Leadership~ i'd love to think...

Memorial~ Mr. Huang WenYong.

The public grew concerned about local veteran actor, Huang Wenyong's health condition when he appeared thin and haggard onstage at the 30th Drama Anniversary Show on Sunday.

Wenyong clarified over a phone interview last morning that he did not have any major health problems currently.

He suffered from stomach flu while filming for upcoming Ch8 drama, It's a Wonderful Life in September. Wenyong had visited both Western and Chinese doctors, but could not recover his health completely due to hectic work schedules and irregular meal times.

The actor had fever subsequently, his body temperature rising to 39 degrees Celsius almost every night, but it would return to normal the next morning.

Wenyong had lost an estimated of seven kilos after falling sick consecutively.

Admitting that he had lost too much weight, Wenyong commented, "Even my daughter thinks that I look like her grandfather now."

(Continued): Wenyong has to fine-tune his eating habit in order to improve his current health.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huang_Wenyong

song dedicated to him

health~ contact lens solution

article grabbed from here :)

picture source

Ensuring Safe Use of Contact Lens Solution

Search the Consumer Updates Section

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On this page:

• Improving Guidance
• The Rub and Rinse Method
• About Eye Infections
• Dos and Don'ts for Contact Lens Wearers

Not emptying the solution out of your contact lens case after each use could cost you your sight. That's because solutions that are left over in the case after a disinfection cycle are essentially "dirty." Using fresh solution each time helps reduce the risk of problems.

"The solution no longer has the same effectiveness for disinfection as when it was freshly placed in the case," says Bernard Lepri, O.D., M.S., M.Ed., of the Division of Ophthalmic and Ear, Nose and Throat Devices in the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH). "The leftover solution can have little disinfecting chemical left to kill bacteria and other micro-organisms that may contaminate your contact lenses and lead to serious eye infections."

"FDA regulations require that a manufacturer who wants to market a new contact lens solution demonstrate that it is just as safe and effective as an already marketed product," Lepri says.

In January 2009, FDA convened a workshop called "Microbiological Testing of Contact Lens Care Products," in collaboration with several eye care professional groups. Held at FDA's White Oak facility in Silver Spring, Md., the workshop aimed to gain consensus on test methods for evaluating contact lens solutions and the development of Acanthamoeba keratitis, a rare but serious eye infection that's caused by a parasite.

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Improving Guidance

FDA also convened a meeting of its Ophthalmic Devices Panel on June 10, 2008, to consider ways to improve contact lens safety. This group of outside experts gave input on updating the existing guidance for multipurpose contact lens care products. Multipurpose products are those that can be used to clean, disinfect, and rinse contact lenses.

FDA is revising the guidance document that specifically addresses the labeling and directions for use of contact lens care products and solutions.

Among the panel's recommendations on labeling and directions for use:

• Contact lens solution manufacturers should include a discard date on their products, in addition to the usual expiration date. Consumers should never use expired products. The discard date is the date the solution should be thrown out after opening.
• Contact lens wearers should rub and rinse their lenses for added effectiveness of cleaning and disinfection. This recommendation is consistent with advice from the American Optometric Association and the American Academy of Ophthalmology. The direction to "Rub and Rinse" your lenses, based on the advice of your eye care professional, has always been part of "No Rub" consumer labeling for multipurpose care products.

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The Rub and Rinse Method

The rub and rinse method is similar to washing one’s hands. The multipurpose solution is placed on the lens in the palm of the hand. With the index finger of the opposite hand, the solution is rubbed over the surface of the contact lens for 5 to 10 seconds. The lens is turned over and the procedure is repeated.

Finally, a strong stream of the contact lens multipurpose solution is sprayed over both sides of the lens to remove any debris attached to the lens. Research has shown that this procedure helps remove more bacteria, protein, and other deposits from the surface of the lens.

This may contribute to better lens hygiene and safety. "The rub and rinse method is based on the same concept of hand washing," Lepri says. "You get more dirt off of your hands by rubbing them with soap and then rinsing, rather than merely just rinsing."

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About Eye Infections

Failure to use contact lenses and solution correctly can result in eye infections. Both bacterial and fungal infections can lead to serious consequences such as permanent loss of sight if left untreated.

Bacterial infections are more common than fungal infections. Characterized by severe pain, fungal infections are much more difficult to diagnose and treat. "Fungal infections are much more dangerous because they slowly proliferate within the cornea and are highly resistant to treatment," Lepri says. "When a fungal infection occurs, it results in a corneal ulcer, which can lead to permanent blindness. Bacterial infections such as Pseudomonas are extremely rapid, result in corneal ulcers, and cause blindness--sometimes within as little as 24 hours if not diagnosed and treated promptly."

The symptoms of an eye infection are: discomfort, excess tearing or other discharge, unusual sensitivity to light, itching, burning, or gritty feelings, unusual redness of the eyes, blurred vision, swelling, and pain.

How can you tell if you have an infection or if you are suffering from allergies? Typically, the major difference between infection and allergy is that allergy is accompanied by itching and watery discharge and will affect both eyes relatively the same.

Infection presents with severe pain, redness, mucus discharge, and blurred vision, and often affects one eye only. The best way to determine whether your symptoms are due to an infection or allergies is to consult your eye care professional as soon as possible after the onset of symptoms.

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Dos and Don'ts for Contact Lens Wearers

DO:

• Always wash your hands before handling contact lenses to reduce the chance of getting an infection.
• Remove the lenses immediately and consult your eye care professional if your eyes become red, irritated, or your vision changes.
• Always follow the directions of your eye care professional and all labeling instruction for proper use of contact lenses and lens care products.
• Use contact lens products and solutions recommended by your eye care professional.
• Rub and rinse your contact lenses as directed by your eye care professional.
• Clean and disinfect your lenses properly following all labeling instructions provided with your lens care products.
• Clean, rinse, and air dry your lens case each time lenses are removed. You may want to flip over your lens case while air drying so that excess solution can drain out of the case. Contact lens cases can be a source of bacterial growth.
• Replace your contact lens storage case every 3-6 months.

DON'T:

• Don't use contact lens solutions that have gone beyond the expiration or discard date.
• Don't "top-off" the solutions in your case. Always discard all of the leftover contact lens solution after each use. Never reuse any lens solution.
• Don't expose your contact lenses to any water: tap, bottled, distilled, lake, or ocean water. Never use non-sterile water (distilled water, tap water, or any homemade saline solution). Exposure of contact lenses to water has been associated with Acanthamoeba keratitis, a corneal infection that is resistant to treatment and cure.
• Don't put your lenses in your mouth to wet them. Saliva is not a sterile solution.
• Don't transfer contact lens solutions into smaller travel size containers. This can affect the sterility of the solution which can lead to an eye infection. Transferring solutions into smaller size containers may also leave consumers open to accidentally using a solution that is not intended for the eyes.

This article appears on FDA's Consumer Updates page, which features the latest on all FDA-regulated products.

Date Posted: June 16, 2009

Inspiration~ bruce Lee, the legend of martial arts

photo grabbed from here :)

health~ Love yourself

article grabbed from here :)

everyday 

PERSONAL GROWTH

Do You Love Yourself?

Here are 12 ways to start!

Published: January 3, 2013

by LOUISE L. HAY

The wonderful adventure of self-love.

I HAVE FOUND THAT THERE IS only one thing that heals every problem, and that is: to love yourself. When people start to love themselves more each day, it’s amazing how their lives get better. They feel better. They get the jobs they want. They have the money they need. Their relationships either improve, or the negative ones dissolve and new ones begin.

Loving yourself is a wonderful adventure; it’s like learning to fly. Imagine if we all had the power to fly at will? How exciting it would be! Let’s begin to love ourselves now.

Here are 12 Commandments to help you learn how to love yourself:

Stop All Criticism.

Criticism never changes a thing. Refuse to criticize yourself. Accept yourself exactly as you are. Everybody changes. When you criticize yourself, your changes are negative. When you approve of yourself, your changes are positive.

Forgive Yourself.

Let the past go. You did the best you could at the time with the understanding, awareness, and knowledge that you had. Now you are growing and changing, and you will live life differently.

Don’t Scare Yourself.

Stop terrorizing yourself with your thoughts. It's a dreadful way to live. Find a mental image that gives you pleasure, and immediately switch your scary thought to a pleasure thought.

Be Gentle and Kind and Patient.

Be gentle with yourself. Be kind to yourself. Be patient with yourself as you learn the new ways of thinking. Treat yourself as you would someone you really loved.

Be Kind to Your Mind.

Self-hatred is only hating your own thoughts. Don't hate yourself for having the thoughts. Gently change your thoughts.

Praise Yourself.

Criticism breaks down the inner spirit. Praise builds it up. Praise yourself as much as you can. Tell yourself how well you are doing with every little thing.

Support Yourself.

Find ways to support yourself. Reach out to friends and allow them to help you. It is being strong to ask for help when you need it.

Be Loving to Your Negatives.

Acknowledge that you created them to fulfill a need. Now you are finding new, positive ways to fulfill those needs. So lovingly release the old negative patterns.

Take Care of Your Body.

Learn about nutrition. What kind of fuel does your body need in order to have optimum energy and vitality? Learn about exercise. What kind of exercise do you enjoy? Cherish and revere the temple you live in.

Do Mirror Work.

Look into your eyes often. Express this growing sense of love you have for yourself. Forgive yourself while looking into the mirror. Talk to your parents while looking into the mirror. Forgive them, too. At least once a day, say, "I love you, I really love you!"

Love Yourself . . . Do It Now.

Don't wait until you get well, or lose the weight, or get the new job, or find the new relationship. Begin now—and do the best you can.

Have Fun.

Remember the things that gave you joy as a child. Incorporate them into your life now. Find a way to have fun with everything you do. Let yourself express the joy of living. Smile. Laugh. Rejoice, and the Universe rejoices with you!

Louise L. Hay, the author of the international bestseller You Can Heal Your Life, is a metaphysical lecturer and teacher with more than 50 million books sold worldwide. For more than 30 years, she has helped people throughout the world discover and implement the full potential of their own creative powers for personal growth and self-healing. She has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show and many other TV and radio programs both in the U.S. and abroad.

health~ Natural Eczema Treatment

article grabbed from here :)

Natural Eczema Treatment

If you or someone you love has eczema I have great news for you! Its time to say goodbye to all those prescription medications, This homemade eczema cream is a lifesaver, at least it was for me and my family and I bet it will be for you too!

All you need is:
¼ cup of oats, Oats contains healthy fats that help moisture to soften and repair your skin.
¾ cup of coconut oil, Coconut oil fat reduces the appearance of wrinkles without any irritation.
Few drops of rosemary oil, Tones your skin and removes dry.
1 tablespoon of olive oil, Olive oil contains linoleic acid, a compound that prevents water from evaporating.

It as simple as this, first grind the oats till they look like powder, meanwhile melt the coconut oil over low heat.

Add rosemary to the melted oil, then the oat powder and finally the olive oil, and stir all the ingredients together until the mixture blends, pour in a container and let it still for several hours. Apply to skin and let the magic begin!

Source: http://diyconfessions.com/2012/11/15/homemade-eczema-creamskin-moisturizer

Good Idea~ How to clean leather

article grabbed from here :)

How to Clean Leather

"Is that bearnaise sauce on my handbag?"

Leather is expensive, and we're conditioned to think of it as a delicate material. So it's natural that an industry has developed to service our fear of damaging a valuable piece of leather in the process of cleaning it. But in fact, though leather can definitely be mistreated, it's tougher than we usually give it credit for. After all, most of its usefulness is based on its durability.
Most of the time when you clean leather, you simply need to avoid drying it out or changing its appearance. With these concerns in mind, you can spend a lot of money on leather cleaning products. But if you're working with finished leather, which has a slight sheen and is the type you see most often on jackets, boots, and furniture, you can use a couple of products you probably already have on hand. They'll do just as good of a job, cost you next to nothing, and free you from worrying about chemicals in commercial leather cleaners that you could be storing in your home, inhaling, or allowing to touch your skin. If the leather you want to clean is unfinished like a baseball glove, or has a soft nap like suede, you'll have more trouble cleaning it yourself; the method below may not work, and will probably damage the leather.

Steps to Cleaning Leather

First, get your supplies together: you'll need gentle hand soap (in the interest of keeping this project green, I grabbed a bottle of Method Hand Wash out of my bathroom), olive oil, and a few soft, clean rags. You'll need water, too, but you can get that straight from the tap. Then, before you jump into cleaning your whole couch or that stain on the front of your jacket, it's important to test the cleaning method from start to finish in a small, hidden place, just to make sure it won't lighten, darken, or dry your specific piece of leather.

Once you're ready to get started, you'll need to prepare a rag by dampening it and applying a little soap. Get the whole rag wet if you're cleaning a large area, but for small stains it should be sufficient to run a corner of the rag under the tap. Either way, remember that the rag should be just slightly damp, not soaking wet; squeeze out any excess water before pumping a small amount of hand soap onto the rag.

Rub the rag against itself a little to work the soap into the cloth before you begin cleaning. You don't want to apply a glob of soap to a piece of leather. Instead, gently rub a light lather onto the leather until it appears clean.

Next, slightly dampen another rag to wipe any soap residue from the leather. Because even finished leather is not completely water-repellant, you should never rinse it with a very wet rag or by running water directly over it. Using a rag with a minimal amount of water on it protects the leather from absorbing enough water to become damaged.

Use a dry rag to remove the light film of excess water that may be on the surface of the leather after rinsing. Before moving on to the next step, it's a good idea to also let the item sit for a few minutes to air dry in case the leather has absorbed water during cleaning.

Finally, you should always condition leather after cleaning, since the soap will have removed some of its natural oils. This is where the olive oil comes in. Put a very small amount of olive oil on a dry cloth and rub it into the leather. Using too much oil will make the leather greasy or sticky and attract dirt, so it's crucial to apply only a tiny amount; if the leather is darker or shinier after oiling, you've used too much. I was very happy with this method of cleaning leather; when I finished, my jacket looked exactly the same—except, of course, it's clean now.

Buying Eco-Friendly Leather

Leather is a natural product, right? Well, not so much anymore. Animal hides provide the raw material for leather, but that's where "natural" ends and "environmental nightmare" usually begins. And "natural," unfortunately, is not synonymous with "cruelty-free." Animals raised for leather live in the same deplorable conditions as animals raised for meat—and they aren't necessarily the same animals. That means leather products are not simply a conscientious use of the skins of animals that were going to be eaten anyway. Then, once the hides enter the tanning and finishing process, they are bombarded with acids and decidedly unnatural chemicals. The leather-making process uses large quantities of fossil fuels, contributes heavily to greenhouse gas emissions, and creates wastewater full of sulfides, heavy metals, and carcinogens.
Fortunately, though, some leather companies are making an effort to limit their environmental impact. For most, that means using alternative energy sources, tracking their greenhouse gas emissions, recycling water needed for production, treating wastewater before releasing it into the environment, and using leather pieces that would otherwise be wasted. One company, Organic Leather, bases its entire business on being environmentally friendly. They only use recycled leather and hides from animals that were raised organically or on family farms for the meat industry, and instead of chemicals, they process the leather with smoke or natural tannins and oils. These processes are drawn from traditional leather making and provide a rare opportunity to use leather products guilt-free.

Natural Leather Cleaners

Montana Pitch-Blend offers a range of products for various leather cleaning and conditioning situations. I like this company because they divulge their ingredients clearly and without hesitation, and those ingredients are primarily pine pitch, mink oil, and beeswax.

Leather Mate is a one-step leather cleaner and conditioner made from lanolin, carnauba wax, and other natural compounds. It's a biodegradable product with a 50-year history.

Oakwood Liquid Leather Cleaner and Leather Conditioning Cream are Australian products containing an array of natural oils and waxes, including tea tree oil, beeswax, eucalyptus and emu oil (who knew?). These sound like they would make your leather both look and smell pretty.