Laser Surgery
I had a laser surgery for my right eye this afternoon. It is an outpatient procedure. It took me about 5 minutes or less but I had to wait from 10AM till 1:30PM. That was a long wait.
I had my cataract surgery on June 19, 2007. Read here. I also posted a video of a cataract surgery here. The surgery removed my natural lens which had been clouded by the penta-fluoro carbon (C3F8) gas in the retina repair surgery. A new artificial lens was inserted to replace my natural lens. The only consolation reward I could think of was that my short-sightedness was reduced by half, as my doctor told me.
During the phacoemulsification procedure, the lens is removed but not the posterior lens capsule. It has to be left there to hold the new artificial lens. Not all lens cells can be completely removed. Some are left behind. Sometimes, the lens cells grow across the new lens. It is more likely to grow back if you are younger. Sometimes this happens in a few months after the cataract surgery, sometimes years. This is not a re-growth of cataract. It is the thickening of the back of the lens capsule. It is called the posterior lens capsular opacification. The picture shows the posterior capsular opacification on retroillumination.
Frequency-doubled Nd:YAG (neodymium-doped yttrium aluminium garnet; Nd:Y3Al5O12) laser with a wave length of 532nm is used to make a “hole” in part of the capsule to allow light to pass through the lens directly. This procedure is called YAG laser capsulotomy. The doctor aims the laser exactly onto the posterior lens capsule and fires very short pulses of laser to blast off the part of the capsule and make a small circle shaped area. This leaves some of the capsule intact to hold the lens. The very small part of the lens capsule which is cut away falls harmlessly inside the eye.
The laser capsulotomy is very quick and not painful at all. I only heard some clicking noise as the laser was working. My vision on my right eye became clear again immediately after the procedure. The only discomfort I had was when my doctor attached a contact lens onto my eye.
Grading for improvement
In January, I failed 3 students during their grading test. There were 5 kids from Jasin testing for hachi-kyu. 2 passed and 3 failed. Although the 3 kids were not up to the grading standard, I deliberately tested and failed them. Why?
I am repeating again and again during training every Sunday but they take training very lightly. They don’t pay attention while training and not to mention practicing at home. These kids, including their parents, think it is enough coming for training once a week. Their concepts are wrong, so do many other people in martial arts training. The kids, including adults, come to training not to learn but to prepare their body and mind. The actual training begins when they achieve black belt sho-dan. But many people thinks they are learning which I don’t agree. Yes, learning it is, but to learn how to control our body, every single muscles and mind. That’s the learning I am talking about.
So, tonight, the grading has shown good improvement. 4 kids took the grading. The 3 kids who failed in January had retest and passed at border line and earned their hachi-kyu. The other little girl (8-year-old) had earned her nana-kyu. This girl is improving very fast.
After the grading, their parents arrived to take them home. I took the opportunity to explain to all of them the concept of training and their children’s progress, advantage and weakness. I hope these kids will continue to excel and improve.
Our Princess Bread Maker is dead!
WTF! It is only about one month old and LA had only baked 3 loafs of bread and the spinners was dead! She got it on February 11. Read here. She discovered that this morning when she was trying to bake a loaf of bread for her mother and all of us.
We chose Princess among other brands like Kenwood and Sharp. We chose Princess because it was better (solid) built (and look nicer) and the pan was bigger. But it is so fragile and of low quality. It is dead for just one month and baked 3 loafs!
I will send the unit back for warranty claim this afternoon. I will demand a new unit swap. No repair is acceptable by my standard.
Video of phacoemulsification cataract surgery
Last June, I had phaco to remove cataract on my right eye due to retina repair. Read more here. While surfing for some information, I found this video showing how this modern cataract surgery was done. It is very educational. I feel eerie while watching the video but it is rather educational. After watching the video, I appreciate my eyes more. And the video satisfies my curious appetite too.
Cheers! Sooner or later everyone has to go through this surgery. It is part of the natural aging process. Mine is caused by the retina repair surgery.
Bukit Bendera
Bukit Bendera or Penang Hill is one of the famous tourist spot. The weather is cooler up there. We took the 2:00PM funicular train up the hill. Single trip takes about half an hour to reach the top. It was the first time for my kids and I to go up the hill. The first time I visited Penang about 30 years (and the last time was about 10 years) ago I did not go to Penang Hill due to some reasons I could not remember. It has got great views along the track and on top of the hill. I recommend to go Penang Hill off peak season when the funicular train is not packed by tourists, otherwise it will be a humid and uneasy experience especially with younger children.
At about 410 meters above sea level, the weather is cooler but no cooler than Fraser Hill. The visibility is not good, indicates pollution on the island. Here you can see the Penang Bridge and Komtar.
Pulau Tikus
Pulau Tikus (Rat Island) is neither an island nor an area infested by rats. It is a name of a place on Penang Island which is said to be named after the actual Pulau Tikus Isle. Despite of its name, it is one of the upper class neighborhood with many mansions, bungalows and colonial buildings, and many high-end condominiums such as those along Gurney Drive.
We went to the Burmese and Siamese Buddhist Temples in Pulau Tikus after visiting Kek Lok Si. Although it is one of the tourist spots, one still can find serenity at both temples comparing to Kek Lok Si. These photos are taken at the Siamese Buddhist Temple which is situated directly opposite of the Burmese Buddhist Temple.
Two high-end condominiums in the background.
The two guardians outside of the temple.
The sleeping Buddha.
Koi
The koi pool at Kek Lok Si. These koi fishes may worth hundreds of thousands or a million ringgit if they are of pure Japanese breed. Looks like they are not the pure Japanese breed. The kids enjoyed feeding the fishes very much.
Kek Lok Si
Kek Lok Si (or 极乐寺 in Chinese) is a Buddhist temple situated on a hill in Air Hitam in Penang. It is the best known Buddhist temple on the island and possibly the whole Malaysia. My last visit was more than 10 years ago with LA when I was giving talks at USM (Universiti Sains Malaysia).
We climbed up to the temple from the foot of the hill via a passage surrounded by souvenir stores. Sad to say, along the passage way, I saw garbage and many deserted stores. This is an awful site to this famous tourist spot on this pearl of orient.
Nonetheless, the temple is quite well maintained and many beautifying and expansion project are being carried out. IMO, the temple is rather too commercialized. Everywhere money, money, money. Encouraging tourists and Buddhist visitors to donate or buy stuff, good for the island economy (and the temple) but it is overdone. It is no exception in this materialistic world the temple has to seek financial for its survival and continue expansion and beautification to lure tourists. Sad, isn’t it?
The Goddess of Mercy and her two guardians on both side (photos below).
Ubuntu 8.04
The forthcoming Ubuntu 8.04 or codenamed Hardy Heron is in the final alpha stage. It is expect to be released in April. As far as I know, Hardy suffers a small glitch in CJK support. Some fonts will be confused after installation but can be overcome with simple fix. I have yet received any further details on this and I have yet to install a test version of Hardy Heron on my current Ubuntu box.
Lets look forward to this April for the release.
One Malaysian
I have mixed feeling about the 12th General Election which happened two days ago. The giant or the people of Malaysia has finally awaken and spoken. They used their vote to change the government. Although the National Front coalition (Barisan Nasional) has won with simple majority, the call is loud and clear! We don’t want racism. We don’t want corrupt government. We want freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and we want a transparent and efficient government!
This marked the remarkable and memorable day in Malaysia’s history where all three major races, Malays, Indians and Chinese hand-in-hand, heart-to-heart vote for a change. The outcry of the people has transformed into a political tsunami which rocked the entire nation.
Now, we are on our way to one nation, one Malaysian, “Satu Bangsa”! I, including my family, my children and millions of Malaysians will be proud to call themselves “Malaysian” in front of the world. This is the perfect time to say “Malaysia Boleh!” (Malaysia can)
Majority denied!
Latest news up to this point of time, People’s Front coalition has denied 2/3 majority seats of the National Front coalition by winning 76 seats in Parliament. There are 222 Parliament seats contested and the National Front coalition has won 108 seats. It needs to win 112 seats to be in majority.
The people’s front coalition has won 76 seats, DAP 27, PKR 25 and PAS 24. The people’s front coalition has taken on Penang, Kedah, Kelantan and Selangor and they are likely to take on Perak.
If the national front loses 2/3 majority, the coalition leader, Abdullah Badawi will face tremendous pressure in the coming party assembly and face step down. Let’s hope Malaysia will have a new remake.
Lim Guan Eng to be CM
It is confirmed that Guan Eng is the new Chief Minister of Penang. DAP will form a new government in Penang together with PKR. It will be a government for all Malaysians, he said. Well done!
I believe the new government in Penang will be a good start to reform Malaysia and her economy and internal security which all Malaysians are longing for. If the People’s Front can prove to Malaysians that they can run the government more efficiently, a bigger wind of change will be most likely to take place again in the next election.
Please, do your jobs well and don’t let the people down. Ganbatte kudasai!
The Awakening
The giant (Malaysians) has finally awaken! The wind of change is here. What took you so long? Huh?
IMHO, Raja Petra should be the top key person who helps stirring up the wind of change. His speeches are marvelous and inspiring. If you wish to watch his speeches, search for “Raja Petra” or “RPK” in YouTube.
And the latest news, Lim Guan Eng from DAP will be the next Chief Minister of Penang. This will be confirmed in the morning or on Monday. Anyhow, good luck to Guan Eng and DAP and please give the people all your best.
A Political Tsunami
A political tsunami is happening right now in Malaysia. Today is the polling day for the 12th General Election in Malaysia. The People’s Front (Opposition Parties) is taking on the ruling coalition (National Front) by storm. The People’s Front will be forming a new government in Penang which had been ruled by the ruling coalition for 40 years!
The wind of change is blowing furiously. This has voiced out people’s inner voice to have a change of the government. A tsunami is rocking the whole Malaysia right now. Logon to MalaysiaKini for more latest results/reports.
Long live Malaysia! Long live Malaysians!
I’m ready!
Yes. I woke up early this morning despite of late night sleep. I am all set to goto my designated polling station. I had taken a neutral stand in the 11th general election 4 years ago but enough is enough. This time I am going to use my vote to help change this country for a better future for my children and all.
Good luck all!
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