Shake that brain - 1

This is not a title that I created. It is the title of a book, by Joel Saltzman. I wanted to read something different from the usual veterinary stuff. Something that can help me in my efforts to educate my students. The first chapter of the book is on ATTITUDE. How important is ATTITUDE? In his book Saltzman wrote "It's the difference between This is hopeless and This I can do. One will get you nowhere and the other everywhere you want to go." If your current mindset could use some adjustment, ATTITUDE will prepare you for the fun ahead. I recieved a post on ATTITUDE once,...the post gave a numerical value 1 to 26 for the alphabets A to Z. If we were to add up the numerical equivalent of the words (for example A=1, T=20, T=20,I=9, T=20, U=21, D=4, E=5) it's total would be 100. Think of any other word that can make a difference (whether for good or worse) to your quest of finding success. I wish I can put in pictures that describe attitude

History - Mystory

I must put this on my blog. I finally did it with my team. Our first Embryo Transfer goat was born mid July 2009. Off course this I could not have achieved without a (good or goat - lol)team. I did this while I was with ar Raudhah Biotech Farm Sdn Bhd. Thanks to my colleague Associate Prof. Dr Abdul Wahid Harun for not being stingy with what you know. My friend Wahid is the consultant on the project. My faithful student Drh. Fakar Faris (small man with a big heart), Drh. Heri, Drh. Sabtu, Drh. Wiwin, Audry, Ela, Wan and Pahir (who played very important roles) that made this landmark outcome possible. There is still a lot to do and I hope to continue research in this areas (if I can get funding)........and I must let you know that in about 5 weeks time I move on to The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University Malaysia Kelantan.
Note picture from left Ela, Audrey, Drh Heri, Wan, me, Pahir and Drh Fakar. The two goats are an anglo-boer cross (light brown)and a South African Boer. The ET kids are brown because their father is a handsom red kalahari buck and their mother a beautiful red kalahari doe. (Just to proof that they were not naturally mated).

Diabetes

At 49 years and 4 months, I found out I had diabetes. I knew that I was a high risk case for diabetes. I was overweight at 110 kgs, but I had a hard time, reducing my weight. I enjoyed my roti canai and mee goreng mamak and teh tarik; I like eating. A few months ago I realise that I was going to the loo a little more often than normal. I suspected I had diabetes. Well, two days ago I found out that I had hit the jackpot....the diabetes through years of punting sugar is my prize. I know that if I don't care then the road will be downhill....the vision can go, wounds would take time to heal, my blood pressure will climb, I become a high risk for cardiovascular problems and these are not comfortable thoughts. Fortunately I am a veterinarian and the medical background I have might come useful now. They say preventive is better than cure. I haven't been living on that addage at all. (to be continued).

I have been reading alot...especially on what herbs or spices are available that I could use to control my sugar level. I am not on medication yet, and I don't think I want to rush into taking medicine to control the sugar. I found out in "The sufi book of healing" that cumin is used to control sugar level. I tried 1/2 a teaspoon in tea after meals and lol, it does help. I also learned, then used fenugrik (fenugreek?)- halba in Malay and this too help. At about the same time I came across articles in the net on the good of cinnamon (kayu manis) in controlling blood sugar. This I use in my tea, and this help too. So I have been using this spices regularly since. My fasting blood sugar is now between 6.0 - 6.5. Off course I no longer eat roti canai and drink mamak teh tarik anymore. I am on a controlled diet and currently have the following for meals.
(1) high fibre low glycemic index bread (Gardenia's breakthru) as my staple food. No rice yet. Two slices any one time (not exceeding 50 g carbohydrate each meal. (2) Mushrooms fired in tumeric and a little olive oil and pieces of prawns, chevon (goat meat) for flavour. I can change to brocolli if I am fed up with mushrooms. (3) I eat only grapefruits now and I get the taste of sweet, bitterness and sour all in one. (4) I drink the odd cup of coffee with a sweetener tab in it. And once or twice a week I indulge in a single tosai at my favourite mamak shop, though I regret even eating this when its all done, as a tosai can raise my sugar levesa to 10 two hours after a meal.
I haven't done one more useful thing yet. Exercise.....this I promise to do when I go to University Malaysia Kelantan. Feel free to post comments to me.
Cheerio to all.

Trace Minerals

Saya rasa ramai tidak memberi perhatian kepada keperluan mineral ternakan kambing mereka. Mungkin perkataan "trace" yang memberi kefahaman keperluan dalam jumlah yang amat sedikit di banding dengan nutrien yang lain, menyebabkan ramai mengandaikan bahawa mineral yang di perlukan pasti sudah cukup (sedia ada) dalam rumput/dedaun dan pellet yang di berikan.Berdasarkan penilitian saya, kuprum ("copper") sangat penting, dan pada kambing masalah yang timbul ialah dari kekurangan kuprum dalam pemakanan harian kambing. Garam batu yang ada di pasaran kebanyakannya garam biasa sahaja. Premix yang di rumus khas untuk kambing dibuat berdasarkan pengalaman ahli sain Malaysia kepada efek keracunan dari jumlah kuprum yang ada dalam makanan kepada kambing biri-biri. Tahu kah anda bahawa kandungan kuprum sehari yang boleh diterima seekor kambing biri-biri ialah kurang dari 10 mg. Tahap pada jangka masa yang lebih lama boleh menyebabkan keracunan kuprum pada kambing biri-biri. Efek nya pada kambing (jika di beri pada kadar 50 ppm se hari) ialah, pertumbuhan bulu yang cantik, immuniti yang lebih baik dan kesuburan pembiakan. Anda boleh agak ("gut feeling"), anda mungkin manghadapi masalah kekurangan kuprum pada kambing anda sekiranya anda melihat tanda-tanda berikut; bulu di sekeliling mata mungkin luruh atau hilang pigmentasinya menjadikan nya lebih cerah (kambing seolah-olah memakai cermin mata), dari rekord anda....kesuburan (kadar kebuntingan) kelompok kambing anda menurun, kambing mudah mendapat penyakit kulit (seolah-olah infeksi bakterial) dan bulu di hujung ekor juga luruh. Kalau anda menghadapi masalah ini....apa yang boleh anda lakukan?

It has been a while

Dear visitors,
It has been a while aince I wrote anything. Have been very busy. But I note that there are some visitors to the blog. If you think there is anything in particular that you would like me write, please ask. I will do what I can.