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Your Health & Happiness:
Feng Shui
Corinna
Gogel
What is Feng Shui? What does it stand for? Just to give
you an idea, let me explain some basics. With adapting Feng Shui in your
life, you can create harmony and increasing success. Successful room design
in theory and practice: for health, wealth, happiness and success.
Success - or the lack of it - in business, at home or in
relationships often depends on laws which the modern world has forgotten.
Which room is used for what purpose, where do you place
your bed in order to have the best sleep at night, your office desk for
highest achievement, and in which direction, all has much more to do with
success, failure, wellness and un-wellness than most people think.
For thousands of years now a science has been practiced
in China based on physics, logic, psychology and the interaction between
living beings and their spatial environment: Feng Shui (Feng = wind, Shui
=water) helps to bring your environment into harmony with yourself. In the
West this science is called geomancy.
Using Feng Shui can help to optimize your home or
workplace in such a way that you will soon notice positive changes.
For more information contact Int. Diploma Feng Shui
consultant Corinna Gogel, telephone 072-703288 or email: coringogel @hot
mail.com
To be continued next week.
The Doctor's Consultation:
Why you should
always wear shoes
by Dr. Iain Corness
My friends laugh at me when they see me walking along the
beach. Instead of letting the cool sand squish between my toes, I wear closed
shoes. Does this mean I am a pedantic pedestrian? Or a member of a weird
anti-sandal sect? Fortunately it is neither. I am just a trifle afraid of
Ancylostoma duodenale. And so should you!
Ancylostoma duodenale is one of the two hookworms that can
get their hooks into you (and me if I let them). The other is called Necator
americanus. These little chaps are roundworms between 7 to 13 mm long and are
far from rare. Approximately one-quarter of the world’s population is
infected with Hookworm.
So how do you get infected? Easy, the hookworm eggs are
passed in faeces (or poo if you prefer) and infection results when you come in
contact with the eggs from the contaminated soil. The larvae enter through the
skin and travel to the lungs through the blood. They ascend the lungs through
the bronchi and trachea and are then swallowed. As the larvae pass into the
digestive tract, they attach themselves to the wall of the small intestine.
Here they mature into adult worms, mate and feed on the blood of the host. And
adult hookworms may live up to ten years.
Unfortunately many hookworm infestations do not produce
symptoms; however, there may be local irritation of the skin where the worm
penetrated or even an itchy rash. While going through the lungs, there may be
asthma-like symptoms or even pneumonia. The most common symptoms of Hookworm
infection, however, are from their taking up residence in the intestine.
Hookworm here can lead to abdominal pain, diarrhoea, weight loss, loss of
appetite and excessive gas.
With long-standing infections, the intestine’s owner may
become anaemic as the worms feed on the individual’s blood. This in turn
leads to the usual anaemic symptoms including pale complexion, tiredness and
weakness.
Diagnosis is done by looking for hookworm eggs in the stool
(by using a microscope). Blood tests will show the amount of blood loss and
can be used as a pointer towards the seriousness of the infestation.
Fortunately hookworm is treatable, generally with the drug
mebendazole. This drug cures more than 99 percent of all cases of hookworm if
given twice per day for three days. It kills both the worms and the eggs, but
is contraindicated during pregnancy. If anaemia has become a problem, then
iron supplements can be given as well. Once treated, the symptoms settle
quickly in a few weeks at most.
So what can you do to avoid hookworms? Well since hookworm
infection comes from non-hygienic practices and faecal contact in the soil, my
shoes sound like a great idea, don’t you think? Never mind the problems with
hypodermic needles found in the sand in many countries these days!
Hookworm infections should be dealt with quickly and
stringently. Known symptomatic infections should be treated rapidly and
treatment given to asymptomatic family members or neighbours. Strict attention
to cleanliness and sanitary practices is needed when a hookworm infection is
detected to prevent its spread. This means hygienic disposal of human waste,
limiting skin contact with soil and even water, where there is untreated
sewage.
Hookworm can be a very serious illness so it is essential
to be aware of any change in one’s health status. Any difficulty breathing,
rapid heartbeat, chest or abdominal pain, bloody diarrhoea, blood with
coughing, asthma-like symptoms, skin rashes, abdominal swelling or bloating,
light-headedness or weight loss should be brought to your doctor’s
attention.
Me? I’ll just keep wearing shoes!
Money Matters: Oil gushes higher (continued)
High oil prices and heightened political risk likely to remain a feature – The views of one of our analysts
Alan Hall
MBMG International Ltd.
In Summary
Reports that oil has never been higher priced are true in
a strict sense, but they are heavily biased and not really accurate. Oil
prices are hitting all time highs, but in inflation adjusted terms oil is no
where near to eclipsing its all time highs witnessed 25 years ago.
It is not correct to attribute the current oil price to
terrorism. While these geopolitical tensions are definitely bullish for oil
they are not the whole story. When the current oil bull started in late
1998, George W. Bush wasn’t president yet, September 11th was 33 months
away and the second war on Iraq was 51 months into the future.
Oil is not in a bull market today simply because of
terrorism, but because of a fundamental supply and demand shift. The great
nations of Asia, primarily the giants of China and India, are growing
rapidly and need to vastly increase their energy consumption. Since much of
the world has already been explored for crude, there is not enough new oil
coming online to feed both the industrialised West and the industrialising
East. This demand increase could be tempered by a global slowdown or
recession, which would cause a sudden dramatic spike down in oil prices,
however previous recessions have shown that in such circumstances demand
tends to level rather than fall significantly and any price fall will
ultimately be followed by a subsequent price recovery as the supply demand
imbalances remain in the system.
Thanks to the US fed’s inflation of the US dollar, the
nominal prices of goods and energy is rising. Long term commodities markets
can only be really understood through the true strategic perspective of
monetary inflation.
Oil first hit $40 a barrel in today’s dollars in early
1974. It then meandered near $40 for a half a decade before shooting up with
most other commodities in the great commodities bubble of 1979. Oil’s real
all-time monthly high in constant 2004 dollars was $92 per barrel witnessed
in April 1980. $92 per barrel makes today’s $41 level look relatively
cheap by past decades standards.
Global oil demand is growing far faster than global
supply, so oil prices have to rise clear the market. This is how the free
markets always work to remedy a chronic supply/demand imbalance.
Important information
Past performance is not necessarily a guide to future performance. The
value of any investment and the income from it can fall as well as rise as a
result of market and currency fluctuations and you may not get back the
amount originally invested. This information is only a summary and may be
subject to change without notice. It was obtained from what we believe to be
reliable sources. However, its accuracy and completeness cannot be
guaranteed. You should note that investing in some of these markets could
result in the possibility of large and sudden falls in the price of shares.
The shortfalls on cancellation or loss on realisation could be considerable.
You could get back nothing at all. Nothing contained in this report should
be construed as an offer to invest. Anyone considering investing in these
markets should seek professional guidance.
The above data and research was compiled from sources believed to be
reliable. However, neither MBMG International Ltd nor its officers can
accept any liability for any errors or omissions in the above article nor
bear any responsibility for any losses achieved as a result of any actions
taken or not taken as a consequence of reading the above article. For more
information please contact Alan Hall on alan@mbmg-international.com
Mrs. DoLittle’s Corner:
Another ‘wild’ story
in the life of Mrs. DoLittle
Once upon a time in the hills north of Chiang Mai, Mrs.
DoLittle came across a very wealthy man who lived with some apes in a bungalow.
Although he had a good heart, he had more money than sense.
Since Mrs. DoLittle was the first ‘farang’ whom had ever
come to his place, he was out to impress. When he found out that the foreign
woman had a passion for animals, he immediately picked up the phone and ordered
a load of animals to be delivered to his holiday house. Dogs, horses and
peacocks.
 In
those days, Mrs DoLittle was a spring chicken, lost in the woods of innocence,
and had no idea what was happening. It was not until the Afghans, Collies, Bull
dogs, Dobermans, Rottweilers, Chow Chows, German Shepherds, English Sheep dog
and Bang Khan Thai ridge back dogs had arrived, that the light went on. Thirty
imported dogs were stuffed into crates in Bangkok, put on an airplane, then
plunked on the hill surrounding his bungalow. Then he invited Mrs. DoLittle for
tea. He showed her the dog magazines he’d bought them from. This whole
operation cost almost a million baht! The he dropped the biggest surprise. They
were all a gift for her!
Once Mrs. DoLittle got over the shock, she had to explain to
the man that he had better keep them at his place. Mrs. DoLittle’s house was
full of monkeys, porcupines and bears and things. At that point a black gibbon
opened the fly wire door, came in the room, shutting the door after himself.
With arms raised high, he tiptoed across the room, ignoring us completely.
“Uh, huh, huh”, he headed straight for the Pringles. He left the same way,
rattling the tin in triumph above his head. A few minutes later, the door slid
open again. A yellow gibbon head popped in and looked around. The man signaled
to the ape that the Pringles were gone. It shut the door.
Now let me explain that he did not speak English and Mrs.
DoLittle had no Thai language abilities at that time, and was still looking at
Thailand through rose-colored glasses.
On Mrs. DoLittle’s second visit to his estate, he
presented her with a handheld computer that was supposed to translate English
to Thai and vice versa. Finally exhausted, Mrs. DoLittle had to abandon this
smart little gadget. It took till three o’clock in the morning to explain to
the eccentric gentleman that he was more than a little bit crazy.
As soon as he understood he had to keep the dogs, he picked
up the phone, called his staff out of bed at 3 a.m., and ordered them to make a
doghouse. Two weeks later, thirty concrete rooms had been built in a long row.
No windows, just doors! His idea was to keep one dog in each room and just let
whichever one out which he wanted to play with. He would put a sign on the door
with what type of dog was inside, so his friends from Bangkok could come to
play with their favorite kind. Instead of being a gift to Mrs. DoLittle, they
would be a gift to all of his friends who could not have a dog of their own!
That was when Mrs. DoLittle had to sit down and have her
first Thai turkey talk with the mad millionaire, done with illustrations, not
words. Okay so now the guy wanted a plan. Mrs. DoLittle gave him the bottom
line, drawing a list of all the things a dog needs. Last on the list I drew a
tree, representing nature. Two weeks later I was called to come for inspection.
Before showing the new dog accommodation, he presented me with a piece of paper
that read in English, “Wait a minute” then he made a phone call.
A loud noise was heard and slowly a bulldozer rolled up on
the lawn. It carried a fully-grown uprooted 10 meter tree! He gave me another
small note. It read, “Here tree, where put?”
The moral of this story is, where there’s a will, there is a way!
Life in the Laugh Lane: 55 does
not mean 55
by Scott Jones
I’d like to personally invite you to my birthday party on
December 1st at the Hug Restaurant. Free food, music jam and everyone will be
required to exceed their fun quotas. Unfortunately the party will be over by
the time you read this. (You’re thinking, “They probably couldn’t handle
thousands of readers coming to a club that seats 40.” I’m thinking,
“It’ll be really depressing when no one shows and I’m sitting with a
massive cake, a forest fire of candles, a fire extinguisher, 700 beers, reading
my column alone.”)
 Born
in 1949, I don’t remember much of those 31 days of the 40’s. (I was mainly
sleeping, pooping, throwing up and learning to focus on the huge colored shapes
in front of me, similar to my first year in college when I was finally old
enough to buy beer.)
My Thai calendar says it’s 2547 which means I’m 543.
I’m trying to remember to invite my friend Warren because he’s 548. (It’s
comforting to know that no matter how old I get, he’ll always be older.) We
each have memory issues. Half-zheimer’s (not all) but when we get together
it’s the whole enchilada. If I do remember to tell him, he’ll still have to
remember I did, what day and where it is. Trying to improve, we enrolled in a
memory seminar, but forgot to go.
A young kid in the fifties during the Cold War, I never
thought I’d be alive at the end of the century. People built bomb shelters in
their backyard. B52’s roared overhead. While pounding his shoe on the podium
at the UN, the leader of the USSR threatened to destroy us. Short, bald, rotund
and wacko, it was frightening to imagine he had nuclear weapons, might remove
more clothes or an army of Russian guys like him would conquer America by
whacking us with army boots or holding them over our noses. Somehow we made it
and I’m 55, the national speed limit in the USA. (“Gee whiz, Mr. Highway
Patrol Man, thanks for these helpful road signs! By the way, what does 35 mean?
25? Is 55 your IQ?”)
55 years = 20,075 days = 48,180 hours = 28,708,000 minutes.
When I tried to figure out seconds, my calculator read “overflow” which
means I have incredible experience in moments. 55 doesn’t mean just 55. Each
year you don’t just get older: you get wider, longer and have more choices.
You can be any of those years. You’re still 22, 7, 38, 16…even 3 years old.
(Mr. USSR demonstrated this concept.)
This birthday I’ve decided to be five and a half. Life was sweet when you
gave your age with a fraction. 5.5 decades. From now on, I’ll keep track that
way. If I remember.
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