I snapped a photo of this Blue Banded Bee (Amegilla cingulate) resting on a twig in the afternoon sun.

Just learned something new today. I always thought that bees lives in colony in a beehive. But no so for this native Australian bee.

THIS HAS TO BE one of the prettiest bees in the world. Named for the beautiful turquoise bands that run across its abdomen, the blue-banded bee (Amegilla cingulate) sports a lush golden and white fluff, enormous green eyes, and tan-coloured wings that look like crisp layers of cellophane.

Males can be distinguished from females by the number of blue bands they display - males have five while the females have just four. Adult blue-banded bees typically grow to between 10mm and 12mm.

The species is found all over Australia, except in Tasmania and the Northern Territory. It's also native to Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, East Timor, Malaysia, and India, so it enjoys a pretty healthy range, spreading out everywhere from urban areas to open fields and dense, tropical forests.

It's rumoured they're attracted to blue and purple flowers, perhaps because they could blend into their surroundings when collecting pollen from them, but this has yet to be proven. (source: Australian Geographic)

Below is another shot taken by this person named Erica Siegel on Flickr photo sharing site, which I have an account for sharing my photos too.

 

Just got back from Taiwan and we visited Sun Moon Lake for a short one day break
 below are some pictures of the lake

I have left this space vacant for more than two years now.

I came across this picture of a seed farm which reminds me of the Verse in Hosea

Sow for yourselves righteousness; Reap in mercy;
Break up your fallow ground,For it is time to seek the Lord,
Till He comes and rains righteousness on you. (Hosea 10:12) 
你们要为自己种植公义，就能收获慈爱。
现在是寻求耶和华的时候，你们要犁开刚硬的心田，
等祂来使公义如雨浇灌你们。(何西阿书 10:12)

Peter Cartwright

 A famous Methodist evangelist named Peter Cartwright was known for his uncompromising preaching. However, one day when the President of the United States, Andrew Jackson, "Old rough and ready," came to Cartwright’s church, the elders warned the Pastor not to offend the President. In those days, the President had great power to influence a denomination for good or bad. Content, that their Pastor would not say anything to discredit their church, the elders retired to the back of the sanctuary.

When Cartwright got up to speak, the first words out of his mouth were, "I understand that President Andrew Jackson is here this morning. I have been requested to be very guarded in my remarks. Let me say this: "Andrew Jackson will go to hell if he doesn’t repent of his sin!" The entire congregation gasped with shock at Cartwright’s boldness. How could this young preacher dare to offend the tough old general in public, they wondered.
After the service, everyone wondered how the President would respond to Cartwright. When Andrew Jackson met the preacher at the door he looked at him in the eye and said, "Sir, If I had a regiment of men like you, I could conquer the world!" When we appreciate the power of the word of God and the Holy Spirit speaking from the lips of people with conviction we will make eternal differences.

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I thought this may be an inspiration to some of you who suffer from lack of nerve to speak what is the truth regardless of the consequences.  Please keep in mind that you should speak in love when talking to people.
Blessings,
Robert Wise

re-post from Robert wise's blog

I was looking through some old photos the other day and decided to scan some and post it on facebook just for memory sake. I have entitled it "When We Were Young" which has attracted quite many comments as my friends just laugh at the amount of hand and the clothes we wear.

Below are some shots. The one with me wearing yellow Adidas top was taken while we were on our honeymoon in Fraser Hill in Malaysia

At OCF Carlton Portsea August Camp 1984

 With Bridesmaid Kim & Flower Girl Eve on Jan 2nd 1984

With Best Man Billy

Bay of Island Trip New Zealand 30/8 to 1/9 2011

Having posted the last post on my Gall Bladder removal via key hole operation, it has been 2-3 months that i have not posted in this blog.

I guess it is about time to move on to something more appealing and pleasant...

We made a trip to the North Island of NZ for our BOL conference for the weekend of 2nd till 4th Sep. So we flew in 2-3 days earlier, hired a little Hyundai Getz and took a drive to the North of Auckland which we have not ventured before.

Below are some of the shots taken...

 Fish Market At Auckland

 Hakuru Falls Near Paihia

 The famous "Hole in the Rock" our 100 seat catamaran drove through it!

 Dolphins!

One of the shots at one of the islands

Bay of Island Trip in North Island New Zealand 30/8 to 1/9

 The jetty for the Dolphins and Hole in the rock cruise catamaran

 Waterfront at Paihia

 One of the Backpackers' Boathouse among the isles

 Nice views in one of the islands

 Hakuru Falls near Paihia

The famous "Hole in the Rock" the 100 seat catamaran actually drove through it!

laparoscopic cholecystectomy

After enduring several bouts of indigestion, bloating and some chest pains in the last few months, I had a cardio echo stressed and some other tests done to eliminate any heart problems as suggested by my GP.
But deep down i know that my symptoms may be related to my digestive system rather than my cardio/heart. The reason being that the pain or discomfort often goes off after I burped.
Hence when I suggested to the GP that I do an ultrasound test for my gall balder and she relented. It was true enough that many gall stones were found in my gallbladder. It was slightly inflamed as well and hence the occasional chest pain. The curious bit is that they expect the pain to be often felt on the left side and rather than the right side.

So the keyhole gall bladder removal is the best option suggested by the consulting surgeon. I have a family history of gall stones as my dad and younger brother had it. In fact my younger brother died from what I suspect was a complication from gall bladder stone to become pancreacitis. (as they are not very definite in the diagnosis in Malaysia 20 year ago.)

The surgery that was scheduled on monday, 30th May went well, I was a private patient hence do not have to be on the long waiting list in the public hospital system. But i do need to pay some out of pocket expenses as the health insurance does not cover the gap between the anaesthetist's charges or the surgeon's fee. The surgeon, Mr Micheal Cheng was kind enough to waive the fee gap which we are very grateful.

A good diagrammatic youtube for the surgery is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECmwbwIrBI8&feature=related

For those who are not turn-off by seeing real fresh and blood being cut, there are some real footage of real surgery on youtube too. But some may find it a bit squeamish but I have watched them and find it very informative. For instance, it takes a bit of efforts to cut the blabber from all the fats and tissue attaching the gall bladder to the underside of the liver.

I have 4 holes on my abdomen right now waiting for healing to take place in the next few days.

This what i got from online pics search

My bloated abdomen with 4 holes. there is slight bleeding after one change of dressing.