Good News for Book Worms

Today, I went to a neighborhood mall shopping for a Christmas present.  And I was surprised to see the bookstore there was full of shoppers.  Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for the many other stores in the same mall.

At the bookstore, even though there are still seven shopping days before Christmas, this was the first time over the past four years I saw a line-up in this friendly place.  Behind its non-descriptive cashier's counter, the manager was on the phone talking to a would-be buyer.  Two cashiers, in addition to directing shoppers to the right section for the book they were looking for, were also busy ringing  up sales.  The shoppers there were buying, among many other things, mostly books of all subjects in both hard covers and paperbacks.  Although my purchase of a crossword puzzle dictionary did not bring down the house, business at this store was booming.

On my way out after I got the book, what I saw going on in many other stores in the same mall were not very encouraging.  I thought an overstocked electronics shop will be a busy place during this gift-giving season.  There was not a single customer there.  It was the same at a sparkling jewelry store.  Business at a few other shops in that part of the mall did not look brisk either.

What I observed at the mall this afternoon did make me wonder on how the many small shops in the  mall were faring.  Operaitng a business in a shopping mall is a very expensive proposition in terms of rent, maintenance fees and property taxes.  Being a happy shopper of this mall for many years, I do wish them all doing well all year around. So all of them can continue to provide the public with a pleasant place to shop.

My visit to the bookstore this afternoon also afforded me some very welcoming insight on the uncertain future of book stores.  At that store it appears there was no shortage of book buyers.  To me book stores are like libraries.  They will continue to be important part of our existence for years to come!

And a merry Christmas wish to all!

-  Ayee

The drone is coming to town.

After I heard from "60 Minutes" last Saturday that Amazon.Com was working on deploying the costly drone technique to deliver its goodies, I conjured up a picture of Santa Claus making his Christmas deliveries with a fleet of spider-look alike black robots, instead of its usual team of sweating nose-twitching  reindeers.

And I do not think the hard-working  reindeers  are the only ones who dislike what they did not see in this picture.  Regardless whoever the service-providers are, the change over to deliver by robots would definitely take a dismal toll on people who currently making a living in the delivering business.

In addition, most consumers, myself included, are fairly pleased with the delivery services that the on-line companies are providing.  This is one of the reasons why numbers of people buying on-line are rising.  So why should anyone fix something that is not broken.  -  Ayee

Food for Thought - Sardines, Niacin and Gout

As I noted before that more does not always mean better.  And this was what, I think, exactly the excruciating pain from my finger joints tried to tell me.

First, I must count my blessings.  Somehow, over the years, gout was never a health issue for me.  The knuckle of one of my middle fingers did flare up occasionally in the past.  But the prickly pain never  lasted.  The puffed-up joint also returned to its former self  without any medical intervention.  Since gout is considered a "rich man's disease"*(1), I thank many juicy pears *(2) and a simple no-red meat diet that I followed.  It had helped me keep this disabling monster away for years.

But lately, the simple regime of fruits and low-animal protein foods are no longer working for me to ward off the pain from the swollen digits.  Suddenly, not one but two of my finger joints swelled up with sharp and lasting pains.  So I decided to look for clues to see if I have been eating something that I should not have over the past few months.

Indeed, I had. I was overindulgent over the foods that are supposed to be good for me.  It appears that canned sardines and Vitamin B's were the culprits.  Over the last a while, I had a quite few lunches with plenty of sardines and anchovies*(3).  I had also supplemented my daily multivitamin intakes with extra Vitamin B's that included a lot of niacin.  According to my references, both sardines and anchovies are purine-rich foods.  In addition, while I did not have the exact reason connecting gout to niacin, the researchers had suggested that the gout suffers should be cautious when taking niacin.  -  Ayee

Notes:

*(1) "Lifetime Encyclopedia of Natural Remedies," by Myra Cameron, 1993 Edition
  (2) "The Prescription of Nutritional Healing," by J.F. Balch, MD & P. A. Balch, CNC, 2nd Edition   
  (3) Both of these foods are purine-rich foods.  Gout suffers should be watchful when taking too much of      these purine-laden foods.          

Having A Pet

Personally, I find living with pet animals both amusing and therapeutic.  This is why the recent  news of a dear relative adopting two pussy cats delighted me.

Yes, pet ownership can also mean responsibility as well as additional expenses and allergies.  But the endless antics these endearing creatures brought to us are simply priceless.  Furthermore, in this chaotic world, a pet can be the nonjudgemental therapists many of us need now and then.  I found many people appeared to be happier around their pets. In many real-life cases pet animals, whether it is a dog, a cat, a bunny, a bird or a fish,  can change our lives.

For all these reasons and more, I was so  happy to hear that  a dear family member now has two rumbustious rascals to keep the entire household amused.  -  Ayee

PS When getting your next pet, please consider adopting one from your local animal shelters.

Times have changed to the worst.

The other day, I overheard someone said that she had to work three jobs to live.  While I do not know what this woman's personal circumstances were, holding three jobs at the same time can be a very demanding proposition which is harmful to our health.  This also reminded me of my days attending a State-funded university.

Like many of my school mates, during the summer months of those learning years, by necessities I had also taken on extra work to help defray the tuition and living expenses for the coming semester.  And I did find the experiences of juggling a couple of jobs at the same time stressful and exhausting.  But when comparing with what this person's taxing employment arrangement, my multi-job day for a couple of months was a breeze.

First, in those good old days, finding a summer job was not difficult at all.  Then, tuition fees at State colleges were almost free.  At that time costs of living in general were also more manageable than it is now.  We might have attended a few home-coming football games between semesters.    Most of my fellow-students and myself had neither the time nor pocket money for any other extra curriculum activities on campus.  We neither smoked nor drank.  None of us could afford an apartment by him or herself.  We all had to work extra hours during the summer months.  And yet all of us had managed to graduate as planned without a cent of debts attached to our well-deserved diploma.

Now, let us hope this poor woman will manage to get out her job doldrums soon.  -  Ayee

Food for Thought - Greek Yogurt

A couple of days ago, I got a glimpse of Dr. Oz's show on television.  The subject of that portion of the show was about yogurts.  And its many benefits to our health.   I realized the products promoted on the show are for commercial purposes.    But the simple and straight forward knowledge Dr. Oz dispensed on the show is quite informative. Although I seldom watched Dr. Oz's show in the past,  this is not the first time I wrote about Dr. Oz on my blog.  The previous Dr. Oz show I watched  was about herbal tea. It seems Dr. Oz  has a special interest in relating nutritious foods to good health.  Since I am  a firm believer in proper diet, I shall start to pay more close attention to Dr.Oz's  learned advices from now on. - Ayee

It's time for a siesta!

When the temperature reaches 80-plus Fahrenheit, I can think of nothing but looking for a place to shelter myself from the scorching sun.  During these dog days of summer, air-conditioners and electric fans were yanked up to their maximum capacity in both private and public places.  But relief in air-conditioned rooms is both temporary and limited.  It appears to me the summer days are getting hotter each year.  And we all know how uncomfortable it can be when stepping out of an air-conditioned car on a sweltering day.  Besides the need of immense amounts of energy to power them, the air-cooling appliances we use today also emit extra heat into the  atmosphere.

So instead of using or inventing more "smart" apparatuses to cool us down, we should follow what some Spanish speaking people have done for centuries.  I read in Wikipedia that some people in countries with Spanish influence still observe this old tradition that was practiced many centuries ago under the rules of  the Spanish Empire.  Each day they close their shops at noon for a couple of hours.  So eveyrone can take a breather or two from the hottest hours of the day.

What a aplendid ideal!

Ayee

PS This piece was meant to publish in July after that unbearable heat wave that melt some hard candies that I kept in a glass jar.

"Comforting Thoughts for the Soul" by Stanley P. Ho

These comforting words were from an Internet posting. The original message was written in both English and Chinese. Instead of copying the English version directly from the original to my blog, I decide to see if I can somewhat capture the essences of these profound messages in some of my own words.

1. Like the “steering wheel” of a car, prayer directs us onto the right path.

2. Future is more important than the past. The author said this is why a car’s windshield is much   larger than its rear-view mirror.

3. Friendship is like a book. It will take us years to build but split seconds to destroy.

4. The ups and downs in life do not last forever. So make sure enjoy the good ones and stop worrying the bad ones.

5. Cherish our old friends. They are the gold that holds the diamonds we found in our new friends

6. When we hit the rock bottom, do not despair. It is just one of the bumps that God leaves there along the way.

7 When God answers our prayers, we have trust in God. When God does not answer our prayer, he has faith in us. This explains why bad things happened to good people.

8. St. Anthony told a blind person, the worst thing in life is to lose one’s vision.

9. God listens to our prayers to protect and bless others. God listens to the prayers of others to keep us happy and well.

10. Worrying is a futile and ruinous exercise. It can only exacerbate the pains.


- Ayee

A Dangerous World

By now, we have all heard that last Saturday a freight-train from Maine crashed into a borderingtown in Quebec, Canada. The subsequent explosion of the volatile cargo this American-owned iron horse carried had devastated the lives of the kin folks there forever. The death toll from this disastrous mishap can reach 60 in this picturesque town of 6,000

Then on that same fateful day, there was another crash of a different sort. In a perfect summer afternoon, an airplane carrying more than 300 passengers landed at the San Francisco Airport on her bellies. The outcome of this fatal incident in San Francisco could be worse. But the painful challenge the families of the two deceased teenagers suffered will last forever.

At the moment no one can pin down what had caused these live and death events to occur. It does look to me that our world has become a more hazardous place. Now these days people could get killed while dreaming away in their own home!   Imagining, two disasters in one day! - Ayee

Exotic Pets

Last Sunday during a walk at the park, I saw something that will take me days to forget.

Along the tree-lined path, I saw a young fellow coming toward me on the opposite side of the road. When he was close by, I saw him holding a black and white mouse in the tiny cage he had in his hands. Instantly, I thought it’s so cool that on a sweltering day someone was taking his furry pet for a walk in the park. And said to him: “Wow, you have a rat!” Surprisingly, my friendly comment prompted an equally friendly reply. But I was at the loss in the first few seconds as to what this young person was trying to tell me when he said to me that “this one in the front feeds the one in the back.” Not until we passed by each others on the paved track, I saw something like dried tree branches sticking out from a backpack this young man had on. But this brownish colored deadwood as thick as a man’s wrist was moving. It has a head and was slithering and weaving out from the deep pocket of the backpack behind his owner’s head!

This time I was blessed being ignorant. I did not get panic at what I did not ‘see’. However, this unusual sighting at the park had made me wonder once again why someone would keep an exotic animal like a four-foot python for a pet! And that poor rat! - Ayee

Food for Thought - Licorice of Allsorts

Let me put it this way, because of my love for sweets, desserts and candies have always been my favorite foods. I am one of those unfathomable people who would trade an appetizing entree for a piece of butter-creamed chocolate cake. This is why, particularly in my younger days, I was always on the lookout for something new in the cookies and candy aisles at grocery stores. I did see kids devoured down candy ropes made with licorice extracts. Candy made with licorice is also a very popular treat among the adults. One day, in the mid block of the side walk near where I live, I saw two grownups sharing a bag of licorice allsorts by the handfuls.

But I had never acquired the taste of the licorice candy until recently.

Last year, after the bout of stomach ulcers and many dosages of potent antibiotics, I started to chew slices of licorice root now and then to soothe my scratchy throat and tender tummy. But after a while the mild woody taste of this popular ingredient of cough drops lost its appeals to my taste buds. Now I resort to the sweeter version of the chewy goodies that are made of licorice, sugar, starch, coconuts, chocolates in all sorts of colors. Enjoy! - Ayee

Flea Control

Recently I discovered that my favorite health foods store also sell flea control products for pets. The one I saw is made from the leaves of neem trees*. Two of the staffs there had already used this product on their pets. Both of them found the products worked well for their four-legged families.

To all pet owners, flea, besides being a carrier of tape worms, is a very itchy problem. At present, our family keeps our kitty indoor. So we have not had any flea infestation yet. In the past, to get rid of the blood sucking insects off our cats, we had used all kinds of pesticides bought from the pet supplies stores and the vets’ offices. Some of them were very effective. But most of these pesticides were very toxic to both the animals and their people.

Later on we resorted to a simple and organic way that I read from somewhere, possibly “The Vinegar Book.”* It said adding a few drops of vinegar in your pet’s drinking water will keep fleas away. I do not know if it would work on dogs. Our cats would not near the fortified water. So instead of spiking their drinking water with this common condiment, now and then I rubbed a couple of drops of apple cider vinegars on the back of their necks. And Voila! It worked. - Ayee

*Neem powder a common ingredient in curry, see Encarta on curry.
*By Emily Thacker

Food for Thought - A Few Stalks of Green Chives

Recently, a childhood playmate came across an Internet article on chives. According to this unknown Chinese author of the write-up, this less-known cousin of the venerable garlic had, among other things, helped him keep his blood sugar in check. It appears this plant of the allium family  is full of essential nutrients such as vitamins, minerals and others*.

My dear friend also reminded me of the happy days we spent in front of bowls of steaming hot dumplings. The perogy-like doughy meals we had at that time were always stuffed with scrambled eggs and chopped up chives. But over the years, I noticed chive did not seem to be a common and popular ingredient in our everyday cooking.

In the old days, it was quite a job when making the dumplings from scratch. Now with the wrappers made of wheat flour readily available at supermarkets, this everyday fare for residents in northern China has become a simple meal to prepare. Dumplings made with eggs and chives are a complete meal by itself. As you can see, it includes all three essential food groups: starch, veggie, and protein.

Matter of fact, boiled dumpling was the most requested dish at our family reunions. We had always used ground turkey or chicken with Chinese cabbages as the fillings in the past. From now on, thanks to my newly acquired knowledge on chives,  we will have  an extra choice of stuffings when preparing this mouth-watering goodies. - Ayee

* See Wikipedia on chives

Love thy neighbors.

This is not a typical block-party story.

In the 60's, my favorite American story teller wanted to see what had happened in the country that he called home. John Steinback with his best friend, Charley, a big bluish French poodle, set out for their fact-finding trip in a customized truck named after Don Quixote’s horse, Rocinante,

The provisions this prolific writer packed for the long working odyssey from his home in New York to his birth place in Salinas, California, also included guns and fishing poles. But this homeowner’s real reason for arming his temporary home was not the same as the ones that other homeowners had in mind. He wanted to give others an impression that he and his four-legged buddy were on a hunting and fishing expedition.

On the way to his childhood home in California, when the master and his beloved follower stopped to take a much needed rest to get hydrated in the parched Mojave Desert, they noticed two coyotes were near by in the same neighborhood.

Since wild dogs are considered vermin,  this well-equipped as well as trained traveler sprang into action and was about to do a favor for the invisible chickens and chicken farms around him. He reached for his rifle, and pointed it at one of these two nonthreatening desert dogs. But when he was about to pull the trigger, he relented.

Before leaving the desolate desert  country, the author of many prize winning books opened two cans of Charley’s food and left there for the coyotes he was about to kill just moments ago. - Ayee.

*”Travels with Charley,” John Steinbeck, 1962

A Mother’s Appeal

It was on one of those pleasant spring days. A ring-tail raccoon was spotted squeezing herself out of a gap under the roof of a storage shed. To prevent this furry being and other wildlife from going into the shed again, the homeowner did what he had to do. He plugged the gaping hole and thought his problem with unwanted guests was over for good.

Unbeknownst to the homeowner, a haunting experience was waiting for him the next morning. When he opened the drapes to a pair of patio doors to the deck the day after, he saw in front of him separated by a glass door was a raccoon stood on her hind quarters staring at him. Her telling gaze was heart-wrenching. The sad and pleading impression from this familiar-looking critter told him something was amiss there.

Fortunately, it seems that this incident had ended well for both the uninvited guest and the homeowner. After the latch to the door of the shed was left lifted, the raccoon disappeared into the darkness of the shed and had never been seen again ever since. - Ayee

Maternal Instinct

Last night, one of the neighbors lit their balcony up like a Christmas tree. Their reason to celebrate Christmas in April is to un-invite a raccoon who had recently moved into the space between the roof and their balcony.

I do not know bright lights can deter raccoons But I did hear of the destructive consequence to the homesteaded nooks and alcoves if the eviction notice to their bright-eyed occupants was not served with due cares. When mama raccoons get separated from their babies, their motherly instinct keeps them near the site where their kittens are. Until moms reunited with their babies, like all other wildlife,  mommy raccoons can be fearless.  It's a force to be reckoned with as far as protecting the young is concerned. With sharp and agile claws, raccoons can cause great damages to the structures where their nesting places were.

However, if the squatters are not disturbed, they will move away on their own  in a few months when the kits are ready to enjoy the expanse of the great outdoors. In this case, I would say it is okay to close the barn door after the "horses" have left. Be Kind! - Ayee

PS The bright shining lights did the job.  No more furry squatters under our neighbor's roof anymore.      - Ayee

If it is not broken, don’t fix it.

After a national cable network in the north took over the production of a Miami-based business news program on PBS, it gave its newly acquired prize a complete make-over. Among many other things the new owner did to this well-known television program, it retained only one of the many reporters who made this award winning show possible. Now while watching the program as I used to do each evening over the last 25 plus years, I often thought of the reporters and their South Florida-based colleagues who did not make the cut to the new set. It appears only one of its reporting staff under the old regime had survived the changeover. This made me question the reason why the new owner of a favorite news show would want to decimate a winning team that brought the show thousands and thousands, if not millions, of viewers, and many well-deserved professional accolades. - Ayee

Corporate Governance

It appears European countries are way ahead of the curve on this subject.

Last week,after the European Union (EU) enacted a law limiting the bonus to top executives to one year of their salary, Switzerland, not a EU member, added another damper on compensation to the managers of the companies listed on Swiss stock exchanges. According to BBC’s website, the newly passed referendum will give shareholders of these companies a say on the pay to their executives. The new laws in Switzerland also eliminate outrageous severance pay to departing managers.

Besides being of a country known for its highly productive citizens, and pristine environment, Switzerland, a politically neutral country, also becomes the front runner to rein in excessive compensation to business CEO’s. - Ayee .

As Cool as A Cucumber

Yesterday, I found a new use of a popular salad vegetable.

Looking for something organic to rid of some irritants in the eyes, I decided to give cold cucumber slices a try.

In the past, I saw pictures of beautiful models in the magazines. And many of them were shown with cucumber slices over their eyes. It may be an old story to others. But to me, I did not know until yesterday of the reason why the rinds of this green melon were so popular among these beautiful people.

Now I learned that having slices of cold cucumber over our eyes 15 minutes twice a day can also help prevent sagging bags under our eyes. Apparently, drinking too much water before bedtime, smoking, too much salt in the diet and lack of sleep can cause excess fat and water to accumulate under the skin below the eyes.*

Now you know who is about to corner the cucumber markets. - Ayee

* “Bags under the Eyes,” Prescription for Nutritional Healing, by James F. Balch, MD & Phyllis A. Balch, CNC. 2nd Edith, Avery Publishing Group, Garden City Park, New York.

The bell is ringing!

In the last couple of days, many harsh words were being exchanged in the public against our feline friends. Some people said our docile household cats were killers of billions and billions of birds and rodents each year. These same people also labeled cats an invasive species

Yes, cats do prey on other small animals. But it is totally unfair to the cats if we hold them responsible for endangering the entire bird population. Like many other animals in the wild, it is their instinct to hunt. In the countryside, the feral cats have no choice but to kill to survive and to protect themselves and their off springs. But once Fifi and Felix cohabit with us under the same roof, the onus is on us, their human friends, to stop these nonchalant creatures mangling up a chatty bird, or bringing a live mouse onto the kitchen floor that sent everyone shrieking up on the kitchen table.

Fortunately, for all the bird lovers around the world, there is a tried and true measure the cat owners can do to prevent the “killing” from happening. All they have to remember is to fastening a little bell onto their kitties’ collar. Once the bell is on, the “massacre” stops. PURR and simple! - Ayee

PS:

Of course, all cat owners also remember to have their cats altered.

Climate Change

This year the televised PGA tour season had a “rough” start.

Only three weeks into a new season, two tournaments out of three were delayed due to the inclement weather. The blustering trade wind had shortened the first tournament, The Hyundai Tournament of Champions, in Hawaii, to only three rounds. And a week after, the thick fog in southern California debunked the entire third round of the Farmers Insurance Open on Saturday. So far for the PGA golfers, the weather had not been very kind to them.

As the times go by, it looks to me that Mother Nature had intervened. And I totally agreed with the insightful comments from one of the CBS reporters on the course. While waiting for the play to resume on Saturday, he suggested the tour commissioner worries less on belly-putters but more on issues such as weather condition. In recent years, the weather patterns did become more unpredictable and volatile. I would think these unforseen delays due to bad weather are costly propositions to both the sponsors and the players. - Ayee

Timely Reminder

One of my dear family members manages her medications well. She does not skip a dosage or take her med at the wrong time.

And this is what she did to help her take the pills her doctor had ordered. She enlisted the help of a humble alarm clock.

Like everyone else, she set her alarm clock each day so she will not over sleep in the morning. Now she also sets her clock to remind herself when it’s the time for her to take her next scheduled dosage. And so far, it seems to be working for her! - Ayee