Tuesday, June 3, 2014

From Boys to Men June 2014


    Today I sent off my elder son Noel to the airport for a 5 week attachment to Hong Kong's Ling Nan University. At 19 he is in the final year of his teenagehood if there is such a word. As part of his Polytechnic studies, his course in Humanities and Social Studies requires him to travel for overseas attachments at least once, maybe 2 to 3 times in the 3 year period. 

    With a tinge of melancholy, i recalled the times when he was just a baby, and my parents would dote on him, lovingly and selflessly coming over to our small apartment almost 20 years ago every single day to play with him when he could barely walk and talk.  



Wife with the 2 Young Men

       Today, he is off into the world (for almost 5 weeks anyway) with a mission to make it a better place. In their Social enterpreneurship course at the Polytechnic, they will get to meet many people who have been disenfranchised, aged sick, marginalised, or disabled with minimal opportunities in life. I have seen Noel blossom into a fine young man with a heart to serve. Something which my late father Geoffrey had done with no intention of fame or reward.  I feel that at least, in this day and age of ever widening incomes and inequality of living standards, the younger generation who have grown up with plenty of good food and travel, feel compelled to help out the less fortunate amongst us in our local as well as regional societies.




                 Choosing the right fashion current looking specs 





                                                                                                          
                                                                                            Andrew at 16 1/2 years old

A funny anecdote for everyone, today as I sent him to the airport, I wondered aloud why they was a change in airline, when the class was supposed to fly via Jetstar, a budget carrier , to Hong Kong. he said, that many parents complained about the supposedly lower standards of air travel, hence the last minute change to Singapore Airlines which is premium airline with top service and costs. I smiled at the irony of this !!

People going overseas to do good to help poor and disadvantaged people fly premium airlines and expect premium service.  

Only in Singapore !! 

I wish Noel to make the best of his Overseas Attachment and may he come back with the day to day exposure of staying by himself and friends which is crucial for  everyday life in the near future.

Bon Voyage !!   

Thursday, May 8, 2014

Wolves Goal of the month April - May 2014


I am happy my boyhood team which I followed so ardently, Wolves, or Wolverhampton Wanderers have been crowned Champions of the 3rd division in English Premier League. 3rd division you say, yes, how the mighty have fallen.One of the original founder members of the English League in 1889 or so, they have won the League in the 1950s as well as the FA Cup in the early 1960s. In 1980, with Andy Gray as the then most expensive player (1 million pounds) they beat Aston Villa 1- 0 to win the League Cup.

Since then, then have been at the fringes of 1st division and only made it a couple of times to the top division or the Premier League. I am happy to be one of a unique and small bunch of 'supporters' who made an emotional decision (with my heart) to support them when I was in my teens.




They have not been anywhere close to the top 6 clubs, but they are certainly a club with a good fighting spirit and attacking flair.

I have visited Wolverhampton in the 1980s and was very shocked to see it as a run down and grey industrial town ; maybe football is one way out of poverty for many in the town.

Long live the Wolves !

Monday, April 28, 2014

Dr. Louis Ignarro ; Nobel Prize winner ; and post 60s marathoner. He's fast !


This gentleman is special, he is a Nobel Prize winner in 1998 in medicine for research in Nitric Oxide's role in cardiovascular health. Basically Dr. Ignarro explained that a healthy body which is well exercised produces copious amounts of nitric oxide (NO) and widens veins, arteries amd improves blood flow, plus better efficiency of oxygen transport througout the body.

He was also a marathoner, who started running marathons at the ripe young age of 64 ! Yes, 64 years of age, he ran his first marathon ! He did his fastest time of 4 hours 3 minutes (!) at 68 years of age. I have never achieved 4 hours 3 minutes, but I guess my best times are ahead of me !

He hurt his knees at 70 so at the ripe young age of 72, he still cycles 240 km every week !

This guy is a role model for gerontology, not is he brilliant, he is fit and healthy. 

Using him as a role model, I am still 13 years younger than him before he ran his first marathon ! I still have many miles (or kilometres for that matter) in my tank !

Seize the day ! 




Friday, March 14, 2014

Proviva : Manage Your Diabetes, High Cholesterol and Gout Now !


Proviva Range of all Natural Food Supplements

I have been taking food supplements for around 8 - 9 years, the upside of it is that I have been generally healthy (thank God and touch wood) so far. Many small niggling coughs, colds and the 'flu have not affected my health in general, and I am grateful and thankful for this. 

"Health is Wealth" goes the saying, I would like to add on this word, "Good Health is Wealth"
because you can have bad health and all the money in the world can't buy you quality of life if you are down with a life threatening illness. 

This is the first time I am revealing the wellness side of me, so I would like to share it with the blog readers, we tend to eat junk food once in a while, the food at the hawker centres is laden with everything from pork lard, to mono-sodium glutamate (MSG) to excessive sugar, salt and eggs.

I have been a GNC member for the last 9 years, and have bought bulk purchase for 1 years' supply from them amounting to $1, 268.  The supplements range from General Nutrition tablets, Ginko Biloba, Glucosamine Chondriotin MSM Sulphate, Vitamin E, Glutathione and now Proviva L.

I am now switching to add a mix of Proviva range because its a) made in Singapore (highest safety standards compliance of non-toxicity by the Health Promotion Board), all natural food grade ingredients and the use of Pre and Probiotics (micro-organisms for gut health) which is so critical for our body's everyday digestion and well being. b) price point competitive with all natural ingredients with no chemicals 

 Interactive Microorganisms Labs, helmed by Dr Chia BT is the company involved in the creation the phytosymbiotic supplements and the manufacturing is done  in an
Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) factory which has passed Singapore's highest safety standards.

The product range is as follows :

    Illness Prevention, Disease management and control

1. Proviva G  -   For people with high blood sugar levels           
                       -   Liver Protector (fatty liver, cirhossis etc.)        
                         
2. Proviva L  -   For people with high cholesterol (like me)                     
                                                                                                
3. Proviva U  -  For people with Gout                                        
                                                                                                      
   Lifestyle Enhancement
         
1. Living Logic   - for mental alertness, memory function      
                                                                                                     
2. Living Genesis -  anti-oxidant, general well being               
                                                                                                     
At this time of posting, I have been taking Living Logic for mental alertness, and Proviva L for Cholesterol Reduction for about a year now.  

The effects of both on my well being are quite amazing , my mental alertness has improved and I have switched  from Ginko Biloba to Living Logic for my daily dose. I am also using Proviva L for my cholesterol control needs, as it is non- chemical based and  best of all, in soft easy digestible capsules form.

For sales enquiries contact : www.proviva-g.com  - See side bar link. 







Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Stay Strong ; Focussed on Goals ; Diversify upon Opportunity


                                             Kneeling beside a cenotaph, Egypt 2009 

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Imagine Dragons - On top of the World




This video by Imagine Dragons is waaay cool, see the big 'con' the US pulled off 44 years ago.  The US is full of conspiracies and counter claims, thats why its so fascinating, for every official breakthrough, there is always another spin to the story which is so intriguing.

Who killed JFK ?  Was 9 -11 a setup ?  Who shot Martin Luther King ? Who was behind the 1997 Asian crisis ?

Enjoy the video which is highly entertaining in my book.