Religion - Palm Sunday

This Palm Sunday at mass, we heard part of the life of Jesus Christ. From the time he was sentenced by the people to be crucified. I was expecting the homily to be about that but I heard otherwise.

The priest instead read the letter from Cardinal Rosales of Manila. I was expecting it to contain anti-government statements or pro-government ones. But I heard none of those.

The homily centered on the need for our willingness to go through "the desert of change." It asks each and every Catholic to recognize our wrong-doings, commit oursleves to correct them, and vow never to do the same again.

Rather than calling for change in leadership or express support for it, the letter instead appealed for change. Change in our hearts. Change in our lives.

The letter pointed out the corruption and abuses that plaqued our country. A plaque that once was and is still considered as a cancer of society. Corruption is seen not just as an ill in the government but that of the society as well.

In the movie Evan Almighty God, played by Morgan Freeman, asked Evan to build an ark for a great flood is soon to come. As Evan struggled with himself, his work as a Congressman, and as a family man, tools and lumber were delivered to him.

The flood did came but it was not the same flood that wiped the world clean during biblical times. It was a sudden rush of water when a dam, whose construction was substandard due to corruption, ruptured.

In the end, what was emphasized in the film is not doing great things but a simple act of random kindness at a time.

Cardinal Rosales and the bishops of Manila call on all Filipinos to make some changes in themselves. One simple change done altogether a day at a time is one great step toward a better future.

Alien engineering part 2

A second installment of the ten part video on Alien Engineering as we look at it and compare it with out own technology.

Credit goes to RunzWithScissorz



Science and science fiction. Can there be a union between the two?

Travel time - what do jeepney drivers know

Just this evening on my way home, I got to sit right behind the driver and his shotgun rider. This is the evening after the morning transport strike. Early that day, majority of public utility vehicles did not go out to ferry passengers.

While I was whiling away my time for the more or less 30-minute ride, I heard the driver and his buddy talk. The topics were as follows:

1. Transport strike
2. Economy in Mainland China and its effect of the Chinese
3. "Buddy's" trip in the morning.

1. Transport strike

They discussed that the transport strike was effective. The strike was organized to voice out their frustration at the multiple ticketing scheme being used, particularly in the metropolis (Manila).

Both agreed that the strike was successful and that with a small sacrifice, they can have their resentments heard. On another note, they talked about the village patrol car that volunteered to ferry passengers still stranded that evening.

2. Economy in Mainland China and its effect of the Chinese

During the course of their discussions, they changed their topic to the effect of the economy in Mainland China on the Chinese.

"Buddy" told the driver that Chinese economic policies have severe effect on the Chinese. Because of this, those Chinese who can afford opt to leave the country and settle somewhere else. They also noted that most Filipino-Chinese own a successful business here in the Philippines.

Driver narrated that the Chinoys owe their success to the support of other Chinoys. He said that they help out each other in times of need. An example, he said, is when a Chinoy businessman goes bankrupt, other Chinoys help out so he can start over. But there is a limit to this help, he adds. He even said, "See-ke, ee-kao ak-yen too-long. Pe-lo pak ee-kaw loo-ke pa oo-let, aa-koo wa-la na ma-ka-wa."

3. "Buddy's" trip in the morning.

"Buddy" told the driver how happy he was with his trip that morning. He said that the traffic was so light and the passengers are overflowing. He added that he can do just two trips and his income will be fine for the day.

Well, until next trip.

When it comes to fame, education goes out the window

This week's hottest issue is the Philippines Department of Education's (DepEd) alleged banning of the National Broadband Network star witness Mr. Rodolfo "Jun" Lozada.

For the most part of the week teachers organizations, religious groups, and private organizations complained about DepEd banning Mr. Lozada from visiting schools. This weekend, it's the turn of the students to air their side.

Let us make a few things clear:

1. In an order published by DepEd, no word that means ban (forbid, outlaw, prohibit, veto, bar, proscribe, disallow, interdict - courtesy of Microsoft Word Thesaurus) is written.

2. There is absolutely no Rodolfo, Jun, or Lozada in that order.

3. The order was published even before Lozada organized his school tours.

4. DepEd is mandated to provide basic (elementary and high school) education.

5. The order covers graduation ceremonies of elementary and secondary schools only.

You wait for six or four years to finish school and look forward to a good advice on how to survice high school or what course to take in college. Then come graduation day, all you hear is the political scene of the country.

The bone of contention, I believe, is paragraph 3 of the order that reads "The graduation rites should be conducted in an appropriate solemn ceremony befitting the graduating students and their parents and shall not in any way be used as a venue for political forum." But still, there is no mention of Mr. Lozada there.

Yet they keep on saying that DepEd is banning Mr. Lozada. Now, they even say that DepEd backtracked it's "ban" when no ban was ever made.

These people are educated.

These people are in or has finished college.

And yet they forgot that they used to do research first before they went to class and delivered their report.

And this bothers me.

Is it because they just want their faces shown on television? Or their voices heard on the radio? Or their names printed on paper or posted on the web?

Why don't we celebrate the fulfillment of our years of work first, and talk politics later?

What do you think?

Alien engineering part 1

I have discovered this video collection from youtube uploaded by RunzWithScissorz.

This is very informative, the analysis based on scientific facts as described by guest scientists (I am not sure though if they are really scientists but why spoil all the fun).

Here is the first installment:

Traffic woes: the pedestrian crossing

On my way to UP, I had to cross a pededtrian lane to get to the jeepney stop. This lane bears white lines perpendicular to the direction the pedestrians take and a solid line parallel to that direction.

With my limited knowledge of traffic signs, I know that straight lines on the road mean that vehicles must remain on their side of the road for the entire length of that line and broken lines mean they can go from one side of the lane to the other cautiously.

Applying this principle in pedestrian lanes, I surmise that the two solid lines on either side of the pedestrian lane means vehicles must stop for pedestrians.

Alas, it does not hold true.

In the pedestrian lane that I and other people take to get to the jeepney stop, it is the pedestrians who must give way to the vehicles. While some drivers do stop to let pedestrians cross, most do not.

Is is because the drivers believe that they have the right of way because they are enclosed in a metal shell running at 20 kilometers an hour and we are not?

Is it because nobody has been seriously convicted of reckless driving resulting to severe physical injuries? In fairness to the authorities, some have. Except that those convicted are the poor careless-drivers-trying-to-making-ends-meet while the rich ones with fancy cars and next-to-nothing-road-safety-seminar-compliance get off the hook.

Or is it because licensing in this country is so easy? To get a license in our poor suffering country, all you got to do is pay up extra to take a written exam using an already-answered-test paper, and drive a car forward and backward.

Lots of new cars flood into this country. We do not only lack roads to accommodate all these vehicles, we also lack drivers who know how to use those roads.

Sony Ericsson K610i - night mode

I have recently purchased a Sony Ericsson K610i mobile.

Some of its features are:

• 2-megapixel camera for photos and videos
  
• secondary VGA camera for video calls
• MP3 player
• 3GP player
• Usual calendar, alarm, to-do, etc
• SMS, MMS
• Bluetooth
• WAP, GPRS

What is amazing about this phone is that it takes a better shot than my digital camera. It also has a good enough night mode system in limited light (i.e. shadows fall on the subject)














I took this shot without the night mode. This is a shot underneath my computer table where the shadow of the florescent lamp was covering the PC.














And I took this one with the night mode on. This photo has not been altered and it shows the original photo quality during the time it was taken.

So, if you are looking for a camera phone, Sony Ericsson, I believe, is the choice. :)