A Mini selsemababi.com.my

Following some sound feedback, I might as well put a list of links for people to check out should they want to learn more about the virus.

WHO FAQ about the influenza

Pandemic Map

Skepchick's rantings about homeopathy

MOH's steps to prevent outbreak

Let Me Suggest selsemababi.com.my

SARS, then bird flu. Another global epidemic. Devastating as the epidemic can be, one thing that interest the technocratis are the elements of Web 2.0 influencing the dissemination of information or misinformation in the mass media.

On the plus side, IT is important in communications. There is no doubt about it. But what is of concern is the lack of control over the flow of information. It was easy 20 years ago to control television and  printed news to vet the kind of information being served to the public. Now, can we control the flow information in websites, emails, facebook, friendster and worse of all, twitter! Informations are updated to the minutes if not seconds. The authority will be powerless to control the information flow.

They will be left down with two choices. They can fight the information flow .... good luck to them. More sensibly they should just join what they cannot fight. Let me illustrate two important lessons from the last couple of weeks. Remember the youtube post I embedded on my site about the Domino's employee who were practically putting filth on the pizza. The video has since been taken down. Within the next 24 hours, Domino responded by posting another video on Youtube with its President apologising profusely about what happened. Not only that they responded promptly, they were also seen as hip and cool to their target. Those who have seen the add must have been IT savvy, and this is the targeted group who need to see the apologising reply as well. Smart move.

This is opposite to Amazon.com. A couple of weekend back, while updating their database, they accidentally brought down their whole catalogue of gay and lesbian-related titles. People started complaining. The problem was rectified soon after, but no apologies or explanation was given until a few days after. The punters can't wait few days. That is far too long in the Web 2.0 era. Slow reaction there.

My point is, the authority should take control of the Web, but not to control the flow of information, but to utilise its reach. I saw the WHO press conference live earlier on CNN.com from Geneva basically explaining that the Secretary-General has upgraded the pandemic status of the flu to grade 4,  a couple of grades from stopping cross-border movement. What is I would suggest is the Kementerian Penerangan should do something similar. A fast updating website - something that sounds like selsemababi.com.my or something. Disseminate information fast, turning it also as a portal for those wanting to learn more about the epidemic. The Kementerian can then vet and streamline the information better. They can also do tweeter updates as well, or even a facebook page! Failing that, you can always follow @palmdoc in twitter ... He has all the up-tp-date info one way or the other! There is also a map-based site that will track the confirmed cases that worth checking from time to time.

To finish things off, have a look at this video from 1976. Go selsemababi.com.my

Conference Day 2

So, today is the second day of the conference and I am suffering .... for the lack of sleep. Went to visit my parents last night as my Dad is flying off to Surabaya earlier this afternoon. Had no choice but to watch Akademi Fantasia, a spin-off of British Fame Academy. Suffered through much agony.

Then came the whammy! Stayed up until 3 am to watch United play Spurs. And by God, it was well worth it! Had 4 hours sleep, went to have breakfast at mum's and then gave Dad a ride to Sentral for him to catch his flight. Attended the meeting on time, and I did not dose off. Amazing.

The talk I thought were straight to the point, relevant and interesting! Rather than treating it as a lecture, it was more of a discussion. An intimate disclosure of how the experts actually deal with their day-to-day management of their patients, rather than the run-of-the-mill 'this is what the latest guidelines say we should do'! A few pearls were shared, and the question were answered matter-of-factly. The interesting discussion was certainly about patients getting pregnant while on Glivec. The party line is certainly clear.

Ornaments at the Main Lobby, Le MeridienUnder no circumstances should they get pregnant. Unfortunately, turning the disease into a chronic disability comes with it's own social baggage. We can't tell our patients - often young - and eager to have a family to just forget about having children. I have children of my own, and I appreciate how they feel. At the same time I understand the stance of the manufacturer not wanting to declare that the drug is safe during pregnancy, because there is definite evidence of theoretical harm to babies in the first three months of pregnancy. During the discussion, there emerged some strategy in terms of how to deal with it, but it is not something I wish to bore you with on this post. Do email me for details.

The whole thing lasted until 12.30, then had buffet, which was actually rather good. Had the standard rack of sashimi of course! Endured the usual chorus of 'Wah! You eat raw fish ah?'. Hey! It's Halal what? Enjoyed it!

Then spent the rest of the day pleasing the boys back home. We went to do a bit of shopping at Great Eastern Mall and had tea at Alexis. Good bowl of salad and pizza! It was nearly 7 when we finally reached home with both Idlan and Irfan nodding off to sleep!

Again to reiterate the point, bringing the speakers into Malaysia rather than flying us out is certainly a way forward. Apparently the dinner that I missed last night - at Carcosa - was rather nice. Cultural shows and the whole nine yards! Well done Novartis!

Another Weekend .... Another Conference

It is the season now when almost every weekend, my calender were filled with conference date. And again, similar to last weekend, the organiser is using the same tact. Bring the international panel in, fill the audience with regional delegates, and another interesting meet-up. The venue this time is Le Meridien, at KL Sentral. But the meeting is certainly not on the cheap. Rumour has it that it cost USD 1000 per delegate pro rata.

There is the cost of flying the speakers and delegates in. They will need the flight and lodging taken care of. Then, there is always the conference dinner. It was KL Tower last weekend. It is Carcosa Sri Negara tonight. It may be good for the Mat Salleh and anyone who can attend. Unfortunately I am on call tonight, was it was 8pm by the time I finished my rounds.

The meeting today was concerning Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia (CML). It was a disease that was universally fatal. But the patients do not die there and then. There were basically given a probation, usually for as long as 3 years give and take. They are relatively well until towards the end when the disease will cause their bone marrow to fail, and they will need regular blood transfusion and treatment for infection. But ultimately they succumb. Around 7 years ago, a drug call Glivec was introduced. It revolutionise the treatment of CML almost overnight. Patients do not any longer need chemotherapy or other treatment with debilitating side-effects. The drug is taken orally, daily with tolerable problems. The main issue with it is the cost.

Malaysia in this sense should still count itself lucky because it still labelled as 'Third World Economy'. The drug usually cost RM 10000 per month, and the patient will need it for the rest of their life. It is almost impossible for us to afford it. Step forward the Max Foundation. It was given the task to distribute the drug at no cost to the patient by Glivec manufacturer, Novartis Pharmaceuticals to people like Malaysians. The responsibility for the patient is the promise to attend follow-up regularly, to monitor the response and to see if the disease has progressed despite treatment. The results of the monitoring are then collected and studied.

There are many people that are benefiting from this program - called GIPAP here in Malaysia. The foundation also host a patient support group for CML patient and caregiver, Max Family. I have been helping them out for many years as much as I can because I must say that they are very likely the most active cancer support group running in the country.

On a separate matter, as I mentioned in my entry last week, Malaysia can go along way in marketing itself as a conference and meeting hub. We got the facilities and the know-how. The multi-national companies will spend good money for these meetings and the clients that they invite in will have the spending power. That will only galvanise our economy. Go on Dr Ng Yen Yen. You know it makes sense.

Yes! I Got Myself the LX3

After a good few month eyeing this camera and I finally got it today. First impression, it is bulkier than I thought, but the weight felt right in the hand. Took a few pics on the way back home, via Pavilion since I went to the bank there. And these are the pics.

The interface were intuitive, menu were pretty straight-forward. There is a button to indicate record and playback, and the rest is as expected. What is interesting is the Ai mode which automatically predicts the theme that you are likely to need - eg: night mode, slow sync flash, sports with higher shutter speed. It will also control the ISO sensitivity. Basically it is a 'dummy' mode which is quite smart.

I used the P mode since it allows me to capture in RAW format. Coming back home, I noticed that my CS4 cannot read the file. Looking through the net, it is time to update my RAW conversion file. Then walla!

The conversion worked a treat. The pictures were sharp and the colour was just nice. The RAW conversion looks much better compared to the jpeg file the camera generates should you wish the camera to do so. Definitely worth going RAW in this one for the time being. Maybe there is a way to change the settings on the camera to allow a better jpeg picture generation without needing to go through the trouble of converting the RAW file.

I shall spend some more time during the weekend getting a feel of the camera. Definitely will need to try the video mode since it can generate HD quality clips. So watch this space. In the meantime, time to read the forums.