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期望暴雨飄去　便會衝破命運困鎖 Until the storm is gone, we shall shrug off the shackles of destiny

Having waited for several months, I received my first dose of AstraZeneca vaccine on May 31. Several months ago, the Malaysian government opened up AstraZeneca for voluntary take-up due to the public’s health concerns. I registered immediately as I knew the chance of developing blood clot is four in one million and I saw the situation in UK started to see a recovery. And I received one of the 260,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine made available for Malaysian citizens, who took up all doses within several hours.

Perhaps I made it a habit since university days to always look at what is going on in overseas, I have always been very confident in English countries such as UK and US. I did not hesitate at all when I was registering for first round of AstraZeneca rollout, because I think that we have nothing to trust, if we don’t even trust UK vaccine. To put it simply, UK and Australia administer AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines for their citizens and both countries have opened matches for on-site viewers. In view of such progress, other countries need not wait anymore.

For the sake of a smooth vaccination, I increased protein and calcium intake one week before my vaccine appointment. And thankfully, I felt pretty mild tiredness and muscle stiffness and I recovered after taking some rest for two days. Continue reading “期望暴雨飄去　便會衝破命運困鎖 Until the storm is gone, we shall shrug off the shackles of destiny”

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全面解封之妙想天開 Thinking out loud about relaxing restrictions

隨著英美和以色列逐步解封，英格蘭的足球聯賽和美國職業籃球聯賽也可以開放觀眾入場了，我心裏其實愈來愈相信各個經濟體解封是指日可待的事。

這股信心其實來自兩個原因：

第一，英美疫苗施打率相當可觀，中國施打疫苗人數也有增加，星馬地區的疫苗接種人數也是開始增加。目前西方國家正在研究交叉施打疫苗的效果，globalnews.ca報導是效果不錯而且後遺症不算嚴重。若第一劑是阿斯利康、第二劑是輝瑞，或者施打兩劑疫苗的民眾可以在接種第三針的時候補上另一個品牌的疫苗來加強保護力，擁有新冠肺炎的更強抗體的人數持續增加，整個經濟運作的環境就愈安全。 Continue reading “全面解封之妙想天開 Thinking out loud about relaxing restrictions”

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目標大概是感冒化 A normal cold is probably the target

The Covid pandemic seems to rage fiercely in recent two weeks. Territories in Asia saw a spike in new Covid cases, and many of the patients are asymptomatic. Even patients who had been inoculated also fell ill.

Many are asking whether there still is a need to get ourselves inoculated, since one will still be infected. And the answer is yes. Why? Simply because vaccination helps us avoid falling seriously ill, and one’s infectivity can be reduced significantly when infected.

Put it this way. Even after inoculation we still wear a mask, we still practice personal hygiene by washing hands with soap and water. When there are big events such as concert and football match, the health authorities check audiences’ vaccination record and rapid test result at the entrance.
Continue reading “目標大概是感冒化 A normal cold is probably the target”

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好牙齒原來可以維持一生一世 Lifelong teeth care

一直以來都很想問牙醫：到底牙齒可否用上一生一世？有沒有人終其一生都不需要鑲假牙？祇是早晚刷牙是否足以保護牙齒一生都不會蛀掉？

抱著這些疑問過生活的這些年來，我祇是靠牙線剔除幾顆大牙縫隙之間的食物殘渣、早晚刷牙來維持牙齒衛生。說穿了，我對保持牙齒衛生祇是一知半解，心底比較多的想法可能是期盼自己運氣夠好，希望這些工夫加減做了一些就可以換來一生不需要換假牙。

但是現實總是非常殘酷：這個世界從來沒有白吃的午餐，也沒有什麼東西從天而降而不需要付出代價。哪怕使用牙線從表面上看起來似乎是多麼微不足道，實際上還真的有些學問，看過Dr. Grace這支影片就知道了。 Continue reading “好牙齒原來可以維持一生一世 Lifelong teeth care”

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自律與態度決定高度　沒有天註定這麼一回事 No such thing as destiny: Self-discipline and attitude decide your outcome

This episode of Sharon Cheung’s talk concluded my viewpoints. I always remember my discussion with two closer friends that nobody decides another person’s destiny, and that everything starts from our thoughts. It is the thoughts that determine our personality and action, which then lead to a choice, while the quality of our choices determines our direction. And action after a decision is made, will determine the outcome.

For example, if you opt not to have light lunch but keep thinking about having fast food, the likely outcome would be the risk of overweight to be borne by you subsequently. Your choice determines the outcome; it is not destiny or your god that determines if you might gain weight. Or, you are always praying for wealth and a lottery strike for handsome prize money, in real life you are reluctant to learn how to spend thriftily and save money, learn new skills to make sure you are still able to earn a living. If these are your choices, the poverty that entails is the outcome of your choice. This is a consequence of your action prior. Continue reading “自律與態度決定高度　沒有天註定這麼一回事 No such thing as destiny: Self-discipline and attitude decide your outcome”

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Wu Bai – the rocker cum traveller (Republishing Sep 2017 Piece)

Poet rocker Wu Bai is known for his music career with his band China Blue comprises dummer Dean “Dino” Zavolta, keyboardist Yu Ta-hao (nicknamed Big Cat) and bassist Chu Chien-hui.

The reason he picked up a camera to start shooting around – as he wrote on this book Wu Bai Story (《伍佰．故事》), was that he wanted to get himself a background on his computer. And he started with colour photos, only switching to black and white films, when he travelled in Angkor Wat, the Cambodian city where only black and white films are sold.

Apart from music and occassional acting opportunities, Wu Bai also travels extensively. In this book – as he put it, he went to Tokyo to take photos of Japanese office workers. From his perspective, he was curious if these office workers feel tired for their lifestyle – everybody follows the conformity of the society, puts on the same suits, walking in the same direction, eating at eateries after work. And he put it very bluntly – don’t they feel stupid? Continue reading “Wu Bai – the rocker cum traveller (Republishing Sep 2017 Piece)”

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亞洲第一批輝瑞疫苗 First Pfizer vaccines in Asia

Singapore was the first country to have received Pfizer vaccines. This is a good news for the island nation, and the influence of the positive development is going to spill over to other parts of Asia, as the transport minister Ong Ye Kung said he was confident that Singapore could become the centre to distribute the vaccines.

This is no easy feast. Other than Singapore Airlines Cargo’s effort to rehearse the process of transporting the vaccines from Belgium to Singapore just one week earlier, it also takes herculean efforts from DHL, UPS, FedEx as well as SATS Coolport to make this possible. SATS facilities are able to produce four tonnes of dry ice each day to facilitate the transportation of Pfizer vaccines which require -70 degree Celsius storage. Continue reading “亞洲第一批輝瑞疫苗 First Pfizer vaccines in Asia”

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布萊克本流浪者與大馬經濟 Blackburn Rovers and Malaysian Economy

在英超歷史中，布萊克本流浪者是九十年代競逐冠軍盃的熱門球隊。該球會曾經是前英格蘭國腳的老巢，包括前鋒謝勒、中場薛爾伍德、後衛拿索斯，以及門將科華斯。布萊克本曾經在1994/95賽季贏得英超冠軍，祇是後來一直無法重演這段歷史。謝勒隨後也轉會至紐卡索，拿索斯則加盟切爾西。

更加不堪的是，球隊降級至英格蘭冠軍聯賽，之後回升英超，近年再從英冠降至英甲。這個曾經輝煌的球隊已經與諾丁漢森林隊、保頓流浪隊齊名，因為大家都曾經贏得重要賽事的冠軍盃，但是近年來一直無力重返英超。 Continue reading “布萊克本流浪者與大馬經濟 Blackburn Rovers and Malaysian Economy”

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新加坡金融科技祭 Singapore FinTech Festival (SFF)

今年的新加坡金融科技祭從12月7日至11日舉行，形式是現場與線上結合的混合模式。由於今年國際旅遊大受限制，各方有志於瞭解金融科技(Financial Technology, FinTech)發展的朋友可以在線上追蹤連續五天的活動，而且票價祇需要星幣75元、加上服務稅合共80.25元（新台幣1695元）。 Continue reading “新加坡金融科技祭 Singapore FinTech Festival (SFF)”

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關於零碳排放的疑惑 Some doubts about zero emissions

Jacinda Ardern, prime minister of New Zealand, declared a climate emergency for the government and the public sector to achieve carbon-neutral by 2025. She said the 2025 goal will be set as the standard for the country to reach zero emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050. This is a commendable mission that can set as an exemplar for the rest of the world. Continue reading “關於零碳排放的疑惑 Some doubts about zero emissions”