Trevor's Random Thoughts...

I recently learned a new word: Zoonotic. Do you know what it is? Do you know that Zoonotic diseases cause over 2 billion cases of human illness and 2.2 million deaths per year? But what is a Zoonotic disease? A Zoonotic disease is a pathogen (virus) that has been transmitted from an animal to a human. Some examples of Zoonotic diseases are Covid-19, Rabies and Ebola.  Humans usually get infected by a Zoonotic disease by eating a dead infected animal or getting bit. In this case, the animal is called a host (as it compares the animal as an Airbnb and the virus as the renter). The way the virus is transmitted is through infected fluid such as saliva or mucus. The virus infects by traveling into the bloodstream and finding a host cell. The virus that infects the cell and then tampers with its reproduction system to code it to replicate the virus. Now what the virus has to do is just stay alive until it multiplies. During this time period, the body's immune system will try to track dow

Emperor Hadrian was the 14th Roman emperor who came to power when he was aged 41, ruling for 20 years. (From August 117 to July 138) Hadrian was a strict, cunning and imposing leader often finding clever ways to get what he wanted. Emperor Shi Huang Di was a Chinese emperor ruling for 26 years. He came to power aged 38 and was a cruel but also clever emperor building a wall spanning across his northern border. Both of these men used different tactics to keep power and control. For example, Emperor Hadrian used a strict punishment system to keep everyone in line and Emperor Shi Huang Di put criminals in the army to discipline them.  Both emperors used armies to keep power and control. For example Emperor Hadrian used the army to deliver messages to other officials around the country, Emperor Hadrian also used the army to calm down revolts and suppress enemies. Likewise, Emperor Shi huang Di used the army to discipline robbers and miscreants by putting them into the ranks. He also used t

Hong Kong has a truly diverse wildlife with deer, boar, monkeys, buffalo and even cobras! Today, we will cover what the history and story of one of the oldest wildlife preserves in Hong Kong: Kadoorie Farm.  Background :  Kadoorie Farm (https://www.kfbg.org/en/) has been around for over 60 years, with the first 5 years developing and aiding local farmers. For 50 years, Kadoorie farm has transformed the barren land to a blooming forest protecting it from fires and catering to its every need. Kadoorie farm is now not only restricted to Hong Kong and has begun several campaigns in South-China one being the Hainan Gibbon Project.  Features :  Kadoorie Farm has a wide range of exhibits for people to see, from the flamingo-crocodile-tortoise- turtle-caiman enclosure to the raptor (owls) nests. Kadoorie Farm gets most of their animals from wildlife rescue and research efforts. Kadoories’s animals mostly consist of asian mammals, native birds and reptiles. Most of the exotic animals at the par

The Pearl of the Orient, the East Asian Tiger and the Fragrant Harbour. These are all names that we call this prosperous city Hong Kong. Hong Kong has had it’s fair share of world events including war and occupation. But what makes Hong Kong so special is how it runs, the people and culture. In this article I want to talk about how 100 years of British influence has affected Hong Kong and I'll give you in depth information about this city that may as well be a country.  (source: SCMP) The beginning:  Before the British arrived, Hong Kong was just a small fishing village and was a pirate haven. There were also an abundance of thieves and smugglers as Hong Kong was a strategic port in the outer coast of the Guangdong strait port.The Portogese who visited  the island called it, ‘Ladrones’ The island of thieves. British traders visited the port often and made a deal with the imperial government in exchange for driving out the pirates. This helped establish a good link with the Chinese

  Australia in WW2:  Since Australia aided the Allies in so many invasions, we will focus on one key invasion that shifted the tides in the south-east campaign: The Papuan campaign. During the Second World War, Japan quickly swept through most of South-East Asia and by 1941 was only 150 km from the border of Australia after annexing Papua New Guinea. Now Japanese bombers were carrying out air raids on the northernmost territories of Australia. One of the most brutal attacks was on the 19th of February 1942 in the city of Darwin. A force of 242 aircraft attacked and killed at least 235 people.  (source: ww2db.com) The Japanese Invaded the island of Papua New Guinea and invaded Lae and Salamaua to secure a position to protect their developing base in Rabaul. Unknowned to the Japanese, some Australian guerrillas and the New Guinea volunteer rifles had created observation posts around the base and successfully raided Salamaua on 29 of February. The defeat of the Japanese in the battle of

(photo credit: wikipedia) Most people when they hear the words: “World War II”, they'll think about Hitler, Mussolini (The leader of Italy, not the pasta), D-day and all that stuff in Europe, Africa and in the Middle East. But what if I tell you, that somewhere in Asia, there was a bloody conflict that lasted for about more than 4 years?  The battle for Hong Kong:  The Japanese invasion of Hong Kong happened on December 18, 1941. The Japanese attacked the British crown colony with approximately:  Japanese forces:  And…  The forces defending Hong Kong:  29,700 troops 47 planes 1 cruiser 3 destroyers 4 torpedo boats 3 gunboats MTBs (“Motor Torpedo Boats.)  14,564 troops 1 destroyer 4 gunboats 1 minelayer 8 MTBs Now, to explain how the invasion played out…  The Japanese invasion of Hong Kong happened on 8 December 1941 (Hong Kong Time), four hours after the attack happened at Pearl Harbor. Commanded by General Christopher Maltby, British, Canadian, Indian, as well as the Hong Kong Vol

Shop and Restaurant Pledge to Reduce Waste in Hong Kong Hong Kong is a densely populated city of 7.4 million people. With a population this big, plastic waste is an increasing burden on the environment! Fortunately, there is a movement towards reducing plastic waste in Hong Kong in grocery stores and restaurants.  The first ever zero waste store for food and household products opened in 2018.  At the age of 25, Tamsin Thornburrow opened Live Zero. She currently has three Live Zero shops in Hong Kong - two in Sai Ying Pun and one in Sai Kung.  I was lucky enough to interview her at her second shop in a small alleyway in Sai Kung. The purpose of a shop like this is to reduce waste and trash that food and products produce, e.g plastic wrapping around vegetables.  The shop sells most products by weight. You can bring in your own container or use one that has been donated to the shop. Ms. Thornborrow showed me how this works: weigh the container, mark down the weight, fill in the