Android open source smart phone

Open source system: Just recently Open Handset Alliance and Google released the source code of smart phone operating system Android, based on Linux kernel and operating system. What does that mean to the common public? It means so many developers/hackers/programmers can come up with really creative and innovative ideas/applications for the open smart phones of yours. Anyone can take a look at source code and help contribute by providing more ideas. Anyone who wishes to make any hardwares compatible with the software can do so with modification without any charges incurred, part of the benefit of GNU GPL License.

An open world: I've always opted for open systems as I believe living beings evolve in an open environment. Our genetics have gone through countless natural selections to have become the human forms today. Traditional medicine has always worked in an open manner without patents or copyrights. Why not the operating systems for computers/smart phones/pdas and etc.?

More joining: Another company that is going to open up her source code is Nokia and her Symbian operating system. Visionaries such as these people see the benefits that can be shared among human beings, and the vast amount of human talents that can help contribute to better and more innovative coding.

First Android phone: To the more common public all these names and programmings may not mean much. Let's bring something closer to the earth: The first android hand phone: HTC Dream G1

Links:
1. Google, http://www.google.com
2. Open Handset Alliance, http://www.openhandsetalliance.com
3. Android Open Source Project, http://www.android.com
4. HTC Corporation, http://www.htc.com
5. Nokia, http://www.nokia.com
6. Symbian OS, http://www.symbian.com

Teresa Hsu: 110 years of wisdom

110 years of wisdom: Teresa Hsu

I was reading the sub edition of Chinapress newspaper (Oct 15th, 2008) and came across this incredible human being by the name of Teresa Hsu Chih (许哲; Xu Zhe). Apparently there is so much to learn from her 110 years of wisdom about sharing and giving.

"Clothes, foods, houses, transportations are things I don't mind about. My clothes are old clothes of others. Material things are just tools. Because I'm a full vegetarian, my diet is really simple. Coarse teas and plain rice [Simple foods] are no problem." Vegetarianism that goes her heart to suffering animals. Simplicity that cares about mother earth's resources.

"I must have got it from my mother because she was totally dedicated to the job she chose to do and that was looking after the family. I think that trait was passed down to us. I've no family, so I look after everybody else. I choose to serve everybody else who comes to me—that is my job... The world is my home, all living beings are my family, selfless service is my religion." An incredible being that walks the talks of serving selflessly.

"I prefer to laugh than to weep. Those people who cry to me, I always tell them it is better to laugh than to use tissue paper, as laughing is free but tissue paper still cost five cent. 'Ha ha ha' cost no cents." Positive tone of life takes precedent over negativity. Golden rule.

"There are no secrets [to my longivity]. I just enjoy simple, spiritual peaceful life. As a matter of fact, I didn't choose longivity; it just happens to be so." Quite many people aim for the destinations without enjoying the journey. In the end, many don't reach the destinations nor do they learn much from the journey.

"Neither am I Christian nor Buddhist. Ha ha ha." Love is what we need. It's never about religion, or race.

Please learn more about Teresa Hsu at the links below. I'm sure we're all going to learn something wise from her.

LINKS:
1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teresa_Hsu_Chih
2) http://www.hearttoheartservice.org/AboutFounder.htm

Once a week, Johnny the Moron

(Click on for clearer picture)

Johnny "the moron" once worked at a farming factory. One of the jobs he hated most was milking the cows. He always asked himself why he had to do the work everyday.

One day out of the blue he came up with a brilliant idea: "Why not once a week? Just leave the milk in the breasts and collect it every week, instead of everyday!"

He thought doing so could cut down the amount of time he spent everyday and yet still be able to collect a total of 6-day milk at the end of the week.

Applying the same analogy, some people believe they can:

1. exercise once a week for 3 consecutive hours (total = 3 hours) instead of exercise everyday for 30 minutes (total also = 3 hours).
2. drink water four times a day 500ml each (total = 2 liters) instead of once every hour 200ml each (total also = 2 liters).
3. pass bowel movement once a week (In one big lump sum with hardened stool; refusing to take any vegetables and fruits) instead of pass motion everyday (With smooth and adequake portion without hurting the anal lining).

4. bring their children for a weekend material shopping spree (Total = 6 hours plus materialistic bonding) instead of reading 30-minute spiritual bed-time stories to them every night (Total = 3 hours plus quality family bonding).

5. visit his/her mother once every week at the old folks house for half-a-day (Total = 6 hours; plus his/her mother's lonely and emptiness feelings) instead of having his/her mother to stay with them and accompany her an hour everyday (Total also = 6 hours; plus warmth and sense of togetherness).


You'll be surprised how many of us do things these ways...

Do we understand how frequency versus quantity (versus yet quality)?

Note:
1. Comic strip from Johnny the Moron, http://www.lews.info/johnnythemoron/index-e.html

2. If you think of any other misuse of frequencies, please let me know by writing your comments. Thank you.

Thou Shalt Not Kill. Go Vegetarian

"Thou Shalt Not Kill" - Go vegetarian

I was reading some materials on 'proper food' and I came across the following conversation between Srila Prabhupada and his visitors, among them was Father Emmanual. The conversation took place probably some time back in September, 2000. The conversation was long. I only quote the sections on my perceived idea of 'proper food'.

======================================

Srila Prabhupada: We have to accept all the injunctions of the scripture as they are given, not only those that suit us. If you do not follow the first order, "Thou shalt not kill," then where is the question of love of God?

Visitor: Christians take this commandment to be applicable to human beings, not to animals.

Srila Prabhupada: That would mean that Christ was not intelligent enough to use the right word: murder. There is killing, and there is murder. Murder refers to human beings. So you think Jesus was not intelligent enough to use the right word - murder - instead of the word killing? Killing means any kind of killing and especially animal killing. If Jesus had meant simply the killing of humans, he would have used the word murder... If you want to interpret these words, that is something else. We understand the direct meaning. "Thou shalt not kill" means "The Christians should not kill."


Father Emmanuel: Isn't the eating of plants also killing?

Srila Prabhupada: The Vaisnava philosophy teaches that we should not even kill plants unnecessarily. In the Bhagavad-gita [9.26] Krishna says:

"patram puspam phalam toyam
yo me bhaktya prayacchati
tad aham bhakty-upahrtam
asnami prayatatmanah"

"If someone offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit, or a little water, I will accept it."

We offer Krishna only the kind of food He demands, and then we eat the remnants. If offering vegetarian food to Krishna were sinful, then it would be Krishna's sin, not ours. But God is apapa-viddha - sinful reactions are not applicable to Him... Eating food first offered to the Lord is also something like a soldier's killing during wartime. In a war, when the commander orders a man to attack, the obedient soldier who kills the enemy will get a medal. But if the same soldier kills someone on his own, he will be punished. Similarly, when we eat only prasadam [the remnants of food offered to Krishna], we do not commit any sin. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita [3.13]: "The devotees of the Lord are released from all kinds of sins because they eat food that is first offered for sacrifice. Others, who prepare food for personal sense enjoyment, verily eat only sin."

Father Emmanuel: Krishna cannot give permission to eat animals?

Srila Prabhupada: Yes - in the animal kingdom. But the civilized human being, the religious human being, is not meant to kill and eat animals. If you stop killing animals and chant the holy name of Christ, everything will be perfect... I think the Christian priests should cooperate with the Krishna consciousness movement. They should chant the name Christ or Christos and should stop condoning the slaughter of animals. This program follows the teachings of the Bible; it is not my philosophy. Please act accordingly and you will see how the world situation will change.


======================================

"Thou shalt not kill" means "The Christians should not kill any living beings."

Go vegetarian.

Note:
1. Source of the conversation: Science of Self-Realization (pp. 129-33) [http://www.harekrishna.com/col/books/VEG/ht/ahightaste.html]

Migraine Headache and traditional Chinese medicine

Back in the year 2001 I started a site:

Migraine/Headache at http://www.lews.info/headache/".

This site aims to give a perspective of how traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) sees the problems of headache/migraine. You'll see what 'syndromes' mean to the diagnosis of proper causes, how 'symptoms' help in reaching the right conclusion, what 'channels' are responsible for a specific parts of headache, how migraine is classified in terms of TCM diagnostic methods, some of the case studies that illustrate real cases of headache/migraine, what specific herbs are for various types of headache/migraine. Further readings are provided if you're interested in some of the deep theories of TCM.

Below are the categories I started with:

Headache (general):
Headache: Causes and Mechanisms
Discussion on Endopathic/Internal Headache
Differentiative Diagnosis
Channels of Headache
Locations/Characteristics of Headache
Conclusion

Headache (Syndromes):
Hyperactivity of the Liver-yang
Deficiency of the Kidney-yin
Insufficiency of Kidney-yang
Deficiency of both Blood and Qi
Retention of Phlegm and Dampness
Blood Stasis

Headache (Symptoms):
High Blood Pressure (Hypertension) (Liver-Jue) Headache
Low Blood Pressure (Hypo-tension) Headache
Headache due to Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) or Premenstrual Tension (PMT)
Headache due to Menopause (Climacteric Syndrome)

Migraine:
Migraine (Neuro-headache)
Modern understanding of the causes of migraine
Modern interpretation of the manifestations

Treatments According to Syndromes
S1: Wind-Heat type
S2: Wind-Phlegm type
S3: Qi Stagnation due to Liver-Fire type
S4: Jueyin Inner Cold type
S5: Blood deficiency
S6: Insufficiency of Qi

Migraine differentiation in accordance with symptoms
Type 1: Mono Type (Accumulation of Cold in the Liver Channel and Qi Stagnancy)
Type 2: Blinking Dim Spots Type (Three syndromes in TCM)
Type 3: Complex Light Spots Type (Accumulation of Cold in the Liver Channel and Qi Stagnancy)
Type 4: Cluster Type (Stagnancy of the Liver-Qi and Exterior Wind)

Case Study:
Headache due to Blood Stasis
Headache due to High Blood Pressure (Hyperactivity of the Liver-Yang)
Headache due to Loss of Blood
Headache due to Low Blood Pressure Type (Deficiency of both Qi and Blood)

Migraine: Mono Type (Accumulation of Cold in the Liver channel and Qi Stagnancy)
Migraine: Bush Type (Stagnancy of the Liver-Qi)
Migraine: Complex Light Spots Type (Stagnancy of the Liver-Qi)
Migraine (Wind-Cold Type due to Insufficiency of Kidney-Yang)

Specific Herbs:
藁本，GaoBen, Gao Ben, Ligusticum Sinense (Ligusticum Sinense Oliv.)
川芎，ChuanXiong, Chuan Xiong, Chuanxiong Rhizome (Rhizoma Ligustici Chuanxiong)
白芷，BaiZhi, Bai Zhi, Dahurian Angelica Root (Radix Angelicae Dahuricae)
吴茱萸，WuZhuYu, Wu Zhu Yu, Evodia Fruit (Fructus Evodiae)
柴胡，ChaiHu, Chai Hu, Bupleurum Root (Radix Bupleuri)
细辛，Xixin, Xi Xin, Wild Genger (Herba Asari)
苍术，CangZhu, Cang Zhu, Atractylodes Rhizome (Rhizoma Atractylodis)
羌活，QiangHuo, Qiang Huo, Notopterygium Root (Rhizoma seu Radix Notopterygii)
防风，FangFeng, Fang Feng, Ledebouriella Root (Radix Ledebouriellae)

Resources:
"Zhang's Medical Comprehension", by Zhang Jing-Yue
"The Heart Law of Dan Xi", by Zhu Dan-Xi
"Medicine Narration", by Wang Ren-Yen
Manifestations of Headache, various contributors
The Causes of Migraine, various contributors
Links to other Migraine Headache sites

For more details please visit "http://www.lews.info/headache/"

You and Me, Beijing Olympic Games Theme Song

Many people were watching the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games opening ceremony on 8-8-2008 at 8.08pm and the 8th second (Beijing Time). There were many amazing sections of the performance. What caught my attention most is the THEME SONG 《我和你》(Wo He Ni, I And You, [You and Me]) presented by 刘欢 (LIU Huan) and Sarah BRIGHTMAN. The song seems so simple and yet beautiful and to an extend 'pure' from the heart.

Here I'm presenting the song in her original Chinese characters, PINYIN pronunciation and the literal meanings of the lyrics. I hope you'll like it.

《我和你》Wo He Ni, I And You, [You and Me]

Beijing Olympic Games Theme Song

Lyrics and music by: 陈其钢 (CHEN Qigang)
Performed by: 刘欢(LIU Huan) and Sarah BRIGHTMAN

我和你，	心连心，	同住地球村。
Wo He Ni,	Xin Lian Xin,	Tong Zhu Di Qiu Cun.
I-and-you,	heart-links-heart,	same-live-earth-globe-village.

为梦想，	千里行，	相会在/ 北京(这里）。
Wei Meng Xiang,	Qian Li Xing,	Xiang Hui Zai / Bei Jing (Zhe Li).
For-dreams-wishes,	thousand-mile-journey,	meet-ing- / in-Bei-Jing (right at here).

来吧，	朋友，	伸出你的手。
Lai Ba,	Peng You,	Shen Chu Ni De Shou.
Come-on,	fri-ends,	extend-out-you-r-hands.

我和你，	心连心，	永远一家人。
Wo He Ni,	Xin Lian Xin,	Yong Yuan Yi Jia Ren.
I-and-you,	heart-links-heart,	forever-ever-one-family-people.

You and me,
From one world,
We are family.

Travel dream,
A thousand miles,
Meeting / in Beijing (right at here).

Come together,
Put your hand in mine.

You and me,
From one world,
We are family.

来吧，
朋友，
伸出你的手。

You and me,
From one world,
We are family.

The song is beautiful because of her simple yet meaningful lyrics: All of us human beings living in this globe coming to one place for the same dream. I'd want to imagine we human beings are here to learn lessons, to pass the lessons and to excel in them without hurting anyone. We were all from the same source of spirits; just that we have never been aware of it. Now that we've come to realize our family, friends, and everyone are here to help us progress, improve and learn to be better human beings.

PS:
1) I've taken the liberty to change one part of the lyrics to "Meeting / in Beijing (right at here)". "Meeting right at here" means human beings are here on the mother earth. We can be scattered around the globe and we're still on the earth, learning lessons and trying to stay on the righteous track.

2) Can someone please do a video/music video with subtitle on this page? I'd imagine many non-Chinese speakers will be interested in knowing and learning this song. I wanted to grab the music video off YouTube and do some subtitle editing before posting back on it. Lack of know-how and my low-spec notebook forbid me from doing so.

Eating meat is eating human beings?

Eating meat is eating human beings?

Chinese characters are combinations of symbols (pictographic: drawing), sounds (phono-semantic: shape and sound) and meanings (ideographic: ideology and concept). Of the three, what makes the characters stand out most visually interesting is the symbolic and artistic nature.

Take the word 肉(“rou”, meat / flesh) for example, the special thing about this word is how it's constructed from. There seems to be two 人(“ren”, man / human being) inside the character 门(“men”, door). Two men inside a door is meat? What does that mean?

The way I would interpret the character 肉(“rou”, meat) is quite similar but with a simple twist. My idea was inspired by the concept of universal love. You shall see why below:

人(“ren”, man / human being): The character looks like a man walking with two legs.
门(“men”, door): The character itself resembles a door with hinge.
內(“nei”, inside): A man inside a door means 'inside', quite graphical too.
肉(“rou”, meat / flesh): There is actually a 'human being' (the lower character 人) hidden 'inside' meat.

This is the conclusion: There is a human being inside meat. If you eat meat, you eat human beings. How do we come to comprehend this? This simple conclusion is in line with the concept of reincarnation, that all living beings keep incarnating to other living forms depending on how well (or how bad) they've contributed during their life time.

What we are really eating? This piece of chicken could have been a grandmother of your friends in previous lives. That piece of red meat (cow) could have been your own grandfather who passed away many years ago. Killing and eating each others have created deep hatred and curses. No wonder the world is full of vengeance wars of all kinds.


PS:
1. This is one perspective to look at why eating meat is wrong. If you find the idea comfortable and useful, you can help to spread the message or even translate it to your own language for a good cause.
2. The concept of 肉(“rou”, meat / flesh; 'Human beings' are 'inside' meat) includes beef, chicken, turkeys, pork, pigs, chicken eggs, cows, fish, lobsters, crabs, horses, sheep, dogs, cats, cattle, goats, swines, mules, birds, donkeys, rabbits, leopards, giant pandas, owls, pigeons, crayfish, octopus, deers, eagles, hawks, ostriches, penguins, gooses, salmon, tuna, eels, snakes, snails, frogs, turtles, ducks, calves, steaks, puppies, kittens, ponies and so on.

Yin, Yang, Qi and their roots

The other day I was sorting my emails out and noticed this inquiry from a reader of the blog and my reply to the individual. I think it can be an interesting reading.

Message: I read with interest your website info and would like to know:

Question: The principles of yin, yang, qi - do they have their roots in Chinese (Taoist or Buddhist) beliefs?

I will be grateful if you can answer my query. Thank you.

For that I wrote the following as a brief introduction of how yin, yang and qi came around:

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Thank you so much for your interest in TCM. I've always enjoyed sharing TCM knowledge. To answer your question:

The terms 阴(yin, facing the moon), 阳(yang, facing the sun) and 气(qi, air energy movement above grains) have many implied meanings. Different fields take those terms for different definitions. At first, yang and yin meant only if a place faces the sun or not, respectively. The place that faces the sun is yang and the one not is yin. It was the fundamental understanding of nature. It's within the theory of duality of ancient Chinese philosophy. Subsequently, people have come to realize, through living, practice and observation of daily natural phenomenon, that the concept of yin and yang exists in all things. A simple example that applies to TCM can be: A fresh flush face is yang whereas a pale exhaustive face is yin.

The theory of yin and yang in TCM includes how these two components oppose each other, how they depend on each other to reach a balance, how they wax and wane and how one transforms to the other. TCM physicians use theory as such to understand the nature of diseases.

An ancient philosophical book, 周易 (Zhou Yi; Zhou: Dynasty Zhou, BC 1066 - BC 256; Yi: A word forming from the upper日(Ri, the sun, yang energy) and the lower 月(Yue, the moon, yin fluid), meaning ‘change’), considers the transformation of yin (night time, for example) and yang (day time, for example) into each other as the 'basic law in the universe'. This book dates back to the time mentioned as in Dynasty Zhou in the north-eastern part of China (Now nearby Shandong province). Buddha came to enlightenment in northern India at a time later than that. Therefore, yin and yang cannot come from Buddhism.

"Zhou Yi" is a book on the law of the universe, which is also called "Dao" (Direct Mandarin PinYin pronunciation) or "Tao" (Cantonese pronunciation, more known to the western and English world). Indeed, the idea of yin and yang can be found in the book. As a matter of fact, many TCM scholars these days consider Zhou Yi as the ultimate root of where TCM developed from, before which the book 皇帝内经 (Huang Di Nei Jing; Yellow-Emperor-Inside-Sutra; The Yellow Emperor's Canon of Internal Medicine, the most ancient TCM publication ever preserved) appeared back in 2,400 years ago...

So I'd agree to the saying the concept of yin and yang originally came from Taoism (Dao, what Zhou Yi is based on). But then again there are nowadays so many denominations of Taoism, some of which may have lost the original constituents of Dao.

As for the concept of qi in TCM, the first book that described this term is "The Yellow Emperor's Canon of Internal Medicine". The term qi, widely translated as energy, is also the unseen energy flows inside human body meridians, where acupuncture is based on.

Therefore the concept of qi neither originated from Buddhism nor Taoism.

Also mind I if correct your question, Buddhism isn't a Chinese belief, it's an understanding and practise that explains, as many believe, the finest and complete understanding of the universe. It was the teaching of Buddha, once prince Siddharta Gautama of a small country in northern India. Taoism, derived from the book Zhou Yi, author unknown. Confucius, in his later years, came across this book and pondered upon it and wrote ten chapters to explain this mysterious book of universe and proclaimed “If only I had known this book 10 years earlier, I would then have more time to understand the universe.” or something similar to that.

I hope this helps in understanding a little about the origin of yin, yang and qi. Different people, depending of their reading levels, may have different understandings. Please feel free to let me know if my views contradict with someone else's or if I have made a mistake.

Thank you so much for your interest in TCM. I deeply believe constituents of TCM such as: Qigong (The practise of Qi and energy with exercise or meditation), proper living lifestyle in tune with nature, proper diet in line with humanity, emotional peace and herbal remedy can help to achieve a peaceful world.

Thank you,

John Lew

Photoes:
1) The relationship of Yin Yang fish and eight 卦 (Gua, trigrams, as it's called in the western worlds). The eight Gua consists of different combinations of yin and yang as it changes from one to another.
2) 周易, Zhou Yi, more known as "I Ching" in the west.
3) The characters of 日(Ri, sun) and 月(Yue, moon), and how they were formed from symbolic looks of the actual bodies.
4) 皇帝内经, Huang Di Nei Jing, "The Yellow Emperor's Canon of Internal Medicine". This book is the bible of TCM. There are a few different translations in English name.
5) The character 气(Simplified version) and 氣(Original and complicated version). Three waves of air energy on top of and generated by 米(Mi, grain-based rice). It basically means the energy of the body is derived from diet of grain-based rices or cereals.
6) First sermon of Gautama Buddha at the Deer Park.

Open source Openmoko phone

July 4th, 2008 came a phone so unique it may revolutionize the mobile phone industry. Openmoko Neo FreeRunner is a completely open source mobile phone, including the mobile Linux platform and application software, and as such is sold "unlocked" and can be used with any GSM network.

There are currently three voices in the world of open platform for handphones. The Openmoko Neo FreeRunner is ahead of the other two (the LiMo Foundation and the Open Handset Alliance) in terms of rolling out handsets in the actual world market.

About the phone:
Operating the device seems not difficult because it has built-in core software that’s meant for recording contacts, dialing, and SMS. Neo FreeRunner is going to be available in two versions – 900MHz and 850MHz models.

Aside from that, it has 128MB WSDRAM and 256MB NAND flash memory. Making it more competitive is the 2.8-inch VGA touch screen having 480 x 640 resolution. Yes, anything you want done can be achieved with a touch of finger. Connectivity available is 802.11 b/g, AGPS, and GPRS 2.5G. Bluetooth is also provided.

Open source everything:
Openmoko hopes that by using open source software other developers can also make something unique out of the Neo FreeRunner handset.

Open source hardware:
Openmoko has made available downloadable Pro-Engineer format CAD files under a Creative Commons license for the developer community. It’ll be interesting to see how the developer community adapts the insides of FreeRunner to various form factors and application areas.

Open source software:
The Openmoko Neo FreeRunner comes equipped with a GNU/Linux OS base, and a core system for dialing, SMS and recording contacts. It currently does not include a camera, but it wouldn't surprise us if it is somehow modified into one. In about a month, a brand new software suite will be released that will provide location-based applications.

The FreeRunner can be a good training ground for the Linux community to adapt their codes/programs from desktop to this phone. So if you want to move beyond the narrow confines of the Windows Mobile operating system, or Nokia's Symbian OS doesn't float your boat, you might want to try this one out.

Discussion of specifications:
The FreeRunner will come in two versions at first: 850MHz or 900MHz Tri-band GSM. It packs in 128MB WSDRAM and 256MB NAND of flash memory, and includes a 2.8-inch VGA touch screen (at 480 x 640), Wi-Fi at 802.1 1b/g, AGPS, and GPRS 2.5G. And it of course has Bluetooth 2.0 connectivity, plus a couple of 3-axis motion sensors.

Upgrading and customization of the phone:
Users would have to become familiar with an apt-based (i.e. Debian, a Linux OS) Linux distribution. Programs and customization can be chosen over a device manager that links to a few sites, either OpenMoKo-related or certified sites. This in turn will definitely boost the sales of network operators’ bandwidth.

Endless possibilities:
The phone comes as a basic one. Much of the additional functionality is still in the developer stage and Linux skills are required to get many of them to work. At present new versions of the firmware are posted almost every day on the Openmoko web site. This is to say initial users are most likely to be open source / Linux geeks. Openmoko will eventually release a consumer version with fully functional, stable software.

One of the interesting things about this phone, according to Shiroh, an executive of the company, is “what people will do with this phone. What will people write in the open source community that I can't even imagine? It's the things that are completely unexpected that I'm really looking forward to."

So, what do you think are the exciting things we can do with the phone?
1) Walkie-talkie with GPS tracking?
2) Guitar tuner?
3) GPS assistant?
4) Add a camera (this is possible with hardware openness) and have conference call via GSM or WIFI?
5) Add an infra-red (again, possible) and have gyro-sensed remote control?
6) Digital drum machine? It’s all touchpad anyway. Let's throw in MIDI interface too.
7) Act as interface control of WII?
8) Many more unthinkable ideas?... :@)

Openmoko’s Neo FreeRunner phone can be availed at a retail price of USD399.

More info at:
OpenMoKo: www.openmoko.com; www.openmoko.org.
LiMo Foundation: www.limofoundation.org
Open Handset Alliance (Google Android): www.openhandsetalliance.com

Note:
1. Click on the pictures for original resolution of 480x640 VGA size.
2. Pictures are from www.openmobilefree.net (Chinese language) and www.openmoko.com.

Egg is bad for health?

Egg is bad for health?

Much has been said about the benefits of consuming eggs; I’d like to shed some light on its contraindications/ cases when and why human beings shouldn’t eat eggs.

- Poor digestion affects growth: Because of incomplete digestion system, babies often time cannot digest properly. The chance of indigestion, manifested as diarrhea and vomiting, is high when eggs are in their diet. A type of protein, avidin, in the egg, blends with biotin in intestines, causing blockage of nutrients absorption. It results in poorer absorption of vitamins, affecting baby growth. From the point of view of Chinese medicine, eggs are unkind to digestion, leaving behind plenty of phlegm in the stomach/spleen systems which will further jeopardize digestion.

- Allergic reactions: Baby’s digestive tracts are premature.
The membrane of the intestines allows more permeability. The ovalbumin in the egg, with smaller molecular sizes, can penetrate the membrane and sips into the baby’s blood. Reaction of baby’s immune system is to generate some antibodies that cause the release of certain chemicals which in turn cause allergic reaction such as wheezing, diarrhea, nausea, headache, stomachache, eczema and itchy hives and so on. This happens not only to babies; some grown-ups are also affected because of different and weaker body types. For example, chronic dry and itchy skin of elderly shares similar pathology, triggered by sea food, shrimps, eggs and so on. Ever wonder why more and more babies have symptoms mentioned above, that just wouldn’t go away? One of the causes is the egg intake.

- Heat/Feverish concern: From the point of view of traditional Chinese medicine, eggs can produce plenty of warming energy (Conventional interpretation is that its protein produces calories), causing the build-up of internal heat, which is a must-not during feverish cold and cough of the syndromes of wind-heat, phlegm-heat types. Furthermore, feverish patients secrete less digestive enzymes and their activities are low. Taking eggs will cause indigestion that leads to bloatedness, diarrhea and so on. What happens then? The fever and cough linger on with more new problems in stomach wind and diarrhea.

- Consistent cough/asthma: Because of the body’s reaction to the proteins either in the white or yolk, one of the effects is sneezing. This sneezing is a triggering factor of asthma with coughing and wheezing. This is also one of the reasons why some cough/asthma can be so persistent, lasting for a long period of time. It’s simply because of the wrong diet. One of the prohibiting foods for asthmatic babies and children is eggs.

- Lower kidney function: People with chronic kidney function, as in the case of nephritis, coupled with low urination, may have trouble getting rid of metabolite waste of the body. With the intake of eggs, the egg protein causes more urea production, making the kidney system suffer more. If the situation deteriorates, it may lead to renal failure. For cases of babies and young children, their internal organs are premature and therefore have difficult time coping with protein intake of eggs.

- Liver burden: The cholesterol and fat in egg yolk are metabolized at liver, posing additional burden to liver and gallbladder systems. Those patients who have liver and gallbladder related diseases should be watchful of eggs.

Mosquito fogging brings bad karma

Mosquito spraying/fogging has been carried out through out the world for many years with little successful results. The act of killing virus-carrier mosquitoes with chemicals has brought many unforeseen results.

To these days, many then unforeseen and destructive results have been known:

- Creating super mosquitoes: The use of many chemical insecticides in the past half decade or so has proven just one thing: The nature will prevail over human beings and new species of mosquitoes which can survive stronger insecticides will form by mutation. The next leading role of the movie will be the “super mosquitoes” who are not deterred by chemical pesticides. Then, what’s next? More and stronger toxic chemicals? And the same vicious cycle repeats again?

- Killing and extinguishing of its natural predators: Chemical insecticides/pesticides kill parts of mosquitoes, not all. And it also kills some other species. For example, sparrows, birds, frogs, bats and freshwater fishes could also be killed because of the fogging. And some of them are actually natural predators of mosquitoes as they feed on mosquito larvae. The decrease of the number of natural predators will only increase the number of new breeds of mosquitoes. The flourishing of mosquitoes today is the result of disturbance of natural ecological balance, partly due to fogging.


- Toxification of human beings and animals: The insecticides human beings used are synthetic pyrethroid insecticides, pyrethrins and malathion. And these are toxins. If they are toxic and harmful to mosquitoes, why can’t we understand they could be toxic and harmful to human beings/animals? In many parts of the world, there are hardly any control over the quality and quantity of insecticides/pesticides used in actual fogging. The more we use these chemicals, the more we and our children and grandchildren will suffer. The weaker our immune system becomes, the poorer health we have and the shorter our lifespan will be.

- Destruction of organic lifestyle: This is the time where more and more health conscious people are practicing the life-nourishing organic lifestyle with organically grown local produces. Many governments have also supported and hopefully will draft proper policies in helping the growth of this natural and productive agriculture. Can we imagine how chemical fogging destroys the work of organic plantations? It’s directly going against the balance of nature.

The government officials may or may not understand how ecology and nature works. Acting upon public complaints of mosquito-borne diseases like Dengue fever, Malaria, West Nile fever and so on, they are busy showing the public and media they actually do their job by busy killing mosquitoes, seemingly fulfilling the demand of general public.

Instead of opting for the chemical fogging/spraying, a government which has green/ecology wisdom will:


- Push for green environmental education: Educating public about the impossibility of killing all mosquitoes. The more fogging we do, the more adverse consequences we and our children will face. Educating public on how reducing meat intakes can reduce attracting mosquitoes; reducing the use of anti-biotics for stronger immune system which even upon bitten the body will not be affected so easily.

- Push for ecology education: The environmental department can protect the growth of frogs, sparrows, birds, freshwater fish, bats and home lizards and so on.

- Encourage the use of natural mosquito repellents and other techniques: Growing more plants which crushed leaves can repel mosquitoes like citrosa, lemon thyme, marigolds around the neighborhood. Introducing naturally and organically produced insect repellents and aroma essential oils like Eucalyptus, Cedar wood, and tea tree oils.

- Take better care of the neighborhood environment: Clean up all stagnant dead water, and scattered rubbish which actually helps the growth of mosquitoes breeding. This community-wide mosquito abatement program definitely helps in getting rid of mosquito-breeding sites.

The nature has warned us again and again on how poorly we take care of our surroundings and environments. However, many years of ignorant actions/inactions cannot be rectified by the wrong move of fogging. If we do not wake up to the callings, a red card is sooner than we can expect.

Note:
1) The writing is inspired by Mr. Simon Chau, a social and environmental activist, of www.simonchau.hk. The outline of the writing follows his style as it provides the consequences as well as solutions to what human beings can do to help.