jog40s

Please view my other blog in chattergarden.com

Fri, 28 Oct 2005 22:07:18 +0200

I have another blog in chattergarden.com. It is part of the assignment of my study in Master of Journalism in University of Hong Kong. Plesae take a look.

My latest entry is about Wikipedia's founder Jimmy Wales's response to comments on the trustworthy and quality of the Wikipedia.

My photos are in flickr.com.

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Study: Walking As Good As Jogging

Fri, 28 Oct 2005 06:13:27 +0200

1130

Study: Walking As Good As Jogging
By NATALIE GOTT
Associated Press Writer

October 26, 2005, 2:13 PM EDT

RALEIGH, N.C. -- There's no need to run. Just going for a brisk walk -- in the park, around the block or on a treadmill -- may be enough to help keep your heart healthy, a small study suggests.

The study, which indicates roughly two to three hours of mild exercise a week at a moderate intensity can significantly cut the risk of cardiovascular disease, supports earlier research.

The findings may encourage people who are reluctant to exercise, said Brian Duscha, the lead author of the research published in the October issue of the journal Chest.

"The classic question always is: What's the minimum amount I need to do to enjoy the benefits of it," Duscha said. "If you just walk 12 miles a week at a brisk pace, it's scientifically proven now that you will get some benefits."

The conclusions are based on a study at Duke University Medical Center of 133 middle-aged overweight sedentary men and women who were at risk for heart disease.

Broken into four groups, the volunteers either did not exercise, walked briskly for 12 miles a week at a moderate intensity, walked briskly or jogged slowly 12 miles a week at a vigorous intensity, or jogged 20 miles a week at a vigorous intensity.

The researchers studied two measurements of fitness -- time to exhaustion and oxygen consumption. The better shape a person is in, the more oxygen can be consumed and used, Duscha said.

All the exercise groups saw fitness improvements. And when the two groups that walked 12 miles at differing intensity levels were compared, there wasn't a significant difference in peak oxygen consumption. There was an improvement for those who jogged vigorously 20 miles a week, an indication that the amount of exercise can be important.

As to the exercising volunteers' minimal weight loss -- an average of 3 pounds over the eight-month study period -- Duscha said that didn't matter. People who don't exercise and maintain the same diet will gain up to 4 pounds a year, according to an earlier analysis of the same study participants.

Even if you think you aren't gaining any benefits because you aren't losing weight, "don't stop exercising," Duscha said.

Dr. Robert Eckel, president of the American Heart Association, said the study supports what already is known: Moderate activity is certainly better than no activity. But, he noted that "even being more fit may have a better outcome long-term."

A large study based on medical records and questionnaires of more than 40,000 men middle-aged men a few years ago also suggested moderate exercise helps the heart.

Dave Brady, manager of Hyde Park Gym in Austin, Texas, said the findings from the Duke study weren't new but "absolutely right on." Walking 12 miles a week is a good start for people who are overweight and haven't done any exercise, he said.

"If people would just start walking they will get some type of benefit," said Brady.

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Wong Yan-lung - the "selfish" decision of Donald Tsang

Thu, 27 Oct 2005 19:32:30 +0200

I wonder why so many HK reporters, editors and commentors did not critically think about the appointment of Mr Wong Yan-lung as the Secretary of Justice(SJ). Is Mr wong the best person to fill the post provided that Mr Donald Tsang, as he told the media, did not approach another candidate ? Does Mr Wong has enough experience and knowledge to handle his work and manage the Legal Deparmtment? What are his outstanding achievements in the legal profession?

My quick conclusion is that Mr Tsang's decision to appointment Mr Wong is for his own benefits. He wants to demonstrate that he possesses the breadth of mind that a politician should have, and he still gains confidience of the Central governemnt.

If Mr Tsang's decision is interpretated using the individual values and beliefs approach, when another Principle Officiers leaves the government, Mr Tsang will very likely pick someone from the grassroot again.

Mr Wong is 41, has practiced for 18 years. He has never been elected as chairperson or vice-chairperson of the Bar Association. Everyone knows he is lack of the kind of seniority in the profession; he has relative limited experience in litigation.

Mr Tsang said he was "very much impressed by his[Mr Wong] commitment to the rule of law, to the legal profession and to Hong Kong.” He believed that Mr Wong, with his patriotism, gentle and upright disposition as well as professional expertise and reputation, would competently fulfil the role of Secretary for Justice.

How many barristers in HK satisfy these criteria? Many, many better than Mr Wong. To name one is Alan Leong Kah-kit, SC, Legislative councilor; I think he is better than Mr Wong. I had an personal interview with him two years ago, he is very very very smart.

Ronny Tom Ka-wa, SC, Legislative councilor, said quite frankly when he was asked to comment on Mr Wong's appointment. Ronny worried about Mr Wong could not managed the Legal Department effectively, sepecially the senior counsels in the Department.

One more point I want to mention here is Mr Andrew Kwok-nang Li's, the Chief Justice, statement to the outgoing SJ, Ms Elsie Leung. He said: "The last eight years have been formative and momentous years for the HKSAR under 'one country, two systems'. During this period, Ms Leung has served with selfless dedication. Her important contribution to the rule of law and her great respect for the independence of the Judiciary should be fully recognised."

I think Mr Li's remarks on Ms Leung's contribution to the rule of law is not just being polite.

Everyone knows Ms Leung made a mistake to not to charge Ally Aw Sian, the then Hongkong Standard and Sunday Standard proprietor, in 1998. The question of seeking the NPC to interpretate the Basic Law during the right of abode issue is debatable. I always think that we cannot handle legal issues in HK without considering the legal sysytem of Mainland China, that is, put HK's common law system in Chinese legal system perspectives.

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Who Care Those Who Care For Us - Hong Kong Photo Essay

Thu, 27 Oct 2005 19:15:40 +0200

updated: 2005-10-12

It is about cleaners health. I think a good photo essay should have a main theme or "angle". These women take care of the hygiene of the our building; but who take care their health. I talked to one cleaner and she said nobody told her or teach why and how to wear a mask. The situation is a bit the same for the street cleaners.

I view a photo essay in a MSNBC, called the Aging in America. I love it - I think a good photo essay should tell people what the society is really about.

The story: Nobody, in a multi-storey building, wants their garbage doors being opened. But someone opens the door twice a day and collects those we discarded. They are the Cleaners. They live with us. A cleaner told me that she began to clean my building interiors four years ago. She said she decided to wear the mask by herself; no one, including her employer and staffs of the management office of the building, told her to wear a mask. She works more than 50 hours a week; she said she was healthy. Street cleaners keep streets and public areas free of litter and rubbish. A street cleaner of a subcontractor of the Food and Environment Hygiene Department told me that she refused to wear a mask becasue it made her uncomfortable, though her boss and officials from the Labour Department had teached her why and how to wear a mask.

There is no comprehensive survey on the health conditions of the street cleaners and cleaners of residential buildings in Hong Kong. According to a recent study in Bangkok by the Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, behavior risk factors are highly prevalent in the street cleaners since most of them come from the lower socio-economic class. The risk factors include alcohol drinking and smoking habits. Futher investigation are being undertaken to study the after-effects of air pollutin among this group of workers. Someone should take care those who care for us.

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Go for a jog before or after work

Tue, 27 Sep 2005 22:07:17 +0200

How life really can begin at 40: Ten easy steps to a healthier life
Men's Health Magazine, May 2001

Over 40 does not have to mean over the hill. Even though your body might not be as firm and fit as it once was, there are easy ways to hold on to your health. Small changes now, whatever age you are, can make a huge difference in later life.

Men's Health has brought out a one-off magazine, MH 40+, free with the June issue. Lee Kynaston, Deputy Editor of Men's Health, says: "This magazine could be the key to giving every man over 40 a better, longer and more fulfilling life. All it takes are a few simple changes to your diet, lifestyle and fitness regime. Best of all, they're changes you can make whatever your age and fitness level."

It's never too late to make a difference. Here are ten ways to get started:

1. Don't pass the salt

Changing to lower-salt bread and reducing your intake of salt-laden foods (burgers, sausages, ham, bacon, savoury snacks, salted butter and ready meals), could cut your salt intake in half and reduce the risk of strokes and heart disease.

2. Take long lunches

A French study revealed that cholesterol levels soared in men who ate in stressed conditions, compared to those who ate in calmer environments.

3. Splash on the ketchup

A chemical in the humble tomato, lycopene, protects against prostate cancer - and it's most concentrated in ketchup and tomato puree. Tomatoes may also help you fight heart disease, thanks to a bloodclot-reducing substance called P3.

4. Take a hike

...Or a brisk walk. A recent study has found that brisk walking at four miles an hour for 30 minutes, three or four times a week, significantly lowered the risk of adult-onset diabetes.

5. Eat more fruit

You've heard it all before, but a daily shot of fruit really can lengthen your life, according to a 17-year study of 10,000 people. Fresh fruit was found to have the greatest effect on longevity, mainly due to its cancer-fighting properties.

6. Avoid Liquorice All-Sorts for a healthy sex life

Cutting out liquorice can maintain your libido. A study in Italy discovered that a substance called glycyrhizic acid, found in liquorice, can cause your testosterone levels to drop by as much as 44%.

7. Kick the habit

Smoking is the leading cause of cancer - full stop. And for every week you smoke, you lose a day of life, so the sooner you quit the better. Your lungs, heart, and libido will all benefit - as will your wallet.

8. Shed a few pounds

Simple health equation: reduce your weight and you'll reduce your risk of heart disease, diabetes, arthritis and high blood pressure. And it's never too late to start exercising: a study of British men over 40 found that starting moderate exercise, even in late middle age, played a major role in cutting the risk of coronary heart disease.

9. Watch your cholesterol

Cut the amount of saturated fat you eat and you'll cut your heart disease risk by up to 30%. Easiest way to do this? Go easy on red meat and dairy produce.

10. Be positive

With a long-term US study of more than 1,000 men revealing that optimists live longer than pessimists, it's time to ditch the Victor Meldrew impression and start looking forward to what could be the best years of your life.

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jogging at 40s is never too late

Tue, 27 Sep 2005 18:35:09 +0200

I blog again in order to share my experience, learning, feelings and articles I came across about jogging, health-both physical and psychological, nutrition with you.

Go jogging make you tired, but also make you healthier and lighter; and you will surprising to find that you are stronger than when you were in your 20s.

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Koizumi's loss and the Pinzhoubao (Superbrand)

Tue, 09 Aug 2005 05:56:33 +0200

Japan Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi lost key vote on postal reform and called a general election for Sept. 11. In about 3 months ago, my former colleagues in a weekly in Mainland China had written a feature story on this topic; Koizumi's present choice seemed to be his only choice at that time. The original story is as follow, in Chinese.
昨天看到小泉解散国会的消息，想起《品周报》旧同事5月底写的一篇有关英国和日本邮政改革的报道。翻译组人员虽少，但承担的工作量在各组中最多，他们的辛勤、能力和专业态度值得赞赏。现将报道贴上，原文先谈英国的改革，现将日本搬到文章开首，其它字词没有改动：

邮政业务私有化层层阻隔中现曙光

文：郭霞丽、劳勤、刘建 2005-05-30

最近，英国皇家邮政51%股权员工所有的私有化进程取得重大突破，为实现在2006年1月1日前英国邮政市场完全开放迈开一大步；无独有偶，日本邮政市场的私有化改革也处于攻坚阶段，甚至成为小泉首相去留的关键因素。我们看到，尽管阻力重重，邮政市场的竞争、公开已成为全球不可逆转的大趋势。（前言）

日本邮政小泉政途命悬一线

改革目标：消除不公平竞争
日本邮政公社（Japan Post）并非只是一个卖邮票和寄信的地方，它还扮演着保险公司和银行的角色。在日本农村地区，邮政局是为数不多的金融机构。而且，随着利率的下降，存在商业银行里面的钱已不能为储户带来多少好处。而日本邮政公社却凭借属于政府部门之利，吸引更多储户。例如，利用邮政办理保险的日本人能享受比其他保险公司和银行更高的保险利率。

经过一百多年的发展，日本邮政公社逐渐发展成为日本及世界上最大的金融机构。日本邮政公社设有2.4715万个邮政局，一共拥有28.0504万名员工。其银行部门控制着2.1万亿美元的资产，保险部门控制着1.2万亿美元。2004年，日本邮政公社的收入为1928亿美元，净收益为为115亿美元，大大高于日本四家最大商业银行的总额，也比丰田汽车（Toyota）略高。

正是由于不公平的竞争，日本邮政公社的规模越来越大，而商业银行和保险公司的反对声音也越来越高。在这种环境下，日本首相小泉（Junichiro Koizumi）抛出了他的邮政系统改革计划，欲在2007年将日本邮政公社分解成为邮政服务、邮政储蓄、个人人寿保险和窗口网络服务四家独立的公司，并在此后10年内完成私有化改革。

这一计划得到了经济和财政政策委员会（Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy）的支持。日本《朝日新闻》（《Asahi Shimbun》）也发表评论说：“邮政的金融系统对国家财政部门的影响太大，小泉的改革目的就是削弱它。不管是金融部门还是邮递部门，平等的竞争总是一件好事，因为这才能有助于提高服务的质量。”

改革阻力：有效性受到质疑
但是，小泉政府提出的议案还有许多东西尚无法解释清楚。例如：分解后的新公司是否依然享有免税的权利，（它们是否需要像其他金融机构那样向国家纳税），它们是否需要像其他银行那样受金融省（Financial Services Agency）的监视，或它们是否由总务省（Ministry of Public Management）管理等等。

而且反对派怀疑是否有必要对邮政部门进行大刀阔斧的改革，改革是否有利于消费者？由于邮政部门的原因导致信件和包裹丢失，这在日本几乎从来没有发生过。在所有的大城市之间，信件一般能在第二天就可以寄到目的地。而且，日本邮政部门的服务质量并不差。因此说，以提高效率为理由而对日本邮政公社进行私有化改革似乎有点牵强。

为了使议案尽早获得通过，执政联盟在议会设立了一个特别委员会。但是，5月下旬举行的日本议会会议也遭到了以日本民主党 (Democratic Party of Japan）和社民党（Social Democratic Party）为首的反对派的抵制，会议被迫延迟举行。反对派坚持认为，有权讨论这一问题的应该是负责邮政和电信事务的常设委员会，而非特别委员会。

邮政私有化问题在自民党及其执政联盟内部也一直是个颇具争议的问题，因为在选举过程中邮局总是被当成投票点使用，目前部分反对小泉的自民党议员就来自负责邮政和电信事务的常设委员会。面对反对派的联合抵制，自民党议员小坂宪次（Kenji Kosaka）愤愤不平地说：“日本在野党和部分自民党议员没有承担起作为一名议员所需要承担的责任。”

政治影响：小泉无路可退
对于小泉来说，邮政系统的改革是他20多年参政生涯中的头等大事之一。他一直坚持推动邮政私有化进程和其他改革，鼓励更公平的商业竞争。他因此也逐步获得了民众的信任，当选为日本首相。如果这次改革失败，那么对小泉来说将是一次巨大的打击。日本著名政治评论员森田实（Minoru Morita）说，“政府的命运决定在议会的手中，如果议案不能通过，小泉就完了。”

即使议案在下院通过，能否从自民党不占多数的上院突围而出还是个大问题。而小泉本人也表示，如果自民党领导的联盟无法在议会通过这一议案，那么他将解散议会。他本人也将最迟在明年9月辞去自民党总裁和日本首相的职务。不过森田实表示，如果议会被解散，那么许多反对议案的议员就会失去在议会的席位，因此说不定他们可能改变初衷。

英国邮政自求开放曙光再现

英国邮政开放现曙光
面对开放大潮，与其消极应对，不如把握先机，主动进行内部改革，这正是英国皇家邮政（Royal Mail Group）董事会主席阿兰•雷顿（Allan Leighton）的思路。皇家邮政作为英国最大的邮政服务机构，目前100%由政府控股，控制了近99%的英国邮政市场。可以说，英国邮政市场的开放、私有化很大程度上也即皇家邮政的开放和私有化。
作为皇家邮政私有化的策划者，雷顿的计划是，首先将公司51%的股权转交由员工掌握，然后在3年内最终达到令皇家邮政完全私有化的目的。而尽管近两年皇家邮政利润表现不俗，但业界普遍认为，这更主要的是因为CEO亚当•克罗泽（Adam Crozier）毁誉参半的大量裁员，大幅降低成本所致。目前皇家邮政还背负有25亿英镑的养老金赤字呢，公司哪有钱买下政府手中51%的公司股份？这正是雷顿工作的关键，他的方法是：从政府手中贷款20亿英镑，一部分用于购买股份，一部分偿还巨额养老金欠款。
在经过艰难的最近，雷顿的政府游说工作终于获得重大突破：布莱尔新任命的英国生产力、能源与工业部(Department of Productivity，Energy and Industry，PEI)艾伦•约翰逊（Alan Johnson）成为雷顿的坚强后盾。约翰逊是决定皇家邮政能否私有化的关键人物，他对皇家邮政的私有化满怀热情，认为员工们拥有股权，并能分红，对工人们是一件好事。这让一直以来争论不休的皇家邮政私有化议题峰回路转，也让英国邮政市场的开放现出曙光。

开放大势所趋
皇家邮政何以自请断皇粮，实行私有化呢？这是因为皇家邮政看到，英国邮政市场开放大势所趋。今年2月18日，作为该国邮政市场开放的发动机——英国邮政监管机构Postcomm提出，到2006年1月1日，英国邮政服务市场实现全部对外开放，这比原定于2007年4月份的截止日期提前了15个月。这意味着，从2006年1月1日开始，任何获得经营许可的所有邮政公司将都可以在完全开放的邮政市场中进行较量，邮政用户也可以有更多的选择。
Postcomm一直以广大消费者的利益作为宗旨，它认为，消费者的最佳利益只有在竞争开放的市场中才能获得，更多的选择机会和更廉价优质的服务，是竞争开放为消费者的带来的福音；更多竞争对手的涌现，企业的创新高效和活力的增强，为整个行业带来勃勃生机，推动社会发展。代表邮政用户利益的消费者联盟机构——Postwatch欢迎邮政市场的开放，会长彼得•卡尔（Peter Carr）欣喜地称：“这将带来更多的选择机会，和更好的服务。”
实际上，对英国邮政市场的开放步伐从未停止。2000年以前，350克以下及费用在1英镑以下的邮件、包裹均由皇家邮政投递。《邮政法案2000》（Postal Act 2000）的制定，放宽其它公司进行邮递服务的条件，监管机构Postcomm也是在那时成立的。2001年4月开始，其它公司可以通过获得Postcomm经营许可，进入350克及1英镑以下的小型邮递服务领域。2003年1月，Postcomm将经营许可权再次放宽。占全国邮政业务总值30%的邮件市场得以开放。但目前，皇家邮政仍享有邮递100克以下非包裹信件的专有经营权。而到2006年1月1日，皇家邮政的这一特权将取消。另外，皇家邮政还是英国唯一享有免除增值税特权的邮政企业，这让它较其它竞争对手有明显的价格优势。针对这一点，Postcomm还决定在2006年4月份，对皇家邮政进行价格和服务质量控制。
目前，英国有牛奶速递（Express Dairies）、Hays、英国邮政（UK Mail）、TPG英国邮政（TPG Post UK）等多个Postcomm许可的邮政运营商代表。近日，最新的一张面孔--DX Services 的蓝色邮筒也现身街头。X专门面对公司之间的邮递业务，是皇家邮政真正意义上的竞争对手，皇家邮政标志性的红色邮筒也正式结束近150年的统治。这些运营商在邮政市场的活跃，无疑将带动整个行业的高效、高质、优价。

阻力难挡开放大潮
随着Postcomm将全国邮政市场完全开放期限提前到2006年1月1日，邮政市场开放大势所趋，作为行业龙头霸主的皇家邮政，其开放更是迫在眉睫。但英国市场的开放，还是遭到不少人反对，其中，英国工党的部分议员和工会组织是中坚反对力量。今年5月份英国大选，英国工党的竞选纲领就明确表示：皇家邮政不会私有化。但当时就有舆论认为，竞选成功的工党很有可能改变立场，果然，英国新任PEI部长艾伦•约翰逊成为皇家邮政的坚强后盾。
工会代表CWU也存有异议，它警告说，Postcomm的这个决定是将“国家邮政的普遍服务业务置于危险境地”，而皇家邮政就承担了大量的邮政普遍服务义务，完全跟从商业化的市场运作，将会使皇家邮政随额外的压力。CWU指责道，这种所谓的“不惜一切代价寻求竞争”的作法，将英国整个邮政市场袒露在强大的欧洲竞争对手面前，在弱肉强食的残酷竞争中，有诸多劣势的英国邮政运营商境遇让人堪忧。
对此，皇家邮政CEO亚当•克罗泽对此信心满怀：“我们已准备好。”另外，皇家邮政高层称，公司内部85%的员工支持私有化，这也将成为对抗工会阻力的有力武器。再加上政府20亿英镑的资金支持，相信皇家邮政和英国邮政市场的私有化会跨越艰难险阻，卓富成效。

BOX中国邮政改革势在必行

正当世界各国对其邮政业务进行深化发展的同时，中国邮政自身的改革情况也不甚乐观。自从1998年国家实施邮政与电信分家的措施以来，邮政改革的呼声一直是雷声大、雨点小，如今7年过去了，改革的进程仍未有重大起色。

邮政改革涉及面广、情况复杂，因此邮政改革的道路应该如何走一直是人们争论的焦点。对于有人提出反邮政垄断以及完全推向市场化的言论，就有分析家指出邮政服务属于特殊性质的行业，作为一项公民享有的基础福利项目，其改革过程应该循序渐进，特别是我国面向的服务地区发展极不平衡，因此在邮政领域完全引入市场经济是不能带来良好的效果，另一方面，邮政服务也因其注重社会效益的特点而不能简单以垄断行业的形式来看待，其性质属于政府职能，应当在适当程度上实行邮政专营。

但无论如何，邮政改革已经是提到议事日程之上，成为今年中央的工作重点之一。有人认为，中国加入世界贸易组织之后，外资无可避免地会蚕食邮政业务，并且邮政体制改革也影响到新《邮政法》的审议工作，因此今年的邮政变革之路如何走成为众多国人关注的对象，预计在新的政治体制改革方案中，储蓄业务的独立以及如何整合物流业的发展都是其中重要的内容。

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Wife, love, family......

Mon, 08 Aug 2005 08:51:17 +0200

In English: listen to what your wife said - for she is brighter than you.

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Vitural reality

Mon, 08 Aug 2005 08:38:22 +0200

This is a well-written AP story. It reminds me of the extreme difficulties faced by the New Yorkers and other victims and their relatives after the Sept 11 attacks; reminds me the resilence of those people.

Virtual Reality Helps Calm 9/11 Anxiety
By SAM DOLNICK
Associated Press Writer

August 7, 2005, 9:42 AM EDT

NEW YORK -- For months after Sept. 11, 2001, Fire Chief Stephen King had the same haunting dream: an endless wooden staircase spiraling into the clouds, his friends climbing ever skyward, always beyond his reach.

King was the battalion chief in charge of safety for the New York Fire Department on the morning when 343 firefighters died in the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. King, who was friendly with nearly half the fire department victims, barely escaped the north tower. His right knee was shattered.

The injured joint slowly healed. His shattered psyche took longer. The veteran of more than 30 years as a firefighter could hardly bear to visit Manhattan, where he had worked for years.

"I didn't want to even stand next to any high rise building as long as I lived," said King, 57, a second-generation fireman with a son now working for the department. "I didn't even want to go over a bridge."

King tried sleeping pills, anxiety medications and traditional therapy. But he didn't get better until he tried virtual reality, pioneered by researchers at Emory University in the early 1990s.

For years, virtual reality has been used to treat common phobias such as a fear of airplanes, storms and speaking in front of crowds. Patients afraid of heights, for example, can learn to cope by putting on a headset with a small screen in front of their eyes, and finding themselves walking across a rope bridge nearly 200 feet above a canyon.

Dr. JoAnn Difede, director of the Anxiety and Traumatic Stress Studies Program at Weill Cornell Medical College, found the practice extremely effective and, after 9/11, thought it could be adapted to treat World Trade Center survivors.
She and other researchers developed a program for patients with post-traumatic stress disorder that incorporated animated 3-D images of the 9/11 attacks. She said she has been treating patients with it for more than a year with very promising results.

The screen in the headset shows patients lower Manhattan, complete with honking traffic and sidewalk chatter, and the World Trade Center twin towers standing twice as tall as everything else.

Early sessions focus just on that peaceful image of the towers against the bright blue sky. Over a period of several months, the program gradually builds to scenes of the planes crashing into the towers and the buildings' collapse.

Difede said she has treated about two dozen 9/11 survivors with the program and is working to develop a new simulation that takes place inside the towers themselves.

Reliving the day in such vivid detail sounds like it could spark a new round of nightmares. But Difede says it allows patients to become comfortable with their memories.

"This a way to introduce an element of control and to process it emotionally so they're no longer terrified," Difede said. "It can then be formed into a memory that's not associated with terror anymore. It's just something that's happened in the past."

Although most mental health experts agree that the therapy is promising and based on sound research, some have reservations.

"It could be disturbing or upsetting to a fair number of patients," said Dr. Spencer Eth, a professor of psychiatry at New York Medical College and an expert in post-traumatic stress.

King remembers hearing the thunder of the south tower's collapse while he was in the tower next door, and remembers believing that he was about to die. "Oh my God, they're never even going to find my body," he remembered thinking.

He remembers stumbling out of the building, and rolling down a subway entrance staircase to escape the debris from the second tower's collapse.

Because of all this, and because he's "a big, tough fire chief," he was skeptical of the virtual reality program.

"When I first saw it, I thought this is like a video game for my kids," he said in his home in Deer Park.

But within 10 minutes of putting on the headset and seeing the twin towers, King said, "My heart was pounding, and I was sweating like I was there."

The therapy helped him better understand his memories, and has freed him from his nightmares.

"I can function and I couldn't have ever done that before this treatment," said King, who had to retire because of his damaged knee.

"I don't know if I'm exactly the same person as I was before 9/11," he said. "It's always going to be part of your life and there's always going to be something there that makes you different than you were four years ago, but now I'm a functioning person."

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On the Net:

Virtual Reality Therapy: http://www.vrtreatment.com

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Message from Paul

Fri, 05 Aug 2005 10:19:35 +0200

Hello, welcome to my blog. I will keep posting articles I come across and add my comments on them; and I will make use this vennue to tell my friends about my work, my study in HKU and my family - my wife Yeeping and my son Hou, 6.

Here are some useful links about weblog:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weblog
http://www.rebeccablood.net/essays/weblog_history.html
http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/whatMakesAWeblogAWeblog

and Media Bloggers Association:
http://mediabloggers.org/

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