It is amazing how stiff I get after an hour's walk. I must be getting old.
Until Next Ime
Fai Mao
The rapidly aging Blogger
Thursday, September 29, 2005
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Technology
I am not normally, with a few exceptions, a big fan of technology. It has been my observation that many of the things that are touted as labor saving devices actually make our lives worse in some obvious way.
There are many items that I feel should never have been invented. Cell phones generally top this list but there are others. Most of these, strangely enough, tend to be kitchen gadgets. Maybe the world has become so Ronco'd that everybody needs more than a knife, unless it is a "Ginsu" to "slice, dice and make Julian Fries." Or maybe I'm just not very up-to-date.
Once you get beyond cell phones; electric carving knives and electric can-openers along with food processors and expresso machines top the list of bad technology. Goofy peeler's and sandwich-makers, Popcorn-makers, microwave egg cookers and bread-machines are also some of my least favorite things. These items take more time to setup, cleanup and put-up, cut with, chop, brew or knead bread than doing the same thing without them.
Sometimes, as in the case of the electric carving knife they appear to be outright dangerous and in the case of the electric can-opener are simply an exercise in laziness. Not to mention that many times they remove not only the tedium but the fun parts of the activity they supposedly relieve us of. Other times they simply seem to add work rather than save labor in which case I ask: "What's the point?"
I am, it seems normally more vocal in speaking out about the bad technology than I am fond of praising the good. I don't know why that is but it is so. Maybe I just expect things to work.
I do, however, also have a list of items that actually have made life easier or better. Oddly enough, most of my favorite technology items are also kitchen related. I guess I am just obsessed with food. Many of the items on this list are quite old inventions such paper, ballpoint pens and canned food. However, the microwave oven, the electric light and mechanical processes like lathing and grinding by other than animal power are also included as are the washing machine and the clothes dryer.
I also have some items like computers and televisions that I am ambivalent about. Sometime I like them and sometimes I don't.
My list of favorite technology recently changed. I used to put the microwave oven as my favorite thing. I am, when I want to be an excellent cook. Much better than my wife but I am also somewhat lazy. Thus, the microwave has been a favorite of mine for it's quick and easy heating and reheating for years. But, the microwave has fallen to number two. Number one is a new item and one that I must admit I'd over looked for too long. The refrigerator.
When you look at what refrigeration has done to change the world it is a simply amazing invention. How many deaths have been prevented by refrigeration? Probably millions. Think of the cases of food poisoning that haven't happened because food was kept too cold for germs to grow in! Is there anything more refreshing than a cold drink on a hot day? Related to this would be airconditioning and that is another favorite thing.
According to the Encyclopedia Britannica Online the origin of refrigeration can be traced to a cat named Carl von Linde who invented a feasible way of liquefying gases. The compression and expansion of gases is the heart and soul of a refrigeration system. What an absolutely wonder invention.
I think I'll stroll over to my family frig' and open cold one in honor of Carl von Linde.
Until next time
Fai Mao
The Airconditioned and refrigerated Blogger
There are many items that I feel should never have been invented. Cell phones generally top this list but there are others. Most of these, strangely enough, tend to be kitchen gadgets. Maybe the world has become so Ronco'd that everybody needs more than a knife, unless it is a "Ginsu" to "slice, dice and make Julian Fries." Or maybe I'm just not very up-to-date.
Once you get beyond cell phones; electric carving knives and electric can-openers along with food processors and expresso machines top the list of bad technology. Goofy peeler's and sandwich-makers, Popcorn-makers, microwave egg cookers and bread-machines are also some of my least favorite things. These items take more time to setup, cleanup and put-up, cut with, chop, brew or knead bread than doing the same thing without them.
Sometimes, as in the case of the electric carving knife they appear to be outright dangerous and in the case of the electric can-opener are simply an exercise in laziness. Not to mention that many times they remove not only the tedium but the fun parts of the activity they supposedly relieve us of. Other times they simply seem to add work rather than save labor in which case I ask: "What's the point?"
I am, it seems normally more vocal in speaking out about the bad technology than I am fond of praising the good. I don't know why that is but it is so. Maybe I just expect things to work.
I do, however, also have a list of items that actually have made life easier or better. Oddly enough, most of my favorite technology items are also kitchen related. I guess I am just obsessed with food. Many of the items on this list are quite old inventions such paper, ballpoint pens and canned food. However, the microwave oven, the electric light and mechanical processes like lathing and grinding by other than animal power are also included as are the washing machine and the clothes dryer.
I also have some items like computers and televisions that I am ambivalent about. Sometime I like them and sometimes I don't.
My list of favorite technology recently changed. I used to put the microwave oven as my favorite thing. I am, when I want to be an excellent cook. Much better than my wife but I am also somewhat lazy. Thus, the microwave has been a favorite of mine for it's quick and easy heating and reheating for years. But, the microwave has fallen to number two. Number one is a new item and one that I must admit I'd over looked for too long. The refrigerator.
When you look at what refrigeration has done to change the world it is a simply amazing invention. How many deaths have been prevented by refrigeration? Probably millions. Think of the cases of food poisoning that haven't happened because food was kept too cold for germs to grow in! Is there anything more refreshing than a cold drink on a hot day? Related to this would be airconditioning and that is another favorite thing.
According to the Encyclopedia Britannica Online the origin of refrigeration can be traced to a cat named Carl von Linde who invented a feasible way of liquefying gases. The compression and expansion of gases is the heart and soul of a refrigeration system. What an absolutely wonder invention.
I think I'll stroll over to my family frig' and open cold one in honor of Carl von Linde.
Until next time
Fai Mao
The Airconditioned and refrigerated Blogger
Monday, September 26, 2005
Typhoon
This past weekend Hong Kong was near missed by a strong typhoon. 60+ mph winds 15 inches of rain (it is still raining) 9 to 10 foot waves. 1 person, a construction worker died trying to keep a scafolfding from falling over a road. Two surfers were washed out to sea (No great loss there) and the kids didn't even get to miss a day of school.
It did take me nearly 40 minutes longer to get to work today but there was no evacuation, there was no panic. Kids here actually pray for typhoons here like kids in Minnesota pray for snow days. It is just a chance to stay home and watch TV.
Perhaps the government of NO could learn a lesson. Don't build below sea level. Build building that can withstand the winds and then get on with your life.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Hoping for a Typhoon Blogger
It did take me nearly 40 minutes longer to get to work today but there was no evacuation, there was no panic. Kids here actually pray for typhoons here like kids in Minnesota pray for snow days. It is just a chance to stay home and watch TV.
Perhaps the government of NO could learn a lesson. Don't build below sea level. Build building that can withstand the winds and then get on with your life.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Hoping for a Typhoon Blogger
Friday, September 23, 2005
Fai Mao?
In Chinese Fai Mao means Fat Cat
Thus this blog is the Fat Cat's sand box.
Now you know what it means
Until Next time
Fai Mao
The blogger whose name is a type of bathroom humor
Thus this blog is the Fat Cat's sand box.
Now you know what it means
Until Next time
Fai Mao
The blogger whose name is a type of bathroom humor
T-Shirts
Hong Kong is a weird place.
One of the weirdest things however are the t-shirts. You quite often see people, especially women wearing things that are really meant to be bought as gag gifts at adult book stores and never worn. I've seen women wearing t-shirts that say things like "I'm a juicy bimbo." "Just do me; Please, just do me," "Super Rich & Super Bitch," "My panties your pleasure" and my all time favorite "Sex instructor-first lesson is free." This doesn't count the ubiquitous "Bitch, Bitch, Bitch"
This situation isn't helped by a clothing chain called "The French Connection of the United Kingdom" which trades under the acronym "FCUK" They sell shirts with the words "FCUK YOU" as advertisement.
Why would anybody buy clothing from a store with a name like that? Perhaps I'm just too up tight but I can't see that it is funny and if that is fashion then I'll stay with my plain green singlet and running shoes and sweatband.
You also see lots of funny but more innocent bloopers and misspellings on shirts. Unlike the obscene examples above, these can be quite funny and are generally worth a read. My wife has a mouse t-shirt with the words "Ingenuous Mouse" embroidered over Mickey's head. I can't help but think it was supposed to say "Ingenious Mouse."
Others simply make no sense at all. "The red and the green make a hard palette of colorful odor in my Tuesday stomach" is one that an office worker I know wears quite often. Clueless does not even begin to describe my reaction to this. It looks like random words that a MS Word program could not find a spelling mistake in.
All of this is a result of language. Most of the people wearing these shirts don't have a clue what they say. However, this theory breaks down when you see tourist wearing shirts. Tourists don't normally wear the obscene shirts but they often wear really provocative political shirts. Don't get me wrong there is a place for these shirts at conventions or party rallies. But, I do wonder about the wisdom of wearing them in public in Asia.
I saw a girl this morning in an Anti-George Bush t-shirt. I'm not going to go into what was on the shirt or even whether I agree with the shirt or not. The issue is that wearing that shirt in Asia is a bad move in several ways.
Foremost of these is that anti-Americanism is not limited to party outside of the US. Bashing George Bush and bashing John Kerry is the same thing here much of the time. The Chinese make think President Bush is a cowboy or warmonger but they also think that Bill Clinton was an idiot and buffoon. There is no love for either of them. Thus the anti-Americanism is not decreased by spouting or wearing anti-Bush stuff. That means that wearing Anti-Bush shirts, or Anti-Kerry shirts simply increase hostility generally rather than focusing it on a particular target.
Do Americans, or Europeans or whomever think that people in China, or Indonesia or Bali truly understand the problems and issues faced in the US? Do people really think that people in Asia even care? Isn't it somewhat presumptuous to think they are not more concerned about what goes on in their own country?
Worse, by increasing the amount of Anti-Americanism in Asia these tourist are making themselves as well as me, targets. I don't like people making me a target along with themselves. These shirts make you a target.
I believe that a lot of the Anti-Americanismm in the third world is also is simply political hyperbole. It is easier for politicians in struggling countries to blame their countries problems on someone else than to take the possibly dangerous steps needed to correct those problems.
In reality, the vast majority of people in the world have almost no clue as to the problems and issues being dealt wih in American politics. They are Anti-American because they have conditioned to be so by leaders with an agenda. This is not to say that the US is blameless, it isn't but very often the extent of blame the US receives for the plight of the starving in the third world is much less thant the blame that should be apportioned to the local leaders who live in luxury while their people starve.
Likewise, most tourist have almost no conception of what life is like in a different place.
In any case, for whatever reason, there is a lot of anti-Americanism in the world today. Do you really want to remind people in a country you are vacationing in that they don't like you?
At best I think people wearing these look silly and at worst they look petulant, mean and narrow minded. I've seen exceptions but this is a general rule. I don't wear political shirts. I wish others would follow my example
I could write more but this is probably enough.
Until next time I am
Fai Mao
The non-political logoed Blogger
One of the weirdest things however are the t-shirts. You quite often see people, especially women wearing things that are really meant to be bought as gag gifts at adult book stores and never worn. I've seen women wearing t-shirts that say things like "I'm a juicy bimbo." "Just do me; Please, just do me," "Super Rich & Super Bitch," "My panties your pleasure" and my all time favorite "Sex instructor-first lesson is free." This doesn't count the ubiquitous "Bitch, Bitch, Bitch"
This situation isn't helped by a clothing chain called "The French Connection of the United Kingdom" which trades under the acronym "FCUK" They sell shirts with the words "FCUK YOU" as advertisement.
Why would anybody buy clothing from a store with a name like that? Perhaps I'm just too up tight but I can't see that it is funny and if that is fashion then I'll stay with my plain green singlet and running shoes and sweatband.
You also see lots of funny but more innocent bloopers and misspellings on shirts. Unlike the obscene examples above, these can be quite funny and are generally worth a read. My wife has a mouse t-shirt with the words "Ingenuous Mouse" embroidered over Mickey's head. I can't help but think it was supposed to say "Ingenious Mouse."
Others simply make no sense at all. "The red and the green make a hard palette of colorful odor in my Tuesday stomach" is one that an office worker I know wears quite often. Clueless does not even begin to describe my reaction to this. It looks like random words that a MS Word program could not find a spelling mistake in.
All of this is a result of language. Most of the people wearing these shirts don't have a clue what they say. However, this theory breaks down when you see tourist wearing shirts. Tourists don't normally wear the obscene shirts but they often wear really provocative political shirts. Don't get me wrong there is a place for these shirts at conventions or party rallies. But, I do wonder about the wisdom of wearing them in public in Asia.
I saw a girl this morning in an Anti-George Bush t-shirt. I'm not going to go into what was on the shirt or even whether I agree with the shirt or not. The issue is that wearing that shirt in Asia is a bad move in several ways.
Foremost of these is that anti-Americanism is not limited to party outside of the US. Bashing George Bush and bashing John Kerry is the same thing here much of the time. The Chinese make think President Bush is a cowboy or warmonger but they also think that Bill Clinton was an idiot and buffoon. There is no love for either of them. Thus the anti-Americanism is not decreased by spouting or wearing anti-Bush stuff. That means that wearing Anti-Bush shirts, or Anti-Kerry shirts simply increase hostility generally rather than focusing it on a particular target.
Do Americans, or Europeans or whomever think that people in China, or Indonesia or Bali truly understand the problems and issues faced in the US? Do people really think that people in Asia even care? Isn't it somewhat presumptuous to think they are not more concerned about what goes on in their own country?
Worse, by increasing the amount of Anti-Americanism in Asia these tourist are making themselves as well as me, targets. I don't like people making me a target along with themselves. These shirts make you a target.
I believe that a lot of the Anti-Americanismm in the third world is also is simply political hyperbole. It is easier for politicians in struggling countries to blame their countries problems on someone else than to take the possibly dangerous steps needed to correct those problems.
In reality, the vast majority of people in the world have almost no clue as to the problems and issues being dealt wih in American politics. They are Anti-American because they have conditioned to be so by leaders with an agenda. This is not to say that the US is blameless, it isn't but very often the extent of blame the US receives for the plight of the starving in the third world is much less thant the blame that should be apportioned to the local leaders who live in luxury while their people starve.
Likewise, most tourist have almost no conception of what life is like in a different place.
In any case, for whatever reason, there is a lot of anti-Americanism in the world today. Do you really want to remind people in a country you are vacationing in that they don't like you?
At best I think people wearing these look silly and at worst they look petulant, mean and narrow minded. I've seen exceptions but this is a general rule. I don't wear political shirts. I wish others would follow my example
I could write more but this is probably enough.
Until next time I am
Fai Mao
The non-political logoed Blogger
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
My Sartorial Creed
I don't
1. Wear an Ascot
2. Do plaid, checks or paisleys
3. Buy what is necessarily in fashion simply because it is in fashion
4. Have an opinion on whether organic or free-range cotton makes a better t-shirt
5. Mind wearing leather
6. Ever want to iron anything
7. Think that silk underwear is practical
8. Think men should have spend more than 7 to 10 minutes total shaving and combing their hair every morning
9. Think that cowboy boots are passe.
10. Wear Birkenstocks
11. Think socks with sandals are ok in cold weather
I do think
1. I look better in dark colors
2. Silk shirts are better than cotton
3. That bell bottom pants are, unless they are used as naval uniforms, stupid
4. That the waist line on most fashionable pants for women are obsene
5. Fat women shouldn't wear bikini's
6. Fat men shouldn't wear speedo's
7. That most fashion designers of women's clothing are the spawn of Satan or convicted sex offenders
8 Those who design men's fashions are worse than the ones who design women's fashions
9. That t-shirts look best when they are 4 sizes to big
10. That guys who wear saggy pants are idiots
11. Ball caps should always be worn with the bill facing forward
1. Wear an Ascot
2. Do plaid, checks or paisleys
3. Buy what is necessarily in fashion simply because it is in fashion
4. Have an opinion on whether organic or free-range cotton makes a better t-shirt
5. Mind wearing leather
6. Ever want to iron anything
7. Think that silk underwear is practical
8. Think men should have spend more than 7 to 10 minutes total shaving and combing their hair every morning
9. Think that cowboy boots are passe.
10. Wear Birkenstocks
11. Think socks with sandals are ok in cold weather
I do think
1. I look better in dark colors
2. Silk shirts are better than cotton
3. That bell bottom pants are, unless they are used as naval uniforms, stupid
4. That the waist line on most fashionable pants for women are obsene
5. Fat women shouldn't wear bikini's
6. Fat men shouldn't wear speedo's
7. That most fashion designers of women's clothing are the spawn of Satan or convicted sex offenders
8 Those who design men's fashions are worse than the ones who design women's fashions
9. That t-shirts look best when they are 4 sizes to big
10. That guys who wear saggy pants are idiots
11. Ball caps should always be worn with the bill facing forward
Thursday, September 08, 2005
My Emotional Creed
1. I don’t want to be touchy
2. I don’t want to be feely
3. I don’t want to be (other than in the physical sense on a cold day) warm
4. I definitely don't want to be fuzzy
5. I have no interest in being an “Alpha Male”
6. I am not and will never be a "Metro-sexual”
7. I’m not “in touch with my inner self”
8. I don’t think I need to be more sensitive
9. I’m not seeking to bond with any person or group
10. I don’t believe that “Love means never having to say ‘I’m Sorry’”
11. I don’t believe that people are rational
12. I don’t believe that people are basically good.
I do think:
1. That my choices matter
2. That I have find a way to live in peace with my neighbors
3. That I am sometimes responsible for the care of those around me
4. That I am always responsible for my actions and choices
5. That my past does not determine but may colors my future
6. That it is the responsibility of individuals to opposes evil
7. That sometimes there are no good choices
8. That sometimes there are no bad choices
9. That sometimes I am required to do something unpleasant
10. That sometimes I must not do something that would be pleasant
11. That sometime violence is, if not a good thing then at least a necessary thing
12. That I will be held accountable by God for my beliefs and deeds
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The emotionally stable blogger
2. I don’t want to be feely
3. I don’t want to be (other than in the physical sense on a cold day) warm
4. I definitely don't want to be fuzzy
5. I have no interest in being an “Alpha Male”
6. I am not and will never be a "Metro-sexual”
7. I’m not “in touch with my inner self”
8. I don’t think I need to be more sensitive
9. I’m not seeking to bond with any person or group
10. I don’t believe that “Love means never having to say ‘I’m Sorry’”
11. I don’t believe that people are rational
12. I don’t believe that people are basically good.
I do think:
1. That my choices matter
2. That I have find a way to live in peace with my neighbors
3. That I am sometimes responsible for the care of those around me
4. That I am always responsible for my actions and choices
5. That my past does not determine but may colors my future
6. That it is the responsibility of individuals to opposes evil
7. That sometimes there are no good choices
8. That sometimes there are no bad choices
9. That sometimes I am required to do something unpleasant
10. That sometimes I must not do something that would be pleasant
11. That sometime violence is, if not a good thing then at least a necessary thing
12. That I will be held accountable by God for my beliefs and deeds
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The emotionally stable blogger
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
Bowing down at the alter of Fud
This past spring I completed a PhD in Educational Philosophy from Central China Normal University in Wuhan PRC.
After making the obligatory pilgrimage back home so my parents could show off their new "Dr. Phil" son (That joke got old real fast) I came back to work and found that, gasp, absolutely nothing had changed. However I have more time to play video games and take walks with my wife and do the other things that were sacrificed to give typing time for the last four years.
I guess that getting the PhD was like earning the primitive camping merit badge in the Boy Scouts, something I am glad I did but wouldn't want to do again
until next time
Your over educated blogger
Fai Mao
After making the obligatory pilgrimage back home so my parents could show off their new "Dr. Phil" son (That joke got old real fast) I came back to work and found that, gasp, absolutely nothing had changed. However I have more time to play video games and take walks with my wife and do the other things that were sacrificed to give typing time for the last four years.
I guess that getting the PhD was like earning the primitive camping merit badge in the Boy Scouts, something I am glad I did but wouldn't want to do again
until next time
Your over educated blogger
Fai Mao
Monday, September 05, 2005
Finding time
I am back
But it is at times so hard to find things to write. Not because nothing happens but because what could I possibly say that hasn't been said better by others? My area of expertise is school libraries, bicycles and Educational philosophy. writing about those topics are not exactly a gripping read for most people.
I try to avoid politics but will have to talk about politics in December when the G8 meeting comes to Hong Kong and the park across the street from my home becomes the staging area for the baboons that aren't too poor to fly to protest but seem to be too poor to rent a room and who make all of these meetings. My, God, I don't even see how a fairly left wing person could like those folks. At least not when they're in your town shitting on your jogging trail and blocking your route to work. But, I'll get to them when they get here. Until then, I's rather avoid political issues
Thus, I am in a quandry. I would rather not get too political yet and what to say?
Never fear. I'll think of something. I just hope I think of it soon
Until next time
Fai Mao
The experiencing writters block blogger
But it is at times so hard to find things to write. Not because nothing happens but because what could I possibly say that hasn't been said better by others? My area of expertise is school libraries, bicycles and Educational philosophy. writing about those topics are not exactly a gripping read for most people.
I try to avoid politics but will have to talk about politics in December when the G8 meeting comes to Hong Kong and the park across the street from my home becomes the staging area for the baboons that aren't too poor to fly to protest but seem to be too poor to rent a room and who make all of these meetings. My, God, I don't even see how a fairly left wing person could like those folks. At least not when they're in your town shitting on your jogging trail and blocking your route to work. But, I'll get to them when they get here. Until then, I's rather avoid political issues
Thus, I am in a quandry. I would rather not get too political yet and what to say?
Never fear. I'll think of something. I just hope I think of it soon
Until next time
Fai Mao
The experiencing writters block blogger
Thursday, August 18, 2005
Home for or from the Holidays
Just exactly what does the word home mean? I could look it up but I don't think I'd be satisfied with the definition. I don't know where my home is anymore.
This summer I had the strange experience of going to visit my family home and being intensely homesick for for Hong Kong at the same time. Makes me wonder where I am really from. Actually I was glad to see people I hadn't seen in nearly a decade but missed the cramped flat and steamy weather in Hong Kong. I almost wept through parts of Alabama. It is, contrary to what Hollywood movies portray, a beautiful place. I found my self longing to move back to a small house on some land. But, I was excited to land at Chek-Lap Kok and ride the bus home to Causeway Bay.
I feel like a hydroponic plant. I have no roots
This summer I had the strange experience of going to visit my family home and being intensely homesick for for Hong Kong at the same time. Makes me wonder where I am really from. Actually I was glad to see people I hadn't seen in nearly a decade but missed the cramped flat and steamy weather in Hong Kong. I almost wept through parts of Alabama. It is, contrary to what Hollywood movies portray, a beautiful place. I found my self longing to move back to a small house on some land. But, I was excited to land at Chek-Lap Kok and ride the bus home to Causeway Bay.
I feel like a hydroponic plant. I have no roots
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
Friday, July 01, 2005
Bye Bye - For Now
I will be in the United States for the next several weeks for a wedding. Look for me in Late July
Fai Mao
The World Traveling Blogger
Fai Mao
The World Traveling Blogger
Monday, June 06, 2005
Give them a Centimeter and they'll take 2.54
I am a member of a computer user group and this post originally appeared there.
One of the members was complaining about computer monitors still using DIP or "dots per inch" and the metric ruler on the word processor using 1/2, 1/4 and 1/8 measurements.
Just to play the devil's advocate here a minute.
Libraries, and book binders do divide up centimeters into 1/8's so that is the reason for centimeters appearing in eights on your word processor. 1/2, 1/4, 1/8 are easier terms for most people to work with and make more sense than pure decimals unless you need a great deal of precision.
BTW I live in China so don't confuse me with an American. I am however, a committed Francophobe and would hate the metric system simply because it comes from evil, decadent, France. However, there are other reasons not to like it as well.
Most of this information comes from an article in a science magazine (Discover, Scientific American, or something like that) several years ago that talked about the metric system and how unscientific and unrealistic the metric system is. Other parts of it are my own observations
Some examples of problems with the metric system:
The most common recommendation of the metric system boils down to statements like "It is easier to use a decimal system and that it is a finer scale. (The second of these does not apply to centigrade). That is true but over played. If you get past the 12 inches in a foot rather than 10 based system there is no significant difference in the ease of use. The 12 comes from ancient Rome so blame the Romans. In some ways the metric system is harder to use because the measurement units are confusing because they are in a dead language. People must learn that it goes millimeter, centimeter, meter, kilometer, decameter. All the words end in "meter" and many people don't know why a millimeter is one 1000th of a meter and not 1000 meters. The reason is actually Latin grammar. Thus the names of units in the metric system are only more logical if know Latin. Otherwise they are, just like the old English (Inches predate the Empire so the term Imperial is incorrect)arbitrary names and both are confusing because of Latin (12 inches in a foot and Mili, centa, Etc.)
What is a meter? How do you find one?
A meter Has at times been defined as:
1. A percentage of the distance between two French cites.
2. The length of a certain bar of platinum in a vault in France
3. Currently, A meter is defined as a single wavelength of orange light emitted by some element charged to a certain polarity in a vacuum at zero degrees centigrade or some such. Yeah, real common and easily to get measurement.
If you lost a meter stick and if you go through all the definitions of a meter you might be really tempted to conclude that the best definition of a meter is still 39.25 inches. The fact is that a meter is an arbitrary number just like a foot or yard. But unlike a foot or yard it is not an arbitrary number based upon any easily observable distance.
By contrast a mile 1/24000 of the Earth's diameter at the equator. Thus a mile works out to a 6 second delay in sunrise time at the equator and could in theory be figured with two cheap digital watches.
An inch is about the distance from the middle of the first joint to the end of a man's thumb. This is, contrary to what you may have learned in university, the origin of the term "Rule of thumb."
A foot is still about the average length of a average man's foot in a pair of pointed toed boots.
A meter is also too long for many measurements and the sub units do not conform to any easy to reproducible distance.
As a meter is too long a liter is too small.
A gallon is actually based upon the size of a bucket. Buckets developed under trial and error (scientific method) and a gallon bucket is the largest size that can be comfortable carried in one hand. There is no equivalent measure in the metric system.
A teaspoon is a small bite table spoon is a large bite
An ounce is fluid mouthful cup is eight such mouthfulls Pints, quarts and gallons all fit together in that they represent normal units used by normal people.
In the end the only real reason to use the metric system is a finer scale. It isn't any more scientific or logical than any other system. The names are not easier to learn and it does not conform to the real world but imposes itself upon the world.
Don't even get me started about horse Power versus Newtons.
So in the end the only real advantage of the metric system is that it is based on 10's and is thus easier to move between units. In other words, it works better on a calculator. That is fine and good if you are doing calculus. Otherwise it is simply a pain.
Fairenheight vs Centigrade
Fairenheight is nearly twice as fine a scale as centigrade. The 32 degree freezing and 212 degree boiling is a bit wired but is actually not too bad. After all, it doesn't matter which two numbers you memorize as the freezing and boiling point of water because you still have to remember two numbers. But if you want to advocate changing the starting the point of the Fairenheight scale to zero as freezing point the we could simply subtract 32 from each side and you end up with freezing a zero and boiling at 180.
This incidently shows how much finer a scale fairenheight is than Celsius. It is in fact, almost twice as fine a measurement. Once again we end up in everyday life. One degree of fairenheight is actually the smallest amount of difference that a person can detect a change in temperature. But because it is a finer scale it works better for all sorts of every day things like baking and Argonaut. The rest of this argument makes itself. Centigrade is an inferior system in every way except the freezing/boiling point of water.
I'll wait until another time to deal with pounds versus grams.
No flames please
One of the members was complaining about computer monitors still using DIP or "dots per inch" and the metric ruler on the word processor using 1/2, 1/4 and 1/8 measurements.
Just to play the devil's advocate here a minute.
Libraries, and book binders do divide up centimeters into 1/8's so that is the reason for centimeters appearing in eights on your word processor. 1/2, 1/4, 1/8 are easier terms for most people to work with and make more sense than pure decimals unless you need a great deal of precision.
BTW I live in China so don't confuse me with an American. I am however, a committed Francophobe and would hate the metric system simply because it comes from evil, decadent, France. However, there are other reasons not to like it as well.
Most of this information comes from an article in a science magazine (Discover, Scientific American, or something like that) several years ago that talked about the metric system and how unscientific and unrealistic the metric system is. Other parts of it are my own observations
Some examples of problems with the metric system:
The most common recommendation of the metric system boils down to statements like "It is easier to use a decimal system and that it is a finer scale. (The second of these does not apply to centigrade). That is true but over played. If you get past the 12 inches in a foot rather than 10 based system there is no significant difference in the ease of use. The 12 comes from ancient Rome so blame the Romans. In some ways the metric system is harder to use because the measurement units are confusing because they are in a dead language. People must learn that it goes millimeter, centimeter, meter, kilometer, decameter. All the words end in "meter" and many people don't know why a millimeter is one 1000th of a meter and not 1000 meters. The reason is actually Latin grammar. Thus the names of units in the metric system are only more logical if know Latin. Otherwise they are, just like the old English (Inches predate the Empire so the term Imperial is incorrect)arbitrary names and both are confusing because of Latin (12 inches in a foot and Mili, centa, Etc.)
What is a meter? How do you find one?
A meter Has at times been defined as:
1. A percentage of the distance between two French cites.
2. The length of a certain bar of platinum in a vault in France
3. Currently, A meter is defined as a single wavelength of orange light emitted by some element charged to a certain polarity in a vacuum at zero degrees centigrade or some such. Yeah, real common and easily to get measurement.
If you lost a meter stick and if you go through all the definitions of a meter you might be really tempted to conclude that the best definition of a meter is still 39.25 inches. The fact is that a meter is an arbitrary number just like a foot or yard. But unlike a foot or yard it is not an arbitrary number based upon any easily observable distance.
By contrast a mile 1/24000 of the Earth's diameter at the equator. Thus a mile works out to a 6 second delay in sunrise time at the equator and could in theory be figured with two cheap digital watches.
An inch is about the distance from the middle of the first joint to the end of a man's thumb. This is, contrary to what you may have learned in university, the origin of the term "Rule of thumb."
A foot is still about the average length of a average man's foot in a pair of pointed toed boots.
A meter is also too long for many measurements and the sub units do not conform to any easy to reproducible distance.
As a meter is too long a liter is too small.
A gallon is actually based upon the size of a bucket. Buckets developed under trial and error (scientific method) and a gallon bucket is the largest size that can be comfortable carried in one hand. There is no equivalent measure in the metric system.
A teaspoon is a small bite table spoon is a large bite
An ounce is fluid mouthful cup is eight such mouthfulls Pints, quarts and gallons all fit together in that they represent normal units used by normal people.
In the end the only real reason to use the metric system is a finer scale. It isn't any more scientific or logical than any other system. The names are not easier to learn and it does not conform to the real world but imposes itself upon the world.
Don't even get me started about horse Power versus Newtons.
So in the end the only real advantage of the metric system is that it is based on 10's and is thus easier to move between units. In other words, it works better on a calculator. That is fine and good if you are doing calculus. Otherwise it is simply a pain.
Fairenheight vs Centigrade
Fairenheight is nearly twice as fine a scale as centigrade. The 32 degree freezing and 212 degree boiling is a bit wired but is actually not too bad. After all, it doesn't matter which two numbers you memorize as the freezing and boiling point of water because you still have to remember two numbers. But if you want to advocate changing the starting the point of the Fairenheight scale to zero as freezing point the we could simply subtract 32 from each side and you end up with freezing a zero and boiling at 180.
This incidently shows how much finer a scale fairenheight is than Celsius. It is in fact, almost twice as fine a measurement. Once again we end up in everyday life. One degree of fairenheight is actually the smallest amount of difference that a person can detect a change in temperature. But because it is a finer scale it works better for all sorts of every day things like baking and Argonaut. The rest of this argument makes itself. Centigrade is an inferior system in every way except the freezing/boiling point of water.
I'll wait until another time to deal with pounds versus grams.
No flames please
Monday, May 30, 2005
A Lingering Death
I've been thinking about the purpose of dying.
Why am I so morbid?
I was talking to my wife this past week. We were talking about her mother's condition trying to decide if we should file a complaint with the HKHA about the bed-sores, the surly staff, the negligence and other problems we have encountered with this situation. This is a problematic question because not only would the complaint take a fairly large amount of time to file and pursue but because the Hong Kong government is good about letting you file a complaint, or have a protest march but then doing nothing to alleviate the grievance. Thus, is it worth filing a complaint about something when there is basically no chance that the system will change? It took nearly 25% of the population marching in the street two years ago to get the government to reconsider an ill-advised measure dealing with the freedom of speech. To put this into perspective imagine what would happen if sixty-million people marched to the steps of the Whitehouse. This would be considered a near revolution. Yet that is the only level of action that will cause the HK government to change. What good is one letter from a school librarian's wife?
As worthy as that topic might be of a post on this blog it is not my purpose today. My purpose is instead to think about the purpose of a lingering death. I don't know how many times I have heard people hope out loud that they do not experience a lingering death. Indeed, it seems almost a truism to say that people should die "with dignity" and without "suffering". I have, through experiencing the lingering death of my mother-in-law, come to the conclusion that her slow drawn out death serves two very real purposes. I am almost, not quite; ready to say that those who wish for a quick, painless death are both misguided and selfish.
The first purpose served by taking a long time to die was revealed to me by something my wife said. On Saturday when, with tears in her eyes she told me, "You know, I just wish she would die." I can understand the sentiment. Both my wife and her mother have had a difficult row to hoe with this final illness. My mother-in-law is obviously exhausted physically and emotionally. The bedsores, the strokes and the cancer have all taken their toll on her. My wife and her sister must spend hours each day at the hospital and it is a strain to see their mother slowly starve to death because she cannot eat. Providing the additional care that the hospital cannot or will not provide in addition to their other jobs is a very difficult position to be in.
But, I realized when my wife made the statement above that the grieving process is already well underway for her. That is a good thing. Indeed, she has already accepted that her mother will soon die. Thus, the lingering illness has helped both my wife and her sister accept the fact that their mother is about to die and allowed them see that there are things worse than death. Indeed, I am not sure that my mother-in-law is not now in a state somewhere between life and death. The release they will experience at the death of their mother will allow them to move on faster. I saw this when my paternal grandfather died after a long illness. I am seeing it again here.
I do not know of anything sadder than the people who refuse to let a loved one die. Most of us have met or heard of those people who still have their dead child's bedroom ready up stairs; or the widow who sets a place at the table for her husband dead these twenty years. My father has a 1941 Ford that he purchased from the daughter of a man killed in WWII. It was a new car when he enlisted in the Marines on December 8, 1941. The man's widow kept the car in the garage as a memorial to him until she died. She washed the car, waxed it and did what she could to keep it in good condition for the husband who would never return. When my father purchased the car it still smelled like a new car. The invoice sticker was still on the right rear window. The widow never drove it. She never remarried. She never got over her husband's death. How tragic.
Because their mother has been in the hospital for nearly three months Kim and her sister have already begun cleaning out their mother's apartment. This appears to me to be a precursor to letting their mother go and it is a good thing.
Thus, the first purpose in my mother-in-law's lingering death is actually three purposes. One it gives the family a chance to grieve and recover before having to deal with the actual death. Two, it helps them to accept the impending death and prepare for it emotionally. Three, it will help them to let go of her memory.
My wife and her sister will be able to get on with their lives after their mother dies. There will be no pinning "I wish she'd lived another three years" or "If only she could have lived to see her granddaughters get married" when my mother-in-law dies. The grieving has already been done. There will be no promises made that are still unfulfilled. That is a good thing. It is a hard thing to say.
The second purpose to a lingering death is more abstract. When I look at the amount of work that Kim and Ling have put into caring for their mother I am amazed at their love for her.
It is easy to clean a baby's bottom when they need a diaper change because babies are cute and they smile at you. They are also small and light enough to roll over with one hand. You receive pleasure from the act of cleaning a baby.
After at least six and probably eight or nine strokes it is an open question as to how much of my mother-in-law is still there. The best that my mother-in-law gives you is a vacant stare with a drooling mouth. How hard is it to love someone who cannot respond? This is the point where love and duty meet. It is a point that is often as sharpe and as capable of cutting as any sword. It defines the meaning of love into actual acts of caring. As far as I know this is only point in time where the depth of love between parents and children is tested to this depth or this clearly. How difficult it is to care this completely! How many of us would fob the job off onto a hospital staff and simply complain? How many of us would simply fail?
This point often reveals much more about us than we are comfortable letting others see. But the essence is this. To watch a loved one die a slow lingering death and to aid that person, to love that person through that process makes those of us who live better people.
I don't know if I am quite ready to wish a painful, lingering death upon myself. But I do see that such travails can serve purpose that is both beautiful and even holy.
Until next time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who is not obsessed with death
Why am I so morbid?
I was talking to my wife this past week. We were talking about her mother's condition trying to decide if we should file a complaint with the HKHA about the bed-sores, the surly staff, the negligence and other problems we have encountered with this situation. This is a problematic question because not only would the complaint take a fairly large amount of time to file and pursue but because the Hong Kong government is good about letting you file a complaint, or have a protest march but then doing nothing to alleviate the grievance. Thus, is it worth filing a complaint about something when there is basically no chance that the system will change? It took nearly 25% of the population marching in the street two years ago to get the government to reconsider an ill-advised measure dealing with the freedom of speech. To put this into perspective imagine what would happen if sixty-million people marched to the steps of the Whitehouse. This would be considered a near revolution. Yet that is the only level of action that will cause the HK government to change. What good is one letter from a school librarian's wife?
As worthy as that topic might be of a post on this blog it is not my purpose today. My purpose is instead to think about the purpose of a lingering death. I don't know how many times I have heard people hope out loud that they do not experience a lingering death. Indeed, it seems almost a truism to say that people should die "with dignity" and without "suffering". I have, through experiencing the lingering death of my mother-in-law, come to the conclusion that her slow drawn out death serves two very real purposes. I am almost, not quite; ready to say that those who wish for a quick, painless death are both misguided and selfish.
The first purpose served by taking a long time to die was revealed to me by something my wife said. On Saturday when, with tears in her eyes she told me, "You know, I just wish she would die." I can understand the sentiment. Both my wife and her mother have had a difficult row to hoe with this final illness. My mother-in-law is obviously exhausted physically and emotionally. The bedsores, the strokes and the cancer have all taken their toll on her. My wife and her sister must spend hours each day at the hospital and it is a strain to see their mother slowly starve to death because she cannot eat. Providing the additional care that the hospital cannot or will not provide in addition to their other jobs is a very difficult position to be in.
But, I realized when my wife made the statement above that the grieving process is already well underway for her. That is a good thing. Indeed, she has already accepted that her mother will soon die. Thus, the lingering illness has helped both my wife and her sister accept the fact that their mother is about to die and allowed them see that there are things worse than death. Indeed, I am not sure that my mother-in-law is not now in a state somewhere between life and death. The release they will experience at the death of their mother will allow them to move on faster. I saw this when my paternal grandfather died after a long illness. I am seeing it again here.
I do not know of anything sadder than the people who refuse to let a loved one die. Most of us have met or heard of those people who still have their dead child's bedroom ready up stairs; or the widow who sets a place at the table for her husband dead these twenty years. My father has a 1941 Ford that he purchased from the daughter of a man killed in WWII. It was a new car when he enlisted in the Marines on December 8, 1941. The man's widow kept the car in the garage as a memorial to him until she died. She washed the car, waxed it and did what she could to keep it in good condition for the husband who would never return. When my father purchased the car it still smelled like a new car. The invoice sticker was still on the right rear window. The widow never drove it. She never remarried. She never got over her husband's death. How tragic.
Because their mother has been in the hospital for nearly three months Kim and her sister have already begun cleaning out their mother's apartment. This appears to me to be a precursor to letting their mother go and it is a good thing.
Thus, the first purpose in my mother-in-law's lingering death is actually three purposes. One it gives the family a chance to grieve and recover before having to deal with the actual death. Two, it helps them to accept the impending death and prepare for it emotionally. Three, it will help them to let go of her memory.
My wife and her sister will be able to get on with their lives after their mother dies. There will be no pinning "I wish she'd lived another three years" or "If only she could have lived to see her granddaughters get married" when my mother-in-law dies. The grieving has already been done. There will be no promises made that are still unfulfilled. That is a good thing. It is a hard thing to say.
The second purpose to a lingering death is more abstract. When I look at the amount of work that Kim and Ling have put into caring for their mother I am amazed at their love for her.
It is easy to clean a baby's bottom when they need a diaper change because babies are cute and they smile at you. They are also small and light enough to roll over with one hand. You receive pleasure from the act of cleaning a baby.
After at least six and probably eight or nine strokes it is an open question as to how much of my mother-in-law is still there. The best that my mother-in-law gives you is a vacant stare with a drooling mouth. How hard is it to love someone who cannot respond? This is the point where love and duty meet. It is a point that is often as sharpe and as capable of cutting as any sword. It defines the meaning of love into actual acts of caring. As far as I know this is only point in time where the depth of love between parents and children is tested to this depth or this clearly. How difficult it is to care this completely! How many of us would fob the job off onto a hospital staff and simply complain? How many of us would simply fail?
This point often reveals much more about us than we are comfortable letting others see. But the essence is this. To watch a loved one die a slow lingering death and to aid that person, to love that person through that process makes those of us who live better people.
I don't know if I am quite ready to wish a painful, lingering death upon myself. But I do see that such travails can serve purpose that is both beautiful and even holy.
Until next time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who is not obsessed with death
Friday, May 13, 2005
Less Life and more Death in a Hong Kong Hospital
I retract my apology to the HKHA.
The treatment of my mother in law has regressed to worse than I have seen. Because of the strokes she can no longer chew. Tuesday night when we arrived at the hospital the staff had already fed her dinner. "Fed:" is a poor term in this case. She cannot chew or swallow. They simply shoveled food into her mouth and left. When we arrived she had so much in her mouth that she looked like a squirrel carrying nuts into a hidding place for winter. My wife had to physically clean her mother's mouth out by digging out all they had packed in. The old woman could have easily choked to death and while she is suffering from cancer and strokes and death could very easily seen as a release to die because you choked on hospital food is a rather horrible death.
Once again Terri Shivio's husband would love this place.
The treatment of my mother in law has regressed to worse than I have seen. Because of the strokes she can no longer chew. Tuesday night when we arrived at the hospital the staff had already fed her dinner. "Fed:" is a poor term in this case. She cannot chew or swallow. They simply shoveled food into her mouth and left. When we arrived she had so much in her mouth that she looked like a squirrel carrying nuts into a hidding place for winter. My wife had to physically clean her mother's mouth out by digging out all they had packed in. The old woman could have easily choked to death and while she is suffering from cancer and strokes and death could very easily seen as a release to die because you choked on hospital food is a rather horrible death.
Once again Terri Shivio's husband would love this place.
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
The Ride of a Lifetime
Have you ever wondered why we like the things we like? Is it merely association with those things or is there some type of genetic predisposition for certain hobbies? I confess, that in my more logical moments I am tempted to think that things like hobbies are in the same class as whiskey, an acquired taste.
However, I only think that when I am not riding my bicycle. When I am on one of my bikes. I know deep down in my heart of hearts that I was born a bicyclist. I could not have acquired the taste for cycling because nobody in my family but me is a cyclist. Therefore, being a bicyclist must be in the genetic code. I must have some latent genetic attribute because since my first bike (A bright red one from Sears that I got for Christmas in 1966) my favorite thing to do has always been to ride a bike.
Bicycling is a strange hobby. I know of no other sport or hobby that elicits such devotion. Not only are cyclist devoted to the sport but also to the actual equipment of the sport. It seems to me that tennis players play the racket that gives them the best shots. Runners are loyal to a shoe maker only so long as those shoes fit. Golfers are always looking for a better club regardless of brand. I have a friend whose husband is an ex-world class badminton player. He couldn't care less about what company made his equipment so long as it was good stuff. Cyclist, by comparison are often very loyal to brands and companies
I've never seen a runner, tennis player or golfer with the name of a club manufacturer tattooed on their body. They may enjoy the sport but they are not loyal to the equipment they use in the way that cyclist are. How many tennis players have custom built rackets? Maybe Leighton Hewitt or Andrea Agassi but not your normal Joe Ballwhacker. In cycling it is not uncommon to see even middle aged riders with the word "Campagnolo" tattooed somewhere prominent. There are literally thousands of custom, built to order bicycle frames made every year. Are there any companies that make custom basketballs? Here are two that make custom bicycle Frames: Here & Here
Do runners, tennis players or golfers have a web site comparable to the Campy only web site? I don't think so.
I have traveled all over the world. Wherever I go I look for bicycle shops. But you know what, I'm not the only one. When I worked in a bicycle shop in the 1980's it used to happen several times a year. Some tourist or business traveler would just stop by to look around. Do tennis players look for tennis shops in London, Phukett or Beijing just to go in and say "hi" to the shop employees? Not as far as I know. Yet bicyclist love to do this. The highlight of my vacations is always finding a bike shop to purchase a tube or cable that I might not even need and could certainly get near my home. I do this because when I am around bicyclist, wherever they are, whoever they are, I am around people who, even if I don't like them are like souls. People who understand what it means to be a cyclist. In a strange way, they are family.
Cycling also changes your perception of the world around you in such a fundamental way that it is difficult, if not impossible to explain it to non-cyclist. You experience the world differently on a bicycle than you do in an automobile or even on foot. Part of this is having to dodge traffic and see your family, neighbors and friends as potential murderers in their cars as they intentionally or inadvertently try to run you down. However, these changes go beyond this simple aspect of self-preservation.
There is a sensation of speed of grace of elegance that is inherent in riding a bicycle that simply is not found in almost any other activity with the possible exception of sailing. When you are a cyclist you see the world through a different gestalt. You see the world not so much as a place but as art and art through which you move as a living sculpture. I think it is a good way to see the world.
There are simply not words to explain the pleasure of cresting the last hill on an afternoon ride and coasting the last 1/2 mile home. If you have never smelt the fragrance after a summer shower while riding along a county road then I pity you. The sense of accomplishment you get when you finish your first 100 mile ride is incomparable. The simple joy at moving faster than you can run under your own power is a pleasure that is surely the most intense on earth.
If you haven't ridden a bicycle lately or even since childhood then I would encourage you to get a bike and rediscover the joy of cycling. You won't be disappointed. You might also find that you were born to be a cyclist.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The bicyclist blogger
However, I only think that when I am not riding my bicycle. When I am on one of my bikes. I know deep down in my heart of hearts that I was born a bicyclist. I could not have acquired the taste for cycling because nobody in my family but me is a cyclist. Therefore, being a bicyclist must be in the genetic code. I must have some latent genetic attribute because since my first bike (A bright red one from Sears that I got for Christmas in 1966) my favorite thing to do has always been to ride a bike.
Bicycling is a strange hobby. I know of no other sport or hobby that elicits such devotion. Not only are cyclist devoted to the sport but also to the actual equipment of the sport. It seems to me that tennis players play the racket that gives them the best shots. Runners are loyal to a shoe maker only so long as those shoes fit. Golfers are always looking for a better club regardless of brand. I have a friend whose husband is an ex-world class badminton player. He couldn't care less about what company made his equipment so long as it was good stuff. Cyclist, by comparison are often very loyal to brands and companies
I've never seen a runner, tennis player or golfer with the name of a club manufacturer tattooed on their body. They may enjoy the sport but they are not loyal to the equipment they use in the way that cyclist are. How many tennis players have custom built rackets? Maybe Leighton Hewitt or Andrea Agassi but not your normal Joe Ballwhacker. In cycling it is not uncommon to see even middle aged riders with the word "Campagnolo" tattooed somewhere prominent. There are literally thousands of custom, built to order bicycle frames made every year. Are there any companies that make custom basketballs? Here are two that make custom bicycle Frames: Here & Here
Do runners, tennis players or golfers have a web site comparable to the Campy only web site? I don't think so.
I have traveled all over the world. Wherever I go I look for bicycle shops. But you know what, I'm not the only one. When I worked in a bicycle shop in the 1980's it used to happen several times a year. Some tourist or business traveler would just stop by to look around. Do tennis players look for tennis shops in London, Phukett or Beijing just to go in and say "hi" to the shop employees? Not as far as I know. Yet bicyclist love to do this. The highlight of my vacations is always finding a bike shop to purchase a tube or cable that I might not even need and could certainly get near my home. I do this because when I am around bicyclist, wherever they are, whoever they are, I am around people who, even if I don't like them are like souls. People who understand what it means to be a cyclist. In a strange way, they are family.
Cycling also changes your perception of the world around you in such a fundamental way that it is difficult, if not impossible to explain it to non-cyclist. You experience the world differently on a bicycle than you do in an automobile or even on foot. Part of this is having to dodge traffic and see your family, neighbors and friends as potential murderers in their cars as they intentionally or inadvertently try to run you down. However, these changes go beyond this simple aspect of self-preservation.
There is a sensation of speed of grace of elegance that is inherent in riding a bicycle that simply is not found in almost any other activity with the possible exception of sailing. When you are a cyclist you see the world through a different gestalt. You see the world not so much as a place but as art and art through which you move as a living sculpture. I think it is a good way to see the world.
There are simply not words to explain the pleasure of cresting the last hill on an afternoon ride and coasting the last 1/2 mile home. If you have never smelt the fragrance after a summer shower while riding along a county road then I pity you. The sense of accomplishment you get when you finish your first 100 mile ride is incomparable. The simple joy at moving faster than you can run under your own power is a pleasure that is surely the most intense on earth.
If you haven't ridden a bicycle lately or even since childhood then I would encourage you to get a bike and rediscover the joy of cycling. You won't be disappointed. You might also find that you were born to be a cyclist.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The bicyclist blogger
Monday, May 02, 2005
Welcome Shambles.net
My blog has been listed on the Shambles.net Librarian blog list. Yes, I am a librarian though my post have little to do with libraries as a general rule. However, they were looking for librarian blogs in Asia and I certainly am that.
Actually, I'm not sure what this blog is about. I seem to write about a lot of things and most of them are topical rather than thematic. If someone at Shambles or anyone else for that matter, finds this blog then I ask that you look at the intial post in the archives titled "Why Me"
Fai Mao
The Librarian Blogger
Actually, I'm not sure what this blog is about. I seem to write about a lot of things and most of them are topical rather than thematic. If someone at Shambles or anyone else for that matter, finds this blog then I ask that you look at the intial post in the archives titled "Why Me"
Fai Mao
The Librarian Blogger
Apologies Required
Why am I always so surpised when people pay attention?
It seems that the HKHA reads my blog. At least it looks that way. Since shortly after posting "Life and Death in a Hong Kong Hospital" the treatment of my mother-in-law has improved. I still wouldn't call the treatment good but it is better if still surly. I thank those responisble for the improvement.
They have since found that a large part of her problem is actually caused by a series of strokes that we did not know that she had had. I do not think that she is long for this world.
It seems that the HKHA reads my blog. At least it looks that way. Since shortly after posting "Life and Death in a Hong Kong Hospital" the treatment of my mother-in-law has improved. I still wouldn't call the treatment good but it is better if still surly. I thank those responisble for the improvement.
They have since found that a large part of her problem is actually caused by a series of strokes that we did not know that she had had. I do not think that she is long for this world.
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
Life and Death in a Hong Kong Hospital
I can sometimes be called grumpy but I don't normally think of myself as threatening. Indeed, most of the time I am a rather genial, if slightly paunchy middle-aged guy. There are times, however, I wish I were more intimidating and one of those times was last night. But, before I tell you why this is so I must give you some background
My mother-in-law is dying a slow and lingering death from liver cancer, compounded by a series of strokes.
She can no longer move her left arm.
She can no longer feed herself.
She hasn't been out of bed in two months.
She is incontinence and on a catheter.
She wears a diaper.
She is loosing weight at an alarming rate.
It is physically taxing for her to speak.
She cannot even roll over by herself.
She has had a chronic ear infection for several years and is deaf in one ear.
She has cataracts.
My mother- in-law has open bed sores. Yet as far as I can tell the hospital does little if anything to treat them. They cannot or will not change my mother-in-law into a water mattress to alleviate the bed sores.
Despite the FACT that she cannot eat without help they have not placed her on an IV for even fluids, much less glucose. How hard would that be?
They never talk to her that I can see.
They don't help feed her.
They only change her when absolutely necessary and then they do not clean her well.
She has been in the Caritas hospice in the So Uk area of Hong Kong for just over two months. The hospitals in Hong Kong, even those like Caritas that are partially funded with non-governmental money are abysmal places. The staff, with some exceptions is uniformly rude and calloused to the point being un-professional.
I hope that when this life draws to a close for me I don't have to be confined in one of them. This whole experience has left a very bad taste in my mouth. A simple truth has intruded itself upon my consciousness. Socialized medicine is an evil. It is dehumanizing to the patient and the patent's family. The best that can be said is that it is a cruel joke. When the government controls the whole system there is effectively no higher authority to appeal to for justice.
Now the hospital wants us to put her into a nursing home because she has used up her allotted time in the hospice. So, in a socialized medical system it isn't about need it is about rationing. Don't you dare take longer than 21 days to die you evil free-loader you! I don't think they have a set amount of time that one can be in this hospice but they have a greater need than they have space. Because of that they try to limit the entry to the most severe cases. This principle breaks down when all the cases are severe.
Think of the description given above. Should the staff ask that a patient in that condition be moved to a nursing home? My wife has been asked several times, "When are you going to find a nursing home for your mother?" It has gotten to the point where she avoids the nurses because she knows what they are going to ask her.
Pardon my misconception. I thought that a hospital hospice for terminal cancer patients was an appropriate place for an old woman with a few weeks to live to go to die of liver cancer; especially since she needs constant supervision. Am I wrong about this?
They have suggested that we hire a Filipino maid, rent or buy a hospital bed and keep my mother-in-law at home. Would you as either the patient or family like that option? This is despite the fact that we do not have the room for either the mother-in-law or the maid in our apartment. Is a teenage maid from Manila a suitable health care worker? I understand that they have a waiting list. I do not think that simply shuffling people who need help out of the hospital to homes where they are cared for by domestic servants is an adequate answer to that problem.
I am not asking that they giver her care like a 5 star luxury spa-hospital. I do wish that they provided adequate care. I don't think that most patients in most Hong Kong Hospitals get adequate care if the situation is indicative of the whole system. Indeed, Caritas is doing a better job than the government hospitals such as Yan Chai or Princess Margret.
The promise of socialized medicine, espoused by well meaning politicians was adequate treatment for all. This is a promise that they have not kept. I could, quite honestly understand this if the whole medical establishment in Hong Kong were not run by the government. I cannot understand it when there is a socialized system in place. The government needs to either do the right thing or get out of the health care industry.
I am speaking of this because my wife had a late meeting and I went to the hospital last night (April 25) to feed this sick, feeble and dying old woman. While it is a good thing to do, the problem is that we HAVE to do it. If one of us doesn't go she doesn't get to eat. That is a different thing than saying I don't want to do it. There are just nights we cannot do it and, in truth, it shouldn't be our job anyway because the hospice should not be a self-serve hotel room but a medical facility. But, if we don't go then the hospital staff will let her dinner sit there until it gets cold and then maybe try to shovel a few bites into her mouth, if they have time, before they remove the tray.
She is dying of cancer but the way the hospital treats her you'd think we wanted her starved to death. Terry Shivio's husband would love this place.
On second thought, maybe a teenager from Manila could do a better job.
The feeding is hard for me because I cannot talk to her. She speaks only a somewhat obscure form of Chinese which I do not so there could be no conversation. I have nerve damage down one arm so feeding her requires using fine motor skills in my left hand which is difficult for me. Nevertheless, I went and spent three hours with her and fed her and brushed her hair and gave water to drink. She is my wife's mother; how could I refuse?
When I left the hospital I was angry. I simply feel that the level of care is so incredibly bad. I wish I were more intimidating. Perhaps then I could confront the system here. To do that I'd need Li Kai-Shing's money or Hu Jing-Tao's political clout; not much else really counts in Hong Kong. I have neither.
Perhaps instead, I'll just find somebody in the hospital authority that makes a bazillion dollar a month income doing essentially nothing except finding ways to avoid a well deserved pay cut or early retirement and punch his/her lights out. (For those not used to Americanism; to punch someones lights out is to beat them until they are unconscious) But then that would make me as evil as the people in the hospital authority that are more concerned about their huge salaries than actually running hospitals. So I guess I won't do that either.
Until next time
Fai Mao
The non intimidating blogger
My mother-in-law is dying a slow and lingering death from liver cancer, compounded by a series of strokes.
She can no longer move her left arm.
She can no longer feed herself.
She hasn't been out of bed in two months.
She is incontinence and on a catheter.
She wears a diaper.
She is loosing weight at an alarming rate.
It is physically taxing for her to speak.
She cannot even roll over by herself.
She has had a chronic ear infection for several years and is deaf in one ear.
She has cataracts.
My mother- in-law has open bed sores. Yet as far as I can tell the hospital does little if anything to treat them. They cannot or will not change my mother-in-law into a water mattress to alleviate the bed sores.
Despite the FACT that she cannot eat without help they have not placed her on an IV for even fluids, much less glucose. How hard would that be?
They never talk to her that I can see.
They don't help feed her.
They only change her when absolutely necessary and then they do not clean her well.
She has been in the Caritas hospice in the So Uk area of Hong Kong for just over two months. The hospitals in Hong Kong, even those like Caritas that are partially funded with non-governmental money are abysmal places. The staff, with some exceptions is uniformly rude and calloused to the point being un-professional.
I hope that when this life draws to a close for me I don't have to be confined in one of them. This whole experience has left a very bad taste in my mouth. A simple truth has intruded itself upon my consciousness. Socialized medicine is an evil. It is dehumanizing to the patient and the patent's family. The best that can be said is that it is a cruel joke. When the government controls the whole system there is effectively no higher authority to appeal to for justice.
Now the hospital wants us to put her into a nursing home because she has used up her allotted time in the hospice. So, in a socialized medical system it isn't about need it is about rationing. Don't you dare take longer than 21 days to die you evil free-loader you! I don't think they have a set amount of time that one can be in this hospice but they have a greater need than they have space. Because of that they try to limit the entry to the most severe cases. This principle breaks down when all the cases are severe.
Think of the description given above. Should the staff ask that a patient in that condition be moved to a nursing home? My wife has been asked several times, "When are you going to find a nursing home for your mother?" It has gotten to the point where she avoids the nurses because she knows what they are going to ask her.
Pardon my misconception. I thought that a hospital hospice for terminal cancer patients was an appropriate place for an old woman with a few weeks to live to go to die of liver cancer; especially since she needs constant supervision. Am I wrong about this?
They have suggested that we hire a Filipino maid, rent or buy a hospital bed and keep my mother-in-law at home. Would you as either the patient or family like that option? This is despite the fact that we do not have the room for either the mother-in-law or the maid in our apartment. Is a teenage maid from Manila a suitable health care worker? I understand that they have a waiting list. I do not think that simply shuffling people who need help out of the hospital to homes where they are cared for by domestic servants is an adequate answer to that problem.
I am not asking that they giver her care like a 5 star luxury spa-hospital. I do wish that they provided adequate care. I don't think that most patients in most Hong Kong Hospitals get adequate care if the situation is indicative of the whole system. Indeed, Caritas is doing a better job than the government hospitals such as Yan Chai or Princess Margret.
The promise of socialized medicine, espoused by well meaning politicians was adequate treatment for all. This is a promise that they have not kept. I could, quite honestly understand this if the whole medical establishment in Hong Kong were not run by the government. I cannot understand it when there is a socialized system in place. The government needs to either do the right thing or get out of the health care industry.
I am speaking of this because my wife had a late meeting and I went to the hospital last night (April 25) to feed this sick, feeble and dying old woman. While it is a good thing to do, the problem is that we HAVE to do it. If one of us doesn't go she doesn't get to eat. That is a different thing than saying I don't want to do it. There are just nights we cannot do it and, in truth, it shouldn't be our job anyway because the hospice should not be a self-serve hotel room but a medical facility. But, if we don't go then the hospital staff will let her dinner sit there until it gets cold and then maybe try to shovel a few bites into her mouth, if they have time, before they remove the tray.
She is dying of cancer but the way the hospital treats her you'd think we wanted her starved to death. Terry Shivio's husband would love this place.
On second thought, maybe a teenager from Manila could do a better job.
The feeding is hard for me because I cannot talk to her. She speaks only a somewhat obscure form of Chinese which I do not so there could be no conversation. I have nerve damage down one arm so feeding her requires using fine motor skills in my left hand which is difficult for me. Nevertheless, I went and spent three hours with her and fed her and brushed her hair and gave water to drink. She is my wife's mother; how could I refuse?
When I left the hospital I was angry. I simply feel that the level of care is so incredibly bad. I wish I were more intimidating. Perhaps then I could confront the system here. To do that I'd need Li Kai-Shing's money or Hu Jing-Tao's political clout; not much else really counts in Hong Kong. I have neither.
Perhaps instead, I'll just find somebody in the hospital authority that makes a bazillion dollar a month income doing essentially nothing except finding ways to avoid a well deserved pay cut or early retirement and punch his/her lights out. (For those not used to Americanism; to punch someones lights out is to beat them until they are unconscious) But then that would make me as evil as the people in the hospital authority that are more concerned about their huge salaries than actually running hospitals. So I guess I won't do that either.
Until next time
Fai Mao
The non intimidating blogger
Monday, April 18, 2005
Death and ......
Friday was the deadline for filing US Federal income taxes.
If you live overseas then you have until June 15 to complete the forms.
I find it absolutely repugnant that I must fill out tax forms for a nation that I do not live in and have not set foot in for nearly 10 years. The overseas income allowance is a joke. The complaint that the wealthy would use this as a way to avoid income tax is overstated as most of the people who live overseas are not wealthy. Indeed, a large percentage of them are missionaries and I've never seen a rich missionary. Don't get me wrong, I believe that people should support their government. I pay the income tax I owe in Hong Kong. However, I live in Hong Kong. I derive very little if any benefit from being a US citizen. Indeed, in some countries in Asia, rightly or wrongly, I pay higher visa entry fees and am a target of terrorist kidnappers simply because I carry an American passport.
The US needs to change this law. As awful as this sounds the US Congress needs to look at Canada. This is perhaps the only area where the sniffling, whinning, limp-wristed, socialist pig, cowardly beavers have a better law than the US. (Can you tell I don't much like Canada?)
The Canadian law works something like this:
If you are a Canadian citizen who lives outside of Canada and
you have no property in Canada, or a bank account, drivers license or Canadian ID other than a passport, or a residence in Canada and you spend at least 335 days outside of Canada then you do not owe Canadian income tax. Period, end of issue.
There are probably some tweaks I would give this with regard to IRA's and things but if Mr. Bush wants to reform the US tax code I suggest he start with this law.
Your over taxed blogger
Fai-Mao
If you live overseas then you have until June 15 to complete the forms.
I find it absolutely repugnant that I must fill out tax forms for a nation that I do not live in and have not set foot in for nearly 10 years. The overseas income allowance is a joke. The complaint that the wealthy would use this as a way to avoid income tax is overstated as most of the people who live overseas are not wealthy. Indeed, a large percentage of them are missionaries and I've never seen a rich missionary. Don't get me wrong, I believe that people should support their government. I pay the income tax I owe in Hong Kong. However, I live in Hong Kong. I derive very little if any benefit from being a US citizen. Indeed, in some countries in Asia, rightly or wrongly, I pay higher visa entry fees and am a target of terrorist kidnappers simply because I carry an American passport.
The US needs to change this law. As awful as this sounds the US Congress needs to look at Canada. This is perhaps the only area where the sniffling, whinning, limp-wristed, socialist pig, cowardly beavers have a better law than the US. (Can you tell I don't much like Canada?)
The Canadian law works something like this:
If you are a Canadian citizen who lives outside of Canada and
you have no property in Canada, or a bank account, drivers license or Canadian ID other than a passport, or a residence in Canada and you spend at least 335 days outside of Canada then you do not owe Canadian income tax. Period, end of issue.
There are probably some tweaks I would give this with regard to IRA's and things but if Mr. Bush wants to reform the US tax code I suggest he start with this law.
Your over taxed blogger
Fai-Mao
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)