Photos - Bangkok, Thailand

Photos- Shrimp farm in China

The shrimp farms in China (Robins photos collection.)

700 Billion

700 Billion!, As Jean said I wonder how many zeros? I do not understand so much about wall street news nor White House News. Talking about that wall street, I do not like to walk on that street because I know the feeling of walking on that street just seeing Robins. If you do not have a hard head, please do not walk on that street because it will make you a normal to crazy man soon.

My husband is walking on that street every day, watching the market, poking the computer or talking to his father...oh yes sometime he talks to the TV and Computer too. NO lie, everyday except Saturday and Sunday which is market close!!!! It is so fun to see him that just seeing the damn CNBC and his computer, his face can turn into moon or sun. I should say raining or sunshine day.

2 Things that Robins can't hold or hide his emotions are..

1. Shrimps news: If his workers briefing him in the morning that the shrimps are dead, He is dead too. If the shrimps are dying, he is dying too. Sometime, I think Robins dead longer than the shrimps. I never seen a man so much in love with his babies shrimps till I married into one.

2. Market news: Now that 700 billions news is killing him. This is not a joke people. This new can lead to lots of people can hang them self. Like people are still jumping off from Lisboa Casino in Macao. Fair ha? money can leads you happiness so does hang to dead. The other day I was with a friend's birthday party, her husband lost 400,000US$ in a certain days. Go, went and gone stages?? If you do not know how it happen, try to walk on that wall street you will know the answer.

Once I was so much envy on Robins, I tried to invest 2 companies. Limited Clothe line and Boston Chicken. (The reason: I was visiting to my Thai Princess in Washington DC, every time we went to Tyson Conner, I saw people packed at Boston chicken and limited cloth line. Guess what? After I bought that damn two companies, my money was floating down to the river stream faster than I can catch back (well part of it I left it go long period). Boston chicken was floating faster than limited cloth line.) Been there done that and got so much head aging or headache so bad that never again!

I am agree with the following article. I need to know more how that numbers, 700 billion come out? Some one must come out with 700 reasons for me to understand too... Why, How????. People blaming at Bush which is not fair. If you are a blamer, please not only to Bush (leave the man a lone please. Let him retire in peace. His hair are getting whiter and whiter), should be including all of the Treasury Department. Who is the big dog there? I should say Mr. P, right? Can't even pronounce his last name starting with P though.

If you ask me am I mad? Yes I do because I do not work but I am paying US tax, that's why I am mad! I wish my tax goes to Student Loan, Health...etc. It gives me pain to see that my money goes to 700 billion or goes to that stupid boom docks researches.

If there is a mush to go ahead for 700 billion, can they do in half only? 700 billion is too much and too much zeros. Well...That's all I want or I know to say.

September 26th, 2008
To Bailout or Not To Bailout, and 700 Billion Reasons I Don’t Understand

I’m just a regular person. I’m not an economist, and although I like to think about my own money a lot, I don’t really understand the ins and outs of the economy as a whole. But even my quiet little part of the US has big splashy headlines like “700 Billion Dollars!” on the front page of its newspapers. So I can’t help but try to understand what the heck is going on with the US economy and what the best course of action is for the future. Is a $700 billion economic rescue / bailout plan the right course of action? I wish I knew.

I know that the economic rescue plan is supposed to keep some big financial companies from going bankrupt and throwing the US economy into a tailspin. I also know that the plan was looking like it was going to be approved and as of right now, is not looking so sure any more. So what happens if it isn’t approved? Do I need to start hoarding more toiletries in case my money ends up worthless?

Okay, so I am (mostly) kidding about that last line. But I can’t help but be nervous. And the worst part for me is, I can’t figure out how I feel about it all. I read opinion pieces that talk about how is it fair that the government is bailing out companies that took risks, when it isn’t bailing out the average person’s financial mistakes (yes government, I have some student loans you could have back…) but then on the other hand I read about how our financial system as we know it could be on the edge of collapse and ruin if the financial institutions aren’t bailed out, and I start to get all panicky and freak out.

I’ve spent a lot of time reading CNN’s Financial Crisis section, and my head literally hurts. Lucky for me I got free Excedrin Tension Headache from Walgreens this month.

Get out of debt. Hoard my money in an emergency fund. Prepare for the worst but hope for the best. My financial priorities haven’t changed from what they were last week or the week before, but suddenly they feel a lot more urgent.

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Helen's poll after the VP debate

A guy, (I forgot his name), news commentator to CNN said, "Sarah Palin passed the test"! The poll said, Biden won 64% compare to Palin's 36%. Then another poll said popularity for Palin after this morning debate, (Bangkok Time), is 88% to Biden's 7 or 27+% (can't remember!). I do not really care these %. I agree with someone said, "she was definitely not talking like student to Head Master at all! Her sound likes talking "Senator to Senator".

Someone said, ( I can't remember the name as so many were talking this morning after the debate), "This is one of the best of Joe Biden's debate!"....I hope so, after 30 + year of working experiences with that old folks group in DC, he better knows what he is doing.

People said McCain is old, I wonder how old Biden is? He even looks like cousin to McCain, Same hair colour, same skin colour, same dress but just talked different.

Well my poll will say 50/50...but my feeling say," That Barracuda bite but just left only the teeth marks instead of should bite the whole Biden's head off" .Sorry, is my sound so bad?

VP Debate

My fellows American, (sound like President myself ha? Too much watching CNN and Fox?), 8 am in Bangkok, Thailand now. No blog today I must watch the debating between VP candidates. I won't miss the Barracuda and the Lack(sorry to call Biden as Lack, I feel he is lack of information! he even do not know when the TV started in USA!). Most people vote in secreted way but you all will know soon that who I am voting for!

Time to Watch!

Frozen liver

I think it is not a bad idea if we can froze human livers, so one day the delay of liver between donation and transplant operation can be prevented. Good ha? A+ for the Israeli Scientists Team. They still need to do some more works though.

After all the procedures had done, I had to see one more doctor for the final review before my liver transplant. He is a Russian doctor, speaks English as my level (means... sometime good, some time bad. The different is, he is MD and I am BSc. ha ha ha to you Helen!), nice personality and likable. He explained to me, (with his hand raised in the air like a plane), "When the plane with your new liver weeeeeeeeeee, in the air, the transplant doctors will start open your belly, ah your chest!, any questions?" (I love Shands at Florida University Hospital, I rally do. They are friendly and happy people there). You need liver transplant, consider DR. Alan W Hemming at Shand, UF . He is a good, very good doctor. You can internet about him and his works. If you looking for GI doctors, there are DR. David Nelson and Dr. Souldavella Pico.)

I blinked my eyes, (not rolling the eyes, I do not like adult rolling the eyes. I think it is so unprofessional!, especially in men), and asked him "HOW WILL I BE IF THE PLANE WITH THE LIVER CRASH??"... I can see his face, this might be the only question or the first question for his entire MD life being sked by a very educated woman like me ha!. He said after much pause, "Do not worry, it's never happen. You will be take good care of it"....I comforted my self saying... "Well..if happen, the doctor will close my belly back!" Finito, Esta bien e otra vace! Guess what's happened? I think after 6 or 8 months of my transplant, there was a plane with organ for transplant crashed! was in Breaking News. I hope not the patient's belly is opened and waited. Honestly my thought go for donor, receiver, the pilots and also the doctors, the nurses who are working hard. It's not an easy works for all of them. Hope the frozen liver will prevent the opened chest too.

Thanks the Lord for my matching liver came in one month and 20 days. I want to mention here that "I am still and often praying for those who are in still waiting list! Jim, you are still in my thought and prayer".

Got the article from my Google News.

Page last updated at 17:00 GMT, Wednesday, 1 October 2008 18:00 UK

Frozen liver transplant success

Chilled organs only last for around 24 hours

The successful thawing and transplantation of a frozen pig's liver could bring the technique one step closer for humans.

Israeli scientists, reported New Scientist magazine, used a "slow freezing" method which preserved the organ without damaging it. They believe a "bank" of frozen organs, ready for transplant, would be possible.

A UK expert said more work would be needed to prove the method was safe.
In terms of transplanting it into human patients, there is still some way to go Mr Keith RiggBritish Transplantation Society Organ donation schemes have to work fast to match organs with patients who need them, as, even if kept chilled, they can become unusable within 24 hours.

Researchers have been looking for ways to preserve them by freezing, to cope with delays between donation and transplant operation. The main problem with freezing is the formation of jagged ice crystals in the water inside cells, which can them and their contents.

The scientists from the Israeli Agricultural Research Organisation in Bet-Dagan employ a far slower system, cooling the organ by just 0.3 degrees celsius a minute. This reduces the formation of crystals, and freezing an entire liver takes about an hour and a half. A similar technique is used by some frog species during hibernation when some parts of their body are allowed to freeze.

In this experiment designed to test whether a liver could survive the method, the pig organs were frozen, then immediately thawed and transplanted into another animal alongside their existing liver.

Working together Two hours later, the recipient pig was killed and the liver checked for signs of life. The results were initially published in the journal Rejuvenation Research.

They found that the transplant liver had regained some signs of blood flow, and was producing a bile-like liquid, hinting that some of its functions had returned. However, because it was working in tandem with the existing liver, and was only left working for a couple of hours, the research did not show whether it could recover all its functions, and work independently to keep the animal alive.

The researchers now plan to carry out further experiments to test this. Mr Keith Rigg, a transplant surgeon and vice president of the British Transplantation Society, said that the work was "interesting", but had not yet convinced him that it could work in humans. "In terms of transplanting it into human patients, there is still some way to go." He said that, with demand for donated livers exceeding supply in the UK, there was probably no need for a "bank" of frozen organs.

"We have fairly good transport time across the UK, so these delays are not so much of an issue - although this might be different across the rest of Europe."

Injection

My next check up, CT scan is due in January 2009 and my HBIg infusion is more or less the same time. Since my liver transplant, I flew to Florida to my 6 months checkup and infusion, but for the first time I am planning to get both in Thailand. I will still flying back to Shands at University of Florida not every 6 months now on but once a year.

I have been inquiring about HBIg in two hospitals in Bangkok. Bumrungrad International and Samtivej Hospital, both are good hospitals. One of the GI who I am seeing in Bangkok was a Professor in Taxes University.

I found out that they can give either way by infusion or by injection. Of course, I did forward to my liver team at Shands, University of Florida. My GI there agree with the injection.

I sked one question to the Bangkok Doctor about injection, "Is this painful?" ..He answered "Yessssssssssssssssssss!". Well, I got to do it and I have to do It.

Fitness & Health with Dr. Gabe Mirkin
News and tips for your healthful lifestyle
Monday, September 29, 2008

Cancer: More Environmental than Genetic
More than 85 percent of the known causes of cancers are environmental, not genetic. Normal cells undergo apoptosis, a process in which each cell lives only so long and then dies. Cancer means that the DNA in cells cannot do its usual job of telling a cell when to die, so the cells grow forever and can spread to other parts of the body to kill you.

Scientists have developed drugs and other treatments to destroy the process that makes cancer cells immortal. However, each cancer cell has hundreds, and even thousands, of different pathways that they can use to make them live forever. Pancreatic cancer cells have an average of 63 mutations (Science, September 4, 2008), and a brain tumor called glioblastoma has at least 47.So when scientists develop a drug to kill a cancer, the drug acts on one or more pathways and may temporarily inhibit the cancer, but drugs never block all the pathways that can go wrong. Therefore cancer can always come back. That is why doctors often use as many as five different drugs to treat some cancers because they want to block as many of the different pathways as possible.

At this time, I believe that the best approach is to avoid or limit your exposure to known or suspected environmental triggers for cancers, which include:

-meat, particularly beef (eating red meat is associated with increased risk for 17 different cancers)
-barbecued, grilled or deep-fried foods (browning or burning foods, particularly fats or starches, forms carcinogens)
- BPA (Bisphenol A) in some plastics - PCB's
- lead in any form- molds such as aflatoxin from rotten peanuts or grains
- arsenic in well water
- asbestos in old buildings
- sexually transmitted diseases such as hepatis C that causes liver cancer or HPV, the human wart virus that causes cervical cancer
- formaldehyde or carbon tetrachloride
- Helicobacter pylori (bacteria that cause stomach burning and ulcers) which can cause stomach cancer- unnecessary X rays, particularly CAT scans
- heavy exposure to pesticides
- radon from the ground leaking into your house
- tobacco in any form
- second-hand smoke
- alcohol (more than three drinks a day increases cancer risk)
- exposure to uranium
- excessive UV radiation (too much sunlight)
- not enough sunlight (lack of vitamin D)
- night shift work (depresses melatonin, a cancer-preventing hormone)

Other cancer risk factors include lack of exercise, excess weight, lack of fiber in the diet, a diet that is low in vegetables, early puberty in women (before age 12), late menopause (after age 55) or taking estrogen after menopause. In 2008, cancer will take the lives of about 230,000 more Americans than it did in 1971. Try not to be one of them.

Posted by Dr. Gabe Mirkin at 10:01 PM