freedom, so this should definitely be considered as one of the blessings that have been bestowed on me.

Comforts of life

I own a car which I use to travel about whereas many people in many other parts of the world and even in my own country have to move about with their own two legs. I have air-conditioners not only in my car and the hall in my house but also in my bedroom.  I not only have clean water to drink, I also have hot water facilities to make myself hot drinks.  I have computers and lap-tops, mobile phone, television set,  washing machine and clothe drying machine and other modern facilities and amenities that create a comfortable and pleasant life for me and my family . Millions of our fellow beings are out there are scavenging for their very existence every day. Am I not blessed?

Peace of mind

Many men and women have troubled minds. They find their lives directionless and empty. I am fortunate to have found my spiritual direction. My mind is peaceful and I am contented. This is really priceless. This is wealth, this is health!

What I had

Time tends to obscure many things from our past from even ourselves. Pondering on gratefulness allows many of the blessings which I have forgotten to surface:

Loving parents

I have a pair of loving parents who provided love and who made sacrifices for me and my siblings. They were the one who instill the right values in us.  These values provided the foundations that built traits and characters in me  that steered me into the path, the direction I have embarked on.  The strengths and resilience that allow me to navigate thus far come from all this.

A good habit

One of the habits I have managed to develop is the habit of reading. This I consider the best habit I have acquired and this has turned out to be my greatest blessing! The teachings, advices, wisdom, knowledge, truths, principles, observations, expertise and facts in the books have given me the solutions to meet my challenges along the way. I have learned a lot from these books and I am indebted to all the authors whose works had helped but whose names I now cannot recall.

An education

Through the hard work and sacrifices my father had made it had provided me an education which serves me well. I am what I am today it is all due to the education that was given me through the blood, sweats and tears of my father. I count this as a significant blessing to be born into his family.

Good job

I had the good fortune to secure a job that I enjoyed working in.  It provided security, challenges and personal growth for me. For the family it provided financial security where all my financial obligations could be taken care of and this gave us plenty of emotional stability and peace of mind.

Guiding Angels

Throughout my life I always have ‘guiding angels’ watching over me.  When young, at the time when my father was struggling with the burdens and responsibilities of a big family thrust upon his shoulders , there came a benefactor who provided help to my father thus ironing out the hardships we were facing then.  Many ‘angels’ appeared to help me through my growing years and in my adult life.  These ‘angels’ guided and helped me along the way with advices, insights, some throwing challenges to make me grow. Some appeared in person but some came through as authors of books. The benefits derived from these ‘angels’ are immeasurable.

Decent peers

Peers have undisputed sway over us when we are young, peer pressure is hard to shake.  I was lucky to have decent peers when I was young. They had  decent habits and good values which kept them on the straight path. It is to their credit they did not lead me astray. Many young lives have been ruined by peers who had led them astray.

I write this not to get your solicit your respect or to impress you. I do this to ‘count my blessings’ and to remind myself to give thanks each day! Now that I have done this I feel satisfied, happy and contented.

Care to share your ‘gratefulness’ stories?

Come visit again. Thank you.

Have you forgotten something?

My young friends, are you working away from your parents? If you are , have you forgotten something?

Young people nowadays are more mobile. The jobs opportunities are also more abundant in the bigger towns, so it is quite natural for you to migrate there to start your working lives. With the close proximity of Singapore, its greater job availabilities there and the attractive conversion rate of the Singapore dollars,  more so reasons for more young Malaysians to go over there to seek employment.

Thus, it is not uncommon nowadays to find many households in peninsular Malaysia where the only people left in the homes are the old couples. There is nothing wrong if the elderly couples choose to stay in their hometowns as things, environment and people are familiar to them. Many of the young people who have gone outstation to work are also just starting off and may not have their own homes yet, so it is a satisfactory arrangement.

But things are not right if the old folks are just left to fend for themselves with the children only providing the expenses. Money alone does not satisfy a human being’s basic needs especially  old people’s basic needs. One of the basic needs is the emotional links with their loved ones.  Who are closer to them than their own children. Children should not neglect to give their parents this, even if they are providing more than adequate financial support to their parents.

At this stage of their lives it is the emotional side that is more important to them. It is the emotional connections that they crave for and it is this that sustains their well-being. Money is important but it is knowing that their children love, value and treasure them that makes them happy, that puts a smile in their hearts.  All that needs to be done is just for the children to stay in touch. That is all that is required of the young ones, it  is not so difficult to get this done nowadays. Modern technological advancement and inventions have made it so easy. The distances between towns have been so considerably shortened by the modern highways.  Traveling time  is now greatly reduced. The mobile phones, the short messaging facility, the computers, the web and e-mailing facilities have made placing calls anywhere so accessible, so convenient and so affordable. It is now inexcusable for children not to keep in touch with their parents.

If you have managed to live up to this day, if you have attained what you have achieved so far and if you are enjoying what you have today it is all due to two persons – your parents. It is only right you feel gratefulness towards them for what they have contributed and sacrificed.  You should not let yourselves forget this indebtedness to them, you should keep this awareness within you constantly, be mindful of your responsibility  to  return the kindness, love and sacrifices. The best form of gratitude is to treat them with consideration and love when they are in their twilight years.

It is not uncommon for parents and children to feel awkwardness in communicating. If this is your case, simple, you just have to call, just let them do the talking, all you need to do is to lend them your ears. That’s all they want – they just want to hear your voice, they just want to know you care! Call everyday it will make their days – to them it is better than money and vitamins. If this is not possible call at least once in every two days. To your parents they are worth more than the value of gold you could give them. If you don’t believe me, ask them or ask any old folks.

In any country in the world, this would be a familiar scene now as the young ventures out to seek work, if not in distant lands, at least in different cities or towns. This is a direct result of modernization. May the young ones of the world not forget this not-too-difficult gesture. A Chinese proverb reminds us to remember the source of the water when we take a drink.

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Is it greed or is it helplessness?

When we see pictures put out by the different TV stations around the world, we usually see the group of people captured on the screens watching the price movements at the stock exchanges are elderly people. Is this the true indication of the composition of the small punters/investors populations in the stock markets? Or is it so because the old people are the ones who have the time to go to the stock exchange halls? Whichever it is, it does indicate the elderly people comprise a large percentage of the investing public. This is the sad part.

It must be agonizing for them to be there watching the prices tumble like what they are doing now. It must frighten the wits out of them when they relate what this sharp drop in the stock prices are doing to their investments. They see the ‘nests’ they have been nursing all these years diminishing or in some instances, nearly wiped out by these movements. You can literally see the anguish and anxieties on their faces. You need not wonder what go on inside their hearts at such moments? What must be heart-wrenching is that all this is beyond their control.

Who is there to help them, who can they turn to in this turbulent, disturbing and upsettling time? No one, they are on their own.

Some may say it serves them right as they are greedy for fast gains, others may brand them as imprudent. They may be all these but if you were in their place what would you have done? Look at this scenario – you have already retired and you do not have any more income from any source at all, what would you have done? You cannot escape but realise starkly that if you do not do anything with the little that you have, the money will slowly deplete. So, you start to look for ways, means and avenues to, if not increase the money, at least protect it from depleting. You have no one to turn to and the usual means, ways and avenues available bring you slow and small returns, so naturally you would look and turn to a medium which you think would give you a faster return. With the newspapers and television fanning the fire when the market is hot, you are sucked in. This may seem a foolhardy, imprudent and risky move, but what better avenue is opened to this elderly  group?

It looks like the retired elders will continue to suffer such fate unless and until the governments come out with better ways to protect the little these elders have managed to save from their lives’ works. This does not look like it is forthcoming in the very near or near future so the elders will still have to be on their own.

For those who have lost their money in their investments, the chances of them recouping their losses seem slim. They would have little or no more money left to dabble in the stock market again. For those who still have some money and those who have not invested in the market, it is best to to be contented with what you have, tighthen your belts and stay away from it altogether. It is little consolation as it does not give you any advice on how to increase your ‘little nests’ and help you gain a little more money so that your lives can be less stressful. But at least it will not tear you apart so mercilessly and it will not make you into emotional wrecks.

Come visit again. Thank you.

Happy Diwali!!!

Tomorrow Hindus around the world will be celebrating Diwali (the Festival of Lights). This is to celebrate the victory of good over evil in every human being and in this spirit I celebrate with my Hindu friends.

I wish all my Hindu friends around the world ” Happy Diwali”!

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Aren’t the mothers also the wives…?

Aren’t mothers the wives of the the fathers?

In my piece ‘Mothers’ I expressed the sentiment that  mothers should  be appreciated, respected, honored. loved and venerated for the hardship and sacrifices they have readily taken upon themselves for the sake of their children. If we were to take this line of reasoning to the next logical step, the husbands, (the fathers of the children) should then have the same sentiments for these women who are their wives and would not fail to love them.

But sadly in our daily lives, though there are situations in which the mothers have made and unselfishly contributed more than their share of sacrifices the husbands have failed to love and cherish these wonderful ladies. This failure to acknowledge the contributions come about because the relationships between the husbands and the wives have been strained that the husbands is now blinded to see the true contributions the wives have made to the family.  It must be heart-breaking for the ladies involved but they usually suffered in silence and have accepted the situation. Hope this article gives them some comfort, but to be more meaningful for them we hope their children fully realized the solid contributions that had been made by these mothers. Then, justice would has been somewhat done.

For justice to be truly done, the full recognition should come from the husbands. The ladies are not asking for show of love, though this (I am sure) will follow once full cognizance of the contributions are acknowledged. For a start look deep into what they had done for the children, then think what your family situations would be like if not for these contributions. If only this picture can be kept constantly as the mind picture, then appreciation will automatically follow. Improvement in the relationships will materialize. If the husbands can keep on doing this then love will slowly permeate the family atmosphere, happiness will be restore!

Sincerely hope both the mothers’, as well as, the fathers’ contributions are fully recognized by the children and they are both loved and cherished. Do not forget the young will one day become the old.

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Treason against our own Kind!

Throughout history greed has led man to commit hideous crime against his own kind. Some of these crimes weren’t physical but the consequences they had inflicted were just as hideous if not more so than those physical sufferings inflicted by the physical crimes. One of such crimes in recent times is the contamination of milk manufactured by some the milk powder suppliers in China. Innocent people, including helpless children are suffering as a result of this unscrupulous act. This piece from “Daniel” in the “Fun and Fun Only” I found to be informative and beneficial, so I copied and posted it here. Hope others too will have a better knowledge of the subject.

1.What really is poisoned milk?

It is the milk powder mixed with “MELAMINE”

What is Melamine use for?

It is an industrial chemical use in the production of melawares.

It is also used in home decoration. “US resistant board”

Melamine is use in industrial production! It cannot be eaten.
The most important nutrient in milk is protein. And Melamine has the same protein that contains “NITROGEN”

2.Why is Melamine added in milk powder?

Adding Melamine in milk reduces the milk content and it is cheaper then milk so it lowers capitalization.It can give the business man more profit! Below is Melamine.  It look like milk? It doesn’t have any smell, so cannot be detected by sight.

Year 2007!! US cats and dogs died suddenly, they found that pet food from China contains Melamine.

3.When was it discovered?

Starting 2008, In China , an abnormal increase in infant cases of kidney stones.

August 2008 China Sanlu Milk Powder tested with Melamine

Sept. 2008 – New Zealand gov’t asked China to look into this problem
Sept. 21, 2008 – Lots of different food products in Taiwan were tested with Melamine.

How Melamine works its harm :

Melamine remains inside the kidney. It forms into stones blocking the tubes. Pain will be eminent and person cannot urinate. Kidney will then swell.

4.What happens when Melamine is digested?

Although surgery can remove the stones, it will still cause irreversible kidney damage. It can lead to loss of kidney function and will require kidney dialysis or lead to death because of uremia.

What is dialysis?

In fact, it should be called “blood washing”. It is filtering all of the body’s blood into a machine and then go back to the body.

The whole process takes 4 hours and it is necessary to dialysis once for every 3 days for the rest of your life.

A small hole is required in the arm to insert the sub-dialysis catheter.

Why is it more serious in babies?

Because the kidney is very small and they drink plenty of milk powder.

Here is a baby undergoing dialysis.

China currenty has 13,000 infants hospitalized

It does not matter how much a human being took Melamine. The important point is “It cannot be EATEN!”

What are the foods to be avoided?

Foods that contain dairy products should be avoided.

Remember: Foods with creamer or milk should be avoided.

What do we do next?

Avoid the above foods for at least six months.

If you have snack bar, restaurant or coffee shops, Stop selling dairy products for the meantime.

If you have infants at home, change to mother’s milk or find other substitutes.

Finally, share this information with friends so they will understand the risk of milk poisoning.

Wish the government and its officials had been more responsible, wish they had carried out their jobs more diligently. Some of the government officials are responsible for this human misery because their own greed for money had caused them to neglect their official duties. The business community in all sectors have gone amok with greed, governments should be more watchful of the activities of business activities as the businessmen have shown they cannot regulate themselves. Conscience has proved to be of no match for greed!

Come visit again. Thank you.

Aren’t all books supposed to teach?

Good things are to be shared, I have come across an interesting book which I feel I should share with you. The author is a lama but he does not preach or sermonise to the readers. His style is very down to earth and the things he imparts are very down-to-earth and practical. Sincerely hope some of you read it and can reap benefits from it.

Some of the ‘gems’ from the book :-

* “When searching for spiritual values, many people look for something very fresh and new, and think that Buddhism, which has been around for about 2500 years, is too old.  But that is not true! Buddhism is the freshest thing you’ll ever come across, because our mind is constantly fresh, and the Buddha is talking about nothing other than our state of mind!”

* “…. because our body is ours, our speech is ours, and our mind is ours – and our time is ours. All we need to do is learn how to use these properly in order to change our habits and improve ourselves.”

* “Buddhism tells us about our potential. This potential does not belong only to the Buddhists. or only to Christians, it belongs to each and every human being with no distinction of faith, race or culture. We have to learn how to search for it, not ‘out there’ but right within ourselves. We don’t need to go to any other person or believe in any other thing, the only important step is to believe in ourselves, in the potential we have with ourselves.

The book is titled “The Living Dharma” and the author is Venerable Lama Yeshe Losal.  Happy reading.

Some of you may be surprised when I called the book a teaching book. Aren’t all books supposed to teach us a thing or two? I personally feel it would all depend on  your own motives. If you were to start off with the mind of getting something out of your reading then this might  be true. But if you were to start off with just thinking you wanted to relax and had a leisurely read, then you might not get anything out of the book except some pleasant feelings.

But then some words, some phrases or the mood we carried into the reading session might trigger some memories of people, things or events of the past and got us thinking and we might get some lessons out of the books.

Anyway, reading good books have always benefited mankind throughout the ages and I am sure this is not about to change.

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How did this saying originate – “On The Cadge”

This saying is used nowadays to describe someone who is scrouging or trying to get something for nothing (what we call a ‘cheap-skate’). It goes back to medieval times when the Lord of the Manor used birds of prey for hunting.

The frame on which a falcon was carried was a ‘cadge’ and any of the tenants or peasants who were given the job of carrying the cadges all day, were thought to be doing very little for their day’s wages.

This is again from what I had got from “By Hook or By Crook” by Tony Wootton and Gwen Zanzottera. It is certainly a very short description but then you are getting something for nothing. Don’t get offended, I’m only joking, okay?

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If two people ever met there must be affinity between them.

If two people ever met there must be affinity between them, otherwise it would not happened. Whether the meeting brings good tidings or happiness for both parties or otherwise is hard for one to see in the beginning. What may have started well in the beginning may end up disastrous and bad for one or both parties at the end.

Some may have come into your life to bring you help, or they may have come to wake you up to your potential. They may be there to guide you, to provide you with love and support and to make you happy and have peace of mind. Or they may be there to do just the opposite – to distract you, to cause you obstruction, to cause you to deviate from a good course or good path you have chosen. They may have come to cause you distress, frustration and miseries and to cause you deep unhappiness. Some are here to be your benefactors (to help you in all your undertakings and to help you to grow in wisdom and maturity), others are here to be your nemesis (to cause you to fail in all your undertakings, to retard your spiritual growth and maturity).

Such occurrences seem to be beyond our choosing, beyond our picking, beyond our control. They seem to flow in and out of our lives when certain sets of conditions come into being and when, it seems, the timing has become conducive for such conditions to happen.

How do these affinities come about? What are the causes that bring about the effects?

Is this life’s mystery or is there some ways we can understand it all.

Come visit again. Thank you.

Mothers

How many of us take time to sit down and seriously reflect on our mothers’ love for us. Or these reflections never really take place at all. Or are there only vague stirrings in our hearts when we come across some incidents or writings or when something triggers memories of those pleasant, tender moments we have spent with our mothers?

Mother is someone very close to us and in most instances she is not given the credit for all the sacrifices she has made. I think she deserves all the gratefulness we can master. Those who still have mothers with them, please spend more time with them.  Reflect more on what your mothers have given you, done for you and all the hardships she has shouldered just to give you a better life.

The Chinese has a saying  which says – “Having an elder in the family is like having a precious treasure with you”.  Treasure their presence. You will never regret for having done so.

A woman was desperate to lose weight. She wanted to do it for the sake of her son . In the process she died from complications days after having gastric bypass surgery. She weighed more than 120 kg. and felt her obesity was stopping her from doing the things she wanted to with her 5-year-old son. Like all mothers, all she wanted was just to be with her child as much as possible. This had caused her her life. How sad!

A mother’s love knows no bounds. May her soul rests in peace and may her son find the kind of love she desperately wanted to give him. May the both of them find true happiness. Poignant story for me!

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Why I keep politics away from my blog.

Politics was once of immense interest for me sometime in the past. But having watched, seen, witnessed and experienced the doings and undoings of those so called politicians, the experiences have turned me off politics and politicians. I have now acquired total aversion for politicians.

I am not that politically attuned nor politically inclined though when young I was often caught up in the political fervor of the day. Now realising my own lack of political acumen and cunning, I feel this is not my cup of tea.

Like most who are not in the political arena, I often feel we are like sheep in a flock. Our opinions, views and leanings are often swayed by the skillful, manipulative and cunning politicians who are very good at exploiting our emotions. We are very often led by the noses by them without us being conscious of being led.

The whole range of games politicians play are not to my liking.  Their motives, their statements, their actions, their moves, and their behaviors all seem very empty, false and very unreal to me. You can easily see through their lack of sincerity and commitment but that does not prevent them from carrying on the play-acting.

Most of the time political statements are half-truths or no truth at all. All they seem to care is political gains and political mileage. Things are said and done purely for expediency, it is all that matters. Truth is dispensable.

Gone are the days where people went into politics to fight for causes or to serve the general good. Most people nowadays enter politics for personal gains or advancement. They are not shy are it, they are not bothered even if you know. ‘Enter politics if you want to enrich yourselves’ seems to be the current recruitment theme for politicians.

Those in politics are an arrogant lot. Standing for election, they will tell you  they are your public servants but after having been elected they will make it known in no uncertain terms they want you to treat them like your lords. During election they talk up to you, after election they talk down to you. This double-faced behavior and unabashed arrogance repulse me.

Most elected politicians blatantly display their power, positions and authorities. They have the tendency to forget their roots very fast. They forget who voted them in and who are the real bosses. They assume that once elected power, positions and authorities are their birthrights. They are not shy to make claims to these ‘birthrights’ and they are even prepared to fight ‘tooth and nail’ to retain these ‘rights’.

The modern politicians have things so good and so easy that they feel the gravy train will forever deliver and it is theirs to keep. They form cliques and have their own elite groups to protect their sources of ‘gravies’. Some have become such powerful ‘warlords’ that they are governments unto themselves.

Like politicians of the past, our present lot still makes promises. But unlike the public servants of the past, the present ‘lords’ do not feel the need to keep any of their promises. Once they are in, they call the shots, the voters have to come ‘a begging for pittance’.

These present-day politicians can and do quote Abraham Lincoln. They sprout the same platitude of government of the people,  by the people and for the people. But this is only to hoodwink the gullible voters. What they mean by the quote is theirs is a government of the people (of their people ), it is a government by people (by their very own people) and the government for the people (for people in their own families and in their elite groups). Something very different from what Abraham Lincoln had in mind, don’t you think?

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Even the Dead are not left to rest in peace!

Some people’s actions are hard to fathom. I have reproduced a few of the stories from the “WEIRD” section of The Metro of the UK for your Sunday leisure reading. Hope you enjoy these pieces. This world is really fascinating and some of the actions here can only be described as bizarre.

Story # 1 – Dead woman’s relatives barbecue her body

The family of a dead woman cremated her remains on a makeshift barbecue and continued collecting her retirement cheques amounting to more than $25,000, according to authorities in Northern California.

Ramona Allmond’s daughter and grandson were arrested Sunday on suspicion of embezzlement, elder abuse and disposing of a body without a permit.

Allmond, 84, likely died of natural causes, though investigators were still trying to determine the exact cause of death, said Tehama County sheriff’s Capt. Paul Hosler.

 Allmond’s daughter, Kathleen Allmond, 50, and Allmond’s grandson, Tony Ray, 30, told investigators their relative died in December.

They left her body on her bedroom floor for a week before cremating the remains in their backyard fire pit, Hosler said.

Investigators said the two kept collecting Allmond’s monthly retirement cheques, amounting to more than $25,000. Sheriff’s Detective Richard Knox said they may have been trying to honor Allmond’s desire to die at home and be cremated.

The two were arrested after Allmond’s son grew suspicious about her whereabouts.

 Story # 2 – Man climbs in morgue freezer with dead lover

A Taiwan man grieving over the death of his girlfriend climbed inside a morgue freezer to be with her body in an apparent suicide bid.

He was pulled alive half an hour later when workers detected an unusually high temperature in the freezer and realised the hatch was not securely fastened.

“A morgue manager opened the hatch, saw two people lying inside, felt scared enough to yell out and then even cried,” Taiwan’s Liberty Times reported.

It was reported his girlfriend died on Friday from an overdose of sleeping pills.

The morgue said it would step up security to ensure that family and others who come by to identify bodies do not stay too long.

 Story # 3 – Decade of fridge for dead mum

In further corpse-storing news, two sisters have been keeping their dead mother’s body in an undertaker’s fridge for the past 10 years.

But now other family members are complaining that Josephine and Valmai Lamas really should get round to organising a funeral, as the body is now in an advanced state of decomposition.

‘It’s getting ridiculous now,’ a family source said. ‘The body has degraded to the extent that it is just a skeleton with a bit of stretched scaly skin on the head.’

59-year-old Josephine Lamas regularly makes sure that the desiccated body’s lipstick and make-up is in good order.

84-year-old Annie Lamas died of an embolism in 1997, since when the sisters are estimated to have spent nearly £15,000 on cold storage.

Funeral director Phillip Saville, whose firm stroes Mrs. Lamas’ body, noted: ‘There are no laws saying people can’t keep a corpse for years after registering the death.’

 

Story # 4 – Funeral home burglar plays dead

A burglar who broke into a funeral home in Spain tried to fool police by playing dead – but he was caught due to a couple of flaws in his otherwise brilliant plan.

First, he wore grungy clothes rather than the Sunday best of those dressed for eternal rest. Second, and perhaps more importantly, he was breathing.

Police and the Crespo Funeral Home said Wednesday they have no idea what the 23-year-old Spanish man was trying to steal in the break-in March 17 in Burjassot, a small town just outside Valencia.  

Neighbors alerted police when they heard the front door of the business being forced open in the middle of the night.

Police officers arrived with the owner, and eventually found the suspect lying on a table in a glassed-in chamber used for viewings of deceased people during wakes, a local police official said from Burjassot.

The custom here is for dead people to be dressed in suits, in nice clothes that look presentable. This guy was in everyday clothes that were wrinkled and dirty,’ the police official said.

‘He was trying to fake being dead, but he was breathing,’ she added.

The suspect’s name was not released, but police said he had served jail time in the past for robbery.

The funeral home said it was mystified as to what the man wanted, as there were no valuables or cash in the funeral parlor.

Here you have it all on human characters – greed, mysterious behavior, unexplained motives, ridiculous actions, weird way of showing devotion, and odd sense of values. What a world and what characters.

Your Beauty Sleep – Neglect it at your own Risk!!!

This is a serious article which I hope you will invest sometime to read. The benefits it brings are many and they profit you more than what money can give. Take heed, you ignore it at your own risk and it will be at your own loss.

10 Reasons Not to Skimp on Sleep

Too busy to go to bed? Having trouble getting quality sleep once you do? Your health may be at risk.

By Sarah Baldauf – Posted October 16, 2008

You may literally have to add it to your to-do list, but scheduling a good night’s sleep could be one of the smartest health priorities you set. It’s not just daytime drowsiness you risk when shortchanging yourself on your seven to eight hours. Possible health consequences of getting too little or poor sleep can involve the cardiovascular, endocrine, immune, and nervous systems. In addition to letting life get in the way of good sleep, between 50 and 70 million Americans suffer from a chronic sleep disorder—insomnia or sleep apnea, say—that affects daily functioning and impinges on health. Consider the research:

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Talk About Your Sleeping Problems

1) Less may mean more. For people who sleep under seven hours a night, the fewer zzzz’s they get, the more obese they tend to be, according to a 2006 Institute of Medicine report. This may relate to the discovery that insufficient sleep appears to tip hunger hormones out of whack. Leptin, which suppresses appetite, is lowered; ghrelin, which stimulates appetite, gets a boost.

2) You’re more apt to make bad food choices. A study published this week in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine found that people with obstructive sleep apnea or other severely disordered breathing while asleep ate a diet higher in cholesterol, protein, total fat, and total saturated fat. Women were especially affected.

3) Diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance, its precursor, may become more likely. A 2005 study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that people getting five or fewer hours of sleep each night were 2.5 times more likely to be diabetic, while those with six hours or fewer were 1.7 times more likely.

4) The ticker is put at risk. A 2003 study found that heart attacks were 45 percent more likely in women who slept for five or fewer hours per night than in those who got more.

5) Blood pressure may increase. Obstructive sleep apnea, for example, has been associated with chronically elevated daytime blood pressure, and the more severe the disorder, the more significant the hypertension, suggests the 2006 IOM report. Obesity plays a role in both disorders, so losing weight can ease associated health risks.

6) Auto accidents rise. As stated in a 2007 report in the New England Journal of Medicine, nearly 20 percent of serious car crash injuries involve a sleepy driver—and that’s independent of alcohol use.

7) Balance is off. Older folks who have trouble getting to sleep, who wake up at night, or are drowsy during the day could be 2 to 4.5 times more likely to sustain a fall, found a 2007 study in the Journal of Gerontology.

You may be more prone to depression. Adults who chronically operate on fumes report more mental distress, depression, and alcohol use. Adolescents suffer, too: One survey of high school students found similarly high rates of these issues. Middle schoolers, too, report more symptoms of depression and lower self-esteem.

9) Kids may suffer more behavior problems. Research from an April issue of the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine found that children who are plagued by insomnia, short duration of sleeping, or disordered breathing with obesity, for example, are more likely to have behavioral issues like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

10) Death’s doorstep may be nearer. Those who get five hours or less per night have approximately 15 percent greater risk of dying—regardless of the cause—according to three large population-based studies published in the journals Sleep and the Archives of General Psychiatry.

Don’t you agree it is serious stuff? I sincerely hope we will take the advices to heart. You may have all the money in the world, but if you don’t possess good health, if you have to bear pains and sufferings everyday of the years, happiness will elude you. I wish we have the wisdom to see what are good and beneficial to us and to make them our habits. Wish you all the health and happiess.

Want more of articles of this nature? Take a few minutes to share with us your views on this topic. Your answer will help me to determine if I were to proceed in this direction with my blog.

Brain can shrink due to alcohol?

Drinking in moderation is supposedly good for your heart. But this article from CNN.com/Health reports that even minimal drinking causes the brain to shrink. 

By Theresa Tamkins

Does drinking alcohol shrink your brain?

What’s good for the heart may hurt the brain, according to a new study of the effects of alcohol.

According to the study findings, the more alcohol consumed, the smaller the brain volume.

People who drink alcohol — even the moderate amounts that help prevent heart disease — have a smaller brain volume than those who do not, according to a study in the Archives of Neurology.

While a certain amount of brain shrinkage is normal with age, greater amounts in some parts of the brain have been linked to dementia.

“Decline in brain volume — estimated at 2 percent per decade — is a natural part of aging,” says Carol Ann Paul, who conducted the study when she was at the Boston University School of Public Health. She had hoped to find that alcohol might protect against such brain shrinkage.

“However, we did not find the protective effect,” says Paul, who is now an instructor in the neuroscience program at Wellesley College. “In fact, any level of alcohol consumption resulted in a decline in brain volume.”

In the study, Paul and colleagues looked at 1,839 healthy people with an average age of about 61. The patients underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain and reported how much they tippled.

Overall, the more alcohol consumed, the smaller the brain volume, with abstainers having a higher brain volume than former drinkers, light drinkers (one to seven drinks per week), moderate drinkers (eight to 14 drinks per week), and heavy drinkers (14 or more drinks per week).

Men were more likely to be heavy drinkers than women. But the link between brain volume and alcohol wasn’t as strong in men. For men, only those who were heavy drinkers had a smaller brain volume than those who consumed little or no alcohol.

In women, even moderate drinkers had a smaller brain volume than abstainers or former drinkers.

It’s not clear why even modest amounts of alcohol may shrink the brain, although alcohol is “known to dehydrate tissues, and constant dehydration can have negative effects on any sensitive tissue,” says Paul.

“We always knew that alcohol at higher dosages results in shrinking of the brain and cognitive deficit,” says Dr. Petros Levounis, M.D., director of the Addiction Institute of New York at St. Luke’s — Roosevelt Hospital Center, who was not involved in the study. “What is new with this article is that it shows brain shrinking at lower doses of alcohol.” Health.com: Type 2 diabetes and alcohol: Proceed with caution

However, the study did not demonstrate that the smaller brain volume actually impaired memory or mental function, notes James Garbutt, M.D., professor of psychiatry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

And the differences between brain volumes in drinkers and nondrinkers were quite small — less than 1.5 percent between abstainers and heavy drinkers.

“We’re talking very small differences here,” says Dr. Garbutt, who was not involved in the study. “We’re not seeing 10 to 20 percent shrinkage.”

However, he says, reduction in brain mass is an interesting finding. “But we have a long way to go to figure out the implications of it.”

There is still plenty of “ifs” and “buts”.  Alcohol, though, is still “known to dehydrate tissues, and constant dehydration can have negative effects on any sensitive tissue,”  so it is still preferable not to drink. 

Please participate in the poll so that we can have some indications if such articles help to change drinking patterns. Thank you.

“Not Enough Room To Swing A Cat” – how did this saying come about?

Here Tony Wootton and Gwen Zanzoterra give us a saying that originated in the days of sailing ships. This is also a seldom used phrase.

“Not Enough Room to Swing a Cat”

This, as in the case of many other sayings, goes back to the days of sailing ships and refers to the ‘cats o’ nine tails’, or whip with nine thongs used on sailors. As the cabins and crews’ quarters were very small, there was not enough room to swing a cat and so the sailors were whipped up on deck.

Any wrong doings deemed to have been committed by the sailors, the poor sailors were whipped in those days. The captain was the absolute master of the ship. See how much things have changed.

Hope someone better versed in the English Language can help me by telling me in what context can this saying be appropriately used. Wish to learn.

Good combination – Hard to come by employer and employee.

I find this story very amusing. Wal Mart’s management must have a very good sense of humor to be prepared to try this grandpa. Grandpa could not be too hardup for a job, by the looks of things. Anyway, hope you enjoy it too.

WAL-MART APPLICATION

This is an actual job application that a 75 year old senior citizen submitted to Walmart in Arkansas

They hired him because he was so funny…..

NAME: Kenneth Way (Grumpy Bastard)

SEX: Not lately, but I am looking for the right woman (or at least one who will cooperate)

DESIRED POSITION: Company’s President or Vice President. But seriously, whatever’s available. If I was in a position to be picky, I wouldn’t be applying here in the first place ?

DESIRED SALARY: $185,000 a year plus stock options and a Michael Ovitz style severance package. If that’s not possible, make an offer and we can haggle.

EDUCATION: Yes.

LAST POSITION HELD: Target for middle management hostility.

PREVIOUS SALARY: A lot less than I’m worth.

MOST NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENT: My incredible collection of stolen pens and post-it notes.

REASON FOR LEAVING: It sucked

HOURS AVAILABLE TO WORK: Any.

PREFERRED HOURS: 1:30-3:30 p.m . Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday.

DO YOU HAVE ANY SPECIAL SKILLS?: Yes, but they’re better suited to a more intimate environment.

MAY WE CONTACT YOUR CURRENT EMPLOYER?: If I had one, would I be here?

DO YOU HAVE ANY PHYSICAL CONDITIONS THAT WOULD PROHIBIT YOU FROM LIFTING UP TO 50 lbs.?: Of what?

DO YOU HAVE A CAR?: I think the more appropriate question here would be “Do you have a car that runs?”

HAVE YOU RECEIVED ANY SPECIAL AWARDS OR RECOGNITION?: I may already be a winner of the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes, so they tell me.

DO YOU SMOKE?: On the job – no! On my breaks – yes!

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE DOING IN FIVE YEARS?: Living in the Bahamas with a fabulously wealthy dumb sexy blonde supermodel who thinks I’m the greatest thing since sliced bread Actually, I’d like to be doing that now

NEAREST RELATIVE:.7 miles

DO YOU CERTIFY THAT THE ABOVE IS TRUE AND COMPLETE TO THE BEST OF YOUR KNOWLEDGE?: Oh yes, absolutely.

***Old People Rock!***

One up for Wal-Mart and hope grandpa makes a difference in the workplace for old people.

What does “Now…..” mean to you ?

When people say “Now….”, they do not really mean now.

They are actually referring to things and events that had happened in the distant past or even in the past past. This is even more so if they are arguing – they are digging up past events, things that were said before and past stories to justify their present stances, positions or arguments.

This is no good, this is prolonging the arguments and it just freezes everything up. It hardens further the positions of all parties involved in the arguments. It makes reaching an amicable solution harder. When they are using the past as the now, they are not allowing fresh viewpoints, new ideas to be introduced. They are not allowing any fresh air to come in and revitalize the fouled situation. They are actually holding on to their own positions and maintaining they are still correct. They are allowing the fouled air to blur the atmosphere even further. This is hardly opening themselves to listen to the others’ ideas, viewpoints and arguments. They are not leaving the past to the past, they keep digging up the past and remembering past events without opening themselves to receive new information and feedback. They do not actually want a solution nor are they prepared to accept giving the situation a chance to mend. Their sole aim is to win the arguments.

So, next time when we say “Now…” let us mean really ‘Now’.  Let the past be buried and remain buried!

Samye Ling, Scotland

These are photos I took of Samye Ling, a place which is scenic, and conducive to spiritual pursuits. The surroundings are most pleasant, the air fresh and the environment quiet. If you happened to go Scotland-way, make sure you pay it  a visit. They welcome all.

Welcoming sign to Samye Ling

Main entrance to the centre

in Samye Ling

inside Samye Ling

inside Samye Ling

Cafe, Internet room, Bookshop

inside Samye Ling

Samye Ling

Stupas and lamp house

The Exit entrance of Samye Ling

Wish many have the affinity with this wonderful place and can have the opportunities to visit.

Come visit again. Thank you.

Quotes, they are the legacies of the wise of the past ages!

Quotations are best, they say wise things in the most minimal of words. We wished our parents were like the wise of the past when we were young and now our children wish we are like them! Here are five quotes I would like to share:

Go slowly to the entertainments of thy friends, but quickly to their misfortunes. – Chilo

Now things are just the opposite, when it’s entertainment we flock there in large numbers and at the quickest time. But it is in time of misfortunes that our friends need us most. So, this quote gives plenty of truth, it reminds us how to behave when our friends need us most. We must evaluate our values.

One measure of leadership is the caliber of people who choose to follow you. ~ Dennis Peer

This sure is a good way to measure one’s contribution. Many a time, most of us over-estimate our own worth or contributions, this should serve as a good eye-opener. We can gauge our own legacies by the caliber of the people who follow us. A good measuring stick, indeed.

Television is the first truly democratic culture – the first culture available to everybody and entirely governed by what the people want. The most terrifying thing is what people do want. - Clive Barnes

Television has truly brought us plenty of benefits, it has brought information and knowledge to people around the world in the swiftest way possible. This has revolutionised the way people think and act without people actually aware of it. It has brought about plenty of good and also plenty of bad. The good is most people has more knowledge and the bad is most people can be manipulated very quickly and unconsciously by the ‘master manipulators’  for their selfish interests. This come about because as the quotes says ‘,,,The most terrifying thing is what most people do want’. Most people want to satisfy their desires now (the instant gratification syndrome), and this is fed and encouraged by the self-serving manipulators through their clever use of television. People are exploited without being fully aware of it.

If you don’t aspire to great things, you won’t attain small things. – Jewish Proverb

This has a ring of truth in it, like all quotations. If we don’t stretch our limits, then there is very little chance of us attaining the little we have managed to achieve. In business organisations, those that don’t set annual targets would  find they are soon left by the wayside. Most young people seem to be very fearful of carrying targets in their jobs. This quote would give them a clearer understanding why targets are important.

Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful. - Samuel Johnson

We all have seen knowledgeable and intelligent people commit hideous crimes and stupendous financial frauds. This is clearly because these people possess vast knowledge but they lack the vital ingredient of integrity. As the song says, “Parents teach your children well”,  we should try to instill the right virtues and values into our children lest they use their knowledge unscrupulously and recklessly – to the detriment of themselves, their loved ones and to many other innocent people.

Human Beings – an odd lot!

Thought things like fortune-telling is something Asians indulge in mostly but it looks like this is a mistaken perception on my part. The article from The Metro of the UK shows even the Occidentals indulge in it. But it was placed under the “Weird’ section of the paper, wonder why? Looks like humans are the same the world over. I have always reckoned we humans are an odd lot!

Politician quits over fortuneteller calls

A Norwegian Labour Party politician took voluntary sick leave Thursday and said she wouldn’t seek re-election after running up big phone bills at Parliament’s expense by turning to an unusual set of advisers: fortunetellers.

Saera Khan’s mobile phone habits became known after Parliament said it would no longer cover her bills, which Norway’s largest newspaper Verdens Gang said hit 48,000 kroner (£4,590) in one three-month period.

‘Advice from fortune tellers has not influenced the Labour party’s work in Parliament,’ Labour’s parliamentary leader Hill-Marta Solberg said in announcing Khan’s leave.

It was not immediately clear how long she would be on leave, but Khan said she would not seek a second term in September elections. Solberg said the amount of the bills would not be made public.

At first, Khan said the bills were run up because she was calling a satellite phone used by her boyfriend, who she claimed was on a secret foreign mission with Britain’s special forces.

The 29-year-old lawmaker refused to give his name, age or base, but only said that he had a personal satellite phone with him.

But Norwegian tabloid Dagbladet contacted the British military and learned that soldiers are barred from having personal satellite phones on missions for security reasons.

Finally, she released a statement late Wednesday confirming news reports that her bills were so high because she called pay-by-the-minute fortune tellers 793 times in one nine-month period. She said she paid back the amount.

‘A large part of the cost was due to calls to alternative advisers: so called fortune tellers,’ she wrote. ‘I apologize.’

Neither Khan nor Solberg said what kind of advice she sought.

These ‘alternative advisers’  are expensive in more ways than one, at least for Saere Khan.

Ladies, you ignore them at your own peril!

Ladies who have serious intentions when dating should pay attention to this article from Yahoo to save themselves from much heartaches later on.

Dating 101: Eight Ways to Spot a Dishonest Date

By Dating expert Caroline Presno, Ed.D., P.C.C. Special to Yahoo! Personals, Updated: Oct 2, 2008

Chances are you’re being lied to multiple times a day. It happens not only at work and with your friends and family, but in the intimate arena of love and dating, whether it’s a first date or someone you are forming an exciting new relationship with.

Imagine this:

During a 10-minute conversation, people told an average of two to three lies

During a 10-minute conversation, people told an average of two to three lies, and 60 percent of people lied at least once, according to a study conducted by Robert Feldman of the University of Massachusetts.

Telling lies is a normal part of everyday life. People tell small lies to make themselves more likable or to spare other people’s feelings.

However, it’s when the lying gets out of hand that it becomes harmful to a budding relationship. If someone you are dating repeatedly lies to you for their own personal gain, you need to be aware of it. By becoming a better lie detector, you can prevent others from taking advantage of you, both literally and emotionally.

Here are eight ways to spot a liar:

1. Eyes aflutter. When people lie, their blink rate tends to go up.

2. The eyes have it. Conventional wisdom says that liars don’t look you directly in the eye. And sometimes this is the case. However, research shows that practiced liars will actually give you more eye contact than people telling the truth!

3. Frankly, my dear. People who lie often feel the need to draw your attention to their trustworthiness. They may preface statements with words like “honestly,” “frankly,” and “truthfully.” They’re also likely to make assertions such as “I would never lie to you” and “I’m not lying.”

4. Cool and casual. Most people expect liars to be nervous, but practiced liars know how to act casual while weaving a web. They may have their feet up or be slumped down in a chair as the lies flow.

5. Behind the smile. A liar’s smile is different from a truth-teller’s smile. According to research, true “enjoyment smiles” are so big and bright that you’ll notice a crinkle around the eyes. These authentic smiles last for less than five seconds. The “masking smile,” or lie smile, tends to last longer than five seconds, doesn’t involve the eyes, has a hint of negative emotion, and may be crooked.

6. Sticking to it.

Good liars stick to the true parts of their story as much as possible and insert lies at key points.

Good liars stick to the true parts of their story as much as possible and insert lies at key points. If you suspect you’re being lied to, don’t be fooled into thinking that the whole story is true, even if you can confirm that parts of it are true.

7. Derailed by details. Liars often try to divert you from their falsehoods by detailing you to death. They’ll get you so bogged down by the minutiae of the story that you lose track of what they’re saying or you get tired of listening. Never hesitate to ask for clarification if the story seems confusing or doesn’t add up.

8. It’s not me, it’s you! If you catch someone in a lie, they’ll frequently try to turn it back on you. “You must be crazy. I never said that!” or “You must have memory loss because that’s not the way it happened.”

What do you do when you suspect someone you’re dating is repeatedly lying to you? In order to feel more secure in the relationship, let them know that even though the truth can hurt, you want to deal with things honestly and openly. The truth will ultimately be better than losing trust and being devastated by lies.

The more people lie and get away with it, the more lies they tell. Stop the cycle by confronting the lies!

 Hope this article is of service to you, if you find out the men you are dating are constantly lying to you, have the courage to ditch them. More importantly, it is hoped you have the good fortune not to meet any compulsive liars.

“A Mop Fair” – how did it originate?

Tony Wootton and Gwen Zanzottera give us the origin of the phrase – “A Mop Fair”. This phrase is not used very commonly in this part of the world but it does one no harm to know an extra phrase.

“A Mop Fair”

In many places in the UK the annual fair is known as ‘The Mop’, and this is a shortenend form of the ‘Mop Fair’. Anyone looking forward for work would at one time line up at The Mop and they would carry the tools of their trade, that was, a milking stool, a bag of carpenter’s tools, or a mop. They would be inspected by the employers who walked along the line, and then offered a job.

In some places, there would be a Runaway Mop about two weeks later and this was for anyone hired at the Mop who did not like their employer. They could run away and line up at the Runaway Mop to see if they could find a better job.

GURU !

I came across somewhere that the word “guru” comes from the Indian words ‘gu’ and ‘ru’. ’Gu’ means darkness and ‘ru’ means to dispel. Can any of our blogger friends from India confirm if I have got it right? Guru is, therefore, someone who dispels our darkness or ignorance, a very apt description of a spiritual teacher.

In the Malay language, a teacher is also called a guru. Similarly then, his job is to replace the misconceived ideas and wrong concepts of the students with the correct knowledge. This is a colossal responsibility, wonder if those applying to be teachers see it as such. Do they ever take time out to contemplate on what they would be placing upon their own shoulders. Or do they choose teaching just as a means of livelihood?

Those who had taken time out and gave due consideration to what they are undertaking would approach their tasks with a different attitude to that of those who did not. In their hands are the future of generations of young people, in their hands is the future of the nation. It is such a heavy responsibility and if those joining the teaching profession are not serious in their choices, then the Education ministry should have a more stringent selection process. It should try to ensure that those who know what they are placing on their own shoulders would be selected. Those who give no thought as to what they are embarking upon should be weeded out. This is serious business so all educationists and academicians should share the view that the nation’s future is in the hands of those that are selected to be trained.

From what that can be gathered, there aren’t now many teachers who carry this serious view with them. Even those who had started with such noble values many have also become disillusioned. Many complained teachers are now burdened by administrative works and are spending lesser and lesser time on their main function (that’s teaching).

Many also say their commitment is watered down by the protective attitude of present-day parents. Without the right to punish, the young people have become unmanageable and they cannot instill discipline into them. These teachers are greatly discouraged by such development in the schools.

Politics should not be allowed to intrude this area at all. Education should be kept free of any form of interference. The nation’s future is no-playing matter, level-headedness should prevail in this vital area.

It will be a sad state of affairs, if nothing concrete is done, as many will suffer.  The ones that will suffer most will be the young children (who later will be the adults) and the nation.

A quote from Confucius – “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life. “

Share this please!

I got this from “A Dying Man’s Daily Journal’ and he got it from his friend, Jo. Hope after you have read this you will pass it on to your friends and your friends will pass it on to their friends. Hope this sharing chain will go on till the message reaches thousands of people.

Don’t Drink Drive!

I was walking around in a Target store, when I saw a Cashier hand this little boy some money back.

The boy couldn’t have been more than 5 or 6 years old.

The Cashier said, ‘I’m sorry, but you don’t have enough money to buy this doll.’

Then the little boy turned to the old woman next to him: ”Granny, are you sure I don’t have enough money?”

The old lady replied: ”You know that you don’t have enough money to buy this doll, my dear.”

Then she asked him to stay there for just 5 minutes while she went to look a round. She left quickly.

The little boy was still holding the doll in his hand.

Finally, I walked toward him and I asked him who he wished to give this doll to.

‘It’s the doll that my sister loved most and wanted so much for Christmas

She was sure that Santa Claus would bring it to her.’

I replied to him that maybe Santa Claus would bring it to her after all, and not to worry.

But he replied to me sadly. ‘No, Santa Claus can’t bring it to her where she is now. I have to give the doll to my mommy so that she can give it to my sister when she goes there.’

His eyes were so sad while saying this. ‘My Sister has gone to be with God. Daddy says that Mommy is going to see God very soon too, so I thought that she could take the doll with her to give it to my sister.”

My heart nearly stopped.

The little boy looked up at me and said: ‘I told daddy to tell mommy not to go yet. I need her to wait until I come back from the mall.’

Then he showed me a very nice photo of him where he was laughing. He then told me ‘I want mommy to take my picture with her so she won’t forget me.’

‘I love my mommy and I wish she doesn’t have to leave me, but daddy says that she has to go to be with my little sister.’

Then he looked again at the doll with sad eyes, very quietly.

I quickly reached for my wallet and said to the boy. ‘Suppose we check again, just in case you do have enough money for the doll?”

‘OK’ he said, ‘I hope I do have enough.’ I added some of my money to his with out him seeing and we started to count it. There was enough for the doll and even some spare money.

The little boy said: ‘Thank you God for giving me enough money!’

Then he looked at me and added, ‘I asked last night before I went to sleep for God to make sure I had enough money to buy this doll, so that mommy could give It to my sister. He heard me!”

‘I also wanted to have enough money to buy a white rose for my mommy, but I didn’t dare to ask God for too much. But He gave me enough to buy the doll and a white rose.”

‘My mommy loves white roses.’

A few minutes later, the old lady returned and I left with my basket.

I finished my shopping in a totally different state from when I started.

I couldn’t get the little boy out of my mind.

Then I remembered a local news paper article two days ago, which mentioned a drunk man in a truck, who hit a car occupied by a young woman and a little girl.

The little girl died right away, and the mother was left in a critical state. The family had to decide whether to pull the plug on the life-sustaining machine, because the young woman would not be able to recover from the coma.

Was this the family of the little boy?

Two days after this encounter with the little boy, I read in the news paper that the young woman had passed away.

I couldn’t stop myself as I bought a bunch of white roses and I went to the funeral home where the body of the young woman was exposed for people to see and make last wishes before her burial.

She was there, in her coffin, holding a beautiful white rose in her hand with the photo of the little boy and the doll placed over her chest.

I left the place, teary-eyed, feeling that my life had been changed for ever.. The love that the little boy had for his mother and his sister is still, to this day, hard to imagine.

And in a fraction of a second, a drunk driver had taken all this away from him.

Will you think again before you drink drive??????

Now you have 2 choices:

1) Forward this. only for ones who have a heart

2) Ignore it as if it never touched your heart

Help stamp out drink driving, please pass this article on.

World’s tallest man is now world’s tallest dad

From the Sunday Metro of the UK, Friday, October 3, 2008.

Our hero Bao Xishun, the world’s tallest man, is now a proud father of a baby boy.

Bao Xishun with his son: the baby is the smaller of the two, just so you know.

As we told you last week, Bao’s regular-sized wife Xia Shujuan was expecting a baby.

Well, yesterday, she gave birth to a 4.2kg baby boy at a hospital in Zunhua, in north China’s Hebei province.

The couple got married last year after Bao’s worldwide search for a bride ended with him finding true love with Xia – who came from his hometown of Chifeng. 

Bao and pregnant Xia take a walk in September

7ft 9in Bao recently reclaimed his title as the world’s tallest man, after Ukranian usurper Leonid Stadnyk refused to be officially measured by Guinness World Records officials.

It remains to be seen whether their son will take after Bao or 5ft 5in Xia on the height front. However big he grows, however, it seems likely that he’ll be able to settle playground disputes with a confident claim that ‘my dad is bigger than your dad.’

Our congratulations to the proud parents, may the child grow up healthy and happy.

“Mad as a Hatter”, how did the saying come about?

“Mad As A Hatter”

Tony Wootton and Gwen Zanzoterra tell us that this phrase does not come from the book ‘Alice in Wonderland’, that it actually dates back before that period when many people wore top hats.  The hatter or hat maker had to work very close to the hat while he was making it and brushing it smooth. And while doing so he had to use one chemical in the hat making. Breathing in the chemical over a long period of time it was believed it gradually sent the hatter insane.

This was how the phrase came into being.

All the sights of my recent journey to the UK.

Today I tried to recall the many sights of the UK that had been imprinted in my mind. The memories refreshed the experiences when I first encountered these sights. I recalled them with fondness.

The most distinct impression of the country was the greenery. There are many gardens and parks throughout the whole nation. The well-kept fields and the great big trees provide a very pleasant sight in many of the cities. These gardens and parks act as green lungs which give the air a cooling effect and keep the atmosphere fresh.

The varied varieties of scrubs, flowers and plants make it a pleasure to walk around. The rich varieties of colorful flowers attract my senses. Walking around at that time of the year was most captivating. The beautiful, colorful flowers and the bees tempted me every few steps to capture them in the photographs in my walks.

On the fine, sunny days scores and scores of people took in the sun in the parks and gardens. You saw them having lunches there and you also saw others just doing nothing but soaking in the sunlight. Mothers also took their little ones to play and enjoy themselves. It all created a very pleasant feeling.

At the parks and city centres there were the street performers – young and old, doing their things. There were the musicians and bands, the trapeze performers, the sculptors, the artists, and the tribal performers from foreign countries.

When I was taking my walks I saw many pet owners with their pet dogs. The dogs were of different sizes and shapes. To me, it seemed some of the dogs were taking the owners for the walks instead of being taken for walks for they were so huge.

Walkng around the cities and especially in London the cosmopolitian nature of the population is clearly evident. There you see Africans, Arabs, Malaysians, Chinese, Indians, Pakistanis, Japanese, Italians, French and many other of other European origins.

One other impression is the huge university complexes in most of the cities. Most of the buildings of the university complexes were very old and impressive. It gives you the feeling that the Brits take their education very seriously. 

The large numbers of museums and historical places like the Georgian Houses left a very deep impression on me. Though they were old they were very well-preserved and well-maintained. You have nothing but admiration for the work done.

The beautiful, ornate cathedrals are sights you cannot ignore in the UK. These places contain a very large part of the nation’s history. You can glean much of Britain’s history from going through these buildings. They are opened everyday of the week and you are made to feel very welcome. Members of the congregations are in attendance in every cathedral.

Walking around the cities and villages the great number of cafes, bakeries and fast food outlets are common sights. These tell you the Brits are great coffee and tea drinkers and also great eaters of bread and pastries.

Travelling by trains, buses and cars around the country I noticed countless boat houses in the marinas and inland rivers. It left me with a leisurely feeling of life in the UK.

Another impression that had etched itself in my mind was the huge, busy underground stations and railway stations. These are also usually of very old structures but they are well-planned as everything is contained within the same complexes. The punctuality is one feature I appreciate, the trains are seldom late.

Around the cities you cannot fail to see the cute cabs moving around. Most UK cabs have the unique UK shape and some are painted with strikingly bright colors.

No matter which cities you go to you can see the local tour buses. They are usually painted in red and most have open tops. 

Friday and Saturday nights are usually very busy nights. On these nights you can see long lines of taxis waiting outside the pubs. The reason they are there is on such nights most of those who drink do not want to be caught driving so they take the cabs home.

One thing you see very little of in the UK are the motor-cycles. They are so few such vehicles in sight. You see more bicycles than motor-cycles.

There are large numbers of seagulls and pigeons in areas near the rivers and the seas. In the parks there are large populations of squirrels. These creatures know they will be fed so they congregate near you.

Another thing that is unforgettable are the boobs – you can see lots of cleavages and boobs everywhere. The ladies wear to show off their assets and you can see them exposed in the television programs almost everyday.

These are the sights that I find most memorable of the UK. There is no offence intended and I hope none is taken for I enjoyed my brief stay in the UK.