Hey Doc

Looking back in the year of 2005, we have witnessed major natural disasters, we are still fighting the so called terrorists, people get blown up in the pulic places. For me personally, I have lost few close friends and one whom I loved dearly, my mother. A hope that things will get better keeps us chugging along, moving forward.

Routinly our company invites speakers to our monthly meeting as an educational program. The speech does not have to be business related. Since the bird flu is on everybody's mind lately plus we are in the beginning of the Winter so the company invited a professor from a medical university to come to talk to us about flu. Flu, Influenza infull name is an airborne virus. That means they travel (spread) by air. You can catch the virus by breath in the air that contains the virus. Why do we catch flu more often in Winter, you may ask ? Because the virus survives better in cold temperature. There is no medication to kill the virus. Its completely rely on your body's defense system. Hoping that you body kill of the virus before it kills you. The body defense system also creates antibody to combat the same virus. Here is the key word - SAME VIRUS.
Vaccination is using this characteristic to injet you with some dead virus to let your body to create antibody. So, it only protects you from the same type of virus. The problem is virus mutates so fast that by the time the vaccine came out, its already became ineffective.
H5N1, what is that mean. Its an identification of strans of virus by what types, how many protein they have. Virus contains 2 type of proteins, H type and N type. So H5N1 = 5 H type protein and 1 N type protein.When virus entering your body, it uses the H type protien attach itself to your cells, use your cell to grow more virus. Then use N type protein to let the new virus to leave the cell. This is how virus reproduces and spreads in your body.
What about the medication doctoe gives you, what does it do ? The older flu medication trys to control the grow of virus in your cell. That means your body will not "see" the virus so the body does not have an oppertunity to produce the antibody. Once the medication stops, the virus can still infect. The new medication does the opposite, it lets the virus grow but it stop the new virus from leaving the cell, holds the virus in a jail, sort of speak. Now your body reconized the virus, creates the antibody, in about 5 to 7 days, you will be back to normal until a new strans of virus arrives.

Pretty interesting, hu ? ;)

I can't believe how fast day goes by especially when you are tired and busy. The new job I mean. Although I am in an old old company but they have invested in a new business venture, making gateways for VoIP telephone. Yep, the latest hot product - Internet telephone. Well, we don't make the telephone, we make the box that connects the telephone to the Internet. So this is my very first experience working in a start-up. My job is helping the programmers in ShangHai work out the bugs by testing the equipment in a real world situation. So I work when they work. They are a bunch young engineers whom have no life beyond work. So this old fart has to be able to catch-up with them working long hours. Good thing that I don't have another mouths waiting at home to feed. Complain set aside, I kinda like it. I have not been busy for sometimes so a little adjustment in life is good.
How would you like to IM all day long ? Skype is our tool of choice communicate cross countries, Taipei, ShangHai and San Jose. Its a little difficult with SJ because of the time difference. Because all the trouble shoot is done on PC, so when we need to show test results, error messages on the screen, just a little cut and paste, its done.
Lunch time nap. A traditional habit since grad school. Its been extended to work place too. I remember this most dreadful event of the day. We were forced to take a nap during lunch time under the watchful eye of the "police squad". So my goal in life was to be the member of the squad so I don't have to take nap, PLUS I can make others do. The Gestapo of the school.
So, everyday by 12:00 noon, the lights in the office dim for one hour so people can take a nap at their desk IF THEY WANT. Not comfortable but hey, any minutes count. Do I ? you wonder, guess.
2005 is a year that a lot of things happened. Few of the people I love have passed away. Leave me thinking what life is all about. Love your family. Be kind to each other. Don't take more then you need. Follow your heart.