Pulling the plug

I used to think that for long-suffering patients with no hope of recovery, it is only logical to pull the plug, to save the long heart-ache.... Used to, when I was answering the question as a 3rd-party person, with the benefit of cold distance and the belief that I will never need to make such a distance.

Being faced with such a decision, however, is something else altogether. Was just informed by Dad that the doctor is recommending that the support systems for Grandma be pulled out, and to let her body recover on its own... or not.

It is my mum, and her siblings, who will need to make the decision. But we will all feel the impact... Keeping Grandma in all our prayers...

Treasure your loved ones

Grandma's in hospital. Been there for almost 3 weeks by now. And her condition has been going downhill almost every day.

Just had a call with mum to get an update on her situation. Doc says her condition is not optimistic, asked us to prepare for the worst.

Please do treasure your loved ones while you can...

iDaddy

We finally got home from the hospital after 3 1/2 days in the ward.

Baby boy arrived on 14 Aug, 12:57am. We stayed in the hospital for one day longer, before the doctor gave us the go-ahead to bring our new-born boy home. Like all new parents, we have to work hard to take care of the baby boy. Sleepless nights loom ahead... Well, here's some photos :)

Little boy sound asleep

 

 

 

First peek at this world :)

How Many People is Enough in Singapore?

Saw this article discussing Singapore population growth fueled by immigration, and the impact it has on the country.

http://asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2637&Itemid=195


Think it's a well written article, and made many valid points. Some key points made by the article:

• Explosive population growth fueled by immigration
• GDP growth appears to have been fueled by this population growth, a reversal of past policies to push up wages to force higher productivity by companies
• Singaporeans getting a smaller share of the GDP. Many of the GDP are profits of MNCs, that will go back to parent companies overseas.

Personally, I agree that there has to be higher productivity by companies here, which should reduce their reliance on foreign labour. We also need to grow our own local companies to match the contribution by MNCs. All of these will take time of course, but it will also take a shift of Singaporeans' mindset - we may need to moderate job expectations, and also think about how we can start multi-billion companies on our own, without needing government to step in to help.

Waiting for baby

Wife was admitted to hospital last evening after check-up by our doctor. He was worried after seeing low amniotic fluid levels during the check-up, and wanted to keep her in the hospital for further observation.

Well, we've been in KK hospital since then. Doctor started to induce birth this afternoon. We're still waiting for contractions to start. The amusing part is, wife's first thought was that she can't catch her Jeff Chang concert this Sat :) Well, those minor distractions aside, all we've been doing is waiting in the hospital...

Thankfully, we have our mobile devices. Handphones, laptops, broadband dongles, VPN. I continued doing a bit of work here in the hospital, she could also distract herself with some of her work. The wonders of modern ICT tools allows us to work non-stop, even into the labour ward :)

So, another night in the hospital.

Just wanted to thank my friends who had been sending well wishes since they got the news. Will update on Facebook once baby arrives :)

Nanostart Increases Shareholding in Singapore Medical Technology Company BioMers

Glad to see NanoStart making follow on investments in their portfolio companies. Hope the fund succeeds.

Original news here:
http://www.nanowerk.com/news/newsid=17614.php



(Nanowerk News) Nanostart AG has increased its ownership share in Singapore-based BioMers Pte Ltd. The proceeds from this current round of financing are to be used to expand the company's global sales network, especially in Europe and the USA. In particular, the company plans to hire new staff as well as to invest in wide-ranging sales and marketing activities. A further investment objective is to automate the company's production, which takes place in its Singapore headquarters.

BioMers produces innovative polymer composite wires based on nanotechnology. Its first successful commercial application has been in orthodontic wires used for braces and retainers. Until now, these wires had to be made of metal in order to have the needed physical properties. With its revolutionary technology, BioMers is now the world's only company able to produce these from clear or colored translucent plastic and thus to make braces and retainers which are aesthetically pleasing. This breakthrough provides the company with a decisive competitive advantage, giving it the potential to fundamentally transform the global market for orthodontic devices. BioMers offers a complete set of products for aesthetic orthodontic treatment.

"BioMers has a truly unique product portfolio in the field of orthodontics which fits very well with the current market trend," remarked Andreas Kröll, managing director of Singapore-based Nanostart subsidiary Nanostart Asia Pte Ltd. "The global market for braces is becoming much more oriented toward aesthetics, and this market – as well as the return potential for investors – is enormous."

Nanostart holds its position in BioMers as lead investor through its Nanostart Singapore Early Stage Venture Fund. With this transaction, the fund's shareholding in BioMers rises from 16 to about 25 percent.

About Nanostart

Nanostart AG, headquartered in the German financial capital of Frankfurt, is the world's leading nanotechnology investment company, with portfolio companies spanning the globe from Silicon Valley to Singapore. The company provides venture capital financing for nanotechnology companies in various growth phases with a focus on innovation-driven industries of the future such as cleantech, life sciences and IT/electronics. Through its subsidiary and venture capital fund in Singapore, Nanostart is proud to be the investment partner of the Singaporean government. For further information about the company, please visit http://www.nanostart.de/.

About BioMers

BioMers Pte Ltd is a spin-off of the world-renowned National University of Singapore (NUS). Using the company's proprietary technology, originally developed at NUS, extremely strong nanofiber-reinforced polymer composites can be produced for various biomedical applications. These first of these revolutionary innovations to be brought to market are the company's aesthetic products for orthodontic applications, including translucent wires for braces and translucent retainers. Further information may be found at http://www.biomersbraces.com/.

Source: Nanostart (press release)

Inception

(Warning: Spoilers ahead)

Finally, a film that is a worthy successor to Matrix. I remember coming out of the theatres after watching Matrix, years ago, and thinking about it for weeks afterwards. "Inception" doesn't quite have that effect on me, but it is admittedly a movie in the same vein - you walk out of the show not quite sure what happened... and want to find someone else to discuss your theories.

I'm sure months later, when the whole world has seen the movie, there'll be people discussing many parts of the show. Questions like these will be common:

• Did he really wake up? Was the last scene a dream?
• Was his wife delirious? Or did she realise what was happening and "awaken", whilst he was still in his own dream?
• How did his dad magically appear to pick him up? How did he even know his son would be coming home?

I'm not going to talk about those questions. Just wanted to share my own thoughts about some more philosophical (metaphysical) questions that the show poses.

1. Is reality what we think it is?
   Like Matrix, this show explores an "alternate reality", albeit through a more easily grasped dream concept. Dreams is a commonly used metaphor in many oriental religions. And the "Awakening" or "Enlightenment" state is one that is attained after one has seen through the reality of one's existence. So, are you awake? Or dreaming?
   
   
2. Are we dreaming? Or are we even part of someone's dream?
   Not sure whether Nolan is familiar with Hinduism. In that religion, one of the theories for creation says that the world was created as part of Lord Brahma's dream, and we are all just characters in his dream. Seems familiar?

In my opinion, these are the deeper questions that the film's creator would have wanted us to ask ourselves. Of course, you are free to disagree. :)