TRAVEL STORIES BY DR SING K Y. Smartphone v Canon R5.
An 84-year-old man told me that his Galaxy Ultra S27 takes better if not as good photos as my Canon R5 and it is less heavy. He showed me his photos with trembling hands. I got one of his photo and compare the same scene of Chinatown with mine. Is his phone superior? I don't think my comparison is fair as he has trembling hands and his photo was thus not as sharp as can be.
Singapore has bright sunshine and blue skies if one wakes up early as
shown in this video of Lentor Estate on Monday 22 May 2023. There are
darker days with thunderstorms but Singapore has much less flooding
compared to New Zealand and other countries as it is a small urbanised
country.
Waking up early to go for morning walks will be much less hot and humid.
Brisk long walks can reduce weight, but few people bother to walk as it
is hot and humid later in the day. Weight reduction and healthy diet
means less risk of heart disease and strokes.
Many young people tend to put on weight and be sedentary.
On 23 May
2023, I visited my brother in law. His adult son in the insurance career
has put on much weight as he does not exercise. "My second job is to
pick up my son from school," he said to me after spending hours inside
his study room working from home.
His wife is now so trim and alert looking. She walked from Balestier to
Vivo City and elsewhere, losing much weight. "I like to see the
beautiful bungalows in Novena area as I walk," she told my wife and I.
At one time, she was plump, but now she is much fitter and her face is
radiant and eyes are bright. "No need to pay to go to the gym," my
sister-in-law said.
Many residents give the reason for not long walks as the weather is so
hot and humid. So they need to find air-conditioned shopping centres to
walk the 10,000 steps but they seldom do that.
21 May 2023. During my walk, I was surprised to see 3 grown
noni-fruit trees taller than me. Over 2 - 3 metres tall, growing on a
sloping ground behind the Yio Chu Kang Road houses. They were blocked
by a new bus shelter. The leaves are generally glossy green, but some
older ones have been attacked by brown circular spots. Its juices are
said to be therapeutic such as anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer.
Caucasians dislike the pungent smell of noni fruits. They complain
of fermented or cheesy smell. These 3 noni-fruit trees grown on
public land, outside the houses. They appear to be thriving and
growing straight. It is possible that the residents of the houses
have taken care of their nutrition. Many wild noni-fruit trees I saw
are not growing well and tall above 3 m. I seldom see many in the Yio
Chu Kang area though.
SINGAPORE - 11 MAY 2023: The Adelphi Lifestyle Mall is a shopping and office complex known for its high number of audio-equipment stores. It specialises in high-end hi-fi equipment.
VET CASE STUDY – TELE-CONSULTATION ON A RED-EARED SLIDER WITH
SWOLLEN PAW. Dr Sing Kong Yuen, BVMS (Glasgow). 20 May
2023.
On 20 May 2023 just after midnight, the owner WhatsApp
to me the first image of the swollen paw of her 3-year-old female
red-eared slider. "Should I walk in or make an
appointment? My red-eared slider has a paw abscess."
The
younger generation cares very much for their pets and many will
research the internet to arrive at a diagnosis. In this case, is it a
paw abscess? I asked for sharper images and videos preferably. "The
slider bites me," said the lady owner. "I can't take more
images!"
What is the solution? "Turn the slider
upside down and take close-up videos of the front and sides of the
right fore paw," I WhatsApp back. She did an excellent job and I
was able to tell that the swollen right fore paw as due to a
long-standing inflammation from multiple wounds. So it was not just
one paw abscess but several, over many weeks. She confirmed that.
What is the diagnosis via tele-consultation?
The
free-roaming slider in the rooms could have her nails or paw trapped
on some objects or had sharp hook-like things penetrating her lower
paw and interdigital areas. Her water tank was free of objects or
stones and pebbles. Therefore, the cause of the injury was her
lifestyle of wandering in the rooms and getting injured over the past
weeks.
PHOTOGRAPHY
TIPS: Use a tripod and AV Mode, F/11 and ISO 100 to get sharp
images.
A tourist takes photos of the beautiful flowers and tulips at
GGB. Tulipmania at Gardens by the Bay (GBB), 18 May 2023, 9.53
amCanon R5, AV F/11, ISO 100, 1/30 sec, TRIPOD
My last day in Bintan. I was walking past a patch of
grass for dinner. A creature scurried across me. Too fast to see it.
It looked like the big adult Oriental Garden Lizard. But it was
camouflaged inside the hedge as you can see from the photos.
I
screened the hedge where it had dived for cover. There was the body
and tail not covered. The lightning flashed. A few drops of imminent
thunderstorm. I should hasten to shelter to protect my camera from
wetness. At least, to put it away inside my camera bag.
But
this was the only sighting of an Oriental Garden Lizard in The
Residence, Bintan. A sprawling complex of many house villas but no
wildlife. No mosquitoes to bite me. A handful of small insects or
flies. Nightly fumigation of the whole estate had wiped them out by
pesticide poisoning. So the guests do not complain and will
refer others.
To shoot or not? The lizard did not move further. Why? It
was eyeing me as to whether I was friend or foe?
Focus on tail/body junction. Canon R5, AV Mode, F/8, ISO 320, 1/40
sec. 16 May 2030. The Residence Bintan, Indonesia. To buy
photo: www.shutterstock.com/g/toapayohvets
