From Ipoh to KL

The distance is only 20km.

But it took me 2 hours to reach destination.

Night scenes

Although the night life is not as exciting as in other major cities, the night scenes here can be very beautiful.

However, due to a significant crime rates and safety concern it is not advisable to hang out late at night.

Rejoice

What was lost, is found.

Code of @thics

I read with interest that we may soon come out with a code of @thics for bloggers. I am not too sure how such codes could regulate the way people blog but I think it is a set of guidelines to guide a sane person on how one should blog decently.

Here, I read some basic guideline for healthcare bloggers on some common ethics.

Lately, I have been a target of hate mails and comments, I suppose because of something I wrote about d@spensing. I seemed to have attracted some hate fans and particularly one psycho freak out there, not worthy of mentioning, who dedicated a blog just to bash me over the net.

Kind of scary sometimes.

Not only that, Palmdoc was also his target because of the link between my blog posts with MMR.

I guess, this is one of such upsetting encounters one would anticipate when one blogs openly in public.

When I first started blogging some three years ago, my readers were just a few of close blogger friends, but now there are some 20 or more readers whom I do not know, come regularly here.

It is kind of interesting sometimes when we get to interact and share opinions though we do not know each other.

Trying to keep a low profile, fame is not my motive, neither with money making through advertising.

While I always try to keep anonymity and subject confidentiality as possible, but I think one such ethic is very important:

"Courtesy - Bloggers should not engage in personal attacks, nor should they allow their commenters to do so. Debate and discussion of ideas is one of the major purposes of blogging. While the ideas people hold should be criticized and even confronted, the overall purpose is a discussion of ideas, not those who hold ideas." Medbloggercode.com

Despite some minor distraction, I am not discouraged spiritually and I will continue to contribute to this piece of 'rojak', to document the journey of life.

Read more about code of @thics in:
MMR
Cyberjournalist.net

Santa

Santa is coming soon.

Ilex

A young lady presented with exfoliative dermatitis and hepatitis.

The only drug history was, she has been taking health supplement for the past one month.
These so called 'health supplement' was supposed to 'clean her blood' as claimed by the direct sale person.

The patient was required to join membership to enable her to purchase the product.
Could it be the Monascus Purpureus Rice or Ilex Pubescens causing the adverse effects?
'Or could it be due to Habbatus Sauda, Dong Quai, Dang Shen or 'lain-lain herba terpilih"

Read the product company's testimonies using children as young as 6 years old here.

Rasamas

From a personal experience, if one is alone eating out or dining in restaurant, there is a disadvantage, particularly if one is of small built or not so attractive, people tend to deliberately not notice you.

I don't know why I am so upset about having a meal in this Rasamas chicken rice outlet until I wanted to write a complaint to them.

Here is my email to them:

Dear customer service manager in-charge or who ever it may concern,

I would like to voice my dissatisfaction over the service in your Rasamas outlet.

I have gone to the Rasamas outlet in xxxxx xxxxx on 16th November 2008 at 3pm. This is the first time I have heard of your restaurant and I decided to give it a try.

After having seated for 5 minutes or more, waiters and waitresses in red and blue uniforms walked pass me as if I was transparent, until I raised my hand.

I ordered a set G meal that cost RM12.10.

Next, I was served the meal not of my choice. The waiter put down the meal and left hurriedly. While I called on him, I was ignored.

I had to personally carried the meal to the counter to have it changed.

Lastly, as I sensed no staff would walk near my seat, I personally walked to the cashier counter to pay the bill.

I was shocked to find that, on top of paying RM12.10 and RM 0.61 for 5% government tax, I was billed RM1.21 or 10% for service charge!!!

Usually, I don't really bother about such amount of money but I really felt I was unfairly charged for having such a ridiculously poor service from your outlet.

I therefore demand a refund from your company for the 10% service charge, amounting to RM1.21 which I was forced to pay.

Thank you.

Just wonder if they ever reply.

Budget hotels

Being a physician that long, I 've never got the luxury of a fully paid CPD conference or course oversea, like someone else so regularly did.

More so, when one practically 'retired' from being a physician, one would not even see the drug rep's faces anymore.

A poor government doc would have no choice, but to depend on the hospital's sponsorship.

The most pathetic thing about government sponsorship is that, one can only be able to claim hotel accommodation up to maximum RM130 for conference, course, or workshop, and RM 160 for meeting.

With the big cut of allocation for the department this year, the hospital's management has become even more stingy.

Dr@gon Inn Hotel, RM 68.

A friend called me to find out where I was and I told him I was staying in a budget hotel.

Budget hotel to many people means brothel or prostitute dent.

My friend was so surprised that he told me not to let people know that I was staying in such hotel, otherwise my reputation would be hurt.

But I told him, I was not at all ashamed. Being a poor government servant, that was the only option I could afford, compared to the hotel venue where a night stay would cost one RM 250++.

S@n Inn Hotel, RM70.

By the way, not that I am extremely stingy. Somehow, one of the advice told by one of my specialists those days that remained buried in my mind was, she said "Never pay a single cent for courses".

As a government doc, we are entitle to the privilege of getting sponsored CPD course. If the hospital could not even fulfill such allocation, then we shall have the option of getting private sponsorship, which should not be seen as some form of bribery, which some of our bosses don't actually agree.

But heck, anyone care?

Anyway, for those who can't afford the stay at Gr@nd Season or V@stana, here is a quite decent hotel to stay, within walking distance.

RM 97 nett, but for government servant, RM 85.

Nice and cheap.

Faces of BB

That explained the reason I like BB so much.

Steamboat

Woo, woo. Having steamboat at Neurodoc's new house using his newly bought steamboat pot.

Sentosa

Some nice Wan Than Mee in Sentosa.

The only Wan Than Mee that tasted like Wan Than Mee here so far, RM 4.50 (Big).

What drug is this?

A poor old lady has been having chronic joint pain with on and off fever, and had seen 3 GPs for the past one month.

Unfortunately, she developed severe adverse cutaneous drug reaction manifested as Steven-Johnson syndrome.

We had a tough time finding out the real culprit as she had taken so many type of drugs including Paracetamol, Mobic, Arcoxia, Amoxycillin, Piriton, Calcium, Glucosamine, Alendronate as well as Chinese traditional medications.

We managed to call up the GPs to find out the drug name except these green tablets.

She had bought them without a proper labelling and the seller's contact number.