Another Ironman inspiration!!

This is truly inspiring...

To me the most inspiring thing abt athletes who manage to complete such a feat is not so much the fact that they managed to complete it...i.e. the results...but more of the process...the amount of discipline and effort that goes into training for the event!!!
These athletes spent almost all of their non-working/sleeping/eating hours training!! Can u do that??!!

Having met Harn Wei b4 at the NUS pool...I also find him extremely humble...a trait that many truly great ppl have...think I gotta learn to be more humble if I wanna be great :P

The Straits Times

Nov 18, 2006
TRIATHLON
Kua completes 10 Ironman races in 10 straight days
By Jeanette Wang

IMAGINE swimming lengthwise across Singapore, then cycling up to Chiang Mai and finally running back south to Bangkok.
Impossible?


AMAZING FEAT: Kua Harn Wei took a total of 156hr 48min 43sec to complete the Deca-Iron Triathlon World Challenge in Mexico.

Singaporean Kua Harn Wei will tell you otherwise.

The National University of Singapore lecturer, 35, covered that distance at the Deca-Iron Triathlon World Challenge in Monterrey, Mexico, last week.

The event was organised by Multisport Andonie, a Mexican company specialising in ultra-distance events.

Starting last Monday, Kua completed one Ironman triathlon - a 3.8km swim, 180km bike ride and 42.195km run - every day. He did it for 10 straight days.

Competitors had to swim 76 laps in an indoor heated pool, cycle 93 laps of a paved circuit, and run 22 laps of that same circuit within 24 hours.

Once completed, the remainder of the day was free. But each day at 9am, a new round would be flagged off.

Of the 17 athletes who started, only nine - eight men and a woman - managed to finish all 10 races.

Kua is the first Asian to complete the challenge.

The 2006 Singapore Youth Award winner averaged 15hr 40min 12sec for each Ironman. He won the final leg in 13:16.33.

His total time for the 10 races was 156hr 48min 43sec.

The overall results were not available at press time.

Kua, who took part in his first Olympic distance triathlon (1.5km swim, 40km ride, 10km run) in 1992, has also competed in the Ironman and Double Ironman distances.

Last year, he was ninth at the Quintuple Ironman World Championships in Mexico.

His latest feat has left Triathlon Association of Singapore president David Hoong in awe.

'It's beyond the human body. I can't believe he did it,' he said.

Parliamentary Secretary for Community Development, Youth and Sports Teo Ser Luck, a three-time Ironman, added: 'Singaporeans should take this as an example of someone who always sets the bar higher for himself.'

Kua could not be contacted.

So do u think I'll attempt a crazy feat like that in the future?
Neh...dun think so :P
Of course things might change in the future...after all I never thought I would attempt...much less complete...a full marathon...up till my undergraduate days :P

Penguins in the news again :D

National Geographic News

Photo in the News: Penguin Shoes Ensure "Happy" Feet



November 15, 2006—They might not be suede, but these blue shoes are a perfect fit for "Elvis."

The newly shod bird, seen here, is one of 18 "second chance" little penguins now living at the International Antarctic Centre in Christchurch, New Zealand. The penguins, also called blue or fairy penguins, were adopted from Marineland in Napier, New Zealand, which rescues sick or injured marine animals and sends some of those that can't return to the wild to live at regional animal centers.

But not long after their September arrival in Christchurch, a few penguins started to develop calluses on their feet that could have led to infections. Such calluses are common for penguins in captivity, because the seabirds, which normally spend most of their time fishing at sea, occasionally get lazy and spend too much time waddling on land.

"When the penguins arrived … some developed sore feet, and this has proved quite tricky for us to treat," International Antarctic Centre director Richard Benton said in a press release.

So the center's staff began a rigorous treatment regime, including saltwater foot baths, ointment applications, and fashion footwear design. The special penguin shoes—available in blue and green—are tailored specifically for the little penguins and are made of breathable material with light rubber soles.

"We have seen a dramatic improvement," Benton said, "and [we] expect that they will only be wearing their pretty shoes for a very short time."

—Victoria Gilman

Happy Feet

More penguins in the movie!! Must watch this too!!!

Penguins in An Inconvenient Truth :D

U must watch this show!!

Busy life of a mad chemist

Hmm...have I really been that busy the past 2 weeks??

Let me see...
I have finally completed my cell assay work last Mon...yippee...managed to get 3 good readings liao...so no need to do extra...hehe...I feel so lucky...
Anyway, I have killed of the remaining cells...gave them a huge dose of bleach :P

Now I have started on synthesis again...got to use the Combiflash to first purify my previous synthetic cpd that has been kept in the RBF for moons and moons...hehe...
So far I have only synthesized one cpd and but I have yet to separate them...had 2 failed attempt with the Combiflash...first the column I used was too big...then the solvent system too polar liao :P
Oh well...that's part and parcel of synthesis...plenty of failed attempts :P

Besides my research work...I also had plenty of assignments :P
Well this is the last sem I need to do any assignments...have completed my module requirement for PhD...yippee ;)

My first assignment for the "Pharm Analysis" module was on NMR and MRI...due long time ago...that was a boring paper :P

The second assignment was on LC-MS...a grp assignment...we were supposed to come up with a problem related to our research field and come up with a solution involving LC-MS...
My group decided to write up on the standardization of Lingzhi (aka Ganoderma lucidum)...I found out that there isn't a single product in the market that has standardized lingzhi...except Pharmanex :P
Lingzhi is a very good TCM that's potentially very useful as an adjunct in anticancer treatment...but w/o a standardized pdt...which oncologist would dare to let their patient use it??!!

If u r interested, check out the write up here ;)

My final assignment for this very same module (super a lot of assignment for one module hor :P) due on 23rd Nov...is on biophotonic imaging...hehe...sounds familiar?
Well similar to my 2nd assignment...we r supposed to write on a possible application of this technology in relation to our research work...
I'm planning to write abt the use of Raman spectroscopy for antioxidant/carotenoid determination to investigate the potential synergistic effect of antioxidants and my anticancer drug :D

Finally, for the "Emerging Concepts in Drug Discovery" module, I wrote on ziconotide...an interesting marine natural product for chronic pain...which was just approved by the FDA in 2004...

It's a very interesting drug 'cos it has a novel mechanism of action...unlike the usual opioid drugs which works on..err...the opioid receptors...haha :P
Ziconotide work on the N-type calcium channel...it's the first of its kind!!

Also another interesting pt is that ziconotide is the original/unmodified form which was extracted from the cone snail, Conus magnus...most drugs are usually modified/improved form of the original natural pdts...
But in this case even with attempts to improve this natural product, scientists found that the most potent form is still its original form ;)

Well...have I bore u enough? :P
Anyway, if u r interested...u can download my assignment write up here...I have also included the story behind how ziconotide was serendiptously discovered ;)
I hope to do some research on marine natural products in the future...hehe...hopefully I can go diving to get my own samples too...haha :)

Oh...assignments are not all that's keeping busy...
Starting from next week...we r gg to have weekly meetings for all those in my lab...each week, someone has to present briefly abt the work and progress...
I'm supposed to present the following week (20 Nov)...my co-supervisor will be coming along to...save me the trouble of doing the presentation twice...hehe...but I think our meeting with him is long overdue...I hope they have some results on the enzyme inhibition assay for me too :P

Well...that's my busy life for now...but I still managed to exercise at least once or twice a week...been swimming every week...and last week I also went to Sentosa to run with Jayce...it's been so long we ran together!! Hmm...but my ITBS seem to be still there...shucks...I gotta be more hardworking and do some strengthening exercise...otherwise how m I gg to fulfill my IRONMAN dream??!!!

Farewell to my twin?

It's been a while since I have posted...been busy and lazy :P

Anyway, I gotta post something since my twin aka Vorlacks will be leaving for China soon...tomorrow actually...he's been to China quite a number of times the past few months...but this time round...it'll be a much longer trip...at least for a few months...

So I met up with him at Hougang Mall on Thur...it was the only weeknight I was free :P
Wow...I haven't been to Hougang Mall for so long...it's pretty different now after the renovation...renovation is done except some tiny ppl still doing some final touch up like minor screwing and paintings...haha...ok...that last part is crap :P

We had dinner at Cafe Cartel...wanted to order the special combo which contains ribs, chicken, pork etc...unfortunately it's for 4 person...there was only 2 of us and 2 penguins...
Oh well...we had something else instead....forgot to take photo though...shucks!!

Only took one b4 dinner was served...Vorlacks was pretty hungry...so he resorted to eating....my penguins!!!!



After dinner, Vorlacks took out his laptop to get connected to the internet...we found the Hao/How brothers online...How is also in Netherlands with Hao aka oyster...haha...we got a call from Hao which we put on speaker...couldn't hear half the things they said...could only hear them laughing and laughing...typical of the Hao :P

We had dessert after that and it was time to head home...
Of course b4 that...we need took some twin photo...no more twin photos for a while after this!!!

Here's the photo...


So long, twin!!! Till we meet again!!!