Sunday, December 28, 2008

Wong Kei, London (Past and Present)








Most people who loves chinese food and have been to London would have eaten at Wong Kei. It has been in business for almost 30 years now.

For those who have not been to Wong Kei, it is one of the most famous restaurant in London's Chinatown.
No exact figures are known but it is estimated to be one of the largest Chinese restaurants in the UK with seating for around 500 diners.


Apparently, there's a legend about this restaurant:-
When Wong Kei opened some 30 years ago, they had brought the best chefs all the way from China and their food was fresh and appetizing. Their plates and cutlery clean. And the waiters were friendly. But their business was not going well and no customers came. The days became weeks and weeks became months and the owner of Wong Kei was in despair as his business was worsening day by day.

But one day the owner of Wong Kei had a dream. In that dream he was told that if he treated his customers like shit, his business would flourish.
Three decades later and the business is successful and he's smiling to the bank.

The rudeness of the staff of Wong Kei is legendary.
You are treated like a prisoner.
But people flock there because it's cheap and the food is delicious.


The last time I visited Wong Kei was in 1996.
During that time, it was a terrifying experience.

After 12 years, I have stepped into Wong Kei again, prepared to be verbally abused.
But as things and people will change, Wong Kei has changed over the years.

Just let me explain what it was like eating in Wong Kei (1996 vs 2008)



1996
Those were the days.
Here's what will happen when you walk in.
You'll be one of several parties shuffling through the entrance.
Quite fast, you catch the eye of one of the notoriously rude waiters, who will look you up and down and snap.
"How many?".
Give the number of your party and however many the answer will be the
same: he'll jerk his thumb towards the back of the restaurant and answer,
"Upstairs" (hence one of it's many nicknames: Upstairs Downstairs).
Off you will obediently shuffle to the back of the restaurant, where a grubby staircase will take you up to floor two.
Once on 2nd floor, the same scenario will occur.
Eventually you will be show to a table, maybe on the third or fourth
floor, which will seat eight - again regardless of how many there are of you.
The rest of the table will be taken up with complete strangers, who will vary from
Chinese families to Soho trendies to business people to tourists.
You'll order instantly when asked or you would risk being thrown out (You are suppose to memorize and decide on your order before walking into the restaurant. There's a menu beside the entrance. You'll be thrown out if you haven't decided on what to order when the waiter takes your order).
The menu apparently hasn't changed for years (and neither have the prices) and you will be given a free teapot of delicious chinese tea.
Your menu choices will feature all the usual Chinese stuff, personal favourite being the sweet and sour pork.
Your food will arrive within minutes.
They will virtually throw the food at you.
You'll eat it, and it'll be unexpectedly delicious.
When you're done, a piece of cheap paper will arrive covered in Chinese scribbles and a total at the bottom: this is your bill.
Cash only please.

2008
In 2004, the restaurant was refurbished and the staff lost their usual white shirts for red or black branded t-shirt sporting the slogan "upstairs downstairs" in reference to how customers are allocated seating positions.
These T-Shirts are available for sale (10 pounds).
The waiters tend to sit parties upon their group size e.g. single diners are seated in the ground floor front dining area (overflowing to the downstairs area), parties with children are seated in the ground floor back area (overflowing to the first floor) and business party groups are almost always seated in the smarter first floor area.
Most of the seating is shared and requests for non-shared seating are often ignored.
Diners are provided with chopsticks, a napkin and a Chinese soup spoon; if a knife and fork is needed it has to be requested.
They no longer throw you out for doing that.
On every table there is plastic plate with a small bottle of soy sauce, and a glass of a chili condiment with a small steel spoon.
Every customer gets a free pot of Chinese tea with unlimited refills.
To request a refill, one leaves the teapot lid open.
And yes, you can take your time to go over the menu and then flag the waiter to order.
The current restaurant is spread over five floors, from the basement up to the third floor.
I ate the pork chop rice (4.80 pounds)
Chinese tea remains free.
The food is still delicious in a trashy sort of way.
The portions remain huge. (Eat until want to vomit portion!)
And beware, you may fall off your chair when you hear the waiter saying thank you when you pay the bill.


The trip is still a quite unique experience: the ritual entry, the mad decor and the fantastic mix of diners - good way of making friends.


People who hates Wong Kei are usually first timers and people who are too sensitive or haven't been told beforehand about the staff's idiosyncrasies.
The others (frequent visitors) just love eating there.
Wong Kei is so famous that it now has a cult following.
There are 2 facebooks dedicated to Wong Kei with more than 600 members.

Wong Kei remains the most eccentric chinese restaurant in London.
It is a London institution and may it remain so.
Miss it at your peril.


Getting there:-
41-43 Wardour Street
Soho
London, W1D 6PX
Nearest Transport: Piccadilly Circus
Opens: 12noon to 12MN daily.

Embeded in this post is a you tube video clip just to prove how Wong Kei has changed.
If you listen closely, you could hear the boss saying sorry to his customers.


Irritating!!!!!!!


Managed to spend 12 hours in London yesterday for my photography trip.

It was an ok experience but I think I would need to return again for additional shots.

The weather (0 degrees with strong easterly wind) and the short day (sun sets at 330pm) made things very demanding.

London as you know is a world famous tourist attraction- Big Ben, London eye, Tower of London etc.
Yesterday was just full of tourist flocking to every possible corner and crevices of London.
I will try to post the pics later.

But I had only spent about probably 6 hours doing 'real photography'.

The remaining time was spent doing other things which I need to warn all dSLR users.
It's the most irritating, hair-pulling and day-ruining aspect of this trip.


1. Carrying dSLR comes great responsibility.

Tourist look up to us as professionals.
You are like the Pope to the Christians and Paris Hilton to the guys.
They will shoot wherever you mount your tripod.
Had a couple who was stalking me for about 20minutes!
Takes photos from every spot I take.
I actually don't mind them following me.
But the problem is- they block my view!!!!! (esp with my wide angle lens).


2. Part time photographer

This is another irritating thing. Be prepared to do this free of charge.
As you are assumed to be a pro, tourist will attempt to grab every possible chance to make you take a photo for them.
They think I am able to produce a masterpiece from a low end compact camera.
It's usually the new couple (straights, gays and lesbians) giving this problem.
I had to do this at least 20times (one of my friends came along and he also 'kena' about the same number of times- He uses the Olympus E series with a hood on his lens making him even more pro looking. And he dresses much better than myself(Cina apek))

The worst experience was when a joker asked me to take a photo of him using his sony handphone! The picture was full of flares and he insisted that I was the cause. He refuse to take the shot in another spot becoz he wanted big ben on his head. The flares persisted despite him changing the settings. We took about 10 shots before he gave up and moved on.


3. Be prepared to lend things
I have had to lend them the following:-

Tripod

Flash

Lens cloth


4. Point, click, aargh!

Had this on 2 occasions.
They just come up to you and ask why so dark? why so blurr?
Be prepared to tell them to get a dSLR and tripod.


5. You are from China unless proven otherwise.
This is the most unbearable comment I had to endure yesterday.
Felt a little insulted actually.
After taking their picture FOC, they will preview my shot and say 'amazing, fantastic, great, blah blah blah).
(But all I did was just to press the button! But I guess its called the placebo effect)

After this brief 'angkat' session they will end the conversation with an anti-climax phrase "eh...are you from China?"

And I am always tempted to respond "eh....are you from russia?"


6. Be prepared to give tutorials

Happened to me on one occasion.
Couldn't 'tahan'
Asian couple (not sure about nationality)
Asked me to take their photo with their Canon 450D (with the 'low yah' Kit lens)
I then went through his settings.
I nearly fainted!!!!!
He used Manual setting (respect-lah brother!)
Shutter speed- 1/4 second
Aperture- f/7
ISO 400
AWB
JPEG
(Night Scene)

I told him- eh.. brother why your shutter speed 1/4 second?
It will definitely shake.

He then cried over my shoulders and said that he does not know how to use this camera as he has just bought it before coming to UK! (To impress girlfriend/new wife I suppose?)

Poor thing.
Went through his previous 10 shots (he took about 100 pics already) and all of them were set at the above settings (even day time!!!!!)
They were either over exposed (he was quite lucky as the weather was very cloudy- gray skies) or blurr (He couldn't notice it as it looked ok on his LCD screen!!!!!! I zoomed up the picture and showed him the blurring and you could see tears coming out from the couple's eyes.

(Wanted to tell him- 'at least your complexion looks smoother with the blur effect')

He was like a hungry puppy.
And I was whacking him upside down.
I couldn't just walk off like this on my canon comrade (also- to prevent him from switching to Nikon). Its unethical!
I therefore did the noble thing and gave him a 20 minute tutorial about things like ISO, Aperture, Shutter speed, Shake, importance of tripod, histogram etc.
Told him to buy a cheap tripod and use the self timer mode to take the pics.
(I think I have just ruined a relationship)

7. Ignore the Nikonians
Wah lah.
The Nikonians are one interesting species.
Show-off character.
Always pretending to be very cool and pro.
Taking shots sideways, this way, that way, squatting, lying and whatever as though they are the one posing for the camera!
Never seen them carrying tripods- I know their camera very good-one (D3, D300..etc)
Wait till I get my 5DII


Returned to Cambridge at 11pm.
Dead tired (walked about 8km).
Need a rest.
No more photography for the coming 3 days.

Friday, December 26, 2008

Best Of Cambridge, United Kingdom 2008

The following are some of the pictures taken recently, currently uploaded at you tube.
File size 80MB.
It is a slideshow lasting 4.45min going through 145 pictures.
Rendering is kept at its minimum to reduce file size.

Landscape pics are mostly done with the Tamron 16-24.

The close-up shots were all taken using 70-200mm f/4. It is a pleasure using the 70-200 as it trains you to think in a 'zoom' mode (same with macro lens, prime lenses etc).

The remaining ones were shot with my favourite walk-around lens- the 24-70.


Some of the shots were great from my point of view (there was a day where I just stood at one place for a solid 1.5hours shooting close-ups with my 70-200. Resulted in many rewarding photos).

Also, some were HDRs (some landscape pics)- To do this, a sturdy tripod is a must. I am glad to have brought my Manfrotto along.

Will post the new pics in my gallery later.

Happy new year!

And a great thank you to all the readers (esp for the comments- much appreciated!).

(p/s Missed the Zara boxing day sale today! as was doing this slideshow. Went to Zara at 445pm only to be told that they were closing at 5pm. Thought they would open till 8pm. Would now have to buy the non-discounted clothes for my wife!)


Also, please compare this with the Canon 5D MarkII HD movie as well.
Reverie..........
By innternationally acclaimed commercial and editorial photographer and Pulitzer prize winning Vincent Laforet.
Full frame is good but do I need HD movie?
Remember that I have no pulitzer award!


(I think a simple slideshow is good enough to put the message across. Tell me what you think).


I suggest you watch the you tube clip under high quality mode (Just type 'best of cambridge' in the youtube search gadget attached to this blog. Then play the video clip and select high quality mode). Go make yourself a cup of coffee while waiting for it to download. The normal quality clip is just so destructive to the details.






Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Post Christmas Sale- NEXT

Christmas Joke for everyone

An Atheist Professor of Philosophy was speaking to his Class on the problem Science has
with GOD , the ALMIGHTY.

He asked one of his new student to stand and . . .

Professor : You are a Christian, aren't you, son ?

Student : Yes, sir.

Professor : So, you Believe in GOD ?

Student : Absolutely, sir.

Professor : Is GOD Good ?

Student : Sure.

Professor : Is GOD ALL - POWERFUL ?

Student : Yes.

Professor : My Brother died of cancer even though he Prayed to GOD to Heal him. Most of us would attempt to help others who are ill. But GOD didn't. How is this GOD good then? Hmm?

(Student was silent )

Professor : You can't answer, can you ? Let's start again, Young Fella. Is GOD Good?

Student : Yes.

Professor : Is Satan good ?

Student : No.

Professor : Where does Satan come from ?

Student : From . . . GOD . . .

Professor : That's right. Tell me son, is there evil in this World?

Student : Yes.

Professor : Evil is everywhere, isn't it ? And GOD did make
everything. Correct?

Student : Yes.

Professor : So who created evil ?

(Student did not answer)

Professor : Is there Sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness?
All these terrible things exist in the World, don't they?

Student : Yes, sir.

Professor : So, who Created them ?

(Student had no answer)

Professor : Science says you have 5 Senses you use to Identify and
Observe the World around you. Tell me, son . . . Have you ever Seen GOD?

Student : No, sir.

Professor : Tell us if you have ever Heard your GOD?

Student : No , sir.

Professor : Have you ever Felt your GOD , Tasted your GOD , Smelt
your GOD ? Have you ever had any Sensory Perception of GOD for that matter?

Student : No, sir. I'm afraid I haven't.

Professor : Yet you still Believe in HIM?

Student : Yes.

Professor : According to Empirical, Testable, Demonstrable Protocol,
Science says your GOD doesn't exist. What do you say to that, son?

Student : Nothing. I only have my Faith.

Professor : Yes, Faith. And that is the Problem Science has.

Student : Professor, is there such a thing as Heat?

Professor : Yes.

Student : And is there such a thing as Cold?

Professor : Yes.

Student : No, sir. There isn't..

(The Lecture Theatre became very quiet with this turn of events )

Student : Sir, you can have Lots of Heat, even More Heat, Superheat, Mega Heat, White Heat, a Little Heat or No Heat. But we don't have anything called Cold. We can hit 458 Degrees below Zero which is No Heat, but we can't go any further after that. There is no such thing as Cold. Cold is only a Word we use to describe the absence of Heat.
We cannot Measure Cold. Heat is Energy. Cold is Not the Opposite of Heat, sir, just the absence of it.

(There was Pin-Drop Silence in the Lecture Theatre )

Student : What about Darkness, Professor? Is there such a thing as Darkness?

Professor : Yes. What is Night if there isn't Darkness?

Student : You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is the Absence of Something. You can have Low Light, Normal Light, Bright Light, Flashing Light. But if you have No Light constantly, you have nothing and its called Darkness, isn't it? In reality, Darkness isn't. If it is, you would be able to make Darkness Darker, wouldn't you?

Professor : So what is the point you are making, Young Man ?

Student : Sir, my point is your Philosophical Premise is flawed.

Professor : Flawed ? Can you explain how?

Student : Sir, you are working on the Premise of Quality. You
argue there is Life and then there is Death, a Good GOD and a Bad GOD. You
are viewing the Concept of GOD as something finite, something we can
measure. Sir, Science can't even explain a Thought. It
uses Electricity and Magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully
understood either one. To view Death as the Opposite of Life is
to be ignorant of the fact that Death cannot exist as a Substantive Thing.
Death is Not the Opposite of Life: just the Absence of it
Now tell me, Professor, do you teach your Students that they evolved
from a Monkey?

Professor : If you are referring to the Natural Evolutionary
Process, yes, of course, I do.

Student : Have you ever observed Evolution with your own eyes,
sir?

(The Professor shook his head with a Smile, beginning to realize where the Argument was going )

Student : Since no one has ever observed the Process of Evolution
at work and Cannot even prove that this Process is an On-Going Endeavor,
Are you not teaching your Opinion, sir?
Are you not a Scientist but a Preacher?

(The Class was in Uproar )

Student : Is there anyone in the Class who has ever seen the
Professor's Brain?

(The Class broke out into Laughter )

Student : Is there anyone here who has ever heard the Professor's
Brain, Felt it, touched or Smelt it? . . .
No one appears to have done so.
So, according to the Established Rules of Empirical, Stable,
Demonstrable Protocol, Science says that You have No Brain, sir. With all
due respect, sir, how do we then Trust your Lectures, sir?

(The Room was Silent. The Professor stared at the Student, his face
unfathomable)

Professor : I guess you'll have to take them on Faith, son.

Student : That is it sir . . . Exactly !
The Link between Man & GOD is FAITH.
That is all that Keeps Things Alive and Moving.


NB:
That student was Albert Einstein.

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Monday, December 22, 2008

Personality trait of a photography addict

My friend seems to be suffering from photography addiction.

He recently added to his bag a Nikon 50mm AIS f/1.4

He seems to fulfill all the traits.
From my discussion with psychologists and psychiatrists from Addenbrooke's, this form of addiction is the most refractory to treatment.
Current evidence based treatment advocate an induction therapy of 12 daily courses of electroconvulsive therapy followed by pulse monthly ECT for 2 year.
Remission rates seem to be about only 30% (at best) with this regime.


The traits are as follows:-


Nikonians.

They are usually users of Nikon products. This is evident recently with their amazing saliva drooling products. Addiction among Canon users appears seemingly uncommon nowadays as they seem to have nothing to show. 5D Mark II seems to be the only thing they have got this year (What can you do with 14 minutes of HD movie! Apparently, the built in mic seems to be ultra-sensitive, recording irritating noises like AF, movement of camera on tripod etc)


Low Tolerance seems to be the most consistent trait. This is the inability to endure, for any length of time without buying any photographic accessories. The addict is impatient.



Grandiosity
.
He constantly reaches for high end stuff eg full frame camera, better and more expensive lenses ..etc

Perfectionism sets impossible goals. The addict is an idealist. He is constantly in search for better and better photos. He constantly browses photo galleries in the internet and he never seems to be able to stop. They can be exceptionally fine workers once the illness has been arrested and after the perfectionism has been reduced to reasonable proportions.



Justification.
Addicts are masters at this. Justification is the science of arranging to do what we want to do, then making it appear reasonable.


Impulsiveness. "I want what I want when I want it." In some ways the addict takes pride in this impulsiveness, as though it were a valuable asset.

If you have 3 or more of the above traits. You need help!
Visit your doctor immediately.

Russell Watson- Its nothing sacred anymore



Kirsty Howard (born 20 September 1995) is a British girl, most notable for her charity work.

Kirsty is the figurehead of Kirsty's Appeal, a charitable foundation in her name, created to raise £5 million for Francis House, the hospice where she receives care. In October 2006, the appeal announced that it has reached its initial target figure of £5,000,000. Kirsty has taken part in numerous fundraising efforts, which have gained national support and attention.

Kirsty was born in Manchester with an exceptionally rare condition in which her heart is back to front, causing the misplacement of her internal organs. The condition is inoperable, and requires extensive treatment, including a constant oxygen supply. Kirsty is the only person in the UK, and only the second in the world, diagnosed with this condition; the condition is reportedly so rare that it does not have a name. In February 1999, she was given only six weeks to live.

In 2001, Kirsty was the mascot for the 2002 World Cup qualifying match between England and Greece. Commentator John Motson called her "the bravest person on the pitch", as she accompanied David Beckham onto the pitch with her 20 kg oxygen tank.

In 2002, Kirsty, along with Beckham, presented the Jubilee Baton to Queen Elizabeth II during the opening ceremony of the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester.

In 2004, Kirsty started the inaugural Great Manchester Run, and took part in the race herself, via wheelchair. In 2006, Richard Fleeshman sang for Kirsty on 'Soapstar Superstar' and donated his £200,000 prize money to The Kirsty Appeal.

Kirsty was awarded the Helen Rollason Award by the BBC in 2004, for her courage and determination in her fundraising efforts. She has also received the Child of Courage Award (2001) and the Pride of Britain Award (2002).

Russell Watson- I believe

Possible last Christmas for Russell Watson



(I stumbled onto his debut album in 2001 while preparing for my MRCP part 1. The songs from his debut album is really refreshing, inspiring and motivating to a certain extent. It enabled me to survive my 2 week marathon revision sessions (16hr/day). I would listen to 1-2 of his songs whenever I get 'saturated' and then return to the books)

Watson was born on 24 November 1966 in Salford, Lancashire,England.
He never sought a career as a professional singer.
He left school with no GCSEs, and started earning £90 a week on a Youth Training Scheme as a bolt-cutter in Irlam, near Manchester.
Then married with a baby, to help support his young family he began to earn extra cash singing Elvis Presley and MC Hammer covers in north-west clubs.

The turning point in his career came at an engagement at Wigan Road working men's club one night, when the secretary suggested he try singing "Nessun Dorma" from Puccini's Turandot.

In 1999 he sang the UK's national anthem at the Rugby League Challenge Cup Final at Wembley Stadium, then finally got to sing at Old Trafford before the last match of the Premiership season between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.

This appearance sealed his success.

Watson's debut album entitled The Voice followed in May 2001.
The album took the number one spot and made history as the first time a British artist had held both the US and UK classical number one.


In 2005, Watson began having headaches, which he described as "like a knife being pressed into the bridge of my nose". He consulted a specialist who told him there was nothing to worry about as he was suffering from stress and should find ways of relaxing. When his peripheral vision began to be affected in late 2006, he visited another specialist who also said he was suffering from stress.
Watson told him, "The only thing that's stressing me is this pain in my head."

In September 2006, Watson flew to Los Angeles, California, to record his album That's Life. On the flight, he told his producer that he was experiencing terrible pressure inside his skull. When they landed, his producer suggested a game of tennis to clear his head. Watson could not see the ball at all. After a visit to the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and an MRI scan, he was advised that he had a developing pituitary adenoma, a type of brain tumour, which was the size of two golf balls.

Watson then returned to the UK, and had a five-hour emergency operation to remove the eight-centimetre lump at St George's Hospital in Tooting, South London, on Monday, 24 September 2006. He recovered post operatively with minimal neurological sequelae.

(He trusted the UK doctors despite them failing to diagnosed his tumour twice! If I were him, I would have had the treatment in US instead as I'm sure money was no problem for him.
Also he had the 8cm tumour removed trans-nasally. 8cm tumour trans-nasally?. Not sure about that)


Whilst in the middle of the studio recording of his album Outside In on 24 October 2007 his symptoms recurred in addition to a new onset left hemiparesis. An MRI scan showed he had a regrowth of his tumour with bleeding into his brain. He underwent emergency surgery to remove the tumour at the Alexandra Hospital in Cheadle, Greater Manchester, and was for a while in critical condition in the hospital's Intensive Therapy Unit.

Apparently despite radiotherapy, the tumour has not disappeared and doctors are worried that this might be his last christmas....


Watson has been reported as saying: "The brain tumour changed my priorities. Made me appreciate the importance of relationships, of friends and family and, most of all, my two daughters. My fear for them if I died – that was the worst part."

He is due to sing on 31/12/2008 as part of the new year celebration.

Some of his songs must be in you tube. Listen to his debut album as I feel that was his best 'performance'.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

My experience with Alaskan Wild Salmon




I have never tasted wild salmon before.
Because of this, I would never be able to differentiate wild from farmed salmon.
I have written before about the issues with farmed salmon i.e Lice, colouring, PCBs contamination etc.
By the way, almost 100% of salmon supplies (e.g. Norwegian, Chilean) from Malaysia are the farmed varieties.

We went shopping today in Tesco (in housemates's car) and I stumbled upon the Alaskan Wild Salmon in the frozen section.
It was more expensive for sure.
8 small pieces (fillet) for 10 pounds.
Usual price for farmed salmon in malaysia is aproximately RM30/kg
This is about RM100/kg!
I bit my lips and put it into my trolley and paid immediately (before I change my mind).
I told myself that this might be the first and last time being able to sample wild salmon.
I came back and immediately started my Alaskan Wild Salmon journey.

I thought I would be disappointed.
I didn't.

Firstly, it didn't look like the usual bright orange that we usually see in the supermarket. The colour was more subtle- 'peachy'.

As far as taste is concerned, there is no comparison (I pan fried the salmon with only some olive oil and butter to be able to taste the original flavour).
It has a much better texture, and the meat does not give you the "fishy" smell and taste that farmed salmon is known to have (have you ever panfried salmon and your whole house is engulfed in this distinct fishy salmon smell???).

The farmed salmons can be compared to chickens (farmed versus wild-kampung), in that the meat is not as well developed, and the fact that the animals are kept confined, in an unnatural state, reflects in the taste at your dinner table or backyard BBQ.



Beyond the obvious health issues, if you are a salmon lover, Wild Alaskan Salmon will give you a taste that can't be beaten!

By the way:-
Farmed Salmon by the way has 52% more fat vs wild salmon (but same omega 3 content)- due to sedentary lifestyle of farmed salmon.

Alaska’s salmon fisheries is strictly regulated, closely monitored, and rigidly enforced. It is one of the few places in the world which practices sustainable fishing.

Friday, December 19, 2008

Inventor of Lightsphere- Gary Fong. Who is he anyway?




Gary Fong's path to a professional photography career was highly unexpected.
With a degree in Pharmacology, Gary worked in hospitals, labs, emergency rooms and pathology departments anticipating a career as a physician.
All of that changed when he decided- for richer or poorer, to begin a career in wedding photography simply because, "I wanted to be around happier people".

Breaking the news to first generation asian parents of an only child was not easy. They presented a unique challenge - he had to show in one year that he could earn more than a doctor could, or go to medical school.
So, starting with $254 and one camera in a small bedroom of his parent's apartment, he developed an album presentation style he called, "The Storybook" and it became a huge success.
Initially, Fong started shooting weddings for $150/no time limit


His celebrity clientele built quickly, photographing the cover for President Ronald Reagan's "Memoirs" book, the late President's official autobiography.
Eventually he would photograph such luminaries as, Sylvester Stallone, Hollywood Magnate Sidney Sheldon, Actress Lee Remick, Paul McCartney, Peter Criss (of Kiss) Bruce Lee, Todd Rundgren, Priscilla Presley, Pia Zadora, Michael Landon, Florence Henderson, Shelly Fabares, among many others.


In 1998, he was featured as one of the world's ten top photographers in "Weddings 2000", a televised satellite broadcast at over 90 United Artists theaters, and attended by more than 10,000 photographers throughout the United States. "Weddings 2000" was the largest educational event in the history of professional photography.

One of the first professional photographers to convert to 100% digital, Gary has a history of being a leader in computer imaging, software and design.
Creator of the industry-standard, "Montage" software, Montage became the most successful software package ever created for professional photographers.
And in 2001, he founded Pictage, Inc's Digital Professional Lab, which quickly grew to the country's largest e-commerce/Pro Digital Lab.
In 2006, Pictage was acquired by Apax Corporation for $35 million.


In 2003, he retired from wedding photography to focus on his energies as an inventor.

His charge just before retirement (for a wedding photo shoot) was USD 120,000 per session!




Gary launched a number of products for the photographic trade.
BullZeye™ is a color correction software for digital images.
The Kleper Digital Report calls BullZeye™ "an amazing digital image color correction application".
For Digital Album and Collage Design, Gary created the "Power Console™" and "BevelMats™" line of digital album design products.

In 2003, Gary launched "Cornerstone Albums™" an album company dedicated to producing high quality digital albums with 100% internet ordering and delivery.

In 2004, Gary invented and patented the "Gary Fong LightsphereII™ which quickly became an unprecedented runaway international success (It sold 300,000 within a year).

On the internet, Gary founded and operates a busy internet portal website and e-commerce solution at http://www.digitalphotographers.net

On August, 28, 2007, Gary married photographer Melissa Carl at his ranch in British Columbia. They migrate between his eleven homes in Seattle, WA; Marina Del Rey, CA and Kelowna, B.C.

Monday, December 15, 2008

Coldest winter start in 30 years

The UK has experienced its coldest start to winter in more than 30 years, experts said.

The first third of December has been more nippy than normal, with the average temperature just 1.7C (35.06F), according to the Met Office. That is a marked drop on the long-term average of 4.7C (40.46F), suggesting the season could buck the trend for very mild winters.

Such a cold start to the month has not been seen since the 1970s, when UK average temperatures dropped to 0.8C (33.44F) in 1976, a spokesman said.

Worsening Economy in UK/US

If the current credit crunch is not enough, we are now faced with another US 50 billion wall street scandal.

It is essentially a pyramid scheme (Called Ponzi scheme in US named after this person who used the pyramid scheme in US years ago to cheat investors) with returns as high as 10.5%.

"This is the biggest financial scandal, probably in the history of the markets - $50bn is a huge amount of money"

Britain's HSBC said it had investments of about $1bn, which could be affected.

The person behind this is Bernard Madoff. Who is he anyway?

Bernard Madoff was born into a New York Jewish family in 1938.

He founded his investment firm, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities, in 1960, with $5,000 earned during summer jobs as a lifeguard and installing sprinklers.


By the early 1980s, the firm was one of the largest independent trading operations in the securities industry, and by 2000 it had about $300 million in assets.



He was closely involved in the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), the self-regulatory organisation for brokers and dealer firms. The NASD went on to found Nasdaq, the screen-based equity exchange, in 1971, and Mr Madoff became its chairman in 1990.

Madoff Securities opened a London office in 1983, and was one of the first American companies to trade on the London Stock Exchange.


The pound is continuing to drop in value day by day and the coming year is expected to be worse.

I am just waiting to see what happens next month when the credit card bills reaches the mailbox of everyone.

(By the way, The Royal Mail in UK is also in the verge of bankruptcy)

Unemployment in UK is now 5.8% (1.8 million)
Unemployment in US is 1.2 million.


So what's the moral of the story-
"If it looks to good too be true, It is usually too good to be true! Don't let greed overcome that natural instinct of yours"

Abhisit Vejjajiva- New PM of Thailand




Early life and education

Abhisit was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England to Dr. Athasit Vejjajiva and Dr. Sodsai Vejjajiva; he is a lifelong fan of Newcastle United FC.
His parents were both medical professors.
His father was also a politically influential technocrat and had once served as Deputy Minister of Public Health.
Abhisit has two elder sisters, Dr. Prof Alisa Wacharasin and Ngarmpun Vejjajiva.
After studying at Chulalongkorn University’s Demonstration School, he transferred to Scaitclife School and Eton College.

Abhisit was admitted into St John's College, Oxford, where he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree (first class honours) in Philosophy, Politics and Economics.
He taught briefly at Thailand's Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy, but returned to Oxford to pursue a Master’s degree in Economics.
He then became a lecturer in the Faculty of Economics at Thammasat University. He also earned a Bachelor degree in Law from Ramkhamhaeng University in 1990.


Family

Abhisit married Dr Pimpen Sakuntabhai, a former dentist and now a lecturer at the Department of Mathematics at Chulalongkorn University. They have two children.

The Vejjajivas are a prominent family of Thai Chinese(Hakka)origin who maintained good relationships with the Thai ruling elite from as early as the late 18th century.
Abhisit himself is a fourth-generation Thai-Chinese.
He has two sisters.
One, Professor Alisa Wacharasindhu, is a leading child psychiatrist and her sons (Tom and Tim Wacharasindhu) attended Winchester College and Eton College.
Another one, Ngampun Vejjajiva, is a leading Thai author.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

President Bush's recent visit to Iraq- You must see this!

President George W Bush landed at Baghdad International Airport on a surprise visit on 14th December 2008.

He travelled by helicopter to the presidential palace where he was received by President Jalal Talabani and a ceremonial guard of honour.

This fourth trip is to be his last before he hands over to Barack Obama.

The privileges accorded to President Bush was just so special.

Could you name me a few other leaders in Malaysia who have had the same treatment?
I could think of at least 1.



Here's the link:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/7782774.stm


Batang Kali Massacre- 1948



This is our 'My Lai massacre' equivalent.

If interested, visit the blog below for a more detail account of the incident.
http://batangkalimassacre.wordpress.com

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Tony Robbins: Why we do what we do, and how we can do it better

Great Photos for all

This site is recommended by DrLCL.

It is really good.
Abstract, good composition, excellent perspective and good photoshop as well in some of the shots.
It is definitely worth the visit.
If gives you the standards that one should aim for.
Enjoy!

http://1x.com/photos/latest-additions/

Friday, December 12, 2008

Warm and Cold Ischemic Time

There are in fact 2 warm ischemic times.

More details in transplanthkl.blogspot.com

Thursday, December 11, 2008

UK economy




The UK economy is undergoing a serious recession. The graphs above are the main macro economic indicators.

In the last quarter (Q3 2008), GDP fell 0.5%. GDP is also forecast to fall this quarter. The UK economy is currently in an official recession. In 2009, the UK economy is predicted to stay in recession, hopefully recovering in the last 2 quarters.

The pound is currently in its 10 year low (against the EURO).
Apparently, it will continue to weaken till after the 1st quarter of next year before stabilizing.

Exchange rate is now: 5.40 (against the dollar).

MacBook Pro and 5DII is at sight!

Qualitative versus Quantitative PCR

In the early 1990's, each laboratory had its own in-house technique for the RT-PCR assay and the reliability of these assays was quite variable. Even as of now, the FDA has not approved any of the RT-PCR assays. However, most laboratories currently use one of the several available diagnostic kits that are automated and designed to reduce the likelihood of contamination. There are two types of RT-PCR, qualitative and quantitative. Qualitative hepatitis C virus RT-PCR provides the greatest sensitivity, meaning that it can measure as few as 100 copies (viral particles) of hepatitis C virus/ml of serum. As the name implies, however, qualitative RT-PCR provides only a positive (presence of hepatitis C virus) or negative (absence of hepatitis C virus) result.

By contrast, quantitative RT-PCR measures the amount of virus. These tests, however, are only accurate within a certain range of viremia (circulating virus in the blood). This means that quantitative assays are not as sensitive as qualitative assays and can only detect as few as 500 copies/ml. Moreover, these assays are less accurate at extremely high viral levels (over 2 million copies/ml). In the past year, there has been an attempt to standardize these various quantitative assays so that the levels of virus that are measured by different assays can be compared. As a matter of fact, results of quantitative RT-PCR are now reported in standard International Units/ml (IU/ml).

Branched chain DNA (bDNA) is the other quantitative technique. It is based on the amplification of the detection signal rather than of the nucleic acid itself. As a result, this test is less prone to contamination and is more accurate when measuring higher levels of the virus as compared to RT-PCR. However, the bDNA assay is not as sensitive as the RT-PCR and is unable to measure levels of virus below 200,000 copies/ml.

Finally, transcription mediated amplification (TMA) is a qualitative technique that is distinct from PCR. This test can measure as few as 2 to 5 copies of virus/ml.

Hepatitis C results interpretation

Past Year Questions (2005)- Final Year MBChB

Therapeutics section-

1. Write short notes on 3 of the following:
a) Finasteride
b) Cyanocobalamin
c) Losartan
d) Insulin glargine

2. 'All drugs licensed for heart failure have been shown to influence suvival but no drugs for angina have been shown to influence survival.
How far is this antithesis a) True b) Defensible?

3. Draw a decision tree for treatment of
a) Epilepsy or b) Depression
Have drugs introduced in the last decade for your chosen condition had more influence on the efficacy or tolerability of treatment?

4. Discuss rationale behind British Toracic Society Guidelines for the Rx of asthma
Why are different glucocorticoids used depending on the route of administration?
What's the purpose of hospitalisation in pt with status asthmaticus?

5. What is meant by Therapeutic Index?
Give examples and expect how use of the drugs is affected. Illustrate for drugs with a range of half lives.

6. What factors determine t1/2 of a drug?
Use comparison of the following -
Nifidipine vs Amlodipine
Trimetaphan vs nitroprusside
Bendrofluazide vs Bumetanide
Chlorpropamide vs gliclazide
GTN vs ISMN
co-careldopa vs pergolide

7. Outline stages of new drug discovery and development.
Whose responsibility is the safety of purchased medicines?
What type of formularies have you encountered and what's their purpose?

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Science and Maths Standards



Medical Library, University of Cambridge



It is situated parallel to Addenbrooke's hospital (On the right hand side in the 1st picture).

An extensive £1 million refurbishment project is currently underway.
It is migrating from a print-based collection to a service built principally around e-resources.

At the moment, wifi is available throughout the library and all staff of Cambridge U and Addenbrooke's hospital is entitled to use the library facilities.
From my quick survey, it has most major medical journals on line.

Over the next five to ten years the Medical Library is therefore planning the phased removal of all the printed journals housed on its upper floor.

The Wolfson Room has 30 computers which give access to the Cam Domain. All have Office, Internet, Adobe etc etc. You need your Library Card number to set up a username and password.

SPSS is available on 4 computers.

Printing is available - B&W - 5p per sheet.
Photostating is 10p per A4 page.

Please contact me if you have any articles that you need.

Monday, December 8, 2008

Amateur Transplant- Dorsal Horn Concerto

Dojo



'Dojo' is traditionally known as a 'place for martial arts training'.

Had a meal in this restaurant over the week-end.
Reasonably priced.
Generous portion.
Taste- 3.5/5.0
They have quite a variety of Southeast-Asian cuisine (in addition to the Japanese menu)
I suspect the owner is Malaysian (or Singaporean). (He speaks Manglish)
The only way to find out is to try their Penang Char Kuey Teow/ Satay on the next visit.

The following is something about the restaurant:-


At Dojo, we merge an exciting variety of authentic Oriental cuisine with l'ambiance of the west creating a unique synergy.

In keeping with one of our primary aims of providing choice, we serve a spectrum of Pacific Rim dishes with a noodle theme. These include Japanese, Chinese, Malaysian, Taiwanese, Singaporean, Vietnamese and Thai influences. Some dishes are described as 'fusion' implying multi-cultural influences stemming from the different parts of the Orient. For 'anti-noodlists' we offer a selection of rice dishes. Dojo also provides a wide range of dishes suitable for vegetarians.

Dojo is situated on 1-2 Millers Yard, Mill Lane (off Trumpington Street), Cambridge CB2 1RQ.

Opening hours:-

Mon-Thur : 12:00 - 2:30 p.m. & 5:30 - 11:00 p.m.
Fri : 12:00 - 4:00 p.m. & 5:30 - 11:00 p.m.

Sat-Sun : 12:00 - 11:00 p.m.

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Dinner at High table- Pembroke College (5/12/2008), University of Cambridge: A Harry Potter experience






Pembroke College, founded in 1347 by Marie de St Pol, Countess of Pembroke, is the third oldest of the Cambridge colleges and the first to have its own Chapel.

I had the privilege of being invited by Professor Ken Smith of Cambridge Institute of Medical Research (CIMR) for dinner at the college's high table on the 5th December 2008.

I thought that it was a departmental dinner and was quite relax about it. But I went into the college's website to memorised as much as I could about the college. I also brought my camera (If you wonder). Apparently, only certain people can dine at the high table. Old Members who hold an MA or other Master's degree or a higher degree from the University, or are qualified for an MA, are welcome to dine in College during term or the period of residence in the Long Vacation. But the website didn't specify the dining rights of a college fellow (there are 65 of them in Pembroke).

Anyway, meeting time was at 715pm (meet at porter's lodge). I arrived 45 minutes earlier as I didn't want to be late (already dark at this time of the day). I then walked down the street to a wine shop to buy a bottle of red wine (so as not to go empty handed).

I told the shop owner that I was about to attend dinner at Pembroke college and would like a bottle of red wine.
Budget 20-30pounds.
He then asked me what type of red wine are you looking for.
Year, country of origin, what aspect of the taste...etc
Oops. Don't know anything about all these things.
So, I told him to recommend.
So he recommended Pinot Noir from New Zealand- light, refreshing....etc
Yes. I heard Pinot Noir before from the TV.
He says I wont go wrong with this.
So I paid him 25 pounds for the bottle and rushed back to the college.

Upon arrival, Prof Ken Smith was already there.
I was introduced to his wife, and Dr Chaudry (consultant in Addenbrooke's Hosp).
Prof was all gowned up (like the Harry Potter characters- in fact, part of the movie was shot in Oxford).
We then walked into the courtyard and into a room (more of a dungeon to me).
(by the way, the attire is formal. I wore a black wool jacket with white shirt and blue tie. Remember that I cycled from home. So I had to change from my North Face Triclimate Jacket to the formal jacket in front of Kings College!).
Flashbacks then occured. Several images appeared- Lord Voldermort, Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and Hagrid. Thank god there was no dragons spurting fire.

Once in the hall, I saw a cozy room with a fireplace with a beautiful table set up for 10 person.
10 person?
We were already 4. This does not look like a departmental dinner.
Oops. Tension....

Then a few other people came. All gowned up.
We were introduced to the fellows of the college (who would be joining us for dinner).
1 was a nano-physicist (40's), 1 historian (70's), 1 economist (60's) and 1 ex governor (70's) of some place which I could not remember.

Then the Master came- Richard Dearlove.
After that, we all walked to another room (inner room). Who walks first is based on hierarchy as well as who sits where.
Anyway, to cut the story short, we had dinner and talked about various issues.
Very interesting conversations with the fellows.
1 fellow was telling me about Malaysia's current political situation (plus the economy and many other stuff). He knows far more than what I know about my country. Some information discussed were very sensitive to be mentioned in this blog. By the way, he was involved in the engineering our country's economy in the 80's.

The fellows like to pose very 'odd' questions out of a sudden. Example:-

"By the way, do you think bets are necessary for a man in his lifetime?"

What question is this!
I am not entering Pembroke College-lah.
But I suspect it might be one of the questions used for their interview (undergraduate student intake).
Anyway, I just said what went through my mind.

Getting back to dinner, the menu was as follows:-
Ceviche Prawns
Chump of lamb
Champ potato, honey roasted carrots and parsnips. (Wow. I love parsnips!)
Dark chocolate and blacberry fondant


Great dinner.
One of the best lamb that I have ever eaten.
But couldn't eat much.
Appetite lost as viva-voce in progress.

After dinner, we went to another room.
Its another session of coffee, alcohol (4 types. Not sure what species of alcohol it belonged to), cheese, fruits. Who pours the coffee is also based on hierarchy.
Since alcohol was free flowing, my pinot noir was redundant.
Anyway, it's the thought that counts right?

The sitting position was now switched!.
You are now seated with another group of people (the other half).
Viva continues..
Does this mean that I have passed Part 1.
Or this is only the 2nd station of part 1. I am dead.

My bladder pressure was progressively building up but I didn't go to the toilet at all as the 'exam' has not finished.

Other topics discussed were:-

Euthanasia
Abortion
Origin of tennis
Politics
UK
Euro
Gordon Brown
David Cameron....etc


"By the way, do you know anything about the master?"
One fellow asked me.
He is the ex-head of MI6.
What? He acted in the James Bond film?
No. He is the ex-head of MI6 in real life.


Sir Richard Dearlove served as chief (known as ‘C’) of the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) from August 1999 until his retirement in July 2004. For the preceding five years he was director of Operations and, from 1998, assistant chief. As director of finance, administration and personnel he also oversaw the move of SIS into its Headquarter Building at Vauxhall Cross in 1994. He is a career intelligence officer of thirty-eight years standing and has served in Nairobi, Prague, Paris, Geneva and Washington as well as in a number of key London-based posts.

Sir Richard took up the mastership of Pembroke College Cambridge on 1 October 2004.

I was astonished.
You need a MI6 person to 'jaga' these cambridge nerds.

To cut the story even shorter, I left after the master left.
(It was already 11pm and they have just started!.)
The fellowship then decided that I could come visit Pembroke whenever I wanted to.

It was raining rather heavily. I came out of the college, changed to my Triclimate Jacket and cycled home as fast as I could (as it was raining and needed to empty my bladder).


This dinner was indeed a memorable event.
I never expected to be introduced to the wizardly world and magical elements of Pembroke College.

So, NEXT (college)............?

p/s: Didn't take any pictures as didn't want to be labeled as 'jakun' of Malaysia.
And remember that I am carrying MSN's name!

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Picture of the week

Addenbrooke's hospital poem competition- 1st Price

Hi, Mum!



I was two cells – one each from him and you.

Fused, not confused, seems they already knew

From all they could be, what they had to be.

Divided, they decided to be me.



With every split decision that they took,

Each chose a route, put on a different look;

A cage of bone, a flow of blood, some skin,

A web of nerves, a mind to keep things in.



Some time amongst that maze I saw a light,

Felt a sharp pain, took unexpected fright;

Heard your heart, sure, but then I heard my own;

Became aware of just how much I’d grown.



Rough-hewn from what heredity portends,

Hi, mum! I’m ready now to shape my ends.





by Paul McGhee

Christmas Dinner at Crown and Punchbowl, High Street






Had a wonderful Christmas Dinner yesterday with the registrars.


Had the following:-

Cream of Parsnip Soup with Crispy Carrots.
Traditional Roast Turkey Breast stuffed with sausage, apple, herbs served with
Brussels Sprouts, Roast Potatoes and Cranberry Sauce.
Traditional Christmas pudding with warm brandy sauce.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

3 more and we are out

Addenbrooke's Hospital as I have mentioned earlier have been suffering from a Norovirus outbreak which causes AGE.
Within 3 days, 17 of our 50 wards have been infected by the virus.
We just need 3 more infected wards to close the hospital down.
At the moment, all patients and doctors/nurses are quarantined (those in the infected wards).
Meals provided to the medical staff (in infected ward) round the clock (they are not allowed to go to the canteen or to 'clean' wards).
If they finish their shifts, then are required to have a shower and go straight home.
'Lepak-ing' is prohibited.

Monday, December 1, 2008

Norovirus outbreak in Addenbrooke's Hospital

The hospital has been partially closed due to outbreaks of Norovirus.
Never really heard of this virus.
Apparently it is a winter virus which causes AGE.

As usual, the nephrology ward is affected. (Nephro wards throughout the world are always involved in outbreaks- MRSA, VRE, MRO and now this virus. Dirty doctors!)

Anyway, less work during this 2-3 days.
Only running the clinic now.