இ Random facts VI ~ As Years Go By

The Old Geezer.

*The Old Geezer was the 64th commenter in my last post "When U ЯR 64". Oh what a coincidence! He wrote an enlightening comment ~ "Old age ain't for sissies! Do not resent growing old. Many are denied the privilege!" Profound and insightful words of wisdom from a wise man. Almost coming to the end of my 7 Random Facts of Bananaz, one more to go. A picture paints a thousand words. Kindly bear with the time for uploading as it may take awhile. Its all about the adventures of Bananaz in his 20 something, turning 30, pushing 40 reaching 50 making it to 60 hitting 70 and gracefully hope to get into 80 and perhaps more. (Sorry for the poor condition of the old scanned photos).

By looking at the two pictures above one should be able to tell some stories and the year. No prize for guessing. Yup its Woodstock, the Psychedelic Flower People, Peace and Make Love Not War.  Cannot see any ears or shoes and the bell bottoms or commonly called in our local lingo 'hala hala' could go around at 25 inches. Singapore had their strict rule of 4 x 2 meaning the hair at the side must have two fingers clearance from the ears and 4 fingers from the back of the neck. Never been to Singapore until late 80's. The picture of little Bananaz is a classic example of 4 X 2 haircut. Noticed the hair parting? As a boy would part the hair from left to right which is the norm for guys those days but got it changed from right to left during secondary school and what about the watch? It's on my right hand all becoz Bananaz wants to be different.

1970's ~ Full throttle: It's almost every young men's dream to drive a machine full blast without the fear of getting a speeding ticket. Powered by a two-stroke adapted chainsaw McCulloch 87cc engine and slick tyres to grip on asphalt road. When the chief track marshal at the starting point announced "Start your engine!", the adrenaline really started pumping. Go Kart races were mostly held in Penang with the 'racing track' start/end at the main Post Office and only been to a competition once in Taiping.

1970's: Where's Bananaz? Clue: The person who defies superstition or taboo over unlucky number?

1980's ~ Mount Aso: is the largest volcano in Japan, and one of the largest in the world. That was the closest Bananaz ever landed the feet at the crater. Honestly with the current quakes and eruption around the globe we may not have the opportunity to be near volcano. According to Wikipedia an erruption that took place from 300,000 to 90,000 years ago created a huge caldera, 25km across north to south and 18km across east to west. Its circumference is estimated between 80 and 120km.

1990's: The two hours wait for this ride was worth the while, imagine travelling at a top speed of 160km/hour and a free fall straight down from 115 metres. Venue is Dreamworld, Gold Coast Australia. The 'Tower of Terror' with Speed: Up to 160 km/hour, Height: 115 metres or 38 storeys, Length: 330 metres (=3 football fields), Track Length: 400 metres, Acceleration: 0 to top speed in 7 seconds, Weightlessness: 6.5 seconds, Gravity Forces:4.5 G's. Location of Bananaz: second row second from left.

1990's: The view is spectacular from up above Mount Kinabalu and the greatest pleasure in life is doing things that others say you cannot do which is against my doctor's recommendation not to climb mountain. In 1997, a re-survey using satellite technology established its summit (known as Low’s Peak) height at 4,095 metres (13,435 ft) above sea level, which is some 6 metres (20 ft) less than the previously thought and hitherto published figure of 4,101 metres (13,455 ft).[(Said this before in previous post). ]

Con't Part 2..

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இ When U ЯR Sixty Four

Sorry would like to pause on the 7 Random facts about Bananaz with five down two more to go. Cannot wait to post this interesting article received in an email by a buddy friend about growing old with A.A.A.D.D. (Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder). Bananaz shall kick off another 'section' about senior boomers titled 'When U ЯR Sexty Sixty Four' though a bit too early knowing all of us are pretty young and young at heart too. Age is mind over matter. If you don't mind it doesn't matter. Birth, sickness, old age and death 生老病死 *shēng lǎo bìng sǐ * is inevitable, life is impermanent and death is certain. Growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional and laughing at yourself is therapeutic.

Thank goodness there's a name for this disorder.
Somehow I feel better, even though I have it!!

Recently, I was diagnosed with A.A.A.D.D. -
Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder.

This is how it manifests:

I decide to water my garden. As I turn on the hose in the driveway, I look over at my car and decide it needs washing.

As I start toward the garage, I notice mail on the porch table that I brought up from the mail box earlier.

I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car.

I lay my car keys on the table, put the junk mail in the garbage can under the table, and notice that the can is full.

So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the garbage first.

But then I think, since I'm going to be near the mailbox when I take out the garbage anyway, I may as well pay the bills first.

I take my cheque book off the table, and see that there is only one check left.

My extra cheques are in my desk in the study, so I go inside the house to my desk where I find the can of coke I'd been drinking.

I'm going to look for my cheques, but first I need to push the coke aside so that I don't accidentally knock it over.

The coke is getting warm, and I decide to put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold.

As I head toward the kitchen with the coke, a vase of flowers on the counter catches my eye--they need water.

I put the coke on the counter and discover my reading glasses that I've been searching for all morning.

I decide I better put them back on my desk, but first I'm going to water the flowers.

I set the glasses back down on the counter, fill a container with water and suddenly spot the TV remote. Someone left it on the kitchen table.

I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV, I'll be looking for the remote, but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs, but first I'll water the flowers.

I pour some water in the flowers, but quite a bit of it spills on to the floor.

So, I set the remote back on the table, get some towels and wipe up the spill.

Then, I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do.

At the end of the day:
the car isn't washed
the bills aren't paid
there is a warm can of coke sitting on the counter
the flowers don't have enough water,
there is still only 1 cheque in my cheque book,
I can't find the remote,
I can't find my glasses,
and I don't remember what I did with the car keys.
Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all damn day, and I'm really tired.

I realize this is a serious problem, and I'll try to get some help for it, but first I'll check my e-mail....

Do me a favor
Forward this message to everyone you know, because I don't remember who the hell I've sent it to.

Don't laugh -- if this isn't you yet, your day is coming!!

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இ Random facts V ~ Nothing Left In Right Brain

Image courtesy of Wikipedia.

Our little 'crinkly walnut' brain is a master piece. It is divided in two parts – left & right. In the left nothing is right and in the right nothing is left. There are many brainy schools of thought and myths regarding the left brain right brain. As far as writing is concerned Bananaz uses right hand from day one but left hand on the Chinese abacus and later electronic calculator in order to save time while holding the pen in the right hand. Been wearing my first ever watch on the right hand since younger days and owning two anticlockwise watches currently *dare to be different* whoa. In any cue sports Bananaz does not need the "rake" or "bridge stick" for billiard or snooker game as the cue could be easily switch to the left hand and vice versa.

Bananaz became much bolder in late 90's going against all odds in attempting to 'exercise' the right brain by training the left hand to use chopsticks and writing and also to remind the mind that "Nothing is Impossible" Know what? He did it. Prefer to place the computer mouse on the left but on rotation basis to the right at a regular basis. Ooops! Now comes the confusion. Is Bananaz a right hander or a lefty? If I don't know I don't know, I think I know. If I don't know I know, I think I don't know ~ (Ronald David Laing, psychiatrist 1927-1989).

Done a quiz from Creativity Test and here are the results: Left Brain (54%); Right Brain (46%).
Bananaz's Result? : Click Here Exit

You are more left-brained than right-brained. Your left brain controls the right side of your body. In addition to being known as left-brained, you are also known as a critical thinker who uses logic and sense to collect information. You are able to retain this information through the use of numbers, words, and symbols. You usually only see parts of the "whole" picture, but this is what guides you step-by-step in a logical manner to your conclusion. Concise words, numerical and written formulas and technological systems are often forms of expression for you. Some occupations usually held by a left-brained person include a lab scientist, banker, judge, lawyer, mathematician, librarian, and skating judge.

Your complete evaluation follows below:


Your Left Brain Percentages:
46% Logical (Your most dominant characteristic)
44% Sequential
32% Linear
27% Verbal
25% Symbolic
0% Reality-based (Your least dominant characteristic)


Your Right Brain Percentages:
44% Nonverbal (Your most dominant characteristic)
34% Intuitive
28% Random
28% Concrete
24% Fantasy-oriented
6% Holistic (Your least dominant characteristic)

According to research by Amar Klar at the National Cancer Institute ~ "the gene for hand preference might also be the gene for hair whorl direction, the way a person's hair turns on the top of their head. Half of people with counter clockwise whorls prefer their left hand". Oh my! Bananaz's hair whorl direction is counter clockwise. Going further with the Geschwind theory, named after Norman Geschwind, a neurologist, proposed that the presence of high levels of testosterone before birth can lead to a left-handed child. Unfortunately, scientists can't open up someone's brain and see a sign for hand preference, so the myth remains that lefties are more artistic. What remains true is that the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body and vice versa.

A usual mundane conversation transpired during morning breakfast which goes like this..

香蕉人: 有時候我不曉的我是左手是右手? Pinyin: yǒu shí hou wǒ bù xiǎo de wǒ shi zuǒ shǒu shi yòu shǒu?
Bananaz : Sometimes I wonder whether I'm left or right hander?

芒果: 那個不重要; 愛不愛我才重要
Pinyin: mángguǒ ~ nà ge bùzhòngyào ài bù ài wǒ cái zhòngyào.
Mango: That one not important, love no love me only important (lit.)

Oh dear! A classic case of  "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus" where by two genders who have diametrically different communication styles, emotional needs and personal values to each other as pointed out by the author of this book, John Gray?

Click HERE to learn how to write Chinese 左右.

Lefties have long suffered. Eating with the left hand is considered impolite in India, Indonesia and Malaysia. Chinese characters prove extremely difficult to write with the left hand and in the past teachers would slapped the wrists of left-handed students. According to Wikipedia, the Chinese character for "left", 左 depicts a left hand attending to work 工 gōng. In contrast, the character for "right", 右 (Mandarin: yòu) depicts a right hand in relation to the mouth 口 kǒu, suggesting the act of eating. In the olden days in China, the left has been the "bad" side. The adjective "left" 左 pinyin: zuǒ means "improper" or "out of accord". However in one of the Daoist temple one must hold the incense and place them in the urn with the left hand during prayers. According to this Dao, the right hand is "bad" most likely contaminated with evil deeds based on the variety of studies suggest that 10% of world population are left-handed.

Left Brain Teasers:

Because their brains are organised differently, left-handers see and think differently and can get some very different results from various "brain tests", usually doing very well on tests that involve creative thinking or unraveling complex images and manipulating 3D images. Here's a famous test of creativity - have a look at the image below:

A non-creative right handed brain sees only a hodgepodge of disconnected shapes, but the left-handed brain can go beyond logic and find the connecting concept that makes sense of the shapes. If you can't "see" beyond the shapes, it's because your right-handed brain is trying to solve the problem and won't let your left-handed brain have a go. If you still can't see the picture, the answer is at the bottom of this page **

Here's another example showing how your left-handed brain can even create things that don't exist. If you can see the white triangle - the one with its apex pointing up - it's because your left-handed brain has created that triangle to unify what is otherwise simply a collection of angles and PacMan shapes. There is, in fact, no white triangle there.

**The picture in the first brainteaser is of a dog drinking from a stream, with its head in the middle of the picture facing down to the water and its tail off to the right.

Are you aware that August 13 is designated International Lefthanders Day by Lefthanders International who are from 7-10% of the world's population? This myth holds that a right-brain person is generally creative, intuitive, artsy, while a left-brain person is more of a problem-solver, more logical. What do you think? Myth or Fact?

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இ Random facts IV Part 2 ~ And Her Name Is Nikki

Autumn Belle dripped a bloody cute comment in my earlier entry of Part 1, The Good, The Bad & The Bloody singing "O-bloody, O-blaa - daa". Thanks to all for your kind concern and well wishes that my daughter would escape  inheriting the disease from me but sorry to say she has heterozygous alpha - Thalassemia. The Beatles lyriced it o-bloody clear ~ "Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, life goes on, brah! lala how the life goes on." No matter what, life has to go on and nothing gonna stop us now.

My loving daughter would be at a disadvantage as she would be facing the monthly complication which will aggravate a further depletion of her hemoglobin at 107g/L average for female is (115-165g/L). There was debate where a girl claimed she is stronger than the boy with this remark 'Can you bleed for a week and survive?' Wow terror! Some women may want to make a stand that men took away too much from them that the word 'women' has a two letters 'wo' against three for 'men'. Adding another 'o' would balance the word in equilibrium 'woomen' but then it sounds like 'woo' the 'men'. However some woMEN are getting bolder considering men a menace and start blaming men for causing so much discomfort with the monthly MENstrual cycle or MENses and MENopause. Of late often hear this over the TV from a desperate housewife saying ~ 'do you think you can help me to put MENopause on pause?'. Really? Can it be on pause? Please do not get me wrong not provoking battle of the sexes here, I come in peace.

In the early 70s heard this music composed by Burt Bacharach on TV, who wrote it specially for his daughter but turned tragic in the later years. Immediately Bananaz fell in love with the music and also the name and discussed about it with girlfriend and both agreed to use the name for our daughter should we get married 5 or 10 years later when have our own children. Whoa that was surely a long term plan for our one and only child..And Her Name Is NIKKI..

Ever heard of this old Chinese saying "Those surname Lee cannot marry another with the same Lee surname  李婆嫁李公*Lǐ pó jià Lǐ gōng* Lee wife marrying Lee husband? In the ancient days parents forbid their children with the same surname to get married as they felt it would be like closest as brother and sister relationship. All sorts of excuses would arised, that the off springs would be affected physically and mentally, may get down syndrome etc. Or who knows it could be thalassemia that they were so worried about but could not put a name to it? Currently we are seeing uncountable Tan's marrying the Tan's and Xie's marrying the Xie's which has been accepted in this modern era.

Anyway Thalassemia diesease must not be forgotten and should be a concern for now or even in future when the traits keep multiplying. Allow me to reiterate here, if both parents carry a hemoglobinopathy trait, there is a 25% chance with each pregnancy for an affected child. Patients with Alpha-thalassemia minor usually do not require any specific treatment. Treatment for patients with Beta-thalassemia major includes chronic blood transfusion therapy, iron chelation and [ HERE ]. Some private Pathology Labs even have posters in their clinics offering various blood test packages for couples for HIV or Thalassaemia diseases etc before tying the nuptial knots which is highly recommend to do so.

The picture above is in Todai-ji temple in Nara, Hokkaido, one of the oldest wooden temple in the world built in 752 which lasted through some fires leaving behind some structures and the 16 meters bronze Buddha statue free from the devastating fire. There is a peculiar pillar with a hollowed out A4 size hole at the base. The Japanese belief it will cleanse ones bad luck if you are able to squeeze through the hole and will live a longer life. Bananaz successfully slipped through with ease and sincerely wish for another 2 decades starting today to further enlighten his life and anything more than that would be a bonus.

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இ Random facts IV ~ The Good The Bad & The Bloody 血

Click to learn Chinese word xue.

Mind my language for using the last word 'bloody' in the title as this entry is practically very bloody oops sorry said bloody again. During my schooling days we were forbidden to utter 'bloody fool' which is considered just as bad as the four letter word but when coming of age we hear or see this word so rampantly used almost everyday.

How nice to inherit millions from our parents and have a whale of a time like the standard fairy tale ending phrase, "lived happily ever after"? Wake me I'm dreaming!!! So far Bananaz has not inherited any goodies yet only CVD or color blindness and now what, more bad news? An incurable HbH disease. Ohhh how dreadful when you read this *let me put it in bold* INCURABLE disease? What runs through your mind? As we all know the speed of light travels faster than sound and the expert NLP practitioners talked about the MIND travel even much faster.

Well let's tap into the hidden powers of your mind to see what disease gets connected with 'H'? Definitely neither 'Hyper Tension' nor 'Hepatitis' disease? Oh dear why so black heart to allow 'HIV' to cross your mind haha. Okie dokie high time to spill the beans, so what is actually HbH Disease? HbH stands for Haemoglobin or Hemoglobin H Disease which is part of the Alpha Thalassemia Syndrome.

What is Thalassemia?

Thalassemia 地中海形貧血 *dì zhōng hǎi xíng pín xuè* (Mediterranean anemia in Chinese) is a genetic blood disorder. People with Thalassemia disease are not able to make enough hemoglobin that are found in red blood cells which carries oxygen to all parts of the body. The disorder results in excessive destruction and mutation of red blood cells thus causes severe anemia.

Thalassemia is a genetic disease. This means that a person can only get Thalassemia disease or trait by inheriting the genes for Thalassemia from their parents. Genes determine what we look like, such as hair color, and are also responsible for many diseases. Inheritance of Thalassemia happens purely by chance–there is nothing that parents do, or do not do, that will cause their child to inherit Thalassemia. Thalassemia is never 'caught' by another person in the way that a cold or flu is transmitted. People with Thalassemia disease and trait are born with it. (Source: www.thalassemia.com )

There are two primary types of Thalassemia disease: Alpha Thalassemia disease and Beta Thalassemia disease. There are two main types of Alpha Thalassemia disease. Alpha Thalassemia Major is a very serious disease in which severe anemia begins even before birth and survival past the first few hours of life is rare. Pregnant women carrying affected fetuses are themselves at risk for serious pregnancy and delivery complications. Another type of Alpha Thalassemia is Hemoglobin H disease which Bananaz inherited and considered very unfortunate but then lucky 不辛中之大辛 *bù xīn zhòng zhī dà xīn* to have inherited HbH and not Alpha Thalassemia Major or Beta Thalassemia disease else I am afraid there will not be any Bananaz typing here but long dead and gone. (Source : www.thalassemia.com)

With my hemoglobin (Hb) reading then at 116 g/L (average for male is 130-180 g/L) it will drop as years go by and currently at 109 g/L, my doctor's advice is to stay away from high grounds because of my HbH disease as the supply of oxygen will be thinner and Bananaz would have a huge problem grasping for breath. Did I follow instructions obediently? Nope! What an awesome feeling watching sunrise on top of Mt Kinabalu. “The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do.” ~ Walter Bagehot. Nothing to worry about Alpha Thalassemia minor with no treatment required and Bananaz will be just as normal like everybody else except pale and sallow.

Alpha thalassemias occur most commonly in persons from Southeast Asia, the Middle East, China, and in those of African descent. Beta thalassemias occur in persons of Mediterranean origin, and to a lesser extent, Chinese, other Asians, and African Americans.

Is my daughter lucky enough to be in the 25% as illustrated in the chart above to escape inheriting the HbH disease? Stay tuned for Part 2..

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