How Medical Science Has Helped Mankind
Thank You Mr Ultrasound
If you aak moi what two great scientific inventions have contributed most to the benefit of mankind, moi would reply without the slightest hesistation : "Ultrasound and Laser" technology.
The former is already well-known for its diagnostic sonography usages. For the layman in the street, ultrasound means emitting sound waves way above audible human hearing and then focussing that into an amplified high energy for a special purpose.
That accountds for the prefix "ultra" which translates into "uber" or "super" or "hyper" that means "beyond" or far above.
In moi's most recent medical experience, ultrasound did the trick in phacoemulsifying moi's cataracted eye during cataract surgery.
Thank you, whoever the inventors are who discovered and developed "ultrasound" to a fine art that it is today.
Thank You Too, Mr Micro CO2 Laser
Next comes laser technology. Laser isn't a word per se but an acronym that actually became a word. Laser stands for "Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation"
Laser technology is about passing a light of a specific wavelength through a medium, amplifying that so that it becomes a high energy and highly concentrated beam to be applied for a particular use.
It is used in excimers for Lasik and yes that optical drive in our PCs uses it to scan and read our disks.
How Is Skin Lasering Different From Industrial Lasering
It is the second time moi has gone for skin laser resurfacing.
This time, it is the all-new Micro CO2 Laser that delivers pinpoint laser beams to do its work. A different technoloical platform from its predecessors.
It is the same CO2 laser used in industry for welding and cutting except that it is at a safe temperature and in a controlled and skilful manner that only burns off the surface of the skin layer. Kinda like a 8th degree burn, not a first or second degree burn.
Picture this for industrial CO2 laser application : Dudes dressed in grimy and greasy overalls, stooped over and torching with an oxyacetylene flame and at most times, holding up a face shield.
And what would that make of moi's old-time favourite dermatologist? A highly trained and skilled medical cutter and welder?
The After-Effects Of Lasering
In fact I smelt exactly like that after the whole procedure was over.
Of that charred, burning smell like a piece of raw meat roasted over a fire or like that piece of meat I saw right before my eyes being seared through by a cautery set when moi was doing the sales and marketing rounds in the medical field.
My face looked like that too : sunburnt red and then turning a scabby dark brown tan before finally peeling off to reveal a pink raw new surface. It was a grid of dark pinpoints immediately after and I looked really old and wrinkled.
Women! Thy Name Is Pure Vanity
On the morning of the procedure, moi turned up at the skin centre and was promptly whisked off for a topical anaesthesc application after some small talk. I couldn't help noticing how imaginative and adept the nurses have become at cutting out a plastic face mask with two eyes and a mouth.
I lounged at the waiting area along with countless other women, mostly old aunties. I can't imagine how vain these women are. They have almost perfect skin complexion but are there for really minsucle touch-ups like a small faded sun blotch or just some perceived beauty flaws of their own imagination.
As I told quite a few of them, if I had half of what they have now, I wouldn't so much bother at all wth my complexion.
I realised now how the beauty, grooming and cosmetics industry for women must be really booming! They have developed almost every cure for any perceived physical and beauty flaws women may see in themselves.
The last I got wind of was some balm of cucumber extracts for panda eyes.
What next? Liposuction for thick fleshy lips?
Do We Age Differently - Asians And Caucasians?
I ran into one woman who is French-born while her hubby is Dutch and her kids are born in Singapore. We talked about the damaging effects of both the sun and the wintry colds and about her ever-changing migratory lifescape.
She made a keen observation on how Asians age very markedly different from Caucasians. Caucasians, it seems, age gradually and the process isn't very dramatic or pronounced at each stage as it is for Asians.
In other words, Asians look very young in their youth and then suddenly look very very old when they age.
Lasering It
When my favourite old-time dermatologist appeared in the procedure room (oops, have I repeated that already?) I knew it was time.
What follows was about 15 to 20 minutes of a hot burning sensation as the CO2 laser delivers its blistering heat that sears my skin to its bone. At the same time, a blower was blowing all over me face to cool things down.
I cringed, shivered and teared the whole time the oxy-acetylene flame equivalent was doing its job all over my face.
A cold face mask, a dab of soothing emolient and it was all over.
Prognosis: Vast improvement over the last treatment done by another laser machine. Highly unlikely I will return for another procedure a month down the road even though multiple sessions are usually recommended.
Why I Am Loving My Mac And The Future Of True PC Entertainment And InterAction
First it is its glossy white exterior that can change its appearance when fitted with different glassy looking hard shell casing like blue or green or red. Not unlike the iMacs of the heydays.
Remember that hemispherical cool sleek futuristic looking multi-colored variety iMacs that is seamlessly integrated with its CPUs?
And yes, that uniquely designed apple logo glows when the Mac is turned on.
From its highly-advanced magnetic lid catch to its magnetic power port and opto-magnetic-slot in disk drive, the Mac book is a powerhouse of sophisticated electronic wizardry and high aesthetic art.
Take its boot camp function for instance. It allows hard disk partitioning (and moi isn't sure if He Jian, a Chinese national ex-student of mine, had passed this secret on to the Apple manufacturers) that permits one the option of running the Mac on either one of two operating systems.
The Mac runs on a very stable Unix-based operating system. You can actually feel the sturdiness when you click and wait for the next function to power up.
Viewing documents on its "Finder" menu is no longer a limp, lifeless 2D experience. Cover Flow lets you preface your video files 3 dimensionally, showing you your photographic cover file.
Just like the 3 dimensional graphical icons that line the bar menu in the desktop that leaps to life once you place your cursor over them. Totally uncluttered and interactive.
I know my previous HP Pavillon Entertainment notebook is both a tablet and touch-screen. When you point at various menu icons, there is a wave-like rippling effect.
This is the kinda lively, interactive and 3D elements we wanna see more of on our desktops to make computing a truly entertaining experience! Like watching a movie, and a 3D movie at that.
More sounds, more life-like graphics, more motion and more dazzling colors please.
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