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Friday, April 23, 2010

El Nino Phenomenon continues to plague the Philippines.

If you’re in the Philippines, you won’t need a thermometer to know that the Philippines is having one of the hottest summer in history.  During earlier months of the year, the cold evening breeze is a relief from scorching heat. This is due from the winter ice melting from countries on the northern hemisphere. But now all the ice has melted and the summer season has begun, escaping the heat is a challenge.

I usually take a shower at night before sleeping to refresh myself. Due to this heat, it only takes a few minutes before I get all sweaty again. I have always thought that having an air conditioner is a luxury since electricity in the Philippines is costly. But now I am starting to think that it is a necessity. If this heat keeps up, I would consider buying one regardless of the cost of the electric bills.

You have to add the El Nino phenomenon to equation. The Country has been experiencing drought as early as  February. I hope the drought does not become a yearly event. If it does this will be a problem to the agriculture of the Philippines. Personally, I having problem staying outdoors nowadays. The daily commute   to the office is such a burden. The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) has expects that the drought would last until May. The hottest temperature in Metro Manila was at 36.8 degrees Celsius so far. PAGASA expects the temperature would rise higher in the coming weeks

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Thursday, April 15, 2010

China hit by 6.9 magnitude earthquake

Yushu, Qinghai Province in Northwestern China was hit by a 7.1 magnitude earthquake according to the China Earthquake Administration in Beijing. The US Geological Survey said the earthquake was at 6.9 on the richer scale. The epicenter is at the town of Rima, 30 miles away from Jiegu (one of the worst hit by the quake).

In 2008, a neighboring Sichuan province was struck an earthquake leaving 90,000 people dead or missing. 5335 Chinese students were buried when their schools collapsed during the magnitude 8.0 Sichuan earthquake. Now they have to face the same nightmare as students were trapped when several schools were trapped. Among the worst hit, 22 students of the Yushu Vocational School has died according to an official of Xinhua News Agency. President Hu Jintao has allocated S30 million (200 million Yuan) for relief and has ordered 5000 soldiers, medical workers and rescuers to go to Yushu to help the 700 troops who are already in Yushu.

The problem that they now face is the lack of medical supplies, medical equipments, and medical workers. The nearest big city is 530 miles away. That is 12 hours away under the best conditions. Majority of the houses in Jiegu were made of wood and mud. 85 percent of the houses in Jiegu have been destroyed. Survivors had to no choice but to spend the night outdoors. Since Yushu is 13,780 above sea level, the temperature could drop below freezing point. Survivors had nothing but blankets to shield them against the cold winds.

Earthquakes are increasing by frequency and intensity. This year alone, several powerful earthquakes have caused massive destruction in infrastructure and have claimed the lives of so many people. According to earthquake experts, a lot of earthquake hit different parts of the planet yearly. People are just becoming more aware and more concerns about the earthquake due to what has happened in Haiti and Chile. Is this something to worry about? Does the frequency and intensity of earthquakes of 2010 fall on the margin of normal?

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Sunday, April 11, 2010

The Rivals: Hopkins vs. Jones




On May 22, 1993, Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr. met in ring. Jones won the fight by unanimous decision. Last April 3, 2010, seventeen years after, Hopkins got his revenge by unanimous decision despite being put to canvas thrice in round 6, 8 and 10. It was pretty one sided match with Hopkins winning 10 out of the scheduled 12 rounds. Jones only would round 10 and 11.

The crowd grew impatient and disappointed as the match progress. There were a lot of moments in the match were both fighters were inactive. Several low blows were dealt. There was a lot of clinching by both boxers.

On round two, Jones was cut in the left eye. On the round eleven, the cut was re-opened due to an accidental head butt. On round six, a hard left from Jones to the back of the head at the right ear brought Hopkins to the canvas. On round eight, Jones’ punch landed at the back of Hopkins head bringing Hopkins to canvas the second time. An violation made by Jones in the 11th round brought Hopkins to the canvas for the third time. Despite being down thrice, Judge Gleen Trowbridge, Don Trella and Dave Moretti ruled in favor of Hopkins.

This the 2nd loss in a row for Roy Jones Jr. On December2, 2009, Jones failed to win the IBO cruiseweight title from Danny Green. He was defeated via Technical Knock out in the first round. Jones still contests Danny Green’s victory accusing the latter of using an improper wraps. On other hand, Hopkins won the last three of his matches and all were won by unanimous decision. His last match with Enrique Ornelas served as a tune up game for the upcoming bout with Roy Jones Jr. Hopkins didn't step in the ring from October 18, 2008 until December 2, 2009. 

Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr. Were brought to the hospital after the match.


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Saturday, April 10, 2010

Droughts affects the summer capital of the Philippines

Baguio City, the summer capital of the Philippines, is normally an escape for Filipinos against the summer heat. But since drought is currently ravaging the country, the mercury level of the thermometer may reach 31 degrees Celsius in the coming days according to Wilson Locando, a weather specialist from the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Administration (PAGASA).

On April 6, 2010, the temperature rose as high as 29.1 degrees. The unusual high temperature in the Baguio would post a big threat the city’s tourism. Thousands of tourist visit Baguio for its cool climate. If becomes permanent, the number of tourist visiting the city may drop. There are certain fruits and plants that could only be grown in Baguio. If the high temperature brought by the droughts continues, the plants and fruits may be ruined. The hottest temperature recorded in Baguio was at 29 degrees Celsius on April 22, 1990 and April 4, 1981.

But Baguio is still the place to be for those who want to escape the scorching heat. The temperature during the late afternoons and early morning are still within an average of 14 to 16 degrees Celsius. So you could still enjoy the cold winds of Baguio despite the droughts.

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Movie Review: Hangover

In my opinion, this is the best comedy movie of 2009. If you enjoyed watching the movie “Old School”, then you’ll definitely love this movie.  This movie is a perfect depiction of a Bachelor party gone wild. The phrase “What happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas” is very much applicable.

Four friends went to Las Vegas to have a bachelor party two days before the wedding. The group was supposed to have a night of good clean fun and go back the next day to prepare for the wedding. Everything went to hell when they woke up the next morning without any recollection of the events that has transpired the night before. Oh yeah they are missing one important thing – Doug, the Groom.

They had to retrace their steps to find out what happened the night before and find the groom in time to make it to his own wedding. On their search for the groom, they found out that they are in possession of police car, a baby, a tiger (own by Mike Tyson) and an Asian man in trunk of the car of the Bride’s father. They also found out soon that they owe the Asian man, Chow, $80,000 and he is in possession of Doug (the groom). Later they found a way to come up with the money to pay off for Doug. However, Chow gave them the wrong man who has the same name as the groom. This particular Doug is the drug dealer that sold Alan (the bride’s brother) the drugs that he used to spike the drinks that they had on the roof. Alan was supposed to get ecstasy but instead was given roofies (commonly known as the rape drug) which explains why they have no memory of happened in the bachelor party. Eventually they figured out where they left Doug and made it just in time for the wedding.

The thing that I like about the story is that the events may unlikely happened but there is a small possibility that it could. The script was really great and is very amusing but the situations that they are in are way funnier. The acting and the cast were really great. I give it a 10 out of 10 rating. This is the funniest movie of 2009 in my opinion.


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Trivia #2

From 1347 to 1351,the Plague or Black death reduced the population of Europe by one third.

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Trivia #3

War between Zanzibar and England in 1896 is considered the shortest war in History. Zanzibar surrendered to England after 38 minutes


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Trivia #1

Austria was the first country to abolish the death penalty or capital punishment in 1787


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Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Indonesia struck by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake

After Haiti, Chile, Taiwan and Turkey, A 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit the Northwest Indonesian island of Sumatra at 05:15 a.m. The U.S. Geological Survey said that the center was 125 miles northwest of Sibolga in Sumatra. Depth of the earthquake was measured at 31 miles. The epicenter was 215 km from the largest city on Sumatra, Medan. Three aftershocks were recorded after the initial earthquake.

The earthquake caused mass panic and power outages but fortunately there were no deaths. 80% of the electricity terminals in North Sumatra province were damaged. 25% percent were restored immediately. Several Injuries were noted from falling roof tiles, broken glass and damage electricity poles

A tsunami alert was issued but was lifted two hours after. Neighboring countries Thailand and Malaysia also announced tsunami warnings but cancelled them shortly after they were issued. Even though, the tsunami warnings have been lifted, several are still taking precautions in case a tsunami hits.

Earthquakes are frequent in Indonesia. Sumatra is along the of the world’s most active seismic fault lines, the Pacific “Ring of Fire.”  In September 2009, A 7.6 magnitude earthquake hit the city of Padang killing more than 1000 people. In December 2004, a 9.5 magnitude earthquake in Aceh caused a Tsunami that killed 226,000 in Indonesia, India, Thailand, Sri Lanka and nine other countries.

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Temperature rises in the Philippines

The temperature has been high in the last few months that on most days I take refuge in air condition malls located near my residence. I have never considered purchasing an air conditioner but I am starting to think that it is becoming more of a necessity rather than a luxury. Yesterday the temperature in Metro Manila has reached 36.1 degrees Celsius. A month ago on March 6, temperature has risen to 35.8 degrees. The highest temperature in Metro Manila was recorded on May 14, 1987 and was at 38.5 degrees Celsius.

The Philippine Atmospheric,  Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) has forecasted the temperature would reached 35 to 36 degrees Celsius until the weekend and reach as high as 37 degrees all over the country within this month or on May.

If the temperature is high in Metro Manila, it is nothing compared to Tuguegarao where temperature is expected to reach as high as 37 to 38 degrees Celsius in the next four days. The highest temperature recorded in the Philippine is at 42.2 degrees Celsius in Tuguegarao on May 11, 1969

Just before coming to work, I travelled from Pampanga to my office in Quezon City. I expected that it would be a lot cooler in the province compared to Quezon City but I was wrong. It was hotter there despite that there are more trees. I think the problem is that there is only a warm breeze there.  I hope that the temperature would go down as soon as the drought ends. It has really been difficult to commute lately. I wonder how it would be if the Global temperature rises and when the day comes that a 36 degree temperature is a natural occurrence in the Philippines.  An increase of a few degrees would post a lot of problem to a lot of Filipinos. How I wish this drought ends soon.

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Movie Review: Percy Jackson and Olympians The Lightning Thief


When Zeus’ master bolt was stolen, the finger points to the usual suspects, the Demigods. Demigods are the half human and half gods and are the only one capable of stealing other god’s power. Percy Jackson is the son of a human, Sally Jackson and the God of the sea, Poseidon.

Percy is unaware of his lineage until his substitute English teacher and a Fury, Ms. Dobbs attacks him. His Latin Teacher, Mr. Brunner and his best friend, Grover Underwood rescued him by defeating the fury. Soon Percy finds out that Grover is a Satyr and has been assigned to watch over him. He was brought to a training camp for Demi Gods lead by Mr., Brunner, a centaur named Chiron. But before entering the camp a Minotaur captured his mother and was brought to underworld.

To rescue her mother, Percy had to agree to accept the help of Grover and Annabeth Chase, the demigod daughter of the Goddess of wisdom and battle strategies Athena. Together they travel around the United States to find Persephone’s pearls so that they may exit the underworld safely. But before leaving they needed the help of another demigod, Luke Castellan, the son of God of thieves and travelers Hermes. Luke gave them a map that shows the location of Persephone’s pearls, flying shoes and Luke’s portable shield.
In their quest for the pearls, they had to fight Medusa, the snake headed creature that could turn any being to stone just by her gaze. They eventually defeated Medusa and brought her decapitated head along. They also had to face the hydra to acquire another pearl.  Using Medusa’s severed head; they defeated the hydra by turning it to stone. The last stone was in Las Vegas, in the lair of the lotus eater. The lotus eaters have the ability to trick their prey in staying in their lair. Their victims lost the sense of time and reason. With the help of Poseidon, Percy realized that it was a trick and they eventually escaped with the third pearl. 

They entered the Underworld and was confronted by God of the Underworld Hades. Due to a series of events, they found out that the thunderbolt was hidden in Luke’s shield. Persephone got his hands on the thunderbolt and used it against Hades. Percy finally rescued her mother and was ready to leave the underworld. The only problem was that there are only three pearls. They had to leave Grover behind since the Percy, Annabeth and Sally Jackson had to use the three pearls to escape the underworld. They were then transported to the top of the empire state building, the entrance to Olympus.

But before they could enter Olympus, Luke showed up and tried to stop Percy. Percy won the battle and was able to return the thunderbolt to Zeus just in time to prevent the war between the Gods. In the end, Percy had to return to camp and harness his Demigod powers.

Since I haven’t read the book, I would have to say that the movie is quite good. Most people who have read the book were pretty disappointed. But then again there are only a few movies which are based on a book that has really met the expectations of those who read it. Even though the story is loosely based on the Greek Mythology, I still recognized the similarities in the storyline. The special effects are great. But overall, I would say that the movie is quite okay. It is a movie I don’t mind watching a couple more times. I would have to get a copy of the book to make a better comparison.



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