Tuesday, September 30, 2014

1067. Street Photography Tips - dogs - Spain: Rolls-Royce Car

STREET PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS: 

1.  A late afternoon sunlight 

2.  Single point central focus on the golden hood ornament sculpture - The Spirit of Ecstasy on the Rolls-Royce car

3.  No passersby to distract the viewer from the car

A face-masked passerby (R) and car (L) makes this photo “imperfect”!    

Dr Sing Kong Yuen   28 Dec 2021






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7 Mar 2022

PHOTOGRAPHY TIP. I focus on the golden Spirit of Ecstasy is the bonnet ORNAMENT SCULPTURE of the Rolls Royce, single point focus, "P" Mode, Canon EOS 90D, EFS 18-200mm lens. Glaring noon sunlight on white cars - I used Lightroom to reduce highlights of the white cars. The maroon car of the Rolls Royce is unique. 






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TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS
SPAIN IN 2014




People adds interest to a tunnel image



This owner with yellow jacket and two black dogs was adjusting his dog leashes
A passer-by came in 




Crop out the passer by. Rule of Thirds with the subjects in middle 1/3 of frame




TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS: Two sisters tour Spain.

Review in 2021:
The original image was taken in a split second as the two sisters posed for another photographer in the early morning sunlight. A passerby obstructed me. Cropping the image would be the solution. This image is not good enough for stock photography as the eyes are not sharply focused, due to my inexperience in 2014. Travel photography captures memories of travelling companions. One sister is so bubbly while the other is reserved.  

MORE IMAGES AT:
https://2010vets.blogspot.com/2014/09/1067-tips-on-how-to-street-photography.html



Explanation on how I process the cropped images




Photo-shopped and sharpened image










More saturation






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POSTED TO INSTAGRAM IN 2021
@davidsing1
@toapayohvets







Travel Photography - Packaged Tour - Spain in 2014
Two sisters tour Spain - Who is the younger?











Monday, September 29, 2014

1066. Travel stories - How to take good street photographs without too much technical knowledge


Many photo magazines will mention that for good images, there is the need to use manual control of focus, ISO, f stops and speed.

By the time the amateur like me adjusts all these in street photography, the moment or lighting will have disappeared. I am sharing my experience of how to take good photos fast without all these technical details. 

1. Good lighting is still the most important.













Final copy




















Sunday, September 28, 2014

Travel Stories - How to produce good photographs without too much technical knowledge

Abba Garden Hotel  Rm 501, Barcelona, Spain
Sep 27, 2014

Many photo magazines will mention that for good images, there is the need to use manual control of focus, ISO, f stops and speed.

By the time the amateur like me adjusts all these in street photography, the moment or lighting will have disappeared. I am sharing my experience of how to take good photos fast without all these technical details. 















Thursday, September 25, 2014

1064. A tea lady n a new law graduate

Yesterday I met a tea lady and spoke to the father of a new law graduate earning $15,000/ mth.  The latter earns in a month what the former earns in a year.  A top law firm will pay for top legal graduates but vets do not get half.      


1063. Update: The gasping terrapin was gasping, crying and not eating 4 days ago.

Thursday Sep 25, 2014

I phoned the wife today at 12 noon. This beloved 6-year-old terrapin came in on Sep 21, 2014, not eating and making crying sounds. The tongue had white membranes peeling off. She was gasping and so it was easy to see the inside of her mouth. She did not pass stools for a few days.What's the problem?

The terrapin had poor uneven shell quality being fed solely on a Taiwanese brand of pellets and nothing else. No sunlight for the past 6 years.  The tank was too small.

"The cause of the poor shell quality could be this particular brand of brand," I said. "It may be toxic causing tongue ulcerations and infections of the mouth. How often do you change the water in the tank?"

"Every two days," the husband said. He would give the medication including multivitamin drops.

I proposed feeding dry shrimps, little fishes and egg yolk (boiled). Today, good news from the wife. The terrapin is eating dry shrimps and this is a good sign.  Small pieces of fresh fish. If the terrapin can swim, little guppies may be interesting. 

1062. The 14-year-old dog still coughs while on heart disease medicine

Sep 24, 2014

This evening, a young Indian lady had to rush to Toa Payoh Vets before it closes to get the heart drugs for her 14-year-old dog. She phoned as she might not be in time. I waited for her.

"Is the dog still coughing on heart medication?" I asked.
"Yes, a deeper cough," she replied.
"Did you feed the frusemide (1/2 two times a day) and Fortekor 5 (1/2 per day) as prescribed?"
"Yes," she said.

On further queries, she had more frusemide tablets than Fortekor 5. So, when the latter ran out, she would use frusemide but the dog's coughing worsened.

This case showed that the owner seldom knows about the efficacy and use of heart drugs. They gave the tablet not 12-hourly. They forget to give on certain days. They don't spend much time on complying with medical instructions. So they find that the old dog, while active and eating, starts to cough and cough, waking everybody up at night.

In this case, I advised her to increase the dose of frusemide for 1 week and let me know. She needed to have her dog needed dental check up for his bad breath as the bacterial infection of the mouth can cause infections leading to coughing. I prescribed 12 days of antibiotics and advised dental work at the end of the course. There will be anaesthetic risks but they are minimal on isoflurane gas anaesthesia.

Discussion on the effects of heart drug medication in aged dogs is needed when the owner wants repeat medication. Many owners do not bother. 

It is sad that many old dogs do not get dental treatment from Singapore owners.  

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Update: The 12-year-old Jack Russell with the large lacrimal sac swelling

Sep 24, 2014

Update

This is the 3rd case, part of the "trilogy" I saw recently. Or a "trifecta".
The other 2 cases also had swelling on the right side of the face. One is a case of facial cyst. The other is a carnaissal tooth abscess.
 
In this case, no more swelling as at 12th day after I electro-excised the lacrimal sac leaking out the brown fluid. I also electro-excised 2 pieces of tissue, possibly the sac, quite near the nasolacrimal canal. There was no contrast imaging done as that would increase the medical cost. Many Singapore owners want the least medical cost but the medical overheads keep going up nowadays as landlords keep increasing their rentals, knowing that Singapore, like Hongkong, has a shortfall of commercial units for rent.    

This was done after aspiration of 2 ml of brown fluid earlier, using a 1-ml syringe.

LAB TESTS OF LACRIMAL SAC FLUID

1 ml of yellowish fluid.

Microscopic description
3 Pap and one Diff Quik stained smears show a paucicellular yield. Thin degenerate proteinaceous material. No epithelial or malignant cells.

Diagnosis 
LACRIMAL SAC LESION, FNAC
Degenerate cyst contents. pl re-aspirate if there is a residual nodule.

A 16-year-old unspayed female chihuahua has a tense swollen abdomen

As the cost of living in Singapore, esp. rentals and labour, has shot up in 2014, many pet owners want the least medical costs. This means no blood tests before anaesthesia, no urine tests, no X-rays and no abdominal fluid tests.

Abdominal palpation may be useful.

Sep 23, 2014
This 16-year-old chihuahua had a large elongated inflamed breast tumour growing from the left MG4. Her abdomen was tense like a balloon about to burst.  I percussed the abdomen. A fluid thrill from the sides was palpable.  Heart murmurs on left side and owner reported occasional coughing which he had not really noticed.

Gas anaesthesia inside the carrier which is enclosed by a big plastic bag was the safest way. No direct handling with a gas mask as she might die from heart failure, being so old. No thick cataracts, still active.

I drained around 20 ml of the abdominal fluid - dark brown cloudy, reducing the abdominal swelling by 50%. I could palpate nodular masses - possibly abdominal tumours from the liver, ovaries, spleen or other organs. After giving frusemide injection SC, the dog peed clear watery urine, like drinking tap water, a few times. Active and running about.

Heart medication dispensed. H/D prescription diet given as the dog was on pumpkin diet. She was on those Caesar wet food previously. Toothless as all teeth had droppped out but looked and was energetic as a young as a 10-year-old with mild cataracts.     

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

1059. Continuing veterinary education

Sep 22, 2014
Attended a most interesting talk by an experienced vet.
"A new approach to utilizing lab diagnostics for the most challenging and misdiagnosed diseases"
Fred Metzger DVM, MRCVS, Diplomate ABVP, Metzger Animal Hospital, State College, Pennsylvania, USA, Oasia Hotel, Singapore, IDEXX Lab, Sep 22, 2014. Some points are:




1.  Complete blood counts should be included in evaluations of every sick patient (anaemia, inflam disease, platelet disorders, monitoring for trending of data in progression or regression of the sick animal disease), patient with vague signs of diseases, every pre-anaethetic evaluation (get baseline data every couple of years), wellness and geriatric profile, recheck of patients with previous erythrocuyte, leucocyte or thrombocyte abnormalities.  This is seldom done by some vets in Singapore to lower medical costs.

2. Start CBC at one-year of age to get the minimum database as reference.

3. A surgery release/preanaesthetic testing form
4. A cost estimate of CBC  $38, $52, $84 for patients <2 2-7="" 5="" 7="" age="" and="" ask="" by="" client="" do="" health="" income="" increase="" it.="" keep="" low.="" nbsp="" of="" or="" over="" p="" patients="" practice="" preanaesthetic="" price="" questionable="" status.="" test="" to="" with="" years="">5.Trend in the USA. Vaccination income is dropping. Pharmacy income has dropped as clients purchased from the internet. This will happen in Singapore.  Diagnostic income is 2.5 x more than vaccination income, more thanpharmacy income, outpatient services and treatment income, more than surgery income, hospitalisation and dentistry income combined.


6. Untapped profit center. Laboratory. 
Pre-anaethetic testing.  Wellness/preventive screen. Senior care. Monitor long-term meds.

7. Very few dentals are done by vets.

8. Quantative buffy coat analysis, impedance counting analyzers (not wanted in the US, sold to China and other countries), lasercyte and lasercyte DX, IDEXX procyte Dx (best of all)  and sysmex XTV.



 

Monday, September 22, 2014

1058. The senior citizen cafe operator

Monday, Sep 22, 2014

I had a breakfast chat with this senior citizen at the coffee shop opposite Potong Pasir NTUC. His boss was late and so we had a good chat.

1.  Charcot's Disease - bone deformation. He had custom-made shoes. "It costs me $468," he said. That is expensive for a senior citizen.

2. Getting business for his employer. 

2.1  "Nowadays, no Singaporean wants to work in the cafe in this hotel. The younger ones don't stay long or don't know what to do to generate revenue to cover the operating cost of rental and salary. He was aware of that but he did not take advantage of the employer
.
"The younger man used to close shop and disappeared for lunch for 2 hours," he told me. "I don't close for lunch. If I am tired and there is no customer, I will rest on the chair. The young man will close shop at 6 pm but I do not close till 8 pm."

2.2  As this hotel has no seats in the lobby, people will want to sit in his area (32 seats) to study, to eat their own food and drink their own water. He recounted the story for the 3rd time today.

"There was one manager about your height but bigger in size eating his company buffet lunch on my table and chair without even purchasing a drink from me. The company had a management talk and there was a standing buffet lunch provided in the hotel lobby. I said to him: 'Excuse me, these tables and chairs are reserved for my customers." 

The burly manager replied: "Ask the security to evict me."

The operator said: "These tables and chairs are purchased by my company. They are not bought for nothing. Repeat what you just said to me."


The manager stood up and left, much to the laughter of the female colleagues.
   

 

Sunday, September 21, 2014

1507. A 5-year-old Chow Chow suddenly had fits and salivation

Saturday Sep 20, 2014

A female non-spayed Chow Chow came in recumbent, shaking all over the body and salivating thick sticky saliva. "These fits happened only 15 minutes ago. What is the cause? Can you do something to stop the fits"

I checked her medical records. No fits before. I gave IM 5mg diazepam. The dog stopped shaking one hour later. She was very thin and full of scales and oily skin. Her eyes had rolled in eyelids and were sticky with lots of pus. IV drip and medication were given. Blood test done.

Today, the dog had recovered and was eating. The whole body would be clipped and a bath given. Ears irrigated, nails clipped. The owner did not want entropion surgery.

BLOOD TESTS

History:
Mar 12, 2013. Skin disease and 6-month haematuria. Demodectic mange and ringworm.
Total white cell count 19.8  (6-17)
Neutrophils 82.5%  (60-70%)    Abs  16.34  (3-12)
Platelet clumping noted but within normal range.

.
Sep 9, 2014  Fits and salivation. Recumbent. Sudden onset.

Total white cell count 28.8  (6-17)
Neutrophils 90%  (60-70%)    Abs  25.92  (3-12)
Platelet within normal range.

Glucose  0.9  (3.9 - 6.0). Query glycolysis. Suggests to repeat.

Hypoglycaemic fits likely. No complaint of polydipsia, polyphagia and polyuria.
In fact, the dog is very thin. Skin diseases generalised, with ringworm and bacteria. The dog has recovered fully now.


CONCLUSION
A Chow Chow needs much more care than a Jack Russell. Skin diseases may need monthly reviews.
Most owners have no time. So the bacteria multiplies and infect the blood stream leading to a big increase in neutrophils which are white blood cells produced in large numbers to combat the bacterial invasion.  Medical costs of treatment will be high.

Entropion is quite common in Chow Chows. The inward rolling eyelid's eye lashes irritate the cornea, causing infection and daily pus formation. The owner does not want any surgery to evert the eyelids, resolving this problem which has persisted for the last 5 years.









If the owner does not want euthanasia, the owner needs to plan and schedule regular clipping away of the long infested patchy hairy coat with the groomer and get skin reviews with the vet.