Busy as busy gets

Hello all those 'spammers', visitors, ex-students, current students:

I'm still alive. Apologies for the long absence. I'm still trying to cope with the insane demands of teaching and studying and also trying not to scream at my daughter too much.

Life is tough but I'm still plodding on. The body is not cooperating very well though. I have recently developed an irritating ailment called Tennis Elbow - which is something you can get if you play tennis too much. The irony is that I got it not from tennis, but from my over-enthusiastic playing of badminton with my daughter. Goes to show one shouldn't try to be too sporty as one gets older.

Your beloved Huang Da Man has just given me some mysterious looking Chinese ointment to apply to my elobw. She claims it works like magic. According to the label, it contains some animal parts -- like chicken-blood-something, pig's-teeth-something -- if you do a direct Chinese translation. The English expressions are Caulis Spatholobi and Fructus Gleditsiae Abnormalis respectively. Assuming the translations are correct (highly dubious in this case), can any enlightened Chemistry or Bio-chem bright sparks let me know if I'm using substances that are safe and do not involve the sacrifice of some poor animals?? I swear I will give up tennis if I have unwittingly caused suffering to any helpless animals because of my tennis elbow remedy.

Exam scripts are coming in and I'll be incommunicado once again.

To all those JC-ers and poly-ers: have fun in your new life. Keep in touch and we'll do Pictionary again soon? I can't forget Victor's perspective drawings of a toothbrush!

To all those taking EL exams soon: Muah ha ha ..... :) :)