The Only thing to Fear is Fear itself

Panic Buying of Masks in Hong Kong (Channel News Asia report)



Here is the philosophy I have developed over the course of my life. Face the ultimate head on. We are all going to face the inevitable end of life one day. Till that day comes, do we cower in fear when a sudden unexpected global epidemic arises ? Or do we take heed, read, check up on what are the causes of the outbreak and then decide what we need to do and the rest we leave it up to probability ?

The last 7 days have been a daily dose of the Novel CO-19 Coronavirus originating from the city of Wuhan China. Up till today, there are over 7,000 cases reported mainly in China with 170 deaths.People are daily posting the worse case doomsday scenarios about this terrible contagious disease, as yet there has been no vaccine found to readily combat it.

The vaccine will be found ONE DAY. Just like in many of the other once deadly and now, just another 'once killer' disease which threatened humankind's very existence like
HIV/AIDS, SARS, Ebola, MERs and yes in 1918 the Spanish 'flu. Till then we wait, and 

KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON. 

Singapore to date has 13 cases all arrivals from Wuhan since the start of the contact tracing began on 23rd January and they have been under quarantine since that day.

New arrivals with dubious health statuses from China will need to undergo mandatory quarantine too up to 14 days. 

Hold on a little bit. Lets look at our lives. We all will face the end ONE DAY. How and when that happens depends on either fate, God or the end of life which in most cases being the body is too frail to withstand viruses or bacteria and hence even with the best medicines, death comes.

Then there are the group (my age group friends are facing these days head on) who already have life threatening diseases. Heart disease, diabetes, cancer and yes even colds and coughs which could lead to death. Many people are living with pre-existing conditions ; the older one gets the more bad stuff they have. Life is like that unfortunately. However, we CAN take action from the time we become self aware to :

a) eat heathliy
b) exercise frequently
c) enforce good personal hygiene
d) maintain strong immune system by taking health supplments and the like. 

My point is this, the Novel CO-19 is just another Corona virus (there are many so the scientists say) but the contagiousness is quite high but the death rate is lower than SARS or even Ebola.

So why are people in Singapore panicking and buying masks and acting like they will catch this virus and being so fearful of enduring a painful death ? Are there thousands of carriers from Wuhan China who are in our midst ? Not from what the numbers show from our reliable Health Authorities. Our Government's contact tracing from the point of entry to all visitors from Wuhan in the last month MUST be far more sophisticated than just the routine checking at the entry points surely.

Even then, there will be some spread because the mainlaind Chinese would move here and there, BUT again 14 days  before  23rd January (when the surveillance was started), would mean from 16th January onards till today 30th. Most flights out of China are cancelled or postponed anyway. So it is safe to assume our authorities have rounded up most of the people potentially with the virus.

Again I question this about people's mindsets :  

Is the year end 'flu or the occaisonal fever so painful ?

A fact which a doctor friend told me is that the year end 'flu kills 6,000 - 7,000 in the US ALONE, and probably perhaps a million people die worldwide from it each year. Yet, no one goes into panic mode and drop their IQ by one dozen points and sense and sensibility goes out the window. 

Lets assume you DO have the virus. Or cancer or Heart disease. What do you do then ?

That changes your mindset doesn't it ? Suddenly you realise you only have 2 years or 6 months or whatever to live. The doctors will give you the very best medical care and you need to fight it ; just as in anything which affects your health. 

Then you are no longer fearful and realise  "Hey, I still have a life !  why was  I not enjoying life up to now ??  

Lets Choose to Live Now ! Today. DO NOT BE AFRAID. 

The only thing to fear is FEAR ITSELF. 

Do not do stupid things and mitigate risks such as going to mainland China for holiday or non essential visits.

Live each day as if it were your last.

And when we finally accept that we will all face the end ONE DAY we then understand that we need to SEIZE EACH AND EVERY DAY. You will be satisfied with it (your life I mean) when the time comes. 

Trust Me.

CARPE DIEM. 

Mum and Papa taught me to stand up against tough times

Mum and Papa circa 1984 outside Ming Jiang restaurant 

My Mum Anna (1930 - 2011) and my father Geoffrey (1919 - 2010) were exceptional people. They lived through turbulent times of the 2nd World War and were happily married for 50 years or so till their passing. Life was very hard under the Japanese occupation, my father had an older brother Gerard, who was taken captive by the Japanese and never seen alive again. My Mum endured alot of hardship first in Guangzhou when my Gong Gong left the family and my Por Por (maternal grandmother) had to come to Malaysia to eke out a living amongst the overseas migrants.

They struggled for basic necessities during the war, just to eat rice was a treat. My mother had this knack of charming the Japanese into giving her enough rice for her 3 sisters and younger brother and my Mum was the champion EQ (emotional quotient) person, so she always managed to 'sweet talk' the Japanese soldiers into giving her more than her fair share of rice, while the big strapping whom she went with most often of times, got nothing !

Life was tough then and my father (I believe) was an interpreter between the Japanese and the local people, as he had picked up the language quickly during the tough war times. 

I always am proud to be their elder son, and by being so, I must be resilient, and stand my ground especially when the situation demands it.

I must strive to be better and work towards a happy work life balance. Retirement is at the moment not an option, although I must say I am blessed in health and am getting by in business. I had a torrid time about 5 years ago, and the JV company for testing business is wound up and we are applying to strike it off. The lessons learnt must never be repeated.

Everyone deserves a little kindness and fairness in life. Though that is not very often the case (a few people are very fortunate while the rest of us have to plug through a whole list of very trying times) we need to just grin and bear with the situation and manage it with the heart of a survivor.

Up and On. Never Give Up. Change Tack when Situation Demands It ! 

Ken Shin Kai Karate Club Membership Drive 2020

Ward off High Kicks, Foot Strike and Punches with Ease  

Ken Shin Kai Karate Club has been in existence as a society for over 20 years now. Helmed by Hanshi Chia Kwek Fah, 8th Dan Shitoryu (IKSU) exponent, he has been active first as a participant, both kumite (free sparring) and kata (pattern performance) since the 1960's. He has therefore been active in Karate both as a participant and as a coach for over 60 years !

A fitness consultant both in the schools and also for personal training, he holds a degree in Sports Science (Edith Cowan) as well as multiple certificates from Sport SG for the coaching and first aid of martial arts.

Join our Growing Class of Graduands 

The next coach is Sensei Chua Boon Teck Jason. Jason holds a 3rd Dan (Karate Union of Singapore) and has been active in Karate for almost 40 years since his teenage days.  He is 57 and a very fit guy. A regional service manager, his hobbies include running and fishing.

Jason is coaching the class every Sunday  

Classes / Details  are :  

Every Sunday

Location : Tanglin Community Center (Club)
247 Whitley Road
Singapore 297829
Time : 6.00 - 7.30 pm
Tel : 6251 3922

Fees : (only) $ 65 for 12 lessons (3 months)  ; very cheap compared to Taekwondo, and Muay Thai. 

Age Group : 5 years to 80 years of age.

Grading (Test) : Every 3 /4 months ; 

A Certificate of Accomplishment will be given for successful applicants. 

Can be used for CCA points in School 

Estimated Time to get Black Belt (some degree of competency) : 3 - 4 years. 

Come and Join Us !  For Fitness, Self Awareness and Self Defence !

                             Mark Abisheganaden (me) also helps out in the coaching 

Sensei Ricky Ng, Jason Chua, Leck Chai Chuah and Me.

Tonight's the Night They Make History ! 2 - 1 Victors !

Tonight 8pm UK time, 4 am Singapore time, Wolves will host the champions elect Liverpool at Molineux and I have a feeling that they will finally be THE first team which beats Liverpool this season.

Liverpool has had an exceptional season no doubt and their front 3, Salah, Firminio and Mane are really world class. The game MUST be won at Midfield, and Neves, Moutinho, Doherty and Dendoncker (if he is pushed up front) can make history by controlling the centre of the park. They Must if Wolves have any chance of upsetting the form book.

The defence is also quite sieve like, so Wolves had better get their act together with 5 at back to shore up against Liverpool's so potent attack. 

IF Wolves can hold the fort defensively, not let in 1 or 2 goals in first half, control the game in the midfield, I would say, Wolves will win this game by 2 - 1 or 1 -0.

Tonight's the Night to Make History !

Let us Do it with Pride !  

Footnote (24th Jan 8.00 am) : Alas it was NOT to be ; they fought back from a goal down and at 1  - 1, Firmino stepped in with a sweet finish to make it Wolves 1 Liverpool 2.

It was a GREAT GAME nonetheless !  

Boogie Woogie Stump - Michael Alf Trio

Saints 2 Wolves 3 ; This Team has Fighting Spirit and Grit ; Champions in the Making

If there is any message or lesson to take away from this match is this. I am a fair weathered fan. I am sad to say, when things go bad for my team, I shy away and watch other channels or go to bed. 

If I am a hard core fan, I should continue rooting for the team until the very end of the game and time and again the brilliant Nuno Esperito Santos has shown us with his special team of players that they are indeed champions, in every sense of the word.

1. Never be disheartened

2. Things will be bad but there will be a day for improvement

3. NEVER EVER GIVE UP

4. True grit makes champions.

8 times on the trot, they go behind by 1 to 2 goals (2 goals down against Man City and now Southampton, 1 against Norwich, 1 against Newcastle, 1 against Liverpool and 2 against Watford).  3 of these times they gritted their teeth and fought back with FIERCE TENACITY.

3 times, they drew level. and 2 they lost. 

I need to up my support for this magnificent team. If not, I don't deserve to support them.

Reality Distortion and Addiction - Gambling.

                                       Rex Hotel, Ho Chi Minh City October 2019

I often play the logic numbers game called Sudoku. Every pattern or set of game sheets (if I can call it that) has a predetermined 'win' and it is based on 9 squares, in a grid of 3 rows and 3 columns. The player has to ensure that each square is filled only by the number 1 to 9 ONCE and each row and column also only has the number1 to 9 only once. There is no rule for diagonal numbers and there is no "0" in the game.

The level of difficulty starts from Easy or Gentle, to Medium to Hard to Very Hard and finally Diabolical (really suicidal) based on the numbers left in the grid. Well I have been playing for at least 12 years and have finally been able to finish diabloical levels quite easily but when I play the game I need to employ the following techniques or strategies :

1. Elimination by number similarity (either single, a pair or sometimes treble)
2. Counting from 1 to 9
3. Some logic 
4. Pairs elimination
5. Probability 
6. Gwendolin's string (when lost in the forest, go 1 way but remember where you turned
    so that you can revert back if you make the mistake)
7. Pure guesswork.

Now, that I find doing the sudoku challenges not so much a challenge, I turned to the game Solitaire. Now, I find myself 'hooked'. I question "why ?" 

Why am I subjecting myself to a computer game where the simulation or gaming software controls the outcome of the cards ?? Am I more attracted to risk at the hands of others ?

With that fact, I started reading on the net, why people love to play the game of 'chance' and try their luck at winning 4 D, the lottery (Toto as it is called in Singapore) or the casino with the myriad of games where the 'house' invariably wins 95% of the time ? 

Why ? 

After reading the post beow, I have decided NOT to play more than 3 games of Solitaire per night, perhaps I should take a walk to clear my tired mind, at the end of the day. 

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Gambling is often called a “game of chance”. It evokes fun, random luck and a sense of collective engagement. These playful connotations may be part of why almost 85% of all adults gamble at some point in their in their lifetime. Lets look at closely to the definition of gambling.

It isn't always the casino. When we take risks in life, these actions whether calculated or not, also constitute 'gambling' be it in investments,plunging into the business world, a joint venture, being a director and owning equity in companies, the stock market, owing and speculating in property, and the occasional 4D or lottery. 

Why do people gamble ?  I would say : for  pleasure, money the thrill or the escapism from the boredom of life.

While these might be reasons why people gamble initially, psychologists don’t definitely know why, for some, gambling stops being an enjoyable diversion and becomes compulsive. What keeps people playing even when it stops being fun? Why stick with games people know are designed for them to lose? Are some people just more unlucky than the rest of us, or simply worse at calculating the odds?

Mike Robinson is Asst Prof at Wesleyan University in the US :   

Here is his take on it : (Reprinted from the website Fast Company) 

"As an addiction researcher for the past 15 years, I look to the brain to understand the hooks that make gambling so compelling. I’ve found that many are intentionally hidden in how the games are designed. And these hooks work on casual casino-goers just as well as they do on problem gamblers.

[Photo: Carl Raw/Unsplash]

UNCERTAINTY AS ITS OWN REWARD IN THE BRAIN

One of the hallmarks of gambling is its uncertainty–whether it’s the size of a jackpot or the probability of winning at all. And reward uncertainty plays a crucial role in gambling’s attraction.

Dopamine, the neurotransmitter the brain releases during enjoyable activities such as eating, sex and drugs, is also released during situations where the reward is uncertain. In fact dopamine release increases particularly during the moments leading up to a potential reward. This anticipation effect might explain why dopamine release parallels an individual’s levels of gambling “high” and the severity of his or her gambling addiction. It likely also plays a role in reinforcing the risk-taking behavior seen in gambling.

Studies have shown that the release of dopamine during gambling occurs in brain areas similar to those activated by taking drugs of abuse. In fact, similar to drugs, repeated exposure to gambling and uncertainty produces lasting changes in the human brain. These reward pathways, similar to those seen in individuals suffering from drug addiction, become hypersensitive. Animal studies suggest that these brain changes due to uncertainty can even enhance gamblers’ cravings and desire for addictive drugs.

Repeated exposure to gambling and uncertainty can even change how you respond to losing. Counterintuitively, in individuals with a gambling problem, losing money comes to trigger the rewarding release of dopamine almost to the same degree that winning does. As a result, in problem gamblers, losing sets off the urge to keep playing, rather than the disappointment that might prompt you to walk away, a phenomenon known as chasing losses.

[Photo: Steve Sawusch/Unsplash]

LIGHTS AND SOUNDS EGG YOU ON

But gambling is more than just winning and losing. It can be a whole immersive environment with an array of flashing lights and sounds. This is particularly true in a busy casino, but even a game or gambling app on a smartphone includes plenty of audio and visual frills to capture your attention.

But are they just frills? Studies suggest that these lights and sounds become more attractive and capable of triggering urges to play when they are paired with reward uncertainty. In particular, win-associated cues–such as jingles that vary in length and size as a function of jackpot size–both increase excitement and lead gamblers to overestimate how often they are winning. Crucially, they can also keep you gambling longer and encourage you to play faster.

[Photo: Flickr user kubina]

FEELING LIKE A WINNER WHILE YOU’RE LOSING

Since games of chance are set up so the house always has an advantage, a gambler wins infrequently at best. You might only rarely experience the lights and sounds that come along with hitting a true jackpot. However, the gaming industry may have devised a way to overcome that issue.

Over the last few decades, casinos and game manufacturers significantly upgraded slot machines, retiring the old mechanical arms and reels in favor of electronic versions known as electronic gaming machines. These new computerized games and online slots come with more attractive colorful lights and a variety of sounds. They also possess more reels, ushering in a new era of multi-line video slot machines.

Having multiple lines enables players to place a bunch of bets per spin, often up to 20 or more. Although each individual bet can be small, many players place the maximum number of bets on each spin. This strategy means a player can win on some lines while losing on others, netting less than the original wager. Even when you “win,” you don’t come out ahead, a phenomenon known as “losses disguised as wins.” Yet each win, even when it is a loss disguised as a win, comes with the lights and sounds of victory.

The result is that these multi-line slot machines produce more enjoyment and are highly preferred by players. Crucially, they tend to make gamblers overestimate how often they’re truly winning. The dramatic increase in the frequency of wins, whether real or fabricated, produces more arousal and activation of reward pathways in the brain, possibly accelerating the rate at which brain changes occur. Multi-line slots also seem to promote the development of “dark flow,” a trance-like state in which players get wholly absorbed in the game, sometimes for hours on end.

[Photo: Flickr user m01229]

ALMOST: NEAR-MISS EFFECT AND CHASING YOUR LOSSES

The rise of electronic gambling machines also means that rather than being constrained by the physical arrangement of different possible outcomes on each reel, possible outcomes are programmed onto a set of virtual reels. Gaming designers can, therefore, stack the deck to make certain events occur more frequently than others.

This includes near-misses, where one of the reels stops just short of lining up for a jackpot. These near-miss almost-wins recruit areas of the brain that usually respond to wins, and increase one’s desire to play more, especially in problem gamblers.

This phenomenon is not confined to slot machines and casinos. Near-misses play an integral part in the addictive potential of smartphone games like the very popular “Candy Crush.”

Near-misses are more arousing than losses–despite being more frustrating and significantly less pleasant than missing by a longshot. But crucially, almost winning triggers a more substantial urge to play than even winning itself. Near-misses seem to be highly motivating and increase player commitment to a game, resulting in individuals playing longer than they intended. The size of the dopamine response to a near-miss in fact correlates with the severity of an individual’s gambling addiction.

[Photo: Flickr user anokarina]

GAMBLING AND ITS GAMES

When you engage in recreational gambling, you are not simply playing against the odds, but also battling an enemy trained in the art of deceit and subterfuge. Games of chance have a vested interest in hooking players for longer and letting them eventually walk away with the impression they did better than chance, fostering a false impression of skill.

For many people, these carefully designed outcomes enhance the satisfaction they get from gambling. It may remain easy for them to simply walk away when the chips run out.

But gambling isn’t only a lighthearted promise of a good time and a possible jackpot. Up to 2% of the U.S. population are problem gamblers, suffering from what’s recently been reclassified as gambling disorder.

It stands out as one of the few addictions that doesn’t involve consumption of a substance, such as a drug. Like other forms of addiction, gambling disorder is a solitary and isolating experience. It’s tied to growing anxiety, and problem gamblers are at greater risk of suicide.

For these more susceptible individuals, the game designers’ hooks start to seem more sinister. A solution to life’s problems always feels just one spin away. "

Footnote : I do not own the rights to the above article as stated in "  .... ". 

I am sharing for knowledge dissemination.