Crypt 1:
It is believed to be Cryptocoryne pontederiifolia.
Crypt 2:
It is believed to be a variety of Cryptocoryne wendtii.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Cryptocoryne From Aqua Fair 2010
Bought some unidentified Cryptocoryne from Aqua Fair as follows.
Crypt 1:
It is believed to be Cryptocoryne pontederiifolia.
Crypt 2:
It is believed to be a variety of Cryptocoryne wendtii.
Crypt 1:
It is believed to be Cryptocoryne pontederiifolia.
Crypt 2:
It is believed to be a variety of Cryptocoryne wendtii.
Plants I Have Tried
Just to keep track of aquatic plants I have tried planting regardless I have successful or failed.
1. Egeria densa - grows like weed in the outdoor tank.
2. Hornwort - grows like weed in the outdoor tank.
3. Salvinia - grows like weed in the outdoor tank.
4. Water lettuce - grows like weed in the outdoor tank.
5. Rotala Green - rot at the bottom part in the indoor tank but growing well outdoor and partially immersed.
6. Cryptocoryne Wendtii - Growing but very slow.
7. Subwassertang - growing like weeds indoor.
8. Christmas moss - growing fine until hit by hair algae. So they went to the bin.
9. Taiwan moss - growing fine until hit by hair algae. So they went to the bin.
10. Spiky moss - growing fine until hit by hair algae. So they went to the bin.
11. Java moss - growing fine until hit by hair algae. So they went to the bin. Still have a bit of escapees in the tank.
12. Weeping moss - growing very slow and eventually hit by hair algae. So they went to the bin.
13. Java ferns - growing well in one tank but dying in another tank.
14. Narrow leaf ferns - growing well but in miniature form. However they slowly turn bald. Temperature may be too high.
15. Java fern windelov - growing well in one tank but dying in another tank.
16. Potamogeton gayi - growing like weeds.
17. Water wisteria (2 species) - growing well outdoor.
18. Marsilea (two species) - growing well but the short foreground one is slow. The tall one grows like weed.
19. Hairgrass - still testing. Successfully planted immersed.
20. Sagittaria subulata - growing like weeds and flowering.
21. Anubias Nana Petite - Alive but stunted.
22. Anubias Nana - eaten by Kribensis. Trying again in a different tank.
23. Philippines fern - growing well but covered by subwassertang and went missing.
24. Riccia fluitans - growing like weeds but end up in the bin.
25. Bolbitis - stunted. Water temperature is too high.
26. Duckweed - truly weeds. So, end up in the bin.
27. Cryptocoryne balansae - growing reasonably well.
28. Crytocoryne spiralis - growing slowly.
29. Cabomba - disintegrated and died.
30. Bacopa - alive but covered by BBA easily.
31. Hydrocotyle sp - growing slowly.
32. Limnophila aromatica - died in NPT.
33. Blyxa Japonica - eaten and destroyed by Kribensis. Otherwise growing well in NPT.
34. Echinodorus tenellus - growing well.
35. Eleocharis vivipara - growing well but have to trim too regularly. So, end up in the bin.
36. Hygrophila polysperma - overtook by BBA in NPT. So end up in the bin.
37. Corkscrew Vallisneria - growing well.
38. Vallisneria Nana - died.
39. Vallisneria americana - growing well.
40. Cyperus Helferi - growing well initially but slowly losing the leaves after 1 year.
1. Egeria densa - grows like weed in the outdoor tank.
2. Hornwort - grows like weed in the outdoor tank.
3. Salvinia - grows like weed in the outdoor tank.
4. Water lettuce - grows like weed in the outdoor tank.
5. Rotala Green - rot at the bottom part in the indoor tank but growing well outdoor and partially immersed.
6. Cryptocoryne Wendtii - Growing but very slow.
7. Subwassertang - growing like weeds indoor.
8. Christmas moss - growing fine until hit by hair algae. So they went to the bin.
9. Taiwan moss - growing fine until hit by hair algae. So they went to the bin.
10. Spiky moss - growing fine until hit by hair algae. So they went to the bin.
11. Java moss - growing fine until hit by hair algae. So they went to the bin. Still have a bit of escapees in the tank.
12. Weeping moss - growing very slow and eventually hit by hair algae. So they went to the bin.
13. Java ferns - growing well in one tank but dying in another tank.
14. Narrow leaf ferns - growing well but in miniature form. However they slowly turn bald. Temperature may be too high.
15. Java fern windelov - growing well in one tank but dying in another tank.
16. Potamogeton gayi - growing like weeds.
17. Water wisteria (2 species) - growing well outdoor.
18. Marsilea (two species) - growing well but the short foreground one is slow. The tall one grows like weed.
19. Hairgrass - still testing. Successfully planted immersed.
20. Sagittaria subulata - growing like weeds and flowering.
21. Anubias Nana Petite - Alive but stunted.
22. Anubias Nana - eaten by Kribensis. Trying again in a different tank.
23. Philippines fern - growing well but covered by subwassertang and went missing.
24. Riccia fluitans - growing like weeds but end up in the bin.
25. Bolbitis - stunted. Water temperature is too high.
26. Duckweed - truly weeds. So, end up in the bin.
27. Cryptocoryne balansae - growing reasonably well.
28. Crytocoryne spiralis - growing slowly.
29. Cabomba - disintegrated and died.
30. Bacopa - alive but covered by BBA easily.
31. Hydrocotyle sp - growing slowly.
32. Limnophila aromatica - died in NPT.
33. Blyxa Japonica - eaten and destroyed by Kribensis. Otherwise growing well in NPT.
34. Echinodorus tenellus - growing well.
35. Eleocharis vivipara - growing well but have to trim too regularly. So, end up in the bin.
36. Hygrophila polysperma - overtook by BBA in NPT. So end up in the bin.
37. Corkscrew Vallisneria - growing well.
38. Vallisneria Nana - died.
39. Vallisneria americana - growing well.
40. Cyperus Helferi - growing well initially but slowly losing the leaves after 1 year.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Excellent DIY Aquarium Stuff
Throughout the years, I have come across some amazing DIY aquarium stuff in forums. However, some of the threads in the forum was removed after several years. Sometimes the link to a website was no longer valid. So, there's no way I can locate them back. In order not to loss them, I have decided to collect some of the interesting DIY aquarium stuff that I have encountered recently in my own blog.
DIY Acrylic Tube:
The first one is a DIY acrylic tube by Paul aka Jedishrimp from APC (Aquatic Plant Central) forum. With the right tool, it seems like a pretty simple DIY project. Here's some sample acrylic tubes he has made:
The most crucial part of this project is bending the tube. If not done carefully, the tube may break or simply looks ugly. You need some patience to heat up the acrylic and turn it around. Then bend it a little bit. Keep repeating the heating and bending process until it has turned into the shape you want. Have a look at the Paul's excellent video on the technique of bending the tube by clicking the link below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSj2c0lR-wc
DIY Aquarium Background:
In APC forum, I have also encountered another great DIY project by an Italian named Stefano aka Dabolox. Basically, the DIY aquarium background make use of some of the readily available material from your own backyard such as soil, dry branches and dry dead leaves. It looks very beautiful and natural too especially if you're keen in setting up a black water tank that imitates the nature.
The following are some of the items used by Stefano:
He also created a hidden compartment for filter and heater as follows:
From the ingredients above, he created the following aquarium background. The roots he used are grapevine roots. You may try other alternative roots as long as it's non-toxic to the fishes and plants.
After he moved the aquarium background into the tank, here's how it looks like at various stages:
To read about Stefano's original article with more detailed information, you can check out the following link:
http://www.acquarionline.it/acquari/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=22&Itemid=1
DIY Acrylic Tube:
The first one is a DIY acrylic tube by Paul aka Jedishrimp from APC (Aquatic Plant Central) forum. With the right tool, it seems like a pretty simple DIY project. Here's some sample acrylic tubes he has made:
The most crucial part of this project is bending the tube. If not done carefully, the tube may break or simply looks ugly. You need some patience to heat up the acrylic and turn it around. Then bend it a little bit. Keep repeating the heating and bending process until it has turned into the shape you want. Have a look at the Paul's excellent video on the technique of bending the tube by clicking the link below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSj2c0lR-wc
DIY Aquarium Background:
In APC forum, I have also encountered another great DIY project by an Italian named Stefano aka Dabolox. Basically, the DIY aquarium background make use of some of the readily available material from your own backyard such as soil, dry branches and dry dead leaves. It looks very beautiful and natural too especially if you're keen in setting up a black water tank that imitates the nature.
The following are some of the items used by Stefano:
He also created a hidden compartment for filter and heater as follows:
From the ingredients above, he created the following aquarium background. The roots he used are grapevine roots. You may try other alternative roots as long as it's non-toxic to the fishes and plants.
After he moved the aquarium background into the tank, here's how it looks like at various stages:
To read about Stefano's original article with more detailed information, you can check out the following link:
http://www.acquarionline.it/acquari/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=22&Itemid=1
Monday, November 08, 2010
Cleaning Impeller of Eheim Classic Filter
Cleaning of canister filter's impeller is often a pain because the instruction is not mentioned in the filter's manual. I am not referring to made in China filters only. The same issue applies to German made Eheim filters. Basically the manual is a junk to me as it normally does not contain information you need but contains all the information you already know.
Thanks to some aquarium forums that I have managed to figure out how to clean it although the information is incomplete. Therefore I have decided to write the instruction myself. In my instruction I will use Eheim Classic as an example because it's the only canister filter I have.
Before you start removing the parts, please make sure that you remember how you remove them, so that you will know how to fix them back. You may shoot some photos in the process if you have a poor memory or poor observation.
1. After removal of the filter cover, you will notice the most important section of the filter as below. First, you have to unlock the lock that protects the impeller by turning it anti-clock wise. Then pull the lock upward. Be careful not to break the impeller when pulling up the lock.
2. After the lock has been removed, You will see the impeller partially in hole of the middle section.
3. The next step is to remove the cover of the impeller as follows:
4. After removing the cover of the impeller, you will notice the impeller. Pull the impeller upwards to remove it. Be careful not to break it. There is a magnet holding the impeller in case you're wondering why it's not loose. Once you have removed the impeller, you can brush the dirt on the impeller and the filter with tooth brush. There may be some holes you cannot reach with a tooth brush. You can use a cotton bud to clean the unreachable areas. Then rinse them with running tap water.
5. Don't forget to remove the hoses of the inlet and outlet for cleaning as well. The hose may clogged leading to poor water current in the tank. Just place the hose connected to a water tap and let the strong tap water current push all the dirt out if you're too lazy to brush the entire internal part of the hose. You will need a special brush to clean the internal part of the hose. Since it will be tedious without a proper brush, I will skip the brushing.
6. Don't forget to wash the media of the filter with your existing tank's water to avoid losing beneficial bacteria. I will not cover this aspect of the cleaning process as the information is widely available on the internet.
Thanks to some aquarium forums that I have managed to figure out how to clean it although the information is incomplete. Therefore I have decided to write the instruction myself. In my instruction I will use Eheim Classic as an example because it's the only canister filter I have.
Before you start removing the parts, please make sure that you remember how you remove them, so that you will know how to fix them back. You may shoot some photos in the process if you have a poor memory or poor observation.
1. After removal of the filter cover, you will notice the most important section of the filter as below. First, you have to unlock the lock that protects the impeller by turning it anti-clock wise. Then pull the lock upward. Be careful not to break the impeller when pulling up the lock.
2. After the lock has been removed, You will see the impeller partially in hole of the middle section.
3. The next step is to remove the cover of the impeller as follows:
4. After removing the cover of the impeller, you will notice the impeller. Pull the impeller upwards to remove it. Be careful not to break it. There is a magnet holding the impeller in case you're wondering why it's not loose. Once you have removed the impeller, you can brush the dirt on the impeller and the filter with tooth brush. There may be some holes you cannot reach with a tooth brush. You can use a cotton bud to clean the unreachable areas. Then rinse them with running tap water.
5. Don't forget to remove the hoses of the inlet and outlet for cleaning as well. The hose may clogged leading to poor water current in the tank. Just place the hose connected to a water tap and let the strong tap water current push all the dirt out if you're too lazy to brush the entire internal part of the hose. You will need a special brush to clean the internal part of the hose. Since it will be tedious without a proper brush, I will skip the brushing.
6. Don't forget to wash the media of the filter with your existing tank's water to avoid losing beneficial bacteria. I will not cover this aspect of the cleaning process as the information is widely available on the internet.
Tuesday, September 07, 2010
Testing Web Radio
This is for testing web radio.
Music genre:
Alternative music genre such as punk, hardcore, indie, lo-fi, garage rock, metal, goth, industrial, electronica, danc-rock, grunge, classic rock, reggae, ska, surf rock, glam rock, new wave, no wave, progressive rock, psychedelic rock, dream pop, noise pop, folk rock, americana, alternative country, rap rock, electro-pop, trip hop, art rock, math rock, rockabilly, experimental rock, krautrock, Southern rock, space rock, stoner rock, grindcore, darkwave, riot grrrl, twee pop, etc.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Aquatics International Fish Farm Visit
Visited Aquatics International during the weekend. I was having difficulties capturing the photos as most of the fishes I intended to shoot were fast swimmers and the lighting was poor. So, you are now looking at some crappy photos with very bad quality.
A view of the farm:
Some kind of a barb:
Madagascar Rainbow:
Lampeye Killie:
Golden Wonder Panchax:
Unknown species (labeled as "Pink Tea Charasin" - the label is suspicious to me. Combination of wrong spelling and poor handwriting do not help. Should be Pink Tailed Characin I believe):
Unknown species:
A view of the farm:
Some kind of a barb:
Madagascar Rainbow:
Lampeye Killie:
Golden Wonder Panchax:
Unknown species (labeled as "Pink Tea Charasin" - the label is suspicious to me. Combination of wrong spelling and poor handwriting do not help. Should be Pink Tailed Characin I believe):
Unknown species:
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Another 15 Gallon Tank At Planning Stage 2
So far I have purchased rocks and HOB (Hang On The Back) filter.
In terms of fish species, I have not fully decided. It could be any of these fishes in my list below:
1. Kuhli Loach - this is the species that never fails to attract visitors' attention.
2. Pristella Tetra - this is a hardy and cheap species to keep. I always love tetras with this kind of body shape.
3. Lemon Tetra - same reason as Pritella Tetra. The only disadvantage is Lemon Tetras love to jump out of the tank especially during breeding period. Yes, I managed to breed them.
4. Lampeye Killie - I love the blue "lamp eye" but the quality of the species I saw at the farm is doubtful due to a lot of dead fish in the tank. I am also very concern that this species has short life span comparing with all the 3 species above.
In terms of fish species, I have not fully decided. It could be any of these fishes in my list below:
1. Kuhli Loach - this is the species that never fails to attract visitors' attention.
2. Pristella Tetra - this is a hardy and cheap species to keep. I always love tetras with this kind of body shape.
3. Lemon Tetra - same reason as Pritella Tetra. The only disadvantage is Lemon Tetras love to jump out of the tank especially during breeding period. Yes, I managed to breed them.
4. Lampeye Killie - I love the blue "lamp eye" but the quality of the species I saw at the farm is doubtful due to a lot of dead fish in the tank. I am also very concern that this species has short life span comparing with all the 3 species above.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Another 15 Gallon Tank At Planning Stage
My business partner wants me to set up a fish tank in our new office, knowing I am a "fish nut" as one of my ex-colleague used to call me.
It will be a low budget 15 US gallon (standard 2 feet) tank with nothing expensive and fancy. Initially, I thought I wanted a black water tank which could be quite simple and easy to set up but the "black water" freaked out my business partner. I don't blame him. Majority of the people cannot stand a dark looking fish tank with dried leaves, dark sand and driftwood in the water. To me this is an art by simulating the nature.
Then I thought of a cichlid tank but most of of the cichlids are too huge or too aggressive to fit into a 15 gallon tank. Shell dwellers are too costly (the last time I checked, it was RM50 per fish). I could not keep Apistogramma alive long enough based on my past experience. So, cichlid tank is now out of my consideration.
Planted tank is my favourite but it will be too costly to call it a low budget tank. The cost of a lighting set is the main killer, even if I go for NPT (natural planted tank) without canister filter, CO2, chiller/fan, using plants donated from my existing tanks, etc.
Now, my plan is to have a non-planted tank with a mixture of idea from cichlid tank and black water tank. Basically, I will use rocks, sand and driftwood. The driftwood will form a structure that looks like tree roots in the water. Rocks will be piling up to form a slope where the tree roots attach to the rocks. I guess only myself can imagine how the tank looks like as of now.
So far I have only purchased some second hand rocks. The rest of the items are still being hunted now.
It will be a low budget 15 US gallon (standard 2 feet) tank with nothing expensive and fancy. Initially, I thought I wanted a black water tank which could be quite simple and easy to set up but the "black water" freaked out my business partner. I don't blame him. Majority of the people cannot stand a dark looking fish tank with dried leaves, dark sand and driftwood in the water. To me this is an art by simulating the nature.
Then I thought of a cichlid tank but most of of the cichlids are too huge or too aggressive to fit into a 15 gallon tank. Shell dwellers are too costly (the last time I checked, it was RM50 per fish). I could not keep Apistogramma alive long enough based on my past experience. So, cichlid tank is now out of my consideration.
Planted tank is my favourite but it will be too costly to call it a low budget tank. The cost of a lighting set is the main killer, even if I go for NPT (natural planted tank) without canister filter, CO2, chiller/fan, using plants donated from my existing tanks, etc.
Now, my plan is to have a non-planted tank with a mixture of idea from cichlid tank and black water tank. Basically, I will use rocks, sand and driftwood. The driftwood will form a structure that looks like tree roots in the water. Rocks will be piling up to form a slope where the tree roots attach to the rocks. I guess only myself can imagine how the tank looks like as of now.
So far I have only purchased some second hand rocks. The rest of the items are still being hunted now.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
16 Year-Old Girl Lost In The Indian Ocean
Early this morning at 4am, I was awaken and failed to get back to sleep. So I got up to check my email online. I happened to notice the devastating news about Abby Sunderland, the 16 year-old girl who sails alone and currently lost at the Indian Ocean. It's really heartbroken to hear about the incident involving a young girl at such a tender age.
I personally think that a 16 year-old girl who dares to sail alone must be a very strong-will young lady. I sincerely admire her courage as I won't even dare to walk alone on land beyond 3 hours, let alone sailing in an ocean!
I hope she will return safe and really looking forward to hear some good news about her. You may check out her blog at the link below:
Abby's Blog
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Update:
Glad to hear that Abby was found to be safe but the closest boat could only reach her in over 24 hours.
I personally think that a 16 year-old girl who dares to sail alone must be a very strong-will young lady. I sincerely admire her courage as I won't even dare to walk alone on land beyond 3 hours, let alone sailing in an ocean!
I hope she will return safe and really looking forward to hear some good news about her. You may check out her blog at the link below:
Abby's Blog
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Update:
Glad to hear that Abby was found to be safe but the closest boat could only reach her in over 24 hours.
Thursday, April 08, 2010
Conversion To Semi-NPT
I have finally re-setup the tank I wanted to convert into semi-NPT (natural planted tank). The main reason for the conversion is I am tired of purchasing the expensive Seachem root tab for this tank. I got rid of almost 80% of the existing plants. I have removed the bad condition Java Ferns but I leave the mini Java Ferns. Besides, Marsilea and Potamogeton gayi, I introduced Anubias Nana (maybe one of them is Anubias Petite) and Cryptocoryne Wendtii into the tank.
I have removed the female Krib and Ember tetras and placed them in another 2 separate tanks. I only leave the Black phantom tetras and the sole otto in the tank.
The following are the stuff utilised in the tank:
1. Soil: Clay loam (Price: RM5)
2. Sand: Holland Sand
3. Filter: Eheim 2213
4. Lighting: 55 Watt Dymax PL
5. Plants: Marsilea, Potamogeton gayi, Cryptocoryne wendtii, Anubias nana (maybe one of them is Anubias Petite) & mini Java fern
6. Fauna: Black phantom tetras & otto
7. CO2
8. 15 US Gallon (Standard 2 Feet) Tank
This is how the tank looks like originally:
This is how it looks like after the conversion. The water is clear since day 1:
This is the clay loam I use for this planted tank after failing to find top soil I purchased from the same nursery. I have decided to give clay loam a try as recommended by the salesperson. Purchased from Kelana Jaya's plants nursery:
I have added Holland sand at 4 corners of the tank to prevent double layer of sand and soil from being viewed. After that the top part of the soil is covered by Holland sand:
This is how the tank looks like on the 11th of April 2010 after adding water lettuce to shade the Anubias Nana and adding Rotala at the background:
I have removed the female Krib and Ember tetras and placed them in another 2 separate tanks. I only leave the Black phantom tetras and the sole otto in the tank.
The following are the stuff utilised in the tank:
1. Soil: Clay loam (Price: RM5)
2. Sand: Holland Sand
3. Filter: Eheim 2213
4. Lighting: 55 Watt Dymax PL
5. Plants: Marsilea, Potamogeton gayi, Cryptocoryne wendtii, Anubias nana (maybe one of them is Anubias Petite) & mini Java fern
6. Fauna: Black phantom tetras & otto
7. CO2
8. 15 US Gallon (Standard 2 Feet) Tank
This is how the tank looks like originally:
This is how it looks like after the conversion. The water is clear since day 1:
This is the clay loam I use for this planted tank after failing to find top soil I purchased from the same nursery. I have decided to give clay loam a try as recommended by the salesperson. Purchased from Kelana Jaya's plants nursery:
I have added Holland sand at 4 corners of the tank to prevent double layer of sand and soil from being viewed. After that the top part of the soil is covered by Holland sand:
This is how the tank looks like on the 11th of April 2010 after adding water lettuce to shade the Anubias Nana and adding Rotala at the background:
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Open Up and Say... Ahh!
I went for my first dental check up in almost a decade yesterday. I am very particular about selecting the right dentist and very concern about seeing a dentist I am unfamiliar with, due to a bad childhood experience with trainee dentist of my former school.
Here's my childhood bad experience leading to my phobia. I was 7 years old and I was required to go for my dental check up. Being afraid of being punished for not going for the dental check up, I had no choice but to go for the check up. A female Malay trainee dentist was stationed at my former school in a room partitioned from the clerical office. The horror started when the trainee told me that my tooth had to be extracted. In the process of extracting the tooth, I could be heard screaming and yelling out of pain and fear. Yeah, it was in fact very painful. Due to the lousy skill and lack of strength to pull my tooth, I was sent to the general hospital after the tooth broke half way. Thank goodness, the male Malay dentist of the general hospital was skillful and I didn't suffer from any pain. Unfortunately, the first encounter had permanently cultivated the fear in me.
The only dentist I dared to see was the uncle of my friend but I only saw him once in the 70s. The fear of dentist stopped me from going for dental check up until 1989 when I got a few teeth extracted and went through some fillings. I went for yearly dental check up at the same dental clinic for a number of years. I eventually stopped going several years before my late parents moved away to another state. I had thought of going back to my hometown just for dental check up for the last few years but the long journey prevented me from doing so.
I had problem looking for "Klinik Paul" introduced to me by my wife. I saw the signboard but as I went up the stairs, I could not find the clinic. I only saw a company called "Livingwell". Thinking it's another direct sales company, I walked off and made a phone call to the clinic. In fact "Livingwell" was the new name of the clinic. As I entered, I saw a number of people chit-chatting like nobody's business. The receptionist smiled as I was a weirdo who could not find the clinic even it was right in front of me. I registered as the first timer visiting the clinic. Upon putting down the form, the Indian man in the chit-chat session suddenly said "Come on!" and teased the lady who was chit-chatting with him for having too much things to talk about. I was glad that he was a homourous dentist unlike the one I encountered when I was 7 years old. I explained to him my tooth problem with the fear that I had to get it extracted. He showed me the tooth for confirmation on the screen and he confirmed that he could do the filling. He also put some medication on the ulcer on my tongue that I informed him to prevent him from accidentally hitting that area. He was quite friendly and somehow my fear disappeared - he was equally as good as my friend's uncle. So far I am happy with the filling and the medication for the ulcer works like a miracle.
My confidence level of going for dental check up is back to normal again. I hope I don't have to look for a new dentist for many years to come. What a relief!!
Here's my childhood bad experience leading to my phobia. I was 7 years old and I was required to go for my dental check up. Being afraid of being punished for not going for the dental check up, I had no choice but to go for the check up. A female Malay trainee dentist was stationed at my former school in a room partitioned from the clerical office. The horror started when the trainee told me that my tooth had to be extracted. In the process of extracting the tooth, I could be heard screaming and yelling out of pain and fear. Yeah, it was in fact very painful. Due to the lousy skill and lack of strength to pull my tooth, I was sent to the general hospital after the tooth broke half way. Thank goodness, the male Malay dentist of the general hospital was skillful and I didn't suffer from any pain. Unfortunately, the first encounter had permanently cultivated the fear in me.
The only dentist I dared to see was the uncle of my friend but I only saw him once in the 70s. The fear of dentist stopped me from going for dental check up until 1989 when I got a few teeth extracted and went through some fillings. I went for yearly dental check up at the same dental clinic for a number of years. I eventually stopped going several years before my late parents moved away to another state. I had thought of going back to my hometown just for dental check up for the last few years but the long journey prevented me from doing so.
I had problem looking for "Klinik Paul" introduced to me by my wife. I saw the signboard but as I went up the stairs, I could not find the clinic. I only saw a company called "Livingwell". Thinking it's another direct sales company, I walked off and made a phone call to the clinic. In fact "Livingwell" was the new name of the clinic. As I entered, I saw a number of people chit-chatting like nobody's business. The receptionist smiled as I was a weirdo who could not find the clinic even it was right in front of me. I registered as the first timer visiting the clinic. Upon putting down the form, the Indian man in the chit-chat session suddenly said "Come on!" and teased the lady who was chit-chatting with him for having too much things to talk about. I was glad that he was a homourous dentist unlike the one I encountered when I was 7 years old. I explained to him my tooth problem with the fear that I had to get it extracted. He showed me the tooth for confirmation on the screen and he confirmed that he could do the filling. He also put some medication on the ulcer on my tongue that I informed him to prevent him from accidentally hitting that area. He was quite friendly and somehow my fear disappeared - he was equally as good as my friend's uncle. So far I am happy with the filling and the medication for the ulcer works like a miracle.
My confidence level of going for dental check up is back to normal again. I hope I don't have to look for a new dentist for many years to come. What a relief!!
Monday, March 15, 2010
Diana Walstad Influenced Experimental Tank
This is how my NPT (natural planted tank) looks like today. A lot of plants die in my experiment - it's done purposely to find out what can survive and what cannot survive. The survival rate of the fishes in this tank is surprisingly high, despite no filter is used. In fact the Kribs bred, so were the Platies and Endlers. There's always almost no survival for the livebearers' fry because they got eaten up. It's a different story for Kribs as the parents protected the young ones (I lost the mother Kribs which jumped out of the tank not too long ago). The water is always a bit murky because my fishes mess up the tank all the time including digging. Yeah, I know the tank is overloaded with too many fishes.
I do weekly water changes. I don't follow Diana Walstad's methods very strictly. I could not stop myself from changing the water because the water is very murky and the bottom of the tank is very dirty too as you can see from the photo. Please note that the photo was taken after I changed the water. It could be worse before changing the water. I lost a few fishes in the past when I skipped changing water for 2 weeks in a row. So I've decided not to skip changing water from then onwards. The situation may improve if I have a filter but I've decided not to have one because I have consumed too much electricity in this hobby.
Plants:
Only Sagittaria Subulata, an unknown plant, duckweeds, bits and pieces of Blyxa (I think they're dying off) and water wisteria (newly re-introduced. The old batch died) are in the tank. I have killed many plants in this tank i.e. narrow leaf ferns, marsilea, various species of rotala, hornwort, bacopa, ...and the list goes on.
I do weekly water changes. I don't follow Diana Walstad's methods very strictly. I could not stop myself from changing the water because the water is very murky and the bottom of the tank is very dirty too as you can see from the photo. Please note that the photo was taken after I changed the water. It could be worse before changing the water. I lost a few fishes in the past when I skipped changing water for 2 weeks in a row. So I've decided not to skip changing water from then onwards. The situation may improve if I have a filter but I've decided not to have one because I have consumed too much electricity in this hobby.
Plants:
Only Sagittaria Subulata, an unknown plant, duckweeds, bits and pieces of Blyxa (I think they're dying off) and water wisteria (newly re-introduced. The old batch died) are in the tank. I have killed many plants in this tank i.e. narrow leaf ferns, marsilea, various species of rotala, hornwort, bacopa, ...and the list goes on.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Cambodia
Random photos taken at Cambodia.
Royal Palace:
A nun at Udong:
Angkor:
Angkor:
Angkor:
Kids at Angkor:
Dining at Night Market:
Cambodian Village:
Orphans at Orphanage:
Angkor:
Hill View at Udong:
Royal Palace:
A nun at Udong:
Angkor:
Angkor:
Angkor:
Kids at Angkor:
Dining at Night Market:
Cambodian Village:
Orphans at Orphanage:
Angkor:
Hill View at Udong:
Friday, January 08, 2010
All Because Of A Word....
Currently there's an on-going issue about the word "Allah" in a Catholic weekly magazine, Herald, in Malaysia. The Muslim majority opposes the usage of "Allah" for "God" in the Malay articles of the magazine, but the court allows it. 3-4 churches have faced arson attacks since yesterday morning - I am not even sure whether they're Catholic churches (They could be Protestant churches). So, there's an on-going tension in the country. I believe majority of the Muslims do not support the arson attacks though - those are the actions of some fanatics who do not even understand their own religion.
This part is my theory:
As an Atheist, I am basically neutral but I am worried that this issue may be escalated into a racial issue. The reason is the fanatics cannot differentiate Catholic and Protestant churches. I doubt they can differentiate Buddhists/Hindus/Atheists from Catholics too - they may end up targeting non-Malays. However, in this process of wrong identity, some Muslim Chinese/Indians could attacked by mistake too. It will be a havoc and absolutely not good for the nation. I am sure that if this kind of issue occurs in the U.S., the problem is the same.
From my point of view, both the Catholics that insist on using the word "Allah" knowing that it's so sensitive to the Muslims and the Muslim fanatics are equally wrong.
The Catholics should just use a different Malay word in the place of "Allah". In fact, they can use the actual Malay word "Tuhan" ("Allah" is in fact an Arabic word...not even a true Malay word). The situation is similar to provoking a group of dogs - the good dogs may do you no harm, the bad dogs may bark and chase you, the mad dog will bite you or even kill you.
The action of the Muslim fanatics are obviously wrong too. This is not the teaching of Islam or any religion. They're just a group of thugs.
The politicians have been using the word "religion tolerance" over and over for decades. Religion tolerance is just tolerating other religions without any respect. Religion tolerance is obviously not good enough - we need to respect other people's religions. Just like a Muslim friend suggested, we should visit the church/mosque/temple of another religion and help cleaning up the place or watering the plants. You'll gain respect when you learn to respect others.
This part is my theory:
As an Atheist, I am basically neutral but I am worried that this issue may be escalated into a racial issue. The reason is the fanatics cannot differentiate Catholic and Protestant churches. I doubt they can differentiate Buddhists/Hindus/Atheists from Catholics too - they may end up targeting non-Malays. However, in this process of wrong identity, some Muslim Chinese/Indians could attacked by mistake too. It will be a havoc and absolutely not good for the nation. I am sure that if this kind of issue occurs in the U.S., the problem is the same.
From my point of view, both the Catholics that insist on using the word "Allah" knowing that it's so sensitive to the Muslims and the Muslim fanatics are equally wrong.
The Catholics should just use a different Malay word in the place of "Allah". In fact, they can use the actual Malay word "Tuhan" ("Allah" is in fact an Arabic word...not even a true Malay word). The situation is similar to provoking a group of dogs - the good dogs may do you no harm, the bad dogs may bark and chase you, the mad dog will bite you or even kill you.
The action of the Muslim fanatics are obviously wrong too. This is not the teaching of Islam or any religion. They're just a group of thugs.
The politicians have been using the word "religion tolerance" over and over for decades. Religion tolerance is just tolerating other religions without any respect. Religion tolerance is obviously not good enough - we need to respect other people's religions. Just like a Muslim friend suggested, we should visit the church/mosque/temple of another religion and help cleaning up the place or watering the plants. You'll gain respect when you learn to respect others.
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