Tuesday 30 April 2013

1190 HKSAR Name of the Day

Bright Sheng, composer and artistic director, Intimacy of Creativity (part of the Einstein extravaganza hosted by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong

About Novel HKSAR Names
Name Category: Rare for females; Creation of males

Sunday 28 April 2013

1189 HKSAR Name of the Day

Coco Tsang Tsz-yan, Sha Tin, Hong Kong (SCMP letters 20 April 2011)

see 0449 HKSAR Name of the Day

About Novel HKSAR Names
Name Category: Rare; Brand-based; Somewhat common in Hong Kong 

Friday 26 April 2013

1188 HKSAR Name of the Day

Charlie Chan, Mid-Levels, Hong Kong (regular contributor to SCMP letters page)

It's not a joke name sir! (see Andy Loo On-dick) and Jolie Ho

About Novel HKSAR Names
Name Category: Somewhat common

Wednesday 24 April 2013

1187 HKSAR Name of the Day

Katty Law Ngar-ning, lifelong resident, Central, Hong Kong

About Novel HKSAR Names
Name Category: Creation; Insertion; Substitution

Monday 22 April 2013

1186 HKSAR Name of the Day

Elvis W. K. Au, assistant director (nature conservation and infrastructure planning), Environmental Protection Department, Hong Kong

see 0707 HKSAR Name of the Day


About Novel HKSAR Names
Name Category: Rare; Self-important

Saturday 20 April 2013

1185 HKSAR Name of the Day

Chace Lau Sing, son (born July 2009) of Hong Kong celebrity Kelly Chen Wai-lam and businessman Alex Lau Kin-ho, Hong Kong

About Novel HKSAR Names
Name Category: Rare

Thursday 18 April 2013

1184 HKSAR Name of the Day

Mars Kwan Kit-sing, accused of possession of an offensive weapon,* Hong Kong

credit: Joyce Man



* ... well your Honour, in my client's defence ... he is the Roman god of war


About Novel HKSAR Names
Name Category: Rare; Literature-based; Self-important

Tuesday 16 April 2013

1183 HKSAR Name of the Day

Apple Mak (Ms), office assistant, Hong Kong credit: Stephen Austin


see 0063 and 0219 HKSAR Names of the Day

About Novel HKSAR Names
Name Category: Rare but somewhat common in Hong Kong

Monday 15 April 2013

They’ll be chasing the kangaroos in the koolabongs tonight

Congratulations to 32-year-old Adam Scott becoming the first Aussie winner of the Masters by winning the sudden death playoff against Angel Cabrera.


Just before the sudden death playoff, veteran golf commentator Peter Alliss was excited when Scott birdied the 18th to go 9 under to take the overall lead  in regulation play from 43-year-old Angel Cabrera who was following up in the final group. Aliss said: “They’ll be chasing the kangaroos in the koolabongs tonight, or whatever they are.”

Yes, just what are koolabongs!!??

In his lifetime, 82-year-old Peter Alliss has been around golf and been around the world long enough and yet still doesn't know too much about Australia.

How ironic that soon after, Cabrera's approach to the 18th was majestic, coming within 3 feet of the hole. “You never get nowhere by being too hasty,” said Alliss. Cabrera birdied that hole to take the 2013 Masters to the sudden playoff.


Sunday 14 April 2013

1182 HKSAR Name of the Day

Mini Mok, Kwun Tong, Hong Kong (SCMP letters 13 April 2011)

(see Mercedes, Capri, Minnie) and Mini Me from Austin Powers

About Novel HKSAR Names
Name Category: Creation; Brand-based?

Friday 12 April 2013

1181 HKSAR Name of the Day

Chilli Leung Tze-yin, Hung Hom, Hong Kong (SCMP letters 11 April 2011)

About Novel HKSAR Names
Name Category: Creation

Wednesday 10 April 2013

1180 HKSAR Name of the Day

Jolie Ho, Sha Tin, Hong Kong (SCMP letters 10 April 2011)

It's not a joke name sir! (see Andy Loo On-dick)

About Novel HKSAR Names
Name Category: Somewhat common but humourous

Monday 8 April 2013

1179 HKSAR Name of the Day

Heilyan Lam, Ngau Tau Kok, Hong Kong (SCMP letters 9 April 2011)

About Novel HKSAR Names
Name Category: Creation; Phonetic-based?

Saturday 6 April 2013

1178 HKSAR Name of the Day

Rosenna Tse Ting-shan, Tuen Mun, Hong Kong (SCMP letters 8 April 2011)

About Novel HKSAR Names
Name Category: Creation; Deletion; Insertion

Friday 5 April 2013

Verbal Diarrhoea #15

"The biggest headache regarding traditional Chinese medicine is that its effectiveness often cannot be explained. The curing process can be so sophisticated it may not be simply explained scientifically, physically or chemically."
Claims Dr Dong Xieliang, president of the Xian Xietong Hospital in Shaanxi.



Dr Dong and other idiots-in-prominent-positions who blindly champion traditional Chinese medicine cannot get their brains to work critically. They do not know what evidence-based medicine means.

It is useless to tell them that the placebo effect is one such simple explanation.



About Verbal Diarrhoea


Related Posts Verbal Diarrhoea


Reference

China health officials' TCM advice in flu fight draws fire (SCMP; paywall)
Recommended remedies from some mainland officials will do little to stop spread of bird flu
Friday, 05 April, 2013 [Updated: 05:16]

Stephen Chen and Lo Wei

A doctor collects blood from a chicken yesterday during a test for bird flu in a market in the Shanghai suburbs. Photo: Simon Song

Mainland health officials have been criticised by some doctors for suggesting traditional Chinese medicine and other alternative treatments to help ward off bird flu as the months-long process of creating a new vaccine gets under way.

Gansu's health commission, for instance, encouraged residents to go outdoors, preferably into wooded areas, for fresh air and sunshine. Listening to music was also deemed an effective way to keep the H7N9 virus at bay.

Massaging the side of one's nose was also said to help, as was exposing parts of one's legs and stomach to incense once a day.

Health authorities in the eastern province of Jiangsu suggested a long list of herbal drinks, including the popular ban lan gen, a type of root that is often taken to fight the flu and was prescribed during the Sars outbreak a decade ago.

Dr Fang Shimin , biologist and a popular science writer on the mainland, was among those who questioned the clinical effectiveness of these methods.

In his microblog on Sohu .com he reminded people that Gansu health authorities have promoted the eating of pig's feet as an effective treatment for various diseases, including Aids and cancer.

"The traditional Chinese medicine industry is trying to cash in," he wrote.

Professor David Hui Shu-cheong, who teaches respiratory medicine at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said there was no scientific evidence to show that ban lan gen is effective at preventing influenza.

David Fong Wang-fun, a retired professor of Chinese medicine at Hong Kong's Baptist University, said Chinese medical theories have long shown that ban lan gen functions as a health supplement, but it is not for emergency treatment.

Traditional Chinese medicine, even when effective, is sometimes greeted with scepticism because much of its purported benefits are not backed by the kind of laboratory evidence for its Western counterparts.

"The biggest headache regarding traditional Chinese medicine is that its effectiveness often cannot be explained," said Dr Dong Xieliang, president of the Xian Xietong Hospital in Shaanxi . "The curing process can be so sophisticated it may not be simply explained scientifically, physically or chemically."

Dong said mainland doctors found several herbal therapies helpful in relieving patients' ailments during the fight against Sars and other flu outbreaks over the past decade.

However, a challenge has been that every herb has a side effect, and prescriptions are often very sophisticated, with more than a dozen herbs needed for maximum effectiveness.

Dong expressed concern that some misleading therapies proposed to fight the new bird flu could further damage the reputation of traditional Chinese medicine on the mainland. "Some advice is obviously wrong, such as going outdoors and eating certain kinds of food or herbs," he said. "Effective treatment should be much more sophisticated."



DOS AND DOUBTS

Preventive measures advocated by health organisations in China and elsewhere

National Health and Family Planning Commission

- Avoid eating raw or half-cooked eggs and birds.
- Beijing Centre for Disease Control and Prevention and Centre for Preventive Medical Research

- Avoid contact with dead animals and wash hands frequently.

Jiangsu Health Bureau

- Consume Chinese medicines ban lan gen (woad root) in granules and radix astragali oral liquid.

- Guangxi Centre for Disease Prevention and Control
- Avoid consumption of raw chicken and cook animal foodstuffs thoroughly.

Gansu Health Bureau
 
- Massage facial acupuncture points and consume traditional Chinese medicine.

Hong Kong's Centre for Health Protection

- Cover the nose and mouth while sneezing or coughing, hold the spit with tissue and put it into covered dustbins.

World Heath Organisation

- Cook food so that it reaches 70°C in all parts (with no pink parts).




Thursday 4 April 2013

1177 HKSAR Name of the Day

Chareen Ma, Sha Tin, Hong Kong (SCMP letters 4 April 2011)

About Novel HKSAR Names
Name Category: Creation

Tuesday 2 April 2013

1176 HKSAR Name of the Day

Holden Chow, chairman, Young DAB (Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong), Hong Kong

About Novel HKSAR Names
Name Category: Rare