Posted by: thaishin | March 21, 2010

FDA: Zocor can cause muscle, kidney damage

Taken From Chicago Tribune on March 19, 2010:

The Food and Drug Administration says the highest available dose of the cholesterol drug Zocor can cause muscle damage as well as severe and potentially lethal kidney damage.

The agency says statin drugs like Zocor are known to cause muscle damage in some patients, but the risk is more severe when patients are taking 80 milligram doses of Zocor. The risks include rhabdomyolysis, a form of muscle damage that can lead to kidney damage or failure, and death.

Zocor, or simvastatin, is sold by Merck and Co. Merck’s cholesterol drug Vytorin and Abbott Laboratories’ drug Simcor also contain simvastatin.The FDA says the warning is based on clinical trials, studies, reports of side effects by users and prescription data.

Leave a Comment

Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: , , ,

Posted by: thaishin | March 11, 2010

Harnessing his motivation

At this point of time, my son is attending preschool 3 times per week, around 3 hours each session. Other than that, he is either playing games on the computer or watching TV or playing with his toy cars. During winter, that’s about the 3 or 4  things that he does day in day out. Maybe when summer comes, we will send him to some swimming classes.

I have talked to one of my friends and his son is one year younger than my son. He is attending mandarin classes and learning to play the keyboard. He says it’s a singaporean ‘kiasu’ syndrome. ‘Kiasu’ is chinese hokkien dialect meaning afraid to lose out. If I were to compare my son to his,  it is as if my son is losing out. But, I choose not to think about it that way. To each his own.

My son likes to watch TV. He likes to play computer games. So I am harnessing that to my advantage. Sometimes before he goes to the TV or computer I will require him to do some things for me. I will ask him to either read a book from Fitzroy series or learn some chinese words from the learning aid posters or memorize scriptures. And he will be motivated to do these things that he does not like to do and finish it.

There are 10 books from the Fitzroy series and it’s about phonics. Phonics is about learning the sound of each letter or letter combinations so that he is able to read sentences without memorizing individual words. The books increase in difficulty as the book number increase from 1 to 10. He’s able to read the first 5 books now.

Learning mandarin is more difficult than reading the Fitzroy series. He easily forgets the words since he does not use it. I try to speak to him in mandarin sometimes but not using a lot of chinese words here.

He does scripture memory better than learning mandarin. Bible says faith comes from hearing. What better than hiding God’s word in his heart and hopefully he will find it useful when he grows up. The other thing I am trying to do is to read Bible stories to him before he sleeps.

Romans 10

17Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. -niv

17So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. -kjv

My friends, do share with us how your child learns, if possible, thanks

2 Comments

Posted in Parenting | Tags: , , , , ,

Posted by: thaishin | March 2, 2010

About Sincerity

My thoughts on sincerity:

1) Sincerity is telling the truth in plain simple words.

2) Sincerity is knowing that each individual is worthy and talking to the person without paying attention to the person’s status, beauty and skills.

3) Sincerity is helping a friend that is down and out.

4) Sincerity is when your words and your action matches.

5) Sincerity is when you communicate without any hidden agenda.

6) Sincerity is knowing that righteousness is from the Lord and being humble.

Scripture on sincerity:

Matthew 5

37But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.  -kjv

37Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. -niv

Matthew 5:33-37 is about taking oaths.  But, I think  Matthew 5:37  covers all types of communication process.

Add to the list if you will, my friends.

2 Comments

Posted in thoughts | Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Posted by: thaishin | February 18, 2010

Second Recall

I sent my Toyota corolla for the second recall on February 2, 2010.

Taken from Toyota website:

What is the problem that could cause accelerators to stick and led to the recall?

The issue involves a friction device in the pedal designed to provide the proper “feel” by adding resistance and making the pedal steady and stable. This friction device includes a “shoe” that rubs against an adjoining surface during normal pedal operation. Due to the materials used, wear and environmental conditions, these surfaces may, over time, begin to stick and release instead of operating smoothly. In some cases, friction could increase to a point that the pedal is slow to return to the idle position or, in rare cases, the pedal sticks, leaving the throttle partially open.

What is the solution Toyota announced to fix sticking accelerator pedals?

A precision-cut steel reinforcement bar will be installed into the accelerator pedal assembly, thereby eliminating the excess friction that has caused pedals to stick in rare instances.


How does a steel reinforcement bar solve this problem?

The steel reinforcement bar will reduce the surface tension between the friction shoe and the adjoining surface. With this reinforcement in place, the excess friction that can cause the pedal to stick is eliminated.

What if you experience a sticking accelerator pedal while driving?

Each circumstance may vary, and drivers must use their best judgment, but Toyota recommends taking one of the following actions:

  • If you need to stop immediately, the vehicle can be controlled by stepping on the brake pedal with both feet using firm and steady pressure. Do not pump the brake pedal as it will deplete the vacuum utilized for the power brake assist.
  • Shift the transmission gear selector to the Neutral (N) position and use the brakes to make a controlled stop at the side of the road and turn off the engine.
  • If unable to put the vehicle in Neutral, turn the engine OFF. This will not cause loss of steering or braking control, but the power assist to these systems will be lost.
  • If the vehicle is equipped with an Engine Start/Stop button, firmly and steadily push the button for at least three seconds to turn off the engine. Do NOT tap the Engine Start/Stop button.
  • If the vehicle is equipped with a conventional key ignition, turn the ignition key to the ACC position to turn off the engine. Do NOT remove the key from the ignition as this will lock the steering wheel.

Leave a Comment

Posted in Driving | Tags: , , ,

Posted by: thaishin | January 20, 2010

To stay or not to stay?

Husbands should live with their wives. Simple enough. Taken for granted by most people. I was faced with the idea of living separately with my wife once. That was 2007.

My wife was applying to USA to work as a nurse back then and I was undecided then whether to join her. Back then, there were a lot of uncertainties. Certainly, we did not know whether she could earn enough to support the family if she was working alone and the family joined her. She did not know where she will be dwelling, only told to her that she will be in Chicago. Safety issues plagued my mind also since I know the crime rate would be high in Chicago. The colder weather. The food. Whether I can adapt and get used to taking care of my son. So many things to adjust to should we move there. There’s also the worry about what I can work as after many years of  looking after my son. I was too comfortable in Singapore to want a change.

I needed to seek counsel if I needed to make a decision. I asked my mentor. He said go. I asked some close friends. One of them said I should go if my wife is determined to go. Another said it depends on the situation. I asked a pastor from the Philippines. He shared with me his own family experience whereby his brother had problem with his wife after he worked abroad alone for many years. He said what’s the use of gaining the whole world if one should lose his own soul. Other friends did not give any advice.

At the time that the visa was issued to our family, I was in an job interview which was turning out to be positive. Eventually, I decided not to go further with the interview. I decided to follow my wife to USA. The family should stick together

All the time, I could not find a verse that speaks about my situation. In the absence of that, I relied on Godly counsel from my friends, just go.

On hindsight, here’s the verse that could apply to my situation:

1 Peter 3:7

7Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered. -kjv

7Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers. -niv

Both verses point to the same thing: Dwell or live with your wife.

10 Comments

Posted in Marriage | Tags: , , ,

Posted by: thaishin | January 8, 2010

A bad fall

My son stretched both his hands to the sides of his thighs through his pajamas and went further down leaning forward. He fell awkwardly, slamming his front teeth onto the floor and loud cries follow.

I went to look at him, dug out the food that he was eating  from his mouth. He was taking his lunch. Then I took the towel and pad at his front teeth. Blood was flowing profusely at the two front teeth and from the lascerations on his lower lip. I checked his teeth and it seemed that his left front teeth was shaky.  I called my wife to ask her about what to do. She’s trained in health care and she should know better. She told me that as long as the bleeding stops, things will not be so urgent. I was wondering whether to send him to the A&E but things got better and blood is not flowing that much anymore.

It was  near the end of the year and we are switching  from state insurance to private insurance for him. So, I decided to wait for a few more days before we visit the dentist. The incident happened on Wednesday and we waited until the next Monday morning to see the dentist. At least with private insurance, the dentist is more accessible. We were also wondering whether to send him to the primary care doctor to examine his mouth but we decided to send him to the dentist first.

We were worried that there might be some broken teeth stuck in his gums and also about infection. He was in pain. Food has to be sliced into smaller pieces for him to eat. As the days went by, he was crying in pain whenever he took food. Thank God from the X-ray that was taken at the dentist, it showed that there were no broken teeth and that adult teeth was pushing its way out and there was no infection up till then. Thank God for His protection!

3 Comments

Posted in Parenting | Tags: , , , , ,

Posted by: thaishin | December 17, 2009

Sin, Guilt, Grace

Our God is a holy God and hates sin.  He has an absolute and highest standard of holiness that any human attempts to reach it fails. That is because human beings are by nature sinful and can never reach God’s standard of holiness. God hates our sins but loves us as a person. Hence, it is necessary that a christian acknowledges and confesses his/her sins  in Christ name when he/she sin against the Holy one of Israel in thought, speech and action in order to draw closer to God.

The natural reaction to acknowledging and confessing our sins is guilt. If it lingers, it is counter productive to our spiritual growth. We need to be objective and honest to ourselves in order to detect sin in ourselves. But after acknowledging and confessing it, the goodness and grace of God should always come after that to dispel the lingering guilt. The goodness and grace of God displaces the guilt. We can experience the goodness and grace of God only if we put ourselves in Christ’s shoes and feel the pain of the nails that went through his hands and feet. Only when we feel grateful to what Christ did on the cross for us will we understand the length, breadth and depth of God’s love for us and constantly pin our hopes on the goodness and grace of God. And our hopes are not in vain because of the resurrection of Christ where our greatest fears of death are put to rest and we can conquer all circumstances that life throw at us. Where there is no more fear, nothing in this world can shift our loyalty from Christ.

Leave a Comment

Posted in Sin | Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Posted by: thaishin | November 26, 2009

Difference in Genealogy of Jesus in Matthew and Luke

Question:

Luke 3:23-37
excerpt
the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David, the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz – niv

Matthew 1: 1-16
excerpt
Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife, Solomon the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, – niv

Both passages are consistent for genealogy before David. Matthew stop at Abraham but Luke went on to Adam. But both passage seems to differ for genealogy after David. There is no mention of Solomon in Luke.

Is there an error here?

Answer from Pastor Brian Ingalls:

There’s a really solid answer for this on the website “gotquestions.org” which makes some good points, like this one:
Some point to these differences as evidence of errors in the Bible. However, the Jews were meticulous record keepers, especially in regard to genealogies. It is inconceivable that Matthew and Luke could build two entirely contradictory genealogies of the same lineage. Again, from David through Jesus, the genealogies are completely different. Even the reference to Shealtiel and Zerubbabel likely refer to different individuals of the same names. Matthew gives Shealtiel’s father as Jeconiah while Luke gives Shealtiel’s father as Neri. It would be normal for a man named Shealtiel to name his son Zerubbabel in light of the famous individuals of those names (see the books of Ezra and Nehemiah).

It was probably just a case of Matthew tracing Jesus lineage through Joseph, which would have been the legal, Jewish way of doing things.  Luke on the other hand, probably traced the lineage through Mary which was something the Greeks did occasionally, and more probably because Mary was a real mother, while Joseph (because of the virgin birth) really wasn’t the father.  Both Mary and Joseph were descendants from David, so giving both genealogies was a way to show Jesus’ heritage could not be challenged either way.

Here’s how gotquestions explained it:
…most conservative Bible scholars assume Luke is recording Mary’s genealogy and Matthew is recording Joseph’s. Matthew is following the line of Joseph (Jesus’ legal father), through David’s son Solomon, while Luke is following the line of Mary (Jesus’ blood relative), though David’s son Nathan. There was no Greek word for “son-in-law,” and Joseph would have been considered a son of Heli through marrying Heli’s daughter Mary. Through either line, Jesus is a descendant of David and therefore eligible to be the Messiah. Tracing a genealogy through the mother’s side is unusual, but so was the virgin birth. Luke’s explanation is that Jesus was the son of Joseph, “so it was thought” (Luke 3:23).

2 Comments

Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , ,

Posted by: thaishin | November 8, 2009

Lunch and Dinner

My son is 4 years old now. I have been feeding him personally while he is taking lunch and dinner until recently. He is still developing his fine motor skills and I figure we should give him more exercise of his fine motor skills by letting him feed himself. It is a bit late but better late than never.

The problem of letting him eat himself is the worry that he is not eating enough. At least if I feed him, I control how much food he eats. I guess I can half let him eat himself and half feed him. That way he practice his fine motor skills and I can force him to finish his food if there is still some food left.

I also have problem occupying him meaningfully when he is not going to school. He watches TV most of the time, Nickelodeon and cartoon network. Dora Explorer, Diego, Max and Ruby, Ni Hao Kai Lan etc and He loves watching spongebob. Nowadays, when taking his meals, I will switch off the TV so that he concentrates on his meals. My friends, if you are able to engage your preschool kids off TV, let me know how. I learnt about phonics from a Montessori teacher and is teaching him about the sound each letter makes and he manage to read 4 books from the Fitzroy reader series using this phonics method from Montessori.  These I do when he takes break from TV.

Used to be that I have to appeal to his taste when he was younger because if he does not like the food, he does not eat it. Now, I can force him to try new food and he usually listens to me. At least if he likes the food, he will continue to eat it. The important thing is he tries the food.

His usual staple now includes macaroni and cheese, rice with chicken nuggets and fish sticks, rice with scrambled egg, rice with 2 length of sausages, 4 hard-boiled eggs, 2 or 3 pancakes, bread with butter, instant noodles,  subway soups like broccoli with cheddar cheese, dumpling soup, chicken soup etc, hotdog with bread, spaghetti, pizza, rice with roasted chicken, pretzels. I am trying to let him try more food if possible.

It is a God-given responsibility of mine to feed him, clothe him and take good care of him as he is my son. I learnt from a radio broadcast that just as God the father gave man structure to his environment, parents also need to provide structure to their children in their daily routines. I guess that I need to do that and more. Nurturing my son will be my greater responsibility other than the role of a care giver.

6 Comments

Posted in Parenting | Tags: , , , , , , ,

Posted by: thaishin | September 23, 2009

A Slow Leak and a Recall

The Slow Leak:

For the past few weeks, the low tire pressure warning light came on in my 2009 Toyota Corolla for  a couple of times. After I top up the tire pressure, the warning light will come on  after a few days.  A family friend of ours who is a mechanic inspected the tires for us and found that a screw was embedded in our left rear tire. He told us that there is probably a slow leak in tire pressure.  We asked how it can be repaired. He said it could be repaired by a plug or a patch. A plug will take around half an hour and may come off after continuous and constant driving through difficult terrain. We asked for a quote from a repair shop and they quoted us 12 bucks. A patch will take an hour and is more durable. We asked for  a quote from another repair shop and they say it cost 30 bucks. And they say its a plug patch. So, we went for the plug patch. They took off the wheel from the car and removed the tire from the rim. They took out the screw, make a through hole of the puncture, grind the inside, put some glue on it, and apply a circular patch from the inside and seal the puncture.

The recall:

A few weeks back, I read an article that reported that there was a recall on certain 2009-2010 Corolla and Corolla Matrix relating to the brake system vacuum port.

I just received the recall notice on Monday and made an appointment with the nearest Toyota dealer to have it fixed.

The condition: If the vehicle is operated in extremely low temperatures, there is a possibility that condensed moisture from a positive crankcase ventilation (PCV) port may seep into the brake system vacuum port and freeze. The port is located inside the intake manifold and provides vacuum assist for the brakes. Should this condition continue, ice may slowly accumulate at the port and in the worst case, ultimately plug the port. As a result, power assist to the brakes would gradually decrease (eventually to zero), and the increased pedal pressure required could lead to greater vehicle stopping distances, which may increase the risk of a crash. The Toyota dealer will install a newly designed intake air connector which will relocate the brake system vacuum port at no charge to the vehicle owners.

Leave a Comment

Posted in Driving | Tags: , , , , ,

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »

Categories