People like Avatar for different reasons. Some said it is a 3D spectacle with eye popping visuals. Some said James Cameron has successful created a beautiful yet dangerous new world, the Pandora. Many said that Avatar opens a new era for 3D movies. But how about the messages carried out by the movie?
For the Americans, they may view this as an anti-imperialist entertainment. After all, Americans like to go to other places, calling local people savages and grabbing their resources by force. Some may consider this as a tribute to native people by guilty American white men, or “Dancing with Wolves” the outer space version.
Some critics said the story is weak (I doubt if they actually get any message from the movie other than focusing on the visuals), there is no witty dialogue, the movie is too serious that it is boring (I fully enjoyed the 2.5 hr movie though and plan to go see it again).
But why do I like Avatar? I enjoy seeing the beautiful world with all these new fauna and flora (have to praise James Cameron for his imagination and creativity), even the very rare humor when the female scientist wanted to collect samples when her life was in danger. I get the messages that man and nature are connected somehow, the weak can stand up against the strong, we should try our best to protect our land, heritage and culture, and we cannot sacrifice our environment for economic gain. In many countries where everything has to give way to economic development, lands and homes are taken forcefully, the environment is destroyed, large corporations and the government coerce people into submission, seeing Avatar is a refreshing and enlightening experience. Ok, even though we can’t do the same thing in real life, we can still immerse ourselves in the movie, imagining we were the nature loving Na’vi people who kicked the greedy corporation / government out of our land!
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Dr Kao and Alzheimer’s Disease
The announcement of Nobel Prize seldom makes headline news in Hong Kong but it is different this year. Dr Charles K Kao, the Father of Fiber Optics wins the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2009. Dr Kao is considered as a local scholar in Hong Kong because he founded the Department of Electronic Engineering of the Chinese University of Hong Kong and also served as the vice-chancellor of the same university for 9 years. However, most of his research in fiber optic communications was indeed conducted in England and the U.S.
How glass fibers work is probably beyond the comprehension of ordinary people, we can only admire Dr Kao’s insight and creativity in making the breakthrough with fiber optics which benefits all of us today. What hit us is the fact that Dr Kao suffers from Alzheimer’s disease and can no longer understand or explain his own research now. For many days, news and interview with the old couple were shown on TV and newspapers. Dr Kao always smiles like a child in front of the camera. His wife has once broken into tears and said the man she has known and married for decades are now gone because of the disease.
Alzheimer’s disease is often called “old man disease” but it can happen to young to middle aged people with gene mutations associated with Alzheimer’s. It is an irreversible progressive brain disease that destroys memory, reasoning and thinking skills. The brain tissues of Alzheimer’s patients have abnormal clumps (amyloid plaques) and tangled bundles of fibers (neurofibrillary tangles). These plaques and tangles cause the death of neurons (connections between nerve cells) and the brain will shrink significantly at end stage of the disease.
We often hear that cognition training can help prevent Alzheimer’s disease. But if an intellectual and a scientist like Dr Kao can get it (Dr Kao’s father also had Alzheimer’s, so it may be genetic), just keeping your brain active may not always work. Alzheimer’s disease is incurable, so prevention is better than cure.
No one knows how the plaques and tangles are formed in the brain, but supposedly, things that improve blood circulation in the brain or protect the brain tissue would help. Regular exercise, good and balanced diet and healthy lifestyle are beneficial to the brain. Antioxidants like aged garlic extract, curcumin, melatonin, resveratrol, Ginkgo biloba extract, green tea, vitamin C and vitamin E are agents that show promise in the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease. Out of these antioxidants, Ginkgo seems to be one of the most promising ones. Ginkgo is a “brain herb” that has been used by the Chinese for centuries. It is now widely used in Europe for treating dementia. Ginkgo biloba extracts may help some people to delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. Some studies have found that ginkgo may be as effective as leading AD medications in delaying the symptoms of dementia in Alzheimer’s patients.
Fish oil which is high in DHA may also help to prevent Alzheimer’s disease. However, a recent clinical trial shows that DHA supplement cannot slow the progression of Alzheimer’s. However, the findings indicate that DHA did improve learning and memory recall in age-related cognitive decline.
I often worry that I will get Alzheimer’s disease one day. Not because it is as deadly as cancer or heart disease, but getting Alzheimer’s means that I will forget who I am and I can’t make decision for myself anymore. Having seen Dr Kao’s example, I am sure I will be more conscious in living a brain healthy way.
How glass fibers work is probably beyond the comprehension of ordinary people, we can only admire Dr Kao’s insight and creativity in making the breakthrough with fiber optics which benefits all of us today. What hit us is the fact that Dr Kao suffers from Alzheimer’s disease and can no longer understand or explain his own research now. For many days, news and interview with the old couple were shown on TV and newspapers. Dr Kao always smiles like a child in front of the camera. His wife has once broken into tears and said the man she has known and married for decades are now gone because of the disease.
Alzheimer’s disease is often called “old man disease” but it can happen to young to middle aged people with gene mutations associated with Alzheimer’s. It is an irreversible progressive brain disease that destroys memory, reasoning and thinking skills. The brain tissues of Alzheimer’s patients have abnormal clumps (amyloid plaques) and tangled bundles of fibers (neurofibrillary tangles). These plaques and tangles cause the death of neurons (connections between nerve cells) and the brain will shrink significantly at end stage of the disease.
We often hear that cognition training can help prevent Alzheimer’s disease. But if an intellectual and a scientist like Dr Kao can get it (Dr Kao’s father also had Alzheimer’s, so it may be genetic), just keeping your brain active may not always work. Alzheimer’s disease is incurable, so prevention is better than cure.
No one knows how the plaques and tangles are formed in the brain, but supposedly, things that improve blood circulation in the brain or protect the brain tissue would help. Regular exercise, good and balanced diet and healthy lifestyle are beneficial to the brain. Antioxidants like aged garlic extract, curcumin, melatonin, resveratrol, Ginkgo biloba extract, green tea, vitamin C and vitamin E are agents that show promise in the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease. Out of these antioxidants, Ginkgo seems to be one of the most promising ones. Ginkgo is a “brain herb” that has been used by the Chinese for centuries. It is now widely used in Europe for treating dementia. Ginkgo biloba extracts may help some people to delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. Some studies have found that ginkgo may be as effective as leading AD medications in delaying the symptoms of dementia in Alzheimer’s patients.
Fish oil which is high in DHA may also help to prevent Alzheimer’s disease. However, a recent clinical trial shows that DHA supplement cannot slow the progression of Alzheimer’s. However, the findings indicate that DHA did improve learning and memory recall in age-related cognitive decline.
I often worry that I will get Alzheimer’s disease one day. Not because it is as deadly as cancer or heart disease, but getting Alzheimer’s means that I will forget who I am and I can’t make decision for myself anymore. Having seen Dr Kao’s example, I am sure I will be more conscious in living a brain healthy way.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Supplements or Medicines?
I take several supplements daily to maintain health, multivitamins, bilberry, calcium, and Cordyceps. Since I cannot swallow the big tablets, I have to go with the small caplets and capsules. For each supplement, the daily dose varies from 3 to 6 caplets/capsules per day. So each day, I have to swallow more than a dozen supplements.
I often wonder, have the vitamin manufacturers think of the customers when they develop their products? The once-a-day pills are so big that you can choke to death. So they make the easy to swallow caplets but you need to take many of them each day. Having supplements is like taking medicine. Even worse, most supplements are much bigger in size and have an after-taste. So why don’t the manufacturers make something delicious? How about fruit drinks that can provide all the vitamins, minerals and antioxidants? Or chewables that taste good? Or tasty powder that can be mixed or sprinkled on food?
There are some gummy supplements for children but hardly any for adults. Do the manufacturers think that adults don’t care about taste and will swallow anything they make?
Recently, my friend told me she found a multivitamin chewable that is tasty like candy. It is called VitaFusion gummy vitamins for adults. The ingredients are simpler than most other multivitamin pills. It contains vitamins A, B, C, D, E but lacks the important minerals like zinc and selenium. When I tried it myself, the gummies are indeed very tasty, not too sweet or too sour. VitaFusion’s commercial says it is the first gummy vitamins for adults.
Another good thing is it is also cheap (Costco sells it for $9.99 for 200 gummies). The recommended dose is 2 gummies per day, so one large bottle can last for 3 months. Unfortunately, if you live outside the U.S., you will have a hard time finding it. Popular online shops like vitamin shoppe, iherb don’t carry it. Drugstore only has the small bottle and their international shipping rate is too high.
I’ve also found a liquid calcium supplement that is quite acceptable. It is Life Time, Liquid Calcium Magnesium Citrate. The product comes in several flavors and I have only tried the blueberry flavor. The blueberry taste pretty much covers the chalky taste often found in calcium supplements. I think it is much better than swallowing calcium pills. They also have orange vanilla, grape, strawberry, pina colada and lemon custard flavors. This liquid calcium supplement is available in many online stores.
If you want to know where to buy discount vitamins and supplements with coupon, go visit http://vitaminstores.4reviews.net/.
I often wonder, have the vitamin manufacturers think of the customers when they develop their products? The once-a-day pills are so big that you can choke to death. So they make the easy to swallow caplets but you need to take many of them each day. Having supplements is like taking medicine. Even worse, most supplements are much bigger in size and have an after-taste. So why don’t the manufacturers make something delicious? How about fruit drinks that can provide all the vitamins, minerals and antioxidants? Or chewables that taste good? Or tasty powder that can be mixed or sprinkled on food?
There are some gummy supplements for children but hardly any for adults. Do the manufacturers think that adults don’t care about taste and will swallow anything they make?
Recently, my friend told me she found a multivitamin chewable that is tasty like candy. It is called VitaFusion gummy vitamins for adults. The ingredients are simpler than most other multivitamin pills. It contains vitamins A, B, C, D, E but lacks the important minerals like zinc and selenium. When I tried it myself, the gummies are indeed very tasty, not too sweet or too sour. VitaFusion’s commercial says it is the first gummy vitamins for adults.
Another good thing is it is also cheap (Costco sells it for $9.99 for 200 gummies). The recommended dose is 2 gummies per day, so one large bottle can last for 3 months. Unfortunately, if you live outside the U.S., you will have a hard time finding it. Popular online shops like vitamin shoppe, iherb don’t carry it. Drugstore only has the small bottle and their international shipping rate is too high.
I’ve also found a liquid calcium supplement that is quite acceptable. It is Life Time, Liquid Calcium Magnesium Citrate. The product comes in several flavors and I have only tried the blueberry flavor. The blueberry taste pretty much covers the chalky taste often found in calcium supplements. I think it is much better than swallowing calcium pills. They also have orange vanilla, grape, strawberry, pina colada and lemon custard flavors. This liquid calcium supplement is available in many online stores.
If you want to know where to buy discount vitamins and supplements with coupon, go visit http://vitaminstores.4reviews.net/.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Audio Books
If you like to listen to audio books, you don’t need to buy the expensive audio books on CD. There are some cheap alternatives: you can either download or rent audio books online. Renting audio books is like renting DVDs, you join a monthly plan and you can rent unlimited audio books in a month. You receive and return the audio books in the same pre-paid envelope. If you choose the 2 books at a time plan, don’t wait until you finish all books to return them, and then wait for another week to receive the next 2 books. The trick is after you finish one book, return it first while listening to the second one. When the audio book clubs receive the returned book, they will send you the next one on your book list. So you don’t need to waste any time waiting for the books to be shipped back and forth.
Alternatively, you can also download digital audio books online. You can buy and download individual audio books or join the monthly plan. However, unlike audio book rental (which allows you to rent unlimited audio books), the download plan only lets you download 1 or 2 books each month. You can burn the audio titles to CD only once as a measure to protect intellectual property. Multiple CDs may be needed for one audio title (it depends on the length of the audio title, not the file size). Audio book clubs record the audio books in different formats. Simply Audiobooks and AudioBookWorm have audio books in MP3 or WMA format while Audible uses a unique .aa file format which can be played in iTunes and Windows Media Player. Also check the list of compatible portable device (e.g. Apple iPod, Creative® Zen, SanDisk® Sansa™) to make sure your device can be used.
Alternatively, you can also download digital audio books online. You can buy and download individual audio books or join the monthly plan. However, unlike audio book rental (which allows you to rent unlimited audio books), the download plan only lets you download 1 or 2 books each month. You can burn the audio titles to CD only once as a measure to protect intellectual property. Multiple CDs may be needed for one audio title (it depends on the length of the audio title, not the file size). Audio book clubs record the audio books in different formats. Simply Audiobooks and AudioBookWorm have audio books in MP3 or WMA format while Audible uses a unique .aa file format which can be played in iTunes and Windows Media Player. Also check the list of compatible portable device (e.g. Apple iPod, Creative® Zen, SanDisk® Sansa™) to make sure your device can be used.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
I remember
I remember when you came home, you were the size of my palm…….
I remember we walked to school together, you laid down on the grass, refusing to walk. Sometimes, you got startled by the wind or the sound of the leaves falling to the ground……
I remember you zoomed around in the playground and rubbed your face in the dirt, the dirtier it was, the happier you felt…
I remember you cuddled on my lap while I watched TV, played computer games……then suddenly, something smelled so bad, you had just past gas…….
I remember I liked to pet and kiss you, and I had this strange feeling…..the kind of love I’d never felt in my life….
I remember your happy face with ears swinging….and your jealous face when you could not win my attention over your little brother…
I remember you had to visit the vet often………you grew old so soon……
I remember during the darkest days of my life, you and your little brother were my support…..
I remember you slept like a pretzel; the sofa and the corner near the front door were your favourite spots……
I remember you were very ill, I didn’t know what to do……and I had to make the difficult decision……
I remember on your last day, I said thank you to you and wrapped you in a blanket….I walked to the vet carrying you, the moon was bright, big and round, it was mid autumn festival…..
I remember the vet gave you the shot, you were gone in a second. The next day, I pushed the button of the incinerator, then I brought your ash home……
So Poppy, you are gone for 3 years now. In case I get Alzheimer disease, this will help me to remember…….
I remember we walked to school together, you laid down on the grass, refusing to walk. Sometimes, you got startled by the wind or the sound of the leaves falling to the ground……
I remember you zoomed around in the playground and rubbed your face in the dirt, the dirtier it was, the happier you felt…
I remember you cuddled on my lap while I watched TV, played computer games……then suddenly, something smelled so bad, you had just past gas…….
I remember I liked to pet and kiss you, and I had this strange feeling…..the kind of love I’d never felt in my life….
I remember your happy face with ears swinging….and your jealous face when you could not win my attention over your little brother…
I remember you had to visit the vet often………you grew old so soon……
I remember during the darkest days of my life, you and your little brother were my support…..
I remember you slept like a pretzel; the sofa and the corner near the front door were your favourite spots……
I remember you were very ill, I didn’t know what to do……and I had to make the difficult decision……
I remember on your last day, I said thank you to you and wrapped you in a blanket….I walked to the vet carrying you, the moon was bright, big and round, it was mid autumn festival…..
I remember the vet gave you the shot, you were gone in a second. The next day, I pushed the button of the incinerator, then I brought your ash home……
So Poppy, you are gone for 3 years now. In case I get Alzheimer disease, this will help me to remember…….
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Generic vs OEM cartridges
I still hear so often that you should not use generic ink cartridges because they will damage your printers; discount ink cartridges are so “cheap” that they must be of poor quality and they would give poor printout; some even claim that generic cartridges have a high failure rate.
I won’t doubt that some generic cartridges (compatible or remanufactured cartridges) are not made to the same standard as the OEM cartridges. There are so many third party manufacturers making generic cartridges these days and a variation of quality and performance is expected. However, I also feel resentful that some printer manufacturers keep using scare tactics to deter customers from buying more affordable alternatives.
If you go to any physical and online shops selling printer supplies, you would find that most if not all sell generic cartridges as well as OEM cartridges. If generic cartridges damaged your printer, why would these vendors keep selling these defective cartridges ruining their own reputation?
Are generic cartridges “cheap”, so cheap that they can’t be of good quality? Cheap is only a relative term. OEM ink is one of the most expensive liquids on earth (some people say the price of OEM ink is US$5000 / gallon). Compared to OEM ink, generic ink is of course cheap. But honestly, is the OEM ink really worth that much money? No, it is a well known fact that printer manufacturers mark up the price of OEM ink substantially in order to make profit as they cut the printer price to a very low level. Instead of saying generic cartridges are cheap, I would rather say that OEM cartridges are extremely expensive.
Do many generic cartridges fail to print and are dead on first day? It depends where you buy the generic cartridges. If you buy cartridges manufactured under ISO standards, the quality of the ink cartridges is guaranteed. Most vendors also provide extended warranty period, you can return the cartridges if you are not satisfied with them.
Buying high quality generic cartridges is a legitimate way to save money but like shopping for everything else, you need to do some research first. Just bear in mind that even if the cartridge doesn’t work, it won’t explode in front of you and it is highly unlikely it will damage your printer.
I won’t doubt that some generic cartridges (compatible or remanufactured cartridges) are not made to the same standard as the OEM cartridges. There are so many third party manufacturers making generic cartridges these days and a variation of quality and performance is expected. However, I also feel resentful that some printer manufacturers keep using scare tactics to deter customers from buying more affordable alternatives.
If you go to any physical and online shops selling printer supplies, you would find that most if not all sell generic cartridges as well as OEM cartridges. If generic cartridges damaged your printer, why would these vendors keep selling these defective cartridges ruining their own reputation?
Are generic cartridges “cheap”, so cheap that they can’t be of good quality? Cheap is only a relative term. OEM ink is one of the most expensive liquids on earth (some people say the price of OEM ink is US$5000 / gallon). Compared to OEM ink, generic ink is of course cheap. But honestly, is the OEM ink really worth that much money? No, it is a well known fact that printer manufacturers mark up the price of OEM ink substantially in order to make profit as they cut the printer price to a very low level. Instead of saying generic cartridges are cheap, I would rather say that OEM cartridges are extremely expensive.
Do many generic cartridges fail to print and are dead on first day? It depends where you buy the generic cartridges. If you buy cartridges manufactured under ISO standards, the quality of the ink cartridges is guaranteed. Most vendors also provide extended warranty period, you can return the cartridges if you are not satisfied with them.
Buying high quality generic cartridges is a legitimate way to save money but like shopping for everything else, you need to do some research first. Just bear in mind that even if the cartridge doesn’t work, it won’t explode in front of you and it is highly unlikely it will damage your printer.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Recession or Recovery?
Ever since the financial tsunami last year, people have been talking about a recession or even a depression. But the stock markets are blooming everywhere in the world, from the U.S. to Europe, China, India, many stock indexes have already recovered most of the losses occurred between Sept 08 and Mar 09. In some countries, housing price even jumped ahead of time, surpassing that before the financial tsunami.
But if you don’t buy stock and don’t have money to speculate on real estate, gold and commodities, you know the hard time isn’t over yet. As a small business owner, I know first hand that the economy is still in trouble and life can be hard in the midst of “economic recovery”.
I own an online pet shop selling natural pet products. Despite that we are in a recession, commodity prices have not dropped in the past year. On the contrary, the wholesale price of some products continues to rise, some even up 15-30%. But hey, we are in a recession, the customers are more reluctant to pay for expensive pet food, so the retail price can’t be raised proportionally, leading to a narrower profit margin. As a result, the revenue increases but the earning may actually decrease.
When I go online to buy stuff like vitamins, printer supplies, I notice the same thing. Things are not getting cheaper. Maybe they haven’t really changed the retail price but some products used to be 40% off, now they are only 25% or 30% off.
So businesses are having lower profit margins, employees are afraid of losing their jobs, things are not cheaper but more expensive, and the stock and commodity markets (and housing market in some places) are flourishing. You don’t need to be an economist to know that this isn’t right. This “economic recovery” is not benefitting the general public but a small bunch of speculators and traders.
I hope the governments of those countries know what they are doing. When they throw out trillions of dollars to stimulate the economy, is the money used to artificially inflate the GDP figure, start another bubble or save the big corporations only? Is the money used to improve the living standard of the people? Or create job opportunities? Or help small and medium businesses? Or correct the mistake that was made before?
As for the general public, it’s likely that we will suffer from the economic slowdown for quite a while. Even worse, we may face inflation before the economy recovers. For those of us who don't earn a fortune, the word stagflation is even more daunting than inflation or deflation alone.
But if you don’t buy stock and don’t have money to speculate on real estate, gold and commodities, you know the hard time isn’t over yet. As a small business owner, I know first hand that the economy is still in trouble and life can be hard in the midst of “economic recovery”.
I own an online pet shop selling natural pet products. Despite that we are in a recession, commodity prices have not dropped in the past year. On the contrary, the wholesale price of some products continues to rise, some even up 15-30%. But hey, we are in a recession, the customers are more reluctant to pay for expensive pet food, so the retail price can’t be raised proportionally, leading to a narrower profit margin. As a result, the revenue increases but the earning may actually decrease.
When I go online to buy stuff like vitamins, printer supplies, I notice the same thing. Things are not getting cheaper. Maybe they haven’t really changed the retail price but some products used to be 40% off, now they are only 25% or 30% off.
So businesses are having lower profit margins, employees are afraid of losing their jobs, things are not cheaper but more expensive, and the stock and commodity markets (and housing market in some places) are flourishing. You don’t need to be an economist to know that this isn’t right. This “economic recovery” is not benefitting the general public but a small bunch of speculators and traders.
I hope the governments of those countries know what they are doing. When they throw out trillions of dollars to stimulate the economy, is the money used to artificially inflate the GDP figure, start another bubble or save the big corporations only? Is the money used to improve the living standard of the people? Or create job opportunities? Or help small and medium businesses? Or correct the mistake that was made before?
As for the general public, it’s likely that we will suffer from the economic slowdown for quite a while. Even worse, we may face inflation before the economy recovers. For those of us who don't earn a fortune, the word stagflation is even more daunting than inflation or deflation alone.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Coca Cola Zero
I went to my mom’s home for lunch the other day and took a can of Coca Cola zero home. I remember I liked Coke a lot when I was a kid but I had grown out of it a long time ago. I do take a cup of Coke occasionally when eating out but haven’t bought one myself for quite a while.
So after getting home, I looked at the label. It reads “real taste, zero sugar”. The nutrition information says it contains 0 kcal, 0 g sugar. The ingredients are: carbonated water, colour (E150d), acidity regulators (E338, E331), sweeteners (E951, E950), caffeine and other flavourings, preservative (E211). So what the hell are E150d, E338, E221, E950, E951, E211? This is like a can of chemicals with codes!!
I needed to find out more before I decided whether I should drink this liquid, so I searched for more information on the internet, here is my finding:
1) E150d - Sulphite ammonia caramel
A colouring agent made by controlled heat treatment of sugar with ammonia and sulphite containing compounds. The caramel group of colours (see also E150a, E150b and E150c) are the most widely used group of colours, comprising some 98% of all colours used. Between them they can be found in beer, brown bread, buns, chocolate, biscuits, brandy, chocolate flavoured flour based confectionery, coatings, decorations, fillings and toppings, crisps, dessert mixes, doughnuts, fish and shellfish spreads, frozen desserts, glucose tablets, gravy browning, ice cream, jams, milk desserts, pancakes, pickles, sauces and dressings, soft drinks particularly cola drinks, stouts, sweets, vinegar, whisky and wines….
Heating sugar with ammonia and sulphite containing compounds? Hmmm, make me think of the smell of ammonia…
2) E338 – Phosphoric acid.
Phosphoric acid is a food acid or acidity regulator. It is produced chemically from phosphate ore. Phosphoric acid can be used for rust removal as it converts iron (III) oxide to soluble phosphate compound. One study published in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that women who consumed cola daily had lower bone density. It is not known whether this is caused by phosphoric acid, caffeine, or simply because women drinking cola don’t drink milk as much.
Another study comparing the effects of cola (generally contains phosphoric acid), non-cola carbonated beverages (substitute citric acid) and coffee (control for caffeine) found that drinking 2 or more colas per day more than doubled the incidence of kidney disease (chronic kidney disease and kidney stones).
Looks like phosphoric acid is not good for drinking either.
3) E221 - Sodium sulphite
Sodium Sulphite is a salt of Sulphurous Acid. Sulphites are preservatives used in food as anti-oxidants to prevent brownage, and to kill micro-organisms within the food. Sulphites are linked with causing asthma, anaphylaxis and contact allergies in human. In less serious doses they frequently cause headaches and the other familiar symptoms of a 'hangover' after consuming them.
4) E950 - Acesulfame potassium
Acesulfame potassium is an artificial sweetener, like aspartame, it is 180-200 times sweeter than table sugar. Several sources quote that Acesulfame K is one of the worst artificial sweeteners. The additive is inadequately tested. FDA based its approval on tests of acesulfame K that fell short of the FDA's own standards. Some tests indicated that this additive might cause tumor and cancer in animals.
5) E951 - Aspartame
Aspartame is an artificial sweetener that causes a lot of controversies. US FDA considers it as a “safe” additive but 75% of the adverse reactions to food additives that were reported to the US FDA have been concerning aspartame. These reactions include: headaches/migraines, dizziness, seizures, nausea, muscle spasm, weight gain, rashes, depression, fatigue, irritability, tachycardia, vision problems, breathing difficulties, anxiety attacks, vertigo, tinitus, memory loss and joint pain.
It is also believed that certain chronic illnesses can be triggered or worsened by ingesting aspartame. For example brain tumours, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s, birth defects, diabetes and ME.
6) E211 – Sodium benzoate
Sodium benzoate is a preservative. It is bacteriostatic and fungistatic under acidic conditions. In combination with ascorbic acid (vitamin C, E300), sodium benzoate may form benzene, a known carcinogen. Sodium benzoate by itself can also damage mitochondrial DNA (mitochondria are cell organelles responsible for energy production). There are many illnesses now tied to DNA damage, including Parkinson's and other neurodegenerative diseases, and aging. Some artificial colours, when paired with sodium benzoate (E211) may be linked to hyperactive behaviour.
After reading the long list of food additives and their adverse health effects, I took much courage to open the can and took one sip. Something is wrong, it doesn’t taste like the “real thing”. It tastes plain, like drinking carbonated water with some cola flavour. It doesn’t taste good at all. Despite that I was very thirsty, I could only manage to take 2-3 sips and then put the can down. A soft drink that doesn’t taste good and not good to my health? No way, I am not going to risk it. I don’t need zero sugar, zero calories either.
I always believe that you should eat something that is either healthy or tasty. If it is not healthy, it has to be at least tasty and vice versa. But Coca Cola Zero is neither healthy nor tasty. So goodbye Coca Cola zero, this would be my last can of it.
So after getting home, I looked at the label. It reads “real taste, zero sugar”. The nutrition information says it contains 0 kcal, 0 g sugar. The ingredients are: carbonated water, colour (E150d), acidity regulators (E338, E331), sweeteners (E951, E950), caffeine and other flavourings, preservative (E211). So what the hell are E150d, E338, E221, E950, E951, E211? This is like a can of chemicals with codes!!
I needed to find out more before I decided whether I should drink this liquid, so I searched for more information on the internet, here is my finding:
1) E150d - Sulphite ammonia caramel
A colouring agent made by controlled heat treatment of sugar with ammonia and sulphite containing compounds. The caramel group of colours (see also E150a, E150b and E150c) are the most widely used group of colours, comprising some 98% of all colours used. Between them they can be found in beer, brown bread, buns, chocolate, biscuits, brandy, chocolate flavoured flour based confectionery, coatings, decorations, fillings and toppings, crisps, dessert mixes, doughnuts, fish and shellfish spreads, frozen desserts, glucose tablets, gravy browning, ice cream, jams, milk desserts, pancakes, pickles, sauces and dressings, soft drinks particularly cola drinks, stouts, sweets, vinegar, whisky and wines….
Heating sugar with ammonia and sulphite containing compounds? Hmmm, make me think of the smell of ammonia…
2) E338 – Phosphoric acid.
Phosphoric acid is a food acid or acidity regulator. It is produced chemically from phosphate ore. Phosphoric acid can be used for rust removal as it converts iron (III) oxide to soluble phosphate compound. One study published in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that women who consumed cola daily had lower bone density. It is not known whether this is caused by phosphoric acid, caffeine, or simply because women drinking cola don’t drink milk as much.
Another study comparing the effects of cola (generally contains phosphoric acid), non-cola carbonated beverages (substitute citric acid) and coffee (control for caffeine) found that drinking 2 or more colas per day more than doubled the incidence of kidney disease (chronic kidney disease and kidney stones).
Looks like phosphoric acid is not good for drinking either.
3) E221 - Sodium sulphite
Sodium Sulphite is a salt of Sulphurous Acid. Sulphites are preservatives used in food as anti-oxidants to prevent brownage, and to kill micro-organisms within the food. Sulphites are linked with causing asthma, anaphylaxis and contact allergies in human. In less serious doses they frequently cause headaches and the other familiar symptoms of a 'hangover' after consuming them.
4) E950 - Acesulfame potassium
Acesulfame potassium is an artificial sweetener, like aspartame, it is 180-200 times sweeter than table sugar. Several sources quote that Acesulfame K is one of the worst artificial sweeteners. The additive is inadequately tested. FDA based its approval on tests of acesulfame K that fell short of the FDA's own standards. Some tests indicated that this additive might cause tumor and cancer in animals.
5) E951 - Aspartame
Aspartame is an artificial sweetener that causes a lot of controversies. US FDA considers it as a “safe” additive but 75% of the adverse reactions to food additives that were reported to the US FDA have been concerning aspartame. These reactions include: headaches/migraines, dizziness, seizures, nausea, muscle spasm, weight gain, rashes, depression, fatigue, irritability, tachycardia, vision problems, breathing difficulties, anxiety attacks, vertigo, tinitus, memory loss and joint pain.
It is also believed that certain chronic illnesses can be triggered or worsened by ingesting aspartame. For example brain tumours, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s, birth defects, diabetes and ME.
6) E211 – Sodium benzoate
Sodium benzoate is a preservative. It is bacteriostatic and fungistatic under acidic conditions. In combination with ascorbic acid (vitamin C, E300), sodium benzoate may form benzene, a known carcinogen. Sodium benzoate by itself can also damage mitochondrial DNA (mitochondria are cell organelles responsible for energy production). There are many illnesses now tied to DNA damage, including Parkinson's and other neurodegenerative diseases, and aging. Some artificial colours, when paired with sodium benzoate (E211) may be linked to hyperactive behaviour.
After reading the long list of food additives and their adverse health effects, I took much courage to open the can and took one sip. Something is wrong, it doesn’t taste like the “real thing”. It tastes plain, like drinking carbonated water with some cola flavour. It doesn’t taste good at all. Despite that I was very thirsty, I could only manage to take 2-3 sips and then put the can down. A soft drink that doesn’t taste good and not good to my health? No way, I am not going to risk it. I don’t need zero sugar, zero calories either.
I always believe that you should eat something that is either healthy or tasty. If it is not healthy, it has to be at least tasty and vice versa. But Coca Cola Zero is neither healthy nor tasty. So goodbye Coca Cola zero, this would be my last can of it.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
How to get your blog indexed
Many people write blogs because they have something to say. Some people keep their blogs privately. Their blog is like their personal diary which reveals their inner thoughts, fear and desire. They have no intention to show their blog to the public. Some people write blogs for commercial purpose. They make a blog specific for a certain topic and use the blog to drive visitors to their commercial sites. Many of us write blog for fun to share our interests and experience with others. To serve this purpose, your blog has to be visible to the others. Do you know if your blog has been indexed by the search engines like Google, Yahoo and MSN? Type the full url of your blog (e.g. http://www.myblog.com) in Google, do you see it in the search result? If it is not, your blog is not indexed by this search engine. To get your blog indexed, you need to have an indexed page linking to your blog site. The easiest way is to submit your blog url to blog directories.
My Blog Directory
DMEGS
Blog Directory
Superblog Directory
Blogz Directory
Blog Explosion
Blogged
Blog search directory
Globe of Blogs
It will take a while for these directories to add your blog to their sites. When search engine spiders visit these directories and find your link, they will start visiting your blog directly and include your blog in their index.
My Blog Directory
DMEGS
Blog Directory
Superblog Directory
Blogz Directory
Blog Explosion
Blogged
Blog search directory
Globe of Blogs
It will take a while for these directories to add your blog to their sites. When search engine spiders visit these directories and find your link, they will start visiting your blog directly and include your blog in their index.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Batman The Dark Knight
(Spoilers)..........
I went to see Batman The Dark Knight the other day. This is the best action / superhero movie I have ever seen. The film is terrific, chilling with lots of twists and superb acting. I don't know Heath Ledger and honestly I have never seen his acting before, but his performance in The Dark Knight is extraordinary.
This is not just an action movie with good acting, good sound effects and exciting fight scenes, the plots and storyline are also well written. Strangely, when I was seeing the movie, when the people in Gotham was so afraid of the Joker that they wanted to turn in Batman so the Joker would stop the killing, I thought of HK people. Batman is the hero and Joker is the villain, but out of fear, people lost their sense of right and wrong, they put the blame on the hero so as not to anger the villain. Why would I think of HK people? It is because we are the same. Sometimes, we know that the Beijing government is doing something bad, but out of fear, we don't want to say anything to anger them. We are afraid to be punished and worse still, we would rather turn against those who dare to speak out fearing that their action will drag us into troubles.
Are all people selfish and corruptible? When the good D.A., the white knight, turned into a villain himself, the people of Gotham showed that they were ready to sacrifice themselves instead of killing innocent people, and Batman took the blame of Harvey's wrongdoings in order to restore hope and faith to the city. The movie ended when Batman was chased by a manhunt. He does not want to be a hero but a dark knight guarding the city.
I have seen many Chinese movies lately. All of these movies were starred by popular movie stars, they invested million dollars to produce the fight scenes, glamorous costumes and visual effects but they all carried distorted messages that some people had to be sacrificed for the "greater good" or you needed to be cunning and cruel in order to win the political games. The Dark Knight is such a refreshing film, it shows that you can only choose to sacrifice yourself but not the others for the good you believe in. In face of the dark force, people may become lost for a moment, but their conscience will eventually override their fear.
I have heard that The Dark Knight will not be shown in China because the film is too dark. I hope this is not true and the mainland Chinese have the chance to see the film. This "dark" film has its bright side and good messages which are often missing in those Chinese productions.
I went to see Batman The Dark Knight the other day. This is the best action / superhero movie I have ever seen. The film is terrific, chilling with lots of twists and superb acting. I don't know Heath Ledger and honestly I have never seen his acting before, but his performance in The Dark Knight is extraordinary.
This is not just an action movie with good acting, good sound effects and exciting fight scenes, the plots and storyline are also well written. Strangely, when I was seeing the movie, when the people in Gotham was so afraid of the Joker that they wanted to turn in Batman so the Joker would stop the killing, I thought of HK people. Batman is the hero and Joker is the villain, but out of fear, people lost their sense of right and wrong, they put the blame on the hero so as not to anger the villain. Why would I think of HK people? It is because we are the same. Sometimes, we know that the Beijing government is doing something bad, but out of fear, we don't want to say anything to anger them. We are afraid to be punished and worse still, we would rather turn against those who dare to speak out fearing that their action will drag us into troubles.
Are all people selfish and corruptible? When the good D.A., the white knight, turned into a villain himself, the people of Gotham showed that they were ready to sacrifice themselves instead of killing innocent people, and Batman took the blame of Harvey's wrongdoings in order to restore hope and faith to the city. The movie ended when Batman was chased by a manhunt. He does not want to be a hero but a dark knight guarding the city.
I have seen many Chinese movies lately. All of these movies were starred by popular movie stars, they invested million dollars to produce the fight scenes, glamorous costumes and visual effects but they all carried distorted messages that some people had to be sacrificed for the "greater good" or you needed to be cunning and cruel in order to win the political games. The Dark Knight is such a refreshing film, it shows that you can only choose to sacrifice yourself but not the others for the good you believe in. In face of the dark force, people may become lost for a moment, but their conscience will eventually override their fear.
I have heard that The Dark Knight will not be shown in China because the film is too dark. I hope this is not true and the mainland Chinese have the chance to see the film. This "dark" film has its bright side and good messages which are often missing in those Chinese productions.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
African violet
What plants can bloom all year round? African violet is one of them. This is a pinwheel flowering African violet - a chimera. A chimera has different genotypes in different cell layers (L1-L3). For this particular plant, the L1 and L3 layers are white and L2 layer is purple, thus forming the pinwheel pattern. A chimera can only produce true-to-type offsprings by suckers. If you propagate it by leaf cutting, the pinwheel flowering pattern will be lost and the flowers of the offsprings will only be solid colored.
African violet comes in a wide variety of color and leaf pattern. The most common flower colors are blue, purple, pink but you can also find yellow, green, red flowers. The leaves can be variegated with white spots or all green. Both the flowers and leaves may have smooth or ruffled edge.
Monday, March 31, 2008
A strange day
One of my favourite songs - discovered in The Cure concert in Hong Kong.
And I laugh as I drift through the wind
Blind...dancing on a beach of stone
Cherish the faces as they wait for the end
Sudden hush across the water
And we're here again
And I laugh as I drift through the wind
Blind...dancing on a beach of stone
Cherish the faces as they wait for the end
Sudden hush across the water
And we're here again
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Peaceful Protests or Riot in Tibet?
CCTV released photos and footage showing Tibetans attacking Chinese and Chinese businesses last Friday. This is what Beijing wants us to see and believe – a bloody protest which needs to be controlled by force. But I wonder, what happened before the riot took place on Friday? The monks are said to have peaceful protests between Monday and Thursday, but some protesters were arrested. Some witnesses reported monks being beaten up by the local and military police. Is this why the Tibetans turned into violence in the end?
The scene reminds me of June 4 massacre when thousands of people are believed to be killed in Beijing in 1989. Tibet government claimed that they did not open fire at the protesters but witnesses heard gunshots. In 1989, Beijing also claimed that no one died in Tiananmen Square… Kind of make you wonder, has Beijing really changed over the past 20 years? Now Beijing even asks all foreigners and reporters to leave Lhasa, are they ready for bloodshed there?
The resentment of Tibetans against Beijing did not start on Monday. Dalai Lama said what Beijing did to Tibet is cultural genocide, Beijing denied. In fact, the communist appointed Tibetan government has implemented many policies that affect Tibetan life. For examples, Tibetan government employees and the monks have to denounce Dalai Lama; Tibetan students and government workers are prohibited from visiting monasteries or participating in religious ceremonies; and the monks are forced to receive “patriotic education”.
Zhang Qingli (the Communist Party secretary of Tibet) said last year: "The Communist Party is like the parent to the Tibetans; and it is always considerate about what the children need" "The Central Party Committee is the real Buddha for Tibetans." Does it sound very familiar? “The Chinese government is like the parent to Hong Kong people……whatever we do and decide is for the interests of HK”. But Tibetans are not Hong Kong people, they have their own culture and spiritual lives, whereas most Hong Kong people are materialistic, they are content as long as you give them some monetary gains. In addition, why do the Chinese government always consider themselves the parent and everyone else their children? Unless they think we are all retarded and can’t decide what is good for us, or they are super intelligent, but history has proven that they are not.
If Beijing really wants stability in Tibet, they have to do something more than the old tricks. Ruling with a firm hand, crushing protests, brainwashing people with so called “patriotic education” are not enough to pacify the Tibetans. And I bet the Tibetans don’t want a “parent’ who is controlling, violent and autocratic!
The scene reminds me of June 4 massacre when thousands of people are believed to be killed in Beijing in 1989. Tibet government claimed that they did not open fire at the protesters but witnesses heard gunshots. In 1989, Beijing also claimed that no one died in Tiananmen Square… Kind of make you wonder, has Beijing really changed over the past 20 years? Now Beijing even asks all foreigners and reporters to leave Lhasa, are they ready for bloodshed there?
The resentment of Tibetans against Beijing did not start on Monday. Dalai Lama said what Beijing did to Tibet is cultural genocide, Beijing denied. In fact, the communist appointed Tibetan government has implemented many policies that affect Tibetan life. For examples, Tibetan government employees and the monks have to denounce Dalai Lama; Tibetan students and government workers are prohibited from visiting monasteries or participating in religious ceremonies; and the monks are forced to receive “patriotic education”.
Zhang Qingli (the Communist Party secretary of Tibet) said last year: "The Communist Party is like the parent to the Tibetans; and it is always considerate about what the children need" "The Central Party Committee is the real Buddha for Tibetans." Does it sound very familiar? “The Chinese government is like the parent to Hong Kong people……whatever we do and decide is for the interests of HK”. But Tibetans are not Hong Kong people, they have their own culture and spiritual lives, whereas most Hong Kong people are materialistic, they are content as long as you give them some monetary gains. In addition, why do the Chinese government always consider themselves the parent and everyone else their children? Unless they think we are all retarded and can’t decide what is good for us, or they are super intelligent, but history has proven that they are not.
If Beijing really wants stability in Tibet, they have to do something more than the old tricks. Ruling with a firm hand, crushing protests, brainwashing people with so called “patriotic education” are not enough to pacify the Tibetans. And I bet the Tibetans don’t want a “parent’ who is controlling, violent and autocratic!
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