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

Parent school of St Patricks, Kulim

St Xavier’s marks a new chapter after 156 years

GEORGE TOWN: Next year will mark the end of an era for the La Salle Brothers’ public school administration in Malaysia when the last Brother principal in the country retires.

St Xavier’s Institution (SXI) here will see a government servant lead the institution for the first time in over 150 years when Brother Paul Ho, its 29th religious head, steps down in June.

“SXI was the first school in the nation to be administered and fully owned by the Brothers and it can be called the epicentre of spreading the La Salle vision of educating the young,” said Brother Director of Malaysia Anthony Rogers.

Although Brother Paul’s retirement would mark the end of the line of Brother headmasters in the country, Brother Anthony says it will not be the end of the Lasallian legacy.

“A long time ago, when people thought of the schools, they would always think about the Brothers but over the years, we have grown beyond that.

“There is now a whole La Salle family made up of every boy and girl who has studied in our schools along with the teachers, parents, staff and collaborators who have had ties with the schools.

“We’re handing over the baton and it’s a new paradigm which is formed with the same message by a community that knows what it means to be a Lasallian,” he said.

“Brother Paul’s incident is not new. Over the years, all our other schools have also been taken over by lay people.

“There is no real cause for concern as strong boards of governors have been formed to safeguard the traditions and it has been a long-standing promise by the Govern-ment to give us consultation in the appointing of heads in our schools,” Brother Anthony added.

“Since 1852 to 1965, the Brothers built 46 schools in Peninsular Malaysia and were also given 10 more in Sabah and Sarawak by the Bishop to administer,” he said.

On the future of the La Salle Brothers, Brother Anthony said there were many more good things to come.

“The Brothers’ initial priority was to set up a basic education system in the country and the Government has successfully taken over that responsibility.

“There are currently about 10 Brothers aged 40 to 60 who are still active in Malaysia and there has been a lot of thought about branching out into the setting up of private colleges or even universities.

“There is also an increasing number of children suffering from autism and providing education for children with special needs is also part of our plans,” he said.

Brother Paul, too, is positive about his impending retirement, and says the La Salle Brothers have achieved what they had set out to do.

“It’s okay. It’s moving and we have left our legacy.

“We hope that in whatever we have done, we have given the people what was expected. That is our yardstick of what a school should be.

“After all, we only came here to give education to the people of Malaysia and at the end of the day, we have done our job,” he said.

(Extract taken from the Star)

Residnece of Mr & Mrs W. Dielenberg

The house is on the right hand side of house number 16.
Address: 18 Maddock Place, Gordon, ACT, 2906

Who is this S.Y.T.

Just a reminder. The car port was built by me with little help.

Introducing

Hai, Kelly.
Ready for the party

Ru - Confucian scholar

(to read this extract from the Epoch Times double click on the scanned article to enlarge the print. It says a lot about the love of knowledge by the Chinese)

My interest in "Xu", "the need of a human being", is in the discussion on Nature and Nurture. My interest in the subject largely stems from being a father, a grandfather and a one time teacher.
We are all born with instinctive traits -- our nature. When someone uses the expression "chip of the old bloke " he means, in short, " like father like son" or conversely "like mother like daughter"except that it is not conventional to use the latter expression. We inherit not just looks and other visual characteristics of our parents, eg : skin colour or shades of grey or brown in the colour of our eyes but also our innate tendencies. We tend to behave in the same way our parents behave. We are inclined to behave through imitation. This is our nature.
As we grow we are nurtured through our interaction with our environment and through the imitation of the behaviour of others. The intake of food decides our weight and wellbeing. The education, both formal and informal, determines our knowledge and character. Education usually begins at a very young age to prepare us for life. We are said to be nurtured.
Mr Rudd, our P.M. believes very strongly in early childhood education beginning at the age of three. This could be the result of his Chinese language education, and/or the influence of Confuciannism and his long stay in China.
It is this process of nurturing that determines our status and quality in life.
The absence of this nurturing process almost always leads to underachievement.
I remember an advice given by a Malay politician that in order to do well in life the Malays have to follow the Chinese or the Jews. There is one flaw in this advice. The Chinese have a culture that has evolved from time in memorial. This culture stresses on the importance of education and the acquisition of knowledge . Without this inbuilt drive nothing will eventuate. Just following will result in nothing. Education and the strong urge to work hard diffirentiates the Chinese from others.

Sarah--- trying to reduce her carbon footprint while in France

Kuching, Sarawak

Fancy meeting you
Indegenous Dyak performance , Kuching.

The appartment

The lounge area looking down from the entertainment room
The magnificent ceiling lighting two floors from the dining area

Grandad and the grand children

Grandad and Gareth
Tristan Dielenberg

Teddy's new apartment

Posh dining room viewed from the lounge
Panels of wood carvings from Chengmai, Thailand, depicting rural life
The dining room reflected on the mirror serving as wall