What’s In A Name?

Photo by Doug Perrine - ISAF

Someone asked how marine life get their scientific name. So I replied:

Usually marine life names are divided into four categories. First would be the FAMILY, then GENUS, then SPECIES, and lastly COMMON NAME. However, Common Names can be deceiving as something in Perhentian would be called by a different name, say, in Sumatera.

So, let us concentrate on the first three categories. Let’s take the Pelagic Thresher Shark for example.

Threshers come from the family ALOPIIDAE. The Genus name would be ALOPIAS. Then the species would normally be determined by its characteristics. So this one is PELAGIC. So, its scientific name is ALOPIAS PELAGICUS. Sometimes the SPECIES is also determined by the name of the discoverer.

Like the HIMANTURA JENKINSKII..or Jenkin’s Whipray that you see in abundance off Tanjung Kerma in Perhentian.

QED

Why So Stupid?

Yeah…I know, I am supposed to sleep. You doctors can screw me without any lubricants if you want to for not listening to you.

I’ve just discovered something really stupid. I know my wife is going to be pissed off when she gets the news of this postings from the subhumans (untermenschen as my kampung folks would say) who call her every now and then to tell her of my progress or regress. Anyway, you have to admit how stupid politicians can be.

Yes…this is about my wife and the other hand (and ass) kissing politicians.

Last night, when my BP was high, she was in Awana Kijal…on some political mission. I think she must have left at around 6.30pm and arrived past midnight because that was when she called Hana’s (my daughter) phone. She got home this evening at 8pm, only to leave again at 9.45pm for Pengerang, in Johor East.

At around fifteen minutes past midnight, she sent me an SMS saying she was in Nilai to pick another politician friend up, and told me she is sorry that she isn’t a good wife for leaving me alone at home. So I replied asking her to tell whoever that is driving to drive carefully. At 2.44am, she informed that she had just passed Ayer Keroh R&R because they were sleepy. That’s five hours since departure.

This 41 year old man driving alone would need another half an hour to make it to the jetty in Kuala Besut with that kind of duration if no stop at Gua Musang is made. In that time, I would have been able to check into a hotel in Dannok, at the Malaysian-Thai border of Bukit Kayu Hitam, and would be sleeping for 25 minutes at least; or I’d be fast asleep in Mersing by now while waiting for the first boat out to Tioman.

And my guess is, after lunch, she and her band of friends will be making their way back to KL.

Isn’t it absurd?

This absurdity should be included to the other absurd act of “sending off” or “welcoming back” the Prime Minister at the VVIP Terminal of KLIA. Hundreds will be there and the PM will not even look at you, won’t realise that you were there, and it’s business as usual for him. Yet hundreds of politicians will throng the terminal, not to see the PM off or welcoming him, but to do business networking there, talk cock and sing song.

They should really read this book by Edward De Bono:

Stupid book for stupid people

How much is the house rent at that house I was looking at, again?

Oh Bugger! – Part 2

Oh Bugger!

I had a good night’s sleep.

I woke up this morning feeling fine as usual.

I cuffed the Sphygomomanometer’s cuff around my arm, before I did anything else as usual.

136/101 pulse 101.

It shows that my systolic is getting lower..meaning the pressure of my heart when it beats is getting slower despite the high heart rate. But the pressure inside the blood vessels when the heart is at rest in between beats is high.

That is bad.

The doctor mentioned that the only solution to this is if I can find a solution to my problems within this next couple of months. If only I know when that can be. Only she has that solution now.

Guess I will just have to wait.

Goodbye MDC

MDC Logo

Finally, after 2 years and 1 month and almost 6,000 postings later, I have quit the Malaysia Diving Community forum.

Why?

I don’t really know. It’s probably a combination of so many things actually. I joined MDC when it was still hosted by conforums in May of 2005, then rejoined in July 2005 when it moved to the current host. It is a good forum and I met lots of friends in there, some whom I have not met until today but remain close in the forum.

September 2005 was the first time I wanted to quit initially but was asked not to by several friends. I think I was made a moderator. Still, mid-last year, I felt tired,and again wanted to quit, but was asked not to by a friend. So I posted less.

I think I tried over and over again to get divers to think about how they conduct their dives. As I have met instructors who did not have a clue of what they were talking about in terms of the fundamentals of diving. So I began to wonder what my diving brethrens are geting themselves into. So MDC became a platform for me to voice out my opinions on diving. Initially, I was frowned upon because I had no authority to speak about diving. I was just an Advanced Open Water diver. Then I went on a streak of self-improvement: began with taking up EFR, then Rescue Diver. Then I furthered my knowledge by doing specialties like Deep Diving, Wreck Diving, Enriched Air Nitrox, Underwater Photographer and Underwater Videographer. I made it as a Master Scuba Diver on Christmas Day of 2005, just 9 months after my open water course.

Still, I was craving for more knowledge on diving, I took up Advanced Nitrox and earned my Divemaster rating, yet I still craved for more, always pushing myself to the limits, also in order to be able to understand the physics of diving so I could share with fellow divers. June last year was when I finally took a step into the dark side: going tech. Then I was able to advice fellow divers better as I had a better understanding and a new perspective of diving.

Anyway, personal problems and health problems have the better of me. And it is time for me to take a sabbatical as advised by fellow Admins and Mods on MDC. Then I thought, even as a normal member I would be posting a lot, so it’s best to leave. As it has been my wish to do so since 2005. I so miss the members, and someone, who is also in that forum. Although I get to see her every now and then outside the forum but sometimes seeing her name in there makes me smile.

To all the members of MDC, carry on, dive safely while having fun. Hope to see you guys underwater.

Oh Bugger!

Oh...bugger!

I got up this morning feeling fine, put on the sphygomomanometer’s cuff around my arm and happily pumped away.

141/96.

Bugger.

Killjoy!

Choy’s Ginseng

Choy's Ginseng from his CT scan

What you are looking at is Major Captain Corporal Choy‘s Fusiform Aneurysm on his right cerebral.

It is a time bomb. There is also a warning leak detected in the area. 1/3 patients of this form of aneurysm die in their sleep.

Choy has been admitted into a medical center and I plan to visit him later in the evening after his Middle Cerebral Angiogram.

Take care, bro, and good luck.

Humour Me

This is me trying to cheer myself up while I sit here alone…slipping between conscious and unconsciousness.

I must say this must be the best place to CHOW DOWN (pun intended).

At least if I die, I die laughing.

Start it with a Bismillah
Start eating it with Bismillah

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

Sleeping dog

I woke up this morning slightly disorientated. My body feels like it has been hit by a truck. Emma Sams, to whom I relate my condition over YM quickly jested that this wouldn’t be the first time that I have felt like this. Back in 1996, I skydived in Taman Melawati and got hit by a truck…literally..in one of those bizarre things that could happen to a skydiver.

Anyway, despite a good night’s sleep courtesy of a tablet called Lexotan, and an additional tablet of PCM (Bakawali, don’t be angry with me if you think that would have contributed to me being overdosed with relaxant), I woke up to a blood pressure of 126/94 with a pulse of 76. Last night…well, let me talk about when I was with Mahal Ko when she attended a business meeting with me. She conducted herself very well during the meeting and am very proud of her. No interjections, nothing, and gave her opinions when asked for. Well, she’s a professional. Anyway, she helped me check my BP and it was down to 127/77. VERY NORMAL for a person of my age and I was happy thinking I had licked this hypertensive streak. Bakawali is right. I need my infusion of Mahal Ko on a daily basis. She calms me down.

The problem only began when I got home last night. To my wife, I know you are reading this and so I am going to write about this anyway. No thank you for your sarcasms and taunts, and yes, when I was inside the toilet I heard you were the one who said, “Ayah dah mati” to Farhan. Otherwise, Farhan himself could not have come out with such suggestive remarks. After all that was what you told Alim about his father when his father is still alive. And when you asked me to sleep on the floor, that was the greatest insult any wife could give to the husband.

Therefore, no thanks to you also, my wife, my blood pressure immediately shot up to 164/101, and after relaxing for 10 minutes, 152/100. I could not lift my chin up because I felt like my neck was going to break into two halves as I walked to get the Lexotan. I thought I wouldn’t need it, but I had to take it. After almost an hour, with no relief felt, I took PCM 250mg. Less than an hour later I was out cold.

Thus, this sleeping dog lay…on its own bed.