Stupid Unfinished Business

I thought I would be able to come back to blogging but sadly, I again have some unfinished business. I shall be active once the dark cloud leaves the top of my head. In the meantime, I'll be focusing more on my other blog. Since I've taken a liking to news while preparing for my Civil Engineering Licensure Examinations, I thought about sharing this liking by means of another blog. If you're interested just click here.

Hope you have fun! More stupid and out-of-the-blue thoughts soon!

The Lion Sleeps Tonight

I wonder why the lion is called "the king of the jungle". I haven't seen one IN the jungle. I see them around the safari, but not in the jungle. The only time I saw a lion in the jungle was in a cartoon film, while watching "The Lion King". I would love to be corrected and see a lion in the jungle. Proofs are most welcome, thank you!

The Results Are In...

All I can say is that we'll fight all the way!

What's Taking Them So Long?!

The exams are over! But the wait continues... It's really frustrating that the results have not turned up yet. It's usually released three days after which means that it should have been released two days ago. But here I am, together with all the November 2007 Civil Engineering Licensure Exam takers, waiting in the edge of our seats, biting our nails, and losing sleep just because they are taking a long time to dish out how well we did. Hayayay... I really hope they post it soon... And I really do hope I make it!

PayPal Philippines Now Accepting Payments

Great news for the Philippine online community! PayPal has been upgraded! Instead of only being able to send money through this service, we are now able to receive. This development will surely have a great impact on online transactions as well as open new opportunities for Filipinos who consider themselves technopreneurs. The country is NOW under the "Send. Receive. Withdraw to a US Bank Account or card" with 22 other countries. In this case, it's better to receive!

The Millennium Problems

Want to earn a million dollars? There's a way, but you have to be really smart! Just find a solution to one of the Millennium Problems of the Clay Mathematics Institute (CMI), which named the seven problems to celebrate mathematics in the new millennium. The Board of Directors of CMI designated a $7 million prize fund for the solution to these problems, with $1 million allocated to each. During the Millennium Meeting held on May 24, 2000 at the College de France, Timothy Gowers presented a lecture entitled The Importance of Mathematics, aimed for the general public, while John Tate and Michael Atiyah spoke on the problems. Up for it?

#1 The Poincaré Conjecture

In 1904 the French mathematician Henri Poincaré, asked if the three dimensional sphere is characterized as the unique simply connected three manifold. This question, the Poincaré conjecture, is a special case of Thurston's geometrization conjecture. The latter would give an almost complete understanding of three dimensional manifolds.

But, too bad someone already had dibs on this. After nearly a century of effort by mathematicians, Grigori Perelman sketched a proof of the conjecture in a series of papers made available in 2002 and 2003. The proof followed the program of Richard Hamilton. Several high-profile teams of mathematicians have since verified the correctness of Perelman's proof.

The Poincaré conjecture was, before being proven, one of the most important open questions in topology. It is one of the seven Millennium Prize Problems, for which the Clay Mathematics Institute offered a $1,000,000 prize for the first correct solution. Perelman's work survived review and was confirmed in 2006, leading to his being offered a Fields Medal, which he declined. Don't worry, there's still hope, the Poincaré conjecture remains the only solved Millennium problem.

#2 The Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer Conjecture

Supported by much experimental evidence, this conjecture relates the number of points on an elliptic curve mod p to the rank of the group of rational points. Elliptic curves, defined by cubic equations in two variables, are fundamental mathematical objects that arise in many areas: Wiles' proof of the Fermat Conjecture, factorization of numbers into primes, and cryptography, to name three.

#3 The Hodge Conjecture

The answer to this conjecture determines how much of the topology of the solution set of a system of algebraic equations can be defined in terms of further algebraic equations. The Hodge conjecture is known in certain special cases, e.g., when the solution set has dimension less than four. But in dimension four it is unknown.

#4 The Navier-Stokes Equation

This is the equation which governs the flow of fluids such as water and air. However, there is no proof for the most basic questions one can ask: do solutions exist, and are they unique? Why ask for a proof? Because a proof gives not only certitude, but also understanding.

#5 The P vs NP Problem

If it is easy to check that a solution to a problem is correct, is it also easy to solve the problem? This is the essence of the P vs NP question. Typical of the NP problems is that of the Hamiltonian Path Problem: given N cities to visit (by car), how can one do this without visiting a city twice? If you give me a solution, I can easily check that it is correct. But I cannot so easily (given the methods I know) find a solution.

#6 The Riemann Hypothesis

Formulated in his 1859 paper, the Riemann hypothesis in effect says that the primes are distributed as regularly as possible given their seemingly random occurrence on the number line. Riemann's work gave an 'explicit' formula for the number of primes less than x in terms of the zeros of the zeta function. The first term is x/log(x). The Riemann hypothesis is equivalent to the assertion that other terms are bounded by a constant times log(x) times the square root of x. The Riemann hypothesis asserts that all the 'non-obvious' zeros of the zeta function are complex numbers with real part 1/2.

#7 The Yang-Mills Theory

Experiment and computer simulations suggest the existence of a "mass gap" in the solution to the quantum versions of the Yang-Mills equations. But no proof of this property is known.

To know more about these math problems, visit the Clay Mathematics Institute website.

Osama at APEC?!

This is an interesting bit of news. A team of comedians from the Australian gag show "The Chaser's War on Everything", have managed to cause the first embarrassing APEC security blunder with one of the members dressed as Osama bin Laden managing to ride a fake motorcade through two police cordons into the red zone.

The stunt embarrassed Sydney police who have imposed the tightest security measures in city history for a summit of leaders from Pacific Rim countries, including Bush. Cast members put together a sham motorcade, hiring two motorcycles and three large cars on which they put Canadian flags. Police waved the motorcade through two checkpoints before pulling it over near the Intercontinental Hotel where Bush is staying.

"No particular reason we chose Canada," cast member Chris Taylor was quoted as saying on The Sydney Morning Herald's Web site. "We just thought they'd be a country who the cops wouldn't scrutinize too closely, and who feasibly would only have three cars in their motorcade as opposed to the 20 or so gas guzzlers that Bush has brought with him."

Below is the episode when they aired the said security breach. The Chaser, just brilliant!

Cool Physics in MIT

I wish we had these in our engineering classes. It would've made it more interesting and a lot easier to understand since less imagination would be required. For sure, I wouldn't sleep!

Engineering and Women

My girlfriend is an Electronics and Communications Engineering student. As I was looking for something to post, I stumbled upon a picture that explains the difference of men and women - with the use of something that is familiar to her... Hehe!

Brain Teasers 3

Here are the answers for the previous set of mysteries:

Polly Perkins

The parrot was deaf and couldn't repeat a single word it had heard.

Roller Coaster

Roller coasters don't have engines. They have a motorized track to get them up the first hill. Gravity then takes over to coast all the way to the end.

The Wisest Son

The son had showed his father a match. Whenever he lit the match, it filled the entire room, yet it was small enough to fit into his pocket.

Shirley Tate

Shadow noticed that Kareem only noticed the body on his way back. Therefore, when Kareem felt his way down the hall to turn on the light, he must have known the body was on the floor, otherwise he would have tripped over it.

Duffus the Tea Tripper

He waited until he was on the porch before he put the bag in. He still spilled hot water on the way but that evaporated without leaving a mess.

Here's the next batch. Try to see if you're a genius with this MENSA Intelligence test. You have to work out what the letters mean. For example, 24 H in a D means 24 Hours in a Day. According to MENSA, if you get 19 + of these, you are a "genius". Only 2 MENSA members achieved full marks. Scoring: 1 to 5 is Average, 6 - 11 Somewhat Intelligent, 12 to 18 Intelligent, 19 + Genius

1. 26 L of the A

2. 7 D of the W

3. 7 W of the W

4. 12 S of the Z

5. 66 B of the B

6. 52 C in a P (WJs)

7. 13 S in the USF

8. 18 H on a G C

9. 39 B of the O T

10. 5 T on a F

11. 90 D in a R A

12. 3 B M (S H T R)

13. 32 is the T in D F at which W F

14. 15 P in a R T

15. 3 W on a T

16. 100 C in a R

17. 11 P in a F (S) T

18. 12 M in a Y

19. 13=UFS

20. 8 T on a O

21. 29 D in F in a L Y

22. 27 B in the N T

23. 365 D in a Y

24. 13 L in a B D

25. 52 W in a Y

26. 9 L of a C

27. 60 M in a H

28. 23 P of C in the H B

29. 64 S on a C B

30. 9 P in S A

31. 6 B to an O in C

32. 1000 Y in a M

33. 15 M on a D M C

If you want more intelligence tests similar to this, click here!

Kiwi!

This video is great! It leaves a lot of room for discussion. Most wished the best for the kiwi, we never really knew what happened next.

All I can say is that we have to be like this kiwi. If you think about it, what it did took a long time to do. It had set out time and effort only for the dream to be reality, no matter what will happen next. Bring out the KIWI in you!

Gate$ Dollar$

Money makes the world go round! Sad, but true. Let's be realistic here, we can't live with love alone... In fact, one of the top causes of divorce is money! Anyway, like most of the people in this world, I'm finding ways to earn money. During my search, I came across articles. Articles that I'm not sure whether it can motive me or make me lose hope.

Of course, everybody knows Bill Gates. He's been number one on the "Forbes 400" list from 1993 through to 2006 and number one on Forbes list of "The World's Richest People" from 1995 to 2006 with $57 billion. It was only recently that he lost the title to a Mexican tycoon, but then again, he's been focusing on his foundation for the past years. In 1999, his wealth briefly surpassed $100 billion causing him to be referred to in the media as a "centibillionaire". I can't even reach the 10000 Philippine peso (around $200) mark! I'd like to share a few things I came across my search for money ideas.

Let's start with his company. Microsoft, at one time, announced quarterly revenue of $14.4 billion and net income of $4.93 billion. In other words, Microsoft's daily net income is about $55 million. That's $55 million in pure profit every 24 hours. Do some quick math and you'll learn it takes Microsoft only about...

...10 hours or so to exceed Red Hat's (NYSE: RHT - News) quarterly net income of $20.5 million.
...4 days to exceed Research In Motion's (NasdaqGS: RIMM) quarterly net income of $187.9 million.
...4 days to exceed Starbucks' (NasdaqGS: SBUX) quarterly net income of $205 million.
...1 week to exceed Nike's (NYSE: NKE - News) quarterly net income of $350.8 million.
...2 weeks to exceed McDonalds' (NYSE: MCD - News) quarterly net income of $762 million.
...2 weeks to exceed Apple's (NasdaqGS: AAPL) quarterly net income of $770 million.
...18 days to exceed Google's (NasdaqGS: GOOG) quarterly net income of $1 billion.
...23 days to exceed Coca-Cola's (NYSE: KO - News) quarterly net income of $1.26 billion.
...5 weeks to exceed IBM's (NYSE: IBM - News) quarterly net income of $1.85 billion.
...10 weeks to exceed Wal-Mart's (NYSE: WMT - News) quarterly net income of $3.9 billion.

Amazing, isn't it? Now, let's go to Mr. William Gates III. Most people will have read the reports of how Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates has had his personal net worth soar over 100 billion dollars and then drop down to 55 billion.

Consider that he made this money in the 25 years or so since Microsoft was founded in 1975. If you presume that he has worked 14 hours a day on every business day of the year since then, that means he's been making money at a staggering million dollars per hour, around $300 per second. This means that it is not worth his effort to pick up a $1000 if he dropped one while he was walking. Assuming of course that it takes 4 seconds to pick it up and pocket it.

Another way to examine this sort of wealth is to compare it to yours. Consider an average American of modest wealth. Perhaps she has a net worth of $70,000. Mr. Gates' worth is 800,000 times larger. Which means that if something costs $100,000 to her, to Bill it's as though it costs 12 cents. You can work out the right multiplier for your own net worth.

So for example, you might think a new Lambourghini Diablo would cost $250,000, but in Bill Gates dollars that's 31 cents.

That fully loaded, multimedia active matrix 233 MHZ laptop with the 1024x768 screen you've been drooling after? Half a penny.

A nice home in a rich town like Palo Alto, California? Two dollars. That nice mansion he's building? A more reasonable $63 to him.

You might spend $50 on tickets, food and parking to take your date to see an NHL hockey game. Bill, on the other hand could buy the team for 50 dollars.

You might buy a plane ticket on a Boeing 747 for $1200 at full-fare coach. Mr. Gates could buy six 747s!

Bill could buy every single major league team in Baseball, Football, Basketball and Hockey for only about 35% of his net worth -- plenty left over to buy a European sport. Of course then he wouldn't have around $150 for every person in the USA as he does now. Nor could he still give $6.70 to every person on the planet. Bill could pay Michael Jordan's 1997 salary only 1300 times, but that he could buy 902 million subscriptions to TV guide. He's also fascinated by how much all this money would be if put into dollar bills. Laid end to end, the Bills would stretch 3.8 million miles -- to the moon and back over 8 times. They could paper over all of Manhattan 7 times, or be stacked 2,690 miles high -- watch out for satellites. They would weigh 40,000 tons -- 100 times the weight of one of those 747s he bought above.

BUT, one thing Bill can't do is even dent the national debt. Should he selflessly donate his stock to the U.S. treasury, he would reduce the $5.37 trillion national debt by well under 1%. It's nice to put things in perspective.

If I were Bill Gates, I would have earned thousands of dollars after writing this article. But then again, if I were Bill Gates, I wouldn't waste my time writing this article! By the way, Bill Gates was arrested for running a red light and driving without a license in New Mexico in 1977. Two years earlier, he got tickets for speeding and driving without a license. Hehe, had to throw that in!

The Infinite Monkey Theorem

A few weeks back, I was listening to Good Times with Mo (more on this on a later post) and the radio jocks were on the topic of luck. The main jock, Mo Twister, said he didn't believe in luck and that things happen just because all factors involved were properly aligned. He added that given an infinite number of tries, you'll be able to succeed in any situation - the lottery for example. With this statement, one of the other jocks - Mojo Jojo - disagreed and said that given an infinite number of tries wouldn't eventually result in a success but would only raise the probability of success. They continued to argue with Mojo screaming that he hoped a Math professor would call to back him up.

My elder brother of only a year is a finished BS Mathematics and is currently teaching Math in the same university where he graduated - the University of the Philippines. I brought up the story I narrated above and he had an interesting answer. He said Mo Twister was right! So ok, if a Math professor did call the radio show that morning, Mojo would've been placed in a deeper hole. So what exactly did my brother say that supports Mo Twister's side? The Infinite Monkey Theorem! At first I couldn't believe it, come on, it had a funny, unbelievable and not so credible name. Here's what my brother showed me - it's funny but interestingly true! And hey, it makes a lot of sense.

The infinite monkey theorem states that a monkey hitting keys at random on a typewriter keyboard for an infinite amount of time will almost surely type a particular chosen text, such as the complete works of William Shakespeare (my brother mentioned typing the Bible for his example). In this context, "almost surely" is a mathematical term with a precise meaning, and the "monkey" is not an actual monkey; rather, it is a metaphor for an abstract device that produces a random sequence of letters ad infinitum. The theorem illustrates the perils of reasoning about infinity by imagining a vast but finite number, and vice versa. The probability of a monkey typing a given string of text as long as, say, Hamlet is so infinitesimally tiny that, were the experiment conducted, the chance of it actually occurring during a span of time of the order of the age of the universe is minuscule but not zero. In mid-2003, researchers at Plymouth Univesity in England actually put a working computer in a cage with six crested macaques. The monkeys proceeded to bash the machine with a rock, urinate on it, and type the letter S a lot (later, the letters A, J, L, and M also crept in). The results were published in a limited-edition book, Notes Towards The Complete Works of Shakespeare. A researcher reported: “They were quite interested in the screen, and they saw that when they typed a letter, something happened. There was a level of intention there.”

The key to this theorem is the fact we are dealing with infinity. This is very difficult to grasp or accept since infinity exists only as an idea or concept and it isn't bounded. Take the largest number you can think of and that would still be nothing compared to infinity. Think about it, you can always keep on adding 1 to the largest you can come up with and even that would be minuscule to infinity. Now, I leave you with a letter from Ask Dr. Math which tries to explain the concept of the theorem and the importance of (at least) trying to understand the idea of infinity. Sorry Mojo! Thanks Kuya Chuck! As Buzz Lightyear would say, "To infinity, and beyond!"

===================
Date: 08/13/98 at 13:35:41
From: Doctor Benway
Subject: Re: Infinity Theory

Hi Adam,

So you want the mathematical perspective on the "monkeys typing" scenario? Keep in mind that this is going to be an entirely theoretical answer. As you can imagine, there are some serious practical problems with having an actual infinite number of monkeys typing on an infinite number of typewriters (e.g. where would you put them? what would you feed them?), but since we're mathematicians we can gleefully ignore such considerations.

The cheap and easy answer to your question is, "yeah, they'll crank out Shakespeare's works... eventually." This is assuming they really are typing at random. The monkeys with typewriters I have personally observed (mostly of the "young human/little sister" variety) tend to bang on the same keys repeatedly, so it's hard to imagine them actually turning out Shakespeare. But again, this is math so we will ignore the real world.

As large as Shakespeare's collected works are, they are still finite. If you type at random, eventually some six-jillion-letter combination you type will end up being the collected works of Shakespeare.

An easier way to think about this is picking lottery numbers. Imagine you are filthy rich and decide to buy a bunch of lottery tickets in an effort to win Powerball. Since you are filthy rich, you can afford to buy six jillion lottery tickets with every possible combination of numbers that could come up, and thus you would be guaranteed to win the lottery. It's the same concept with monkeys typing.

The grittiest detail in this problem is that the answer is only yes if we are talking about an infinite number of trials; that is, having an infinite number of monkeys or letting one monkey pound away for an infinite amount of time. If we are restricted to a finite number of monkeys and a finite amount of time, then the answer is no. It is entirely possible that in a finite amount of time a finite number of monkeys may type out nothing but pages upon pages of meaningless drivel. It's also possible (although unlikely) that one monkey may get it right the first time.

A good way to think of this is to imagine rolling a six-sided die numerous times and waiting for a six to come up. It may come up on the first roll. It's possible that you could keep rolling and rolling millions of times without a six coming up, although you would expect it to come up within six rolls, since there is a 1/6 chance of a 6 turning up on each roll.

Let's do an actual example. Since the collected works of Shakespeare are a pretty lofty goal, let's just see about how long we would expect it to take for a monkey to crank out one of Shakespeare's sonnets, for example the following:

Look in thy glass and tell the face thou viewest – 48
Now is the time that face should form another – 45
Whose fresh repair if now thou not renewest – 43
Thou dost beguile the world unbless some mother – 47
For where is she so fair whose uneard womb – 42
Disdains the tillage of thy husbandry – 37
Or who is he so fond will be the tomb – 37
Of his self love to stop posterity – 34
Thou art thy mothers glass and she in thee – 42
Calls back the lovely April of her prime – 40
So thou through windows of thine age shall see – 46
Despite of wrinkles this thy golden time – 40
But if thou live rememberd not to be – 36
Die single and thine image dies with thee – 41

In the above sonnet I removed all punctuation, just leaving the letters and spacing--we can't expect too much; they're only monkeys, right? If my letter count is correct, this leaves 572 letters and spaces. To further simplify, we won't worry about carriage returns, capital letters, or any other such stuff.

Anyhow, say we give a monkey a special typewriter that has 27 keys (26 keys for the letters of the alphabet along with a space bar). We let the monkey type 572 characters at a time, pull the sheet out, and see if it's the sonnet. If not, we keep going.

We'll do some calculations on the fly here to see how long this process will take. Got a calculator handy? First of all let's find out how many 572-letter possibilities there are for the monkey to type. We have 572 characters, and 27 choices for each character, so there will be 27^572 possibilities (that's 27 times itself 572 times). Punching this into my calculator... er... okay, on second thought better use a computer....I get the following number of possibilities:

549633378456109939369304853136804434488792619419853252069411
704905624725684243954820588519270755936792132632239916490954
44601504350463483987502561010414086460850490853411952678960
839922298611768407241462276825362149083044273958125194745460
868312880102366397357837669195731275403452575089566044810413
932116060031762894505524988451285440971813773606694016394647
3467668970711919689863460271936750837609798272198814318196353
508677072352860318543869285550386400760568981153396804398898
6405766599463462698265327115247396919065553432976472680492423
51268634615991179187453007805890829071114522894672065623217961
7918122048513536649039309753565419938168852881272755213408072
890621434530416560019423439471934830848855872828533855304539
966157990280226894034880876348035916773644663789090917440538
24079947245708112252748079248200721

It's a big number, about 5*10^818.

Let's say our monkey can type about 120 characters per minute. Then the monkey will be cranking out one of these about every five minutes, 12 every hour, 288 per day, and 105120 of them per year. Divide that big number by 105120 and you get that it would take that monkey about 5*10^813 years to type out that sonnet.

Now say we get 10^813 (that's ten followed by 813 zeros) monkeys working on the job. With that many monkeys working 24 hours a day, typing at random, one of them is likely to crank out the sonnet we are looking for within five years. If the monkeys are particularly unlucky, you may have to let them run an infinite amount of time before they crank out the desired sonnet, but chances are with this many monkeys on the job you will get results in five years.

To make a long story short, if you have only a finite number of outcomes and you take an infinite number of trials, you will end up getting the outcome you are looking for.

Well, forget about making a long story short, I'll give you one more mind-blowing example. A typical digitized picture on your computer screen is 640 pixels long by 480 pixels wide, for a total of 307200 pixels. Using only 256 different colors, you can get decent resolution. Now if you take 256^307200 (256 times itself 307200 times) you get... well, a pretty big number, but a finite number nonetheless. That's the number of different images you can have of that particular size. Any picture you would scan into a computer at that size and resolution will necessarily be one of those images. Therefore, contained in those images are the images of the faces of every human being who ever lived along with the images of the faces of every person yet to be born.

Deep stuff, eh? I'll leave you with that thought. Thanks for writing.

- Doctor Benway, The Math Forum

Pop Tarts

A Pop-Tart is a flat rectangular toaster pastry approximately 3 by 5.5 in (75 by 115 mm), made by the Kellogg Company. Pop-Tarts have a sugary filling sealed inside two layers of rectangular, thin pastry crust. Most varieties have frosting, but some do not. They can be eaten without being warmed, but are often warmed inside a toaster. More recently, certain varieties have been marketed as tasting best when left to cool in the freezer. They are usually sold in pairs inside foil packages, and do not require refrigeration.

Popular flavors include (but are not limited to) blueberry, frosted strawberry, frosted brown sugar, cinnamon, cherry, hot fudge sundae, and s'mores. I'm interested to have a taste of chocolate chip cookie dough, cookies and cream, cheese danish and mint chocolate chip. Too bad the more traditional flavors are the only ones available here in the Philippines. But then again, they are still delicious and addicting!

Branding certainly played a vital role in this pastry's history. Post Cereals first created the confection that would become Pop-Tarts in the early 1960s. They adapted their process of enclosing dog food in foil to keep it fresh without rotting for their new toaster0-prepared breakfast food. Intended to compliment their cold cereals, Post announced their new product in 1963 to the press, giving them the name "Country Squares." Because Post had revealed Country Squares before it was ready, Post's biggest competitor, Kellogg, was able to develop their own version in six months. Internally at Kellogg, the pastry was known as a "dolliesscone." Post released their Country Squares in the same year, but sales lagged behind Pop-Tarts. It is widely believed that Country Squares failed because of their name. In the progressive culture of the time, with TV shows like "The Beverly Hillbillies", the name "Country Squares" was associated with being backward and boring. Country Squares failed to take off, while Pop-Tarts became a sensation. At first, Pop-Tarts were not frosted because it was believed that the frosting would melt in the toaster. However, they later discovered that frosting could survive the toaster and released the first frosted Pop-Tarts in 1967.

In 1971, a cartoon character named Milton the Toaster was introduced to promote Pop-Tarts. The campaign ended when a commercial showed a child hugging the toaster, leading to complaints that children might imitate the commercial and burn themselves. In 1992, Pop-Tarts became the focus of more controversy, when Thomas Nangle sued Kellogg for damages after his Pop-Tart got stuck and caught fire in his toaster. The case gained notoriety when a humor columnist wrote a column about starting a fire in his own toaster with Pop-Tarts. In 1994, a Texas A&M University professor performed an experiment proving that, when left in the toaster too long, strawberry Pop-Tarts could produce flames over a foot high. The discovery triggered a flurry lawsuits. Since then, Pop-Tarts carry the warning: "Do not leave toasting appliances unattended due to possible risk of fire."

One thing that I really love about this product aside from it's taste is its convenience. It is vey handy and I can have it anytime of the day. It can be a meal for breakfast, lunch or dinner. I can have it for midmorning, midafternoon or midnight snack. I can have it while driving, studying, watching movies or if I'm really careful, in the shower. That's how much I love Pop-Tarts, "Crazy Good"!

God is Good

I'm so angry at this statement's use, I don't even know how to begin! I totally with my mind, my heart, my soul and my whole strength BELIEVE in this statement. What really ticks me off is how people use this sentence.

Scenario: I'm watching Kapamilya Deal or No Deal. The player first chooses a briefcase from the 26 available and that will be used to play the game. Then comes the part where the player chooses from the remaining 25, one by one. This would reveal to the player, little by little, the chances of getting that elusive jackpot. At some points of the game, the host will talk to a mysterious shadow called the Banker, who makes an offer to the contestant. The ultimate question is asked, "Deal or No Deal?" If the player chooses deal, the offer of the Banker will be won, but if it is No Deal, the game continues until all cases are open.

Ok, so I'm not good at narrating how the game goes but after all that, I've already pulled my hair out for 3 reasons.

REASON 1

When the contestant chooses a briefcase to open, he or she starts shouting, "LOWER! LOWER!" Lower than what?! The player should shout LOW, NOT LOWER!!! What you have in that game are LOW and HIGH amounts. Not LOWER and HIGHER amounts!

REASON 2

When the contestant goes on a high amount opening streak, the host would tell the player to stop doing that and start doing well. Ok... It's a game of chance! You can't improve your performance! It's not like a basketball or soccer game where you can make adjustments on your technique or strategy. Chance is not a skill that you can practice!

REASON 3

This is in reference to the title of the post. When the player opens a low amount case, he or she, together with the host will start saying, "God is good!" Ok, as I've said before, I believe that God is good... BUT how come I don't hear that from them when they start opening high amount cases?! Whenever something good happens, all you hear is "God is good!" or "Praise God!" I'd like to hear them say that whenever times are bad!

What's Bad About UAAP Season 70

These commercials are soooooo wrong! Makes me want to boycott the games. BAKEEEEEET?! ANUNG GAGAWIN KOOOOOOH?!

Optical Illusions 2

The following optical illusions are called AFTER IMAGES. The nature of our visual system allows us to sometimes see "after images" which appear once the original stimuli are removed. The colors in this type of optical illusion are usually the opposite or complementary colors of the original.

Instructions: Stare at the center of the figure for 45 seconds. Move your gaze to a blank white surface and see the correct colors appear. It's advised to have a blank white sheet of paper at hand to make it easier looking for a blank white area. Go ahead and try to make one yourself. Enjoy!

Brazilian FlagBritish Flag
Canadian Flag

French Flag
Indian Flag
Italian Flag
Malaysian Flag
USA flag

Keys to Success

What does it take to make it to the top? What do you need or need to be in order to be the best? How do you become successful? There are plenty of answers to these questions. Some may say you need the 3 C's: character, competence and charisma. Some just believe in luck.

Just for the fun of it, let's try to figure out which is really helpful to be the alpha dog. How? Using math, of course! Simple addition to be more specific. First, let's list down the letters of the alphabet and assign each letter with a number:

A – 1	H – 8	O – 15	V – 22
B – 2	I – 9	P – 16	W – 23
C – 3	J – 10	Q – 17	X – 24
D – 4	K – 11	R – 18	Y – 25
E – 5	L – 12	S – 19	Z – 26
F – 6	M – 13	T – 20
G – 7	N – 14	U – 21

Then to know which are the keys to success, just get the equivalent KEY VALUE. If you hit a value of 100 (or strictly speaking, 89 since SUCCESS = 89), then that would be the key. Let's take an example. I said earlier that people just rely on LUCK. Based on the equation,

L + U + C + K = 12 + 21 + 3 + 11 = 47

This shows that LUCK wouldn't even give you half of the success.

I've searched for different characteristics that are said to be keys to success and here they are with their corresponding key values. If there are errors to my arithmetic, I would welcome corrections, thank you very much!

This first batch includes key values less than 89:

LOGIC = 46 (you'll be better off with LUCK!)
ACADEMICS = 58 (so much for studying!)
FOCUS = 64
EFFORT = 70
CHARISMA = 72
CHARACTER = 77
CONFIDENCE = 84

This next batch are the keys to success with key values of 89 to 100 (inclusive):

PASSION = 93
KNOWLEDGE = 96
LEADERSHIP = 98
COMPETENCE = 99 (close, but no cigar!)
ATTITUDE = 100
DISCIPLINE = 100

It can be seen that with the right ATTITUDE and DISCIPLINE, you're on your way to success. But of course, we can always do more with the following key values of over 100:

INTELLIGENCE = 115
CONNECTIONS = 131
PERSEVERANCE = 131
ORGANIZATION = 149
RESOURCEFULNESS = 200

Interestingly enough, there's one more thing that's beyond 100 and will get you somewhere if you want, ASS KISSING = 127! And how true it is!

40 winks

I love to sleep! It has got to be my favorite activity. I sleep anytime - morning, noon, afternoon, night, midnight or early morning. I sleep anywhere - in bed, on the couch, on the chair or toilet, in the car, on a cot, on a hammock. I sleep during class, while taking the jeep or train, while watching TV, while studying or working out in the gym and during a lot more activities. I can sleep for a whole day if I'm dead tired or simply if I wanted to.

Why do I love to sleep? Here's my excuse, I'd like to think sleeping is a science. Until the 1950s, most people thought of sleep as a passive, dormant part of our daily lives. We now know that our brains are very active during sleep. Moreover, sleep affects our daily functioning and our physical and mental health in many ways that we are just beginning to understand.

Nerve-signaling chemicals called neurotransmitters control whether we are asleep or awake by acting on different groups of nerve cells, or neurons, in the brain. Neurons in the brainstem, which connects the brain with the spinal cord, produce neurotransmitters such as serotonin and norepinephrine that keep some parts of the brain active while we are awake. Other neurons at the base of the brain begin signaling when we fall asleep. These neurons appear to "switch off" the signals that keep us awake. Research also suggests that a chemical called adenosine builds up in our blood while we are awake and causes drowsiness. This chemical gradually breaks down while we sleep.

During sleep, we usually pass through five phases of sleep: stages 1, 2, 3, 4, and REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. These stages progress in a cycle from stage 1 to REM sleep, then the cycle starts over again with stage 1. We spend almost 50 percent of our total sleep time in stage 2 sleep, about 20 percent in REM sleep, and the remaining 30 percent in the other stages. Infants, by contrast, spend about half of their sleep time in REM sleep.

During stage 1, which is light sleep, we drift in and out of sleep and can be awakened easily. Our eyes move very slowly and muscle activity slows. People awakened from stage 1 sleep often remember fragmented visual images. Many also experience sudden muscle contractions called hypnic myoclonia, often preceded by a sensation of starting to fall. These sudden movements are similar to the "jump" we make when startled. This usually happens when I sleep during class and it is quite embarrassing. Upon awaking from the sudden jerk, to add insult to injury, I see a pool of drool on my desk. When we enter stage 2 sleep, our eye movements stop and our brain waves (fluctuations of electrical activity that can be measured by electrodes) become slower, with occasional bursts of rapid waves called sleep spindles. In stage 3, extremely slow brain waves called delta waves begin to appear, interspersed with smaller, faster waves. By stage 4, the brain produces delta waves almost exclusively. It is very difficult to wake someone during stages 3 and 4, which together are called deep sleep. There is no eye movement or muscle activity. People awakened during deep sleep do not adjust immediately and often feel groggy and disoriented for several minutes after they wake up. Some children experience bedwetting, night terrors, or sleepwalking during deep sleep.

When we switch into REM sleep, our breathing becomes more rapid, irregular, and shallow, our eyes jerk rapidly in various directions, and our limb muscles become temporarily paralyzed. Our heart rate increases, our blood pressure rises, and males develop penile erections. When people awaken during REM sleep, they often describe bizarre and illogical tales – dreams. Just a tip, if you want to talk to sleeping people, make sure their eyes are going haywire, hehehe!

The first REM sleep period usually occurs about 70 to 90 minutes after we fall asleep. A complete sleep cycle takes 90 to 110 minutes on average. The first sleep cycles each night contain relatively short REM periods and long periods of deep sleep. As the night progresses, REM sleep periods increase in length while deep sleep decreases. By morning, people spend nearly all their sleep time in stages 1, 2, and REM.

People awakened after sleeping more than a few minutes are usually unable to recall the last few minutes before they fell asleep. This sleep-related form of amnesia is the reason people often forget telephone calls or conversations they've had in the middle of the night. It also explains why we often do not remember our alarms ringing in the morning if we go right back to sleep after turning them off.

Since sleep and wakefulness are influenced by different neurotransmitter signals in the brain, foods and medicines that change the balance of these signals affect whether we feel alert or drowsy and how well we sleep. Caffeinated drinks such as coffee and drugs such as diet pills and decongestants stimulate some parts of the brain and can cause insomnia, or an inability to sleep. Many antidepressants suppress REM sleep. Heavy smokers often sleep very lightly and have reduced amounts of REM sleep. They also tend to wake up after 3 or 4 hours of sleep due to nicotine withdrawal. Many people who suffer from insomnia try to solve the problem with alcohol – the so-called night cap. While alcohol does help people fall into light sleep, it also robs them of REM and the deeper, more restorative stages of sleep. Instead, it keeps them in the lighter stages of sleep, from which they can be awakened easily.

People lose some of the ability to regulate their body temperature during REM, so abnormally hot or cold temperatures in the environment can disrupt this stage of sleep. If our REM sleep is disrupted one night, our bodies don't follow the normal sleep cycle progression the next time we doze off. Instead, we often slip directly into REM sleep and go through extended periods of REM until we "catch up" on this stage of sleep.

People who are under anesthesia or in a coma are often said to be asleep. However, people in these conditions cannot be awakened and do not produce the complex, active brain wave patterns seen in normal sleep. Instead, their brain waves are very slow and weak, sometimes all but undetectable.

If you reach this point, I give you a pat on the back for not falling asleep, YET. Maybe you're starting to yawn and your eyes are staring to close. It's amazing how studies on sleep can make you sleepy.

How much sleep do we need? The amount of sleep each person needs depends on many factors, including age. Infants generally require about 16 hours a day, while teenagers need about 9 hours on average. For most adults, 7 to 8 hours a night appears to be the best amount of sleep, although some people may need as few as 5 hours or as many as 10 hours of sleep each day. Women in the first 3 months of pregnancy often need several more hours of sleep than usual. The amount of sleep a person needs also increases if he or she has been deprived of sleep in previous days. Getting too little sleep creates a "sleep debt," which is much like being overdrawn at a bank. Eventually, your body will demand that the debt be repaid. We don't seem to adapt to getting less sleep than we need; while we may get used to a sleep-depriving schedule, our judgment, reaction time, and other functions are still impaired.

People tend to sleep more lightly and for shorter time spans as they get older, although they generally need about the same amount of sleep as they needed in early adulthood. About half of all people over 65 have frequent sleeping problems, such as insomnia, and deep sleep stages in many elderly people often become very short or stop completely. This change may be a normal part of aging, or it may result from medical problems that are common in elderly people and from the medications and other treatments for those problems.

Experts say that if you feel drowsy during the day, even during boring activities, you haven't had enough sleep. If you routinely fall asleep within 5 minutes of lying down, you probably have severe sleep deprivation, possibly even a sleep disorder. Microsleeps, or very brief episodes of sleep in an otherwise awake person, are another mark of sleep deprivation. In many cases, people are not aware that they are experiencing microsleeps. The widespread practice of "burning the candle at both ends" in western industrialized societies has created so much sleep deprivation that what is really abnormal sleepiness is now almost the norm.

Many studies make it clear that sleep deprivation is dangerous. Sleep-deprived people who are tested by using a driving simulator or by performing a hand-eye coordination task perform as badly as or worse than those who are intoxicated. Sleep deprivation also magnifies alcohol's effects on the body, so a fatigued person who drinks will become much more impaired than someone who is well-rested. Caffeine and other stimulants cannot overcome the effects of severe sleep deprivation. One more possible side effects of a continued lack of sleep is death. Usually this is the result of the fact that the immune system is weakened without sleep. The number of white blood cells within the body decreases, as does the activity of the remaining white blood cells. The body also decreases the amount of growth hormone produced. The ability of the body to metabolize sugar declines, turning sugar into fat. One study stated that people who sleep less than four hours per night are three times more likely to die within the next six years. Although the longest a human has remained awake was eleven days rats that are continually deprived of sleep die within two to five weeks, generally due to their severely weakened immune system.

Are you still up at this point? High five!

To make up for lack of sleep and keep yourself alive, try POWER NAPS. Studies show that 20 minutes of sleep in the afternoon provides more rest than 20 minutes more sleep in the morning (though the last two hours of morning sleep have special benefits of their own). The body seems to be designed for this, as most people’s bodies naturally become more tired in the afternoon, about 8 hours after we wake up.

Many experts advise to keep the nap between 15 and 30 minutes, as sleeping longer gets you into deeper stages of sleep, from which it’s more difficult to awaken. Also, longer naps can make it more difficult to fall asleep at night, especially if your sleep defecit is relatively small. However, research has shown that a 1-hour nap has many more restorative effects than a 30-minute nap, including a much greater improvement in cognitive functioning. The key to taking a longer nap is to get a sense of how long your sleep cycles are, and try to awaken at the end of a sleep cycle. It’s actually more the interruption of the sleep cycle that makes you groggy, rather than the deeper states of sleep.

As there are pros and cons to each length of sleep, you may want to let your schedule decide: if you only have 15 minutes to spare, take them! But if you could work in an hour nap, you may do well to complete a whole sleep cycle, even if it means less sleep at night. If you only have 5 minutes to spare, just close your eyes; even a brief rest has the benefit of reducing stress and helping you relax a little, which can give you more energy to complete the tasks of your day.

Lastly, here are tips to help you sleep:

• Set a schedule, go to bed at a set time each night and get up at the same time each morning. Disrupting this schedule may lead to insomnia. "Sleeping in" on weekends also makes it harder to wake up early on Monday morning because it re-sets your sleep cycles for a later awakening.

• Try to exercise 20 to 30 minutes a day. Daily exercise often helps people sleep, although a workout soon before bedtime may interfere with sleep. For maximum benefit, try to get your exercise about 5 to 6 hours before going to bed.

• Avoid drinks that contain caffeine, which acts as a stimulant and keeps people awake. Sources of caffeine include coffee, chocolate, soft drinks, non-herbal teas, diet drugs, and some pain relievers. Smokers tend to sleep very lightly and often wake up in the early morning due to nicotine withdrawal. Alcohol robs people of deep sleep and REM sleep and keeps them in the lighter stages of sleep.

• A warm bath, reading, drinking a chocolate drink or another relaxing routine can make it easier to fall sleep. You can train yourself to associate certain restful activities with sleep and make them part of your bedtime ritual.

• If possible, wake up with the sun, or use very bright lights in the morning. Sunlight helps the body's internal biological clock reset itself each day. Sleep experts recommend exposure to an hour of morning sunlight for people having problems falling asleep.

• If you can't get to sleep, don't just lie in bed. Do something else, like reading, watching television, or listening to music, until you feel tired. The anxiety of being unable to fall asleep can actually contribute to insomnia.

• Maintain a comfortable temperature in the bedroom. Extreme temperatures may disrupt sleep or prevent you from falling asleep.

And if all else fails and you still have trouble falling asleep night after night, or if you always feel tired the next day, then you may have a sleep disorder and should see a physician. Your primary care physician may be able to help you; if not, you can probably find a sleep specialist at a major hospital near you. Most sleep disorders can be treated effectively, so you can finally get that good night's sleep you need.

To wrap things up, I love to sleep because I want to keep myself alive. Plus it boosts your immune system, makes you smarter, helps you look better, increases concentration, and makes you a better person. Congratulations for keeping yourself up for this post! Now go, get some sleep!

The Most Annoying Sound In The World

The clip above is just for fun! For me, the most annoying sound in the world is the sound of the studio audience in a talk show like Oprah, Tyra or Ellen. It's the collective high pitched "Hoooo..." the audience makes as they clap whenever the show cuts to commercial or the host gives away free stuff.

And speaking of free stuff... It's annoying that people expect free stuff whenever they attend a talk show! I remember an episode of Ellen where she was explaining a product and that every purchase would help a charity or something like that. After the explanation, the crowd made the most annoying sound in the world, thinking they would each get one. Ellen then said, they wouldn't, ahahahahaha!!! Serves them right!

Acting

I've had my share of acting experience, during plays when I was in high school and way back when I was in nursery. I couldn't really recall my nursery gig so I'll just narrate it the way my dad tells the story... Christmas was fast approaching and we were to reenact the Nativity and I was Joseph. I was part of the Holy Family! The next day, I was given a different role, I was 1 of the 3 kings. Ok, not bad, at least I was still playing a character with a distinct name and role. The next day, I was given a different role, I was a shepherd. Hmmm... I wasn't really sure why I was going down the cast but hey, a role is a role. And I was so young, I didn't mind. The next day, I was given my last role transfer - I PLAYED A SHEEP! How in the world could you go from Joseph, to a Magi, to a shepherd and finally, TO A SHEEP?! Only I can do that! And hey, I was the best sheep in acting history!

I love watching movies and I've seen films from different genres. I'm amazed to see actors who can shift from one role to another, most especially if the films are of different types. And they do it effectively, they portray the role so well! The following are descriptions of different film genres:

Action

Action films are usually include high energy, big-budget physical stunts and chases, possibly with rescues, battles, fights, escapes, destructive crises (floods, explosions, natural disasters, fires, etc.), non-stop motion, spectacular rhythm and pacing, and adventurous, often two-dimensional "good-guy" heroes battling "bad guys" - all designed for pure audience escapism.

Adventure

Adventure films are usually exciting stories, with new experiences or exotic locales, very similar to or often paired with the action film genre. They can include traditional swashbucklers, serialized films, and historical spectacles, searches or expeditions for lost continents, "jungle" and "desert" epics, treasure hunts, disaster films, or searches for the unknown.

Comedy

Comedies are light-hearted plots consistently and deliberately designed to amuse and provoke laughter (with one-liners, jokes, etc.) by exaggerating the situation, the language, action, relationships and characters. This section describes various forms of comedy through cinematic history, including slapstick, screwball, spoofs and parodies, romantic comedies, black comedy (dark satirical comedy), and more.

Crime and Gangster

Crime (gangster) films are developed around the sinister actions of criminals or mobsters, particularly bank robbers, underworld figures, or ruthless hoodlums who operate outside the law, stealing and murdering their way through life. Criminal and gangster films are often categorized as film noir or detective-mystery films - because of underlying similarities between these cinematic forms. This category includes a description of various 'serial killer' films.

Drama

Dramas are serious, plot-driven presentations, portraying realistic characters, settings, life situations, and stories involving intense character development and interaction. Usually, they are not focused on special effects, comedy or action. Dramatic films are probably the largest film genre, with many subsets.

Epic or Historical

Epics include costume dramas, historical dramas, war films, medieval romps, or 'period pictures' that often cover a large expanse of time set against a vast, panoramic backdrop. Epics often share elements of the elaborate adventure films genre. Epics take an historical or imagined event, mythic, legendary, or heroic figure, and add an extravagant setting and lavish costumes, accompanied by grandeur and spectacle, dramatic scope, high production values, and a sweeping musical score. Epics are often a more spectacular, lavish version of a biopic film. Some 'sword and sandal' films (Biblical epics or films occuring during antiquity) qualify as a sub-genre.

Horror

Horror films are designed to frighten and to invoke our hidden worst fears, often in a terrifying, shocking finale, while captivating and entertaining us at the same time in a cathartic experience. Horror films feature a wide range of styles, from the earliest silent Nosferatu classic, to today's CGI monsters and deranged humans. They are often combined with science fiction when the menace or monster is related to a corruption of technology, or when Earth is threatened by aliens. The fantasy and supernatural film genres are not usually synonymous with the horror genre. There are many sub-genres of horror: slasher, teen terror, serial killers, satanic, Dracula, Frankenstein, etc.

Musical

Musical/dance films are cinematic forms that emphasize full-scale scores or song and dance routines in a significant way (usually with a musical or dance performance integrated as part of the film narrative), or they are films that are centered on combinations of music, dance, song or choreography. Major subgenres include the musical comedy or the concert film.

Science Fiction

Sci-fi films are often quasi-scientific, visionary and imaginative - complete with heroes, aliens, distant planets, impossible quests, improbable settings, fantastic places, great dark and shadowy villains, futuristic technology, unknown and unknowable forces, and extraordinary monsters (“things or creatures from space”), either created by mad scientists or by nuclear havoc. They are sometimes an offshoot of fantasy films, or they share some similarities with action/adventure films. Science fiction often expresses the potential of technology to destroy humankind and easily overlaps with horror films, particularly when technology or alien life forms become malevolent.

Based on the descriptions as well as the films I've seen, the most difficult genre to act in would have to be comedy. For action, you just need lots of dynamics, stunts, explosions and the like together with the good versus evil story. For adventure, you just need an idea of exploration, which is not the job of the actor. For crime and gangster, you just need mobsters and lots of criminal activity, just act slick. For drama, the actor should just cry or show the difficulties the character they play endures. For epic, just act out what the legend or historical fact states. For horror, you need to act scared or act as killers or monsters. For musical, just sing and dance. And for sci-fi, act out being an alien or some strange act of nature. In comedy, you need to have proper timing and delivery. If the actor can't deliver well, it wouldn't be effective. And, it's really difficult to make people laugh!

Acting is a great art. I admire actors most especially those who are in theater. I really hate those actors who are all look and no talent but they get paid a lot! They are a big disgrace to this art and they give a big slap on the faces of the people who are the pioneers of this industry. I'd like to spread super glue on their faces, place a leather mat, let it dry and then pull the mat off with one quick motion! And do again and again and again!

Can you Smell That?

In a typical soap or shampoo commercial, a kid is seen playing outside (on the streets or in the park) under the scorching sun. The kid enters the house soaking with sweat and stinking to high heavens. The mom says, "Amoy araw ang anak ko." I just have one question... Has anybody smelled the sun?! HOW?! Using lab techniques, by wafting the smell so as not to harm you?!

Taking Public Transportation

It is encouraged to take public transport. It costs less and lessens traffic volume, thus faster trips to wherever you're planning to go. The downside... First is the weather because it can be scorching hot or you'll be blown away by the storm. There's pollution as vehicle emissions fill your lungs black! And of course the issue of security and safety, the potential of getting robbed or mugged.

Well, these are obvious reasons why I don't like taking public transport. What I'm about to list down are those little things that make the trip a little more irritating...

#5 People sleeping on you

Well, I haven't had a first hand experience with this. But if somebody I didn't know suddenly used my shoulder as their personal pillow, I'd drop that head in a heartbeat! I must admit I enjoy seeing people struggling to keep their posture most especially when the driver speeds up or hit the brakes. But I wouldn't want the potential to be a drool catcher of a stranger in my lifetime.

#4 People staring at you

Ever had that feeling that you know someone is staring at you? It's okay if little people (babies) did this because they like to look at beautiful things. I'd like to think it's their way of saying you look good since they still can't speak. What irritates me are people who scan you from head to toe. They stare at you for the duration of the trip, sometimes making disgusted faces, which makes you more conscious. What if there's something hanging from my nose?! What if there's something stuck between my teeth?! The tension will drive you crazy! I'm tempted to throw glitter on their faces so they'll have a hard time removing it! Now that would kill the tension.

#3 Talking loudly

There's nothing wrong with talking over the cellphone. That's why it is invented and that's why you own one! But please, don't chatter it up like everyone in the vehicle is part of the conversation. It's so loud that even if the one using the phone and I are at opposite ends of the train, I could still hear the phone person's voice. This also goes for conversations between people in the train. Come on people, please stop announcing to the world what you're talking about, stop the shouting match! And please, don't laugh out loud like there's no tomorrow!

#2 Standing room

This is more applicable to the train riders. Have the courtesy of letting people off before forcing yourself into the train. And if you happen to stand by the doors, kindly give way to those who are about to exit. Some person is trying to get off the train and here you are blocking the path for the fear of losing your spot to another person or the fear of stepping out for a moment and suddenly the doors will close. There are security personnel to make sure that the train doesn't speed off with you still standing by the doors. Another thing about standing room that irritates me... You see an old lady carrying 4 big plastic bags of her things, standing in the middle of the aisle, trying to keep her balance because she has nothing to hold on to then you look at the seats next to her and see that it is occupied by big and fit men wearing heavily tinted black shades and staring blankly as if they were playing in the World Poker Tour! Of course this is an exaggerated situation but it really irritates me to see men not offering their seats to the elderly and women. A little respect please!

#1 THE SMELL

Please don't use your perfume or cologne to take a bath. Too much of that good smell can turn it into the worst smell. Don't soak up on cologne, it burns the nostrils! Just dab enough to make the trip a little more comfortable for the others. And if you don't have perfume, please please, at least take a shower! When I took a jeepney ride to school around a year ago and sat beside the most foul smelling passenger I've ever smelled, I though nothing would top that. Not until a month ago... While I was on my way to review class, a man entered the train and stood in front of me, and (for the love of God!!!) he smelled really bad! If body odor had body odor, that was it! He personified FOUL! He shouldn't have been allowed to take the train. Heck, he should have been arrested!

I guess I should have included the situation of the train along EDSA during peak hours but it is something beyond our control. Train carts are packed like sardines which makes people prone to pickpockets and molesters (which is why I approve of having separate carts for men and women). And the smell of humanity is really bad and for the trip duration, oxygen is a scarce resource. Going back, I didn't include this because, unlike the 5 things I mentioned, we can't really solve that by changing our ways. It's a matter of population and as long as the population increases, the trains will keep on carrying the packed carts.

All I ask is a little courtesy. You're in public places so please have the decency to act accordingly.

Brain Teasers 2

Here are the answers for the previous set of mysteries:

The Murder

Frost forms on the inside of the window, not the outside. Mr. Fiend could not have wiped it off to see Mr. Tidy's body.

The Mailbox

She reminded him that the key was safely locked inside the mailbox that it unlocks. After all, he did mail it there.

Bug on the Plate

The waitress had told him she served him their ONLY plain dish. When she brought the "new food", it was on the same dish.

Sunday Burglary

If you know your stuff, the mail doesn't come on a Sunday (this however is not the case here). The groundskeeper is guilty.

The Dead Driver

The man was a mechanic. The jack gave way while he was working on the car.

Were you able to solve all of it? Here's the next batch of mysteries for you to unravel...

Polly Perkins

Polly Perkins was after a talking parrot, so she went to the local pet shop in the hope of securing such a find. She was in luck. The shop assistant assured her that the parrot would learn and repeat any word or phrase it heard. Polly was delighted. However, a week later, the parrot still hadn't spoken a word. Polly returned to the shop to complain, however, it appeared that the assistant was accurate in what he had said, and refused a refund. Why didn't the parrot talk?

Roller Coaster

A father took his sons to an amusement park one day. He told them to meet him at the entrance at 5:00 later that day. When the kids finally showed up at the end of the day, it was 5:30. The father said that he was angry and wouldn't take them again for a whole month. One of the boys said, "Wait, it wasn't our fault! We were on a roller coaster, but as we went down the first hill the engine blew out!" After thinking for a while, he grounded the boys. How did he know they were lying?

The Wisest Son

One day, a father went to his three sons and told them that he would die soon and he needed to decide which one of them to give his property to. He decided to give them all a test. He said, "Go to the market my sons, and purchase something that is large enough to fill my bedroom, but small enough to fit in your pocket. From this I will decide which of you is the wisest and worthy enough to inherit my land." So they all went to the market and bought something that they thought would fill the room, yet was still small enough that they could fit into their pockets. Each son came back with a different item. The father told his sons to come into his bedroom one at a time and try to fill up his bedroom with whatever they had purchased. The first son came in and put some pieces of cloth that he had bought and laid them end to end across the room, but it barely covered any of the floors. Then the second son came in and laid some hay, that he had purchased, on the floor but there was only enough to cover half of the floor. The third son came in and showed his father what he had purchased and how it could fill the entire room yet still fit into his pocket. The father replied, "You are truly the wisest of all and you shall receive my property." What was it that the son had showed to his father?

Shirley Tate

The home of Shirley Tate was completely dark as Shadow and Kareem knocked on the front door. "As I said," murmured Kareem, "This is not like her at all. She hasn't answered her phone all day, and being late for our date is totally out of character." Shadow tried the door and found it unlocked. They stepped into the front hall and called out, but there was no answer. Kareem tried the front light switch, but nothing happened. "I'll try the light at the other end of the hall," offered Kareem, feeling his way along the wall. Kareem flipped the switch; casting light on the body of Shirley sprawled across the hall floor. She had been shot in the back. Kareem turned around and gasped in horror, grabbing his stomach. "This little scene makes you look rather guilty of murder," accused Shadow. Why?

Duffus the Tea Tipper

Duffus love his tea plain and hot. Every day he drank several cups which caused a rather large mess on his floor. You see Duffus didn't have the steadiest hands and he used his stove to boil the water for his tea; not wanting to buy a kettle. He also refused to have anything less than a full cup of tea (though after spilling it on the way he rarely had a full cup). You see he drank his tea out on his porch which was a good 100 ft walk through most of the house, which at the best of times was so cluttered. Despite the clutter Duffus didn't like tea stains on the floor so he changed "one" thing about the preparation of his tea to make sure he would never have to clean up the floor again. He didn't use a different cup or get an electric kettle so he could boil the water on the porch or even half fill the cup. He did almost everything the same. So what was the one thing he changed so that he wouldn't spill his tea?

Flooding Enforcement Frustration

Floods and traffic in this country can be so frustrating! And because of this overflowing frustration, I'm expecting this post to have no structure at all. I would be writing down my sentiments regarding these two topics without any proper train of thought. I usually take time to structure my posts, read related articles or other people's views but this time, it's all me! I know not everyone will agree with me, but hey, I have to get it off my chest. Here I go!

We only have two seasons, wet and dry... During the wet season, it's very difficult to get around. Why? Because of floods! Everywhere you go, the streets are like rivers. During this season, it would be cool and great to own a jetski instead of a scooter or a car! It would even be cooler to see a guy (or maybe have a first hand experience of) riding a jetski along EDSA, Katipunan, or maybe Espana. Why is it flooding? The drainage systems are inadequate! Some are clogged because of garbage while others are filled way more than its capacity. You would see manholes or drains spewing out water instead of taking it all down! Which leads me to the dry season. It's funny that some of the heavy traffic caused during the dry season is due to fixing drainage systems. It's one crazy cycle! The drainage system is given a makeover during the dry season... TRAFFIC! They're supposed to work now... Here comes the rain! Flood, TRAFFIC ONCE AGAIN!! Rain goes away... There's an assessment that the drainage system needs to be fixed... Work on the system, again... TRAFFIC!!! Rain... Flood... TRAFFIC!!!! Hope my point got across...

What do gremlins and cars in this country have in common? When they get wet, they multiply! Every time it rains, the car volume becomes at least two times as many as it was before it started raining! I left the house and it wasn't raining yet. I was cruising along then suddenly, the rain fell like there was no tomorrow! This went on for a good 20 mins, then a sudden stop. A stop not just with the rain, but with the traffic flow as well! I was stuck in traffic for 5 hours during a trip that would have taken me 20 mins! The "express"ways turned into parking lots. At one time, I turned off my engine and was stuck in the same spot for over an hour. I could have gone to a nearby restaurant, eat lunch, go back and still see my car where I left it.

Why is it that whenever traffic slows down, you would usually see no reason why it slowed down in the first place? This is most common along EDSA, most especially before the flyover in front of the EDSA Shrine. It slows down starting in front of SM Megamall then suddenly you see a clear road before going up the flyover just in front of Poveda. There are no accidents, no people going on or off public transport, no nothing! The road just suddenly opens up for you to speed away. This has got to be the most mysterious traffic phenomenon here in this country!

The one thing that really gets my blood boiling... STUPID LAW ENFORCERS! You cannot enforce the law if YOU DON'T HAVE A BRAIN! During a trip to Batangas, we passed by a mall to buy stuff that we need for the trip to the beach. It was still early, and the mall won't open for another 30 mins. Being unfamiliar with the place, we approached a guard and asked where we can park the van and where the entrance is. The guard looked like he had difficulty understanding us... He pointed to a spot so we stayed there and he also pointed to an entrance. Now the area where we parked didn't look like a parking lot and the entrance he pointed out had deliveries being carted into it. Then the same guard approached us, "Sir, di pwede magpark dito (Sir, you can't park here)" WHAT?! You were the one who pointed out that spot to us! And the entrance you pointed out, that was for employees and deliveries! WE ARE HERE TO BUY! TO BUY! STUPIDO! It turned out the parking lot and entrance was on the other side of the mall. Are there more of these kinds of law enforcers? Sadly and infuriatingly, yes! I'd like to gather all of them up, lock them in a room and beat them up with a 2 by 2! GROW A BRAIN DAMMEET!!!!

Another thing that ticks me off... Traffic enforcers WOULD KEEP THEIR EYE ON APPREHENDING supposed traffic violators RATHER THAN AID IN TRAFFIC FLOW! These guys are like vultures! In an intersection, instead of staying in a spot to make sure the cars don't cross when the light turns from green to yellow to red, they stay on the other side and wait for their prey to fall victim to the "beating the red light" violation. They even stop the car in the middle of the intersection, causing traffic flow disruption, instead of properly talking to the motorist on the side of the road. When you get caught, all of them talk to you, leaving no one to attend to the traffic situation. If there's one word to describe these enforcers it's INCONSISTENT! They are only present in times and in places that benefit them. Sightings are abundant during holidays or traffic coding hours and only in places with lots of cars passing through. Once, my brother was caught for "reckless swerving" and now, that area have lots of cars swerving left and right with no enforcers in sight! WHATDAHEY?! And once you get caught, they would tell you all about the hassle and expenses of paying for the ticket, getting back your license and the "need to attend a seminar". Why? To make you realize that it's easier and cheaper to just slip a few hundred pesos under your license! In this country, you only get caught because of luck, not because you violated a law.

I'm sure lots of other people have their stories to tell. I think I still have some but I'll just recall them some other time. I've unloaded enough, I feel better already! One last thing, cars are not the only things that have something in common with gremlins in this country... WE HAVE GREMLINS FOR ENFORCERS!!!

Brain Teasers 1

I am a frustrated investigator. Well, not really... I think I just enjoy bending my mind with different situational puzzles. I'll share some of the brain teasers I found and will be posting the answers in the succeeding brain teaser post to avoid spoiling the fun.

The Murder

Old Mr. Tidy was found dead in his study by Mr. Fiend. Mr. Fiend recounted his dismal discovery to the police. "I was walking by Mr. Tidy's house when I thought I would just pop in for a visit. I noticed his study light was on and I decided to peek in from the outside to see if he was in there. There was frost on the window, so I had to wipe it away to see inside. That is when I saw his body. So I kicked in the front door to confirm my suspicions of foul play. I called the police immediately afterward." The officer immediately arrested Mr. Fiend for the murder of Mr. Tidy. How did he know Mr. Fiend was lying?

The Mailbox

An executive went away on a long business trip. Before he left he asked his secretary to forward all of his mail. However, he forgot to give her the key to his mailbox. When he realized his mistake, he mailed the key to his office so the secretary could send his mail to him. But, she never did mail it. The executive got angry and phoned his office, planning to fire his secretary. However, she was able to explain to him why she hadn't sent his mail. He quickly realized he was in the wrong and apologized. What did the secretary say to make the executive realize his error?

Bug on the Plate

A man was eating at a restaurant. When his food came, his waitress told him that they had run out of their usual fancy dinner plates and had to serve him their only plain dish. The man did not object, but there was a bug on his food. His waitress took it away and said she would bring him a new plate with new food. When she came back the man knew she had only tossed off the bug. How?

Sunday Burglary

A couple that owned a mansion came home from church to find that their safe had been robbed. They gathered all of their hired services for questioning. The cook was questioned first and she said that she was busy preparing the Sunday dinner. Next was the butler but he said that he was setting the table for the Sunday dinner. Then they questioned the maid and her excuse was that she had been cleaning the dining room along with the butler. So they moved on and asked the grounds keeper and he stated that after finishing the pruning he went out to get the mail. The couple, stumped by the reasonable alibis soon found that they had the answer. Who was it?

The Dead Driver

When the police arrived, a man was lying dead under a car. Investigations revealed that although he was not the car's owner, he was the last person to drive it. The car had last been driven that morning, but the man's time of death was established at about 3 P.M. The car's owner was discovered in the south of France. No one else was involved in the affair and eventually the police and the coroner were satisfied that no crime had been committed. What is the explanation?

Answers will be posted in Brain Teasers 2

Lost in Translation

I would like to think I'm fluent in my native tongue, Filipino or more popularly known as Tagalog, and in the so-called "universal language" English. Yes, I can understand both - speaking, writing, listening and reading. Although I must admit, my vocabulary for both is not as extensive as I want it to be. What I want to focus on is the fact I have more difficulty expressing myself in Tagalog.

Speaking is not much of a problem, although I usually use a combination of both - known as "Taglish" for some and "Engalog" for others. But if I had to use one language only, usually for formal reports or presentations, I think I'd do well. I remember my elementary days in the Ateneo de Manila University... During one of my final years (can't remember whether it was Grade 6 or 7), our Language teacher required us to speak in pure English. She told us to "shoot" or "bang" our fellow classmates if ever we caught them speak Tagalog. We were always on the look out, listening to each other. The punishment? At the end of the week, the one with the most "bangs" would have to clean the washroom. It was small but boy was it a nightmare! It's good to be friends with everyone, nobody would dare shoot you and of course I'd do the same for them. Did anyone have a shot at the washroom? Yeah, but lucky for them, the washroom was already clean at that time. I couldn't remember how long this went on - a quarter or semester - but definitely it didn't take the whole year. Was it fun? Yes, of course! It was really funny when we had to struggle and look for the right word. It's a good exercise, well, without the washroom clean up, of course!

My problem lies in reading, READING TAGALOG! Let's look back at the Philippine Science High School days... It was during our first year that we studied one of the works our national hero, Jose Rizal, wrote - the Noli Me Tangere. The following is the first paragraph in Tagalog...

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"Magtatapos na ang Oktubre nang maghapunan si Don Santiago de los Santos, kilala sa palayaw na Kapitan Tiago, at kahit ipinahayag lamang sa hapong iyon, na hindi niya ugali, naging paksa ito ng lahat ng usapan sa Binondo, sa ibang karatig-pook at hanggang sa Intramuros. Tinitingala noon si Kapitan Tiago bilang isang napakagalanteng ginoo, at kasabihan na ang kaniyang bahay, tulad ng kaniyang bayan, ay hindi nagsasara ng pinto kanino man, huwag lamang may komersiyo o mga kaisipang bago at pangahas."
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The mentioned paragraph was taken from "Jose Rizal Noli Me Tangere" translated by Virgilio Almario. Take note that this novel was first written in Spanish thus spawning different Tagalog and English translations. If I remember correctly, the Tagalog version that we read was a lot deeper and way more difficult to comprehend. Nosebleed! That is why I had to look for an English version to make my life a lot easier and to keep blood from spilling out of my nose!

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"Don Santiago de los Santos was giving a dinner party one evening towards the end of October in the 1880's. Although, contrary to his usual practice, he had let it be known only on the afternoon of the same day, it was soon the topic of conversation in Binondo, where he lived, in other districts of Manila, and even in the Spanish walled city of Intramuros. Don Santiago was better known as Capitan Tiago - the rank was not military but political, and indicated that he had once been the native mayor of a town. In those days he had a reputation for lavishness. It was well-known that his house, like his country, never closed its doors except, of course, to trade and any idea that was new or daring."
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Now that's better! I got this from a translated version by Leon Ma. Guerrero. To this very day, I have difficulty reading Tagalog. It's crazy! I spend a lot of time reading a page, and when I finally finish it, I end up going back and reading it all over again! Am I doing anything to improve this? NO, ahehehe! But it is fun to know that "allocation" is "gugol", "sale" is "barato" and the color "orange" is "kahel". What other translations do you know? Sa uulitin!