flags

Last Saturday, June 12, was our country's Independence Day. I wasn't able to watch the festivities but there's one surprise I did enjoy: the free rides given to commuters by the MRT and LRT!

I had to go to several places that day so it was a big help to me. Everywhere I went they had the flag displayed. Interesting fact: Because of its design, only the Philippine flag, when raised upside down (red over blue stripe), can function as a distress signal or an indication that we're in a state of war.

Flags are fascinating. There's so much history and meaning behind them.  Take the flag of Mozambique, the only one in the world that features a modern weapon, an AK-47.It represents defense and vigilance, which is possibly a reflection of the 15-year civil war in the country that started in 1977 and ended in 1992.

The one flag that intrigues me is Nepal's. I read that the reason for its shape is because it symbolizes the Himalaya Mountains and a Pagoda-- put a mirror next to it and you'll see.

When I was in school, we celebrated United Nations Day by creating flags, one country per class, one flag per student. Afterwards, we displayed them outside the classroom. I remember wishing that we'd get Japan or Libya so it would be easy to make, just get a green art paper and that's it!  Now, I know that the reason behind the color green is Libya's devotion to Islam, which has green as its traditional color.

 Japan's red disc is the sun, a common Japanese symbol that started during the time of daimyos and samurais, and it is also believed that the imperial throne originated from Amaterasu, the sun goddess.

Happy Independence Day everyone!

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/

everybody was kung-fu fighting

In 1849, a strange boy was born in China. His family thought he was a demon; his whole body was covered with hair. Scared of their offspring, his parents left him in a nearby forest. This unfortunate act turned out to be the key to an extraordinary life. A monk discovered the baby and brought him to the Fukien Shaolin Temple.

The monks named him T'ai Djin. Right from the start, the discipline and ideals of the temple was instilled in his young mind. He grew up, devoted to studying each branch of the Shaolin system with Fukien masters. He became an expert of each-- no one at that time has achieved such knowledge. Soon, he earned the title "Su Kong" or Grandmaster.

He became a teacher himself, and passed his wisdom & skills to many others. One of his students became the next grandmaster of Shaolin Do, Ie Chang Ming. He died in 1928 at the age of 79.



Sources:
http://www.usadojo.com/biographies/su-kong-tai-djin.htm
http://thehumanmarvels.com/?p=94
http://www.shaolin-do.com/history.php
http://ymaa.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=863

Treasure Trove: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness

the Find
An original 1776 print of the American Declaration of Independence

the Lucky
An unidentified financial analyst from Philadelphia

the Place and the Time
A flea market in Adamstown, Pennsylvania. 1989.

How in the world!?
The document was folded inside an old painting, between the canvas and wood backing. The buyer bought the painting for $4, because he liked the frame. When he tried to remove the picture, the frame broke and the rest.. is history.

His discovery is one of the very first 500 copies printed by John Dunlap in 1776. Today, there are only 27 in existence and this one was found to be in good condition. It was auctioned for $2.42 million at Sotheby's.

Sources:
http://www.snopes.com/luck/declare.asp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunlap_broadside

about pac-man

I think I'm the last netizen to know about Google's Pac-Man interactive logo.

I woke up today and read some updates about it on Facebook.  Then I spent most of the morning playing-- very productive. Good thing it's weekend here. I read some companies temporarily blocked Google last Friday because people can't resist playing.

When the game's over, Google automatically redirects you to the search results for "PAC-MAN 30th Anniversary". I read on and got to know Pac-Man better:

• His son's girlfriend is a ghost monster


• His prehistoric ancestors were the Neander-pac.  They were shaped like cubes.


• The pink ghost monster, Pinky, has a crush on him


• His shape was partly inspired by a pizza


• Check out his family tree!

Smosh.com made a cool tribute list to Pac-Man.  See it here.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pac-Man
http://pacman.wikia.com/wiki/Pac-Man_Wiki

slick solution

On Aug. 11, 2006, M/T Solar I, an oil tanker, sank near one of the provinces here in the Philippines.  500,000 liters of fuel leaked out of it and into Guimaras Strait.  It damaged marine sanctuaries and reserves, and affected the provinces' fishing industry.  It was the worst oil spill of our country.

One of the surprising material they used in cleaning up the oil is human hair. Oil sticks to hair, as observed when a person hadn't shampooed for days.  A strand of hair has tiny scales that can hold small amounts of oil.  It's a process known as "adsorption".  A pound of hair can adsorb a quart of oil, and hair filled booms can be reused up to a hundred times.  And once they're all used up, the oily hair can be burned as fuel or be made into fertilizer, with the help of worms.

This clever idea came from Philipp McCrory, a hairdresser from Alabama.  He was watching a news segment about the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill and saw how difficult it was to remove oil from an otter's fur.  He did a little experiment, filled a nylon stocking with human hair, dumped a gallon of motor oil on his son's plastic pool and dipped the stocking in it.  Two minutes later, the water was clean.  He patented the idea.

The government started a "Stop the Oil Spill" drive and about 15,000 inmates from a maximum security prison donated their hair.  Five hundred salons and schools around the country also participated in the activity.

Today, the same thing is being done to help clean up the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.  Matter of Trust, is a nonprofit organization participating in the campaign.  They contacted salons, pet groomers, wool farmers and others to solicit donations for hair, fur, wool or nylon pantyhose.  For those interested, you can click on their link above to sign up.  As stated by BBC News, donations of around 450,000 pounds of hair and fur are now arriving each day.  Some people even provided warehouse spaces near the area of the oil spill to house the hair.

Sources:
http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF14/1401.html
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14584306/
http://cbs4denver.com/local/hair.oil.spill.2.1680495.html
http://www.greenvilleonline.com/
http://www.matteroftrust.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guimaras_oil_spill

indelible

After standing in line for three long hours, in a narrow corridor with about fifty people squeezing in, I finally cast my vote.  The precinct cluster and number system was inefficient, people were confused and bitched nonstop, it was hot and humid.  We were like sardines in there.  I couldn't tell from whose pores the sweat came from.  I was so tempted to follow those people who got out and just left.

The only thing that kept me from complaining is the realization that there were others who had worse fate than me.  Some people woke up really early and they were still waiting in line.  Some were lining up for the third time because they didn't know which precinct they were supposed to be in.  Some volunteer teachers and students haven't eaten breakfast yet, and it was already 11 am.  The news showed three blind voters being transferred to the correct precinct.  There was a woman who didn't have any fingers, saying it's easier to vote now because all she had to do was to shade the oval.  A lot of senior citizens showed up despite the crowd just to vote.  Some voters, on their way to a precinct, even had a grenade thrown at them.  People crossed rivers and seas, walked for miles.  Some sent in reports to celebrity patrollers about vote buying and other illegal activities happening on their town.  Soldiers and journalists were deployed everywhere, and risked their lives for this election.  Really, why should I complain?  It's very good that precincts were packed and people cared.  We're not apathetic at all, almost everyone did their part.

I was talking to the person behind me and he was saying that we were choosing our leader for the next six years, so what's two or three hours of waiting in line?  We've waited for ten years for a new president.  So why leave now?  Why waste your vote?

It's our first time to have an automated election in our country, so I really didn't expect it to be flawless.  I'm glad I stayed and voted for somebody worthy of the position.  I don't know if he will win or not, but I just hope all goes well for everyone.  I'm proud I got to play a part in our country's history, and I did it right, however small my role was.

a letter

Sometimes I feel like I'm a hamster on a wheel. I keep running and running but I'm not getting anywhere. I do all these things and nothing really comes out of it. It's very hard to keep yourself motivated when you don't see any results from the seeds you planted. No fruits-- or even just teeny tiny sprouts :(. It's even harder when someone tells you that they feel sorry for you, because you're getting bored, because you don't have any romance in your life, that's why you do all these things instead. I feel pathetic. I may not have romance but I do have a passion for something. Writing. I'm trying to bring it into my life. That's why I do all these things.

Two years from now I'll be turning thirty. The thought really scares me. I feel like I haven't accomplished anything significant. Do I really want to do what I'm doing right now for the rest of my life? Or will I shift to something more meaningful? Or is it all about time management? Keep a job and do what you want when you're not working? Right now I'm trying this. It's hard. How long will it be like this? How long do I have to sustain this? I don't know. I do like my job though and I learn and earn from it and I grow from it, I even get material from it. I guess I'm lucky if you think about it. But I still feel restless, I still need to do something.

I want to share some articles I found that made me feel a little better. I hope these will also help someone who's going through the same issue. Here's a funny one from the Onion. I was terrified and amused at the same time when I read it. I thought it was real! It can happen though, who knows. Here's another good one from the Guardian. When I read this, I realized a lot of people are going through the same thing as me. We're all struggling to make it. Plus, there is a real problem with the economy today. We all need security.

The real find of the day came in a form of a touching letter posted online. It's written by Iggy Pop, encouraging one of his fans (who wrote a 20 page letter to him) to hang on and be strong. Read it here. :)


Sources:
http://www.maniacworld.com/Hamster-Video-Game-Maze.htm
http://www.dotzik.fr/iggy-pop-3999.html