quotable quote

What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments,

but what is woven into the lives of others." Pericles

Quotable Quotes

Imagination is more important than knowledge.
Knowledge is limited,
Imagination encircles the world.

Albert Einstein

Thanks for the bouquet

From Claire , Alok and the grandchildren

Somebody's birthday











Alok's sister

The trip to India that is memorable

At home with Alok's Mum and sister
A visit to the Taj

More photos of the Gupta girls

Artistic work by Vicky

Good work, Vicky

Grandma said her class used to look like this one and she is proud of it.

The Gupta girls at school

Levvy being quizzed by Grandma


Chloe - hard at work


Chloe- far end of the middle row

Having fun at The Snowy Mts

Sarah snowboarding

Sarah

Sarah and Natasha

I am having all the fun in the world

Interior of our home

Bedroom with a view
Quite impressive, eh? The lounge.

Something to coo about

Wendy in her newly acquired Mini Cooper
Sleek and sporty --what a beaut

Biochar

What is BIOCHAR?

Is it another kind of tea from China?
Read more about it.

Biochar has the potential of saving the world.

SO WHAT IS IT???

Biochar is an organic compound that will not only help to improve the soil but also assist in retaining moisture in the ground to increase crop yield considerably.
It is carbon negative. It has the ability to store CO2 for a long period thus helping to reduce the net amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. It is made entirely from feedstock through a process called carbonization at high temperatures. The steam produced can be used to power turbines to produce electricity.
The carbon sequestered this way is locked up forever. It is cheaper than sequestering carbon deep in the ground as proposed by some politicians.

Hunter Valley Expedition

Hannah is going to sing while Tashy plays on the guitar
Livy, Vicky, Tashy, Hannah, Chloe and Ben
The gang minus Wendy and Paul and Tashy

To whom it may concern

Graviola: Magic Cancer Fighter?

Jun 11 12:48pm

I've seen Internet sites touting graviola, which is being widely promoted as a cancer-fighting herb. Some Web sites claim that it is 10,000 times stronger than the chemotherapy drug Adriamycin, and that it is effective against prostate, lung, breast, colon and pancreatic cancers. None of this is true.

I asked Tieraona Low Dog, M.D., director of education at the Program in Integrative Medicine here at the University of Arizona, about graviola. Dr. Low Dog, an expert in botanical medicine, told me that it is the common name for Annona reticulata, also known as custard apple, a tree that grows in South America and the Caribbean islands and is prized by locals for its delicious fruit and medicinal properties. She explained that the unripe fruit is used traditionally to treat diarrhea and dysentery. The leaves are taken internally to eliminate worms and other parasites and are also applied topically for poorly healing wounds. The root bark is used to reduce fever.

The idea that graviola is an effective cancer fighter comes from research at Purdue University's School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences on the active components of the tree, unique substances known as annonaceous acetogenins. The Purdue investigators found them to be potent inhibitors of cancer cells while leaving normal cells alone. They also found the compounds to be effective against drug-resistant cancer cells.

But these were in vitro results - that is, the results of adding the annona derivatives to cancer cells growing in test tubes. This is a long way from clinical trials to determine the safety and efficacy of these compounds in people with cancer. In fact, I have found no human studies at all of graviola for the treatment of cancer or anything else. We do not even have basic safety data on graviola extracts. What's more, there is no way to tell whether commercially available graviola contains any of the compounds studied at Purdue. Indeed, the compounds used in the test tube studies didn't come from the custard apple tree at all, but from the leaves of annona glabra, a related tree that grows in Florida and produces a fruit called pond apple.

Dr. Low Dog says she wouldn't take or recommend graviola (or its extracts) as a dietary supplement. I agree.

The Dielenberg Brothers

Left to right: Gilbert, William, Teddy, Emile, and Francis

The Gupta girls and Ben

left to right (front): Hannah, Chloe, Ben
In the middle sits mum with her arms around Chloe,
Back row: Victoria and Olivia

What happy faces

Form the blogger

Happy Chinese New Year

to everyone who celebrates the occasion

A column from The Star

NY Times readers choose Penang as No 2 must-visit destination for 2009

By CHRISTINA CHIN

GEORGE TOWN: Readers of The New York Times have chosen Penang as the second best destination among “44 Places To Go in 2009”.

In top spot in the recommendations found on the paper’s website (http://www.nytimes.com) was Beirut.

The only other South-East Asian destination in the ranking is Phuket, which is in 15th place.

Tuck shop: A group of foreigners enjoying dim sum and noodles at an outdoor cafe in Penang.

Other places include Washington (fourth), Rome (fifth) and Metz in France (sixth). The newspaper ranked Penang in the 22nd spot while Phuket was placed 12th.

Besides the second spot in the overall readers’ ranking, Penang is also in the top 12 places in the frugal and food categories (both readers’ and the paper’s recommendations).

The New York Times said adventurous foodies are now turning to Penang, the culinary capital of Malaysia, where they are eating their way through one of South-East Asia’s liveliest street-food scenes.

It said there are city-run hawker stands everywhere and even refined dishes like char koay teow rarely cost more than US$2 (about RM7.20)

State Tourism Development, Culture, Arts and Heritage committee chairman Danny Law Heng Kiang said Penang was chosen by the readers because of its good food.

“The ranking is a boost for the state as a tourist destination.

“Penang food is so famous that I know of Singaporeans who fly here just to eat,” he said.

He was speaking to reporters after launching the New World Park Chinese New Year programme at the food and beverage centre here yesterday.

A series of musical, art and dance performances are being held at the hawker-cum-cultural centre until Feb 9.

M o r e

Above: Is that you Ben? Don't hold back your laughter!! He he he eeeeeee!


Below: Dear, I am hungry! What about a drink?

Hey Guys!!!! L O O K

The best Christmas ever. Hi Claire, Alok, Chloe, Olivia, Victoria, Ben and Hannah, . Happy Christmas