Here are the pictures (finally!)...

Day 1:

Landing in(on?) Bohol. I hate these kinds of pictures but my parents always insist that we take them.



First stop is the Blood Compact site. I actually saw the bronze version of this sculpture in the Manila Metropolitan Museum. This one is made of stone I think but it boggles me how they made the raised arms.


Here are the Chocolate Hills. They're huge! And some vanity pics, I obviously need to sleep some more.











Now on to this rickety bamboo bridge. It is relatively safe as there are steel(?) cables supporting the structure but the bamboo still bears the brunt of the weight.


I just can't resist. The nuns look so cute.


It was so slippery, I lost my balance and dropped my book. Fortunately, it just suffered the mud and not the water.


Next is lunch in the floating restaurant. It was nice and even beautiful, after you accept the fact that the river will never be blue as the sky because of the silt, sand and mud. The food was not THAT delicious but I like the langka dish and their pansit.












Of course, how could we forget the Tarsier. We didn't go to the reserve. We went to this shop where they show the tarsiers to tourists. It's really an ugly place and I can't believe the DoT, DENR and the LGU of Bohol allows it.


Inside a nice cave. There is a deep pool of water; it's just too bad I do not have my shorts with me.

In the hotel(Bohol Diver's Club), after a long long day.

End of day 1

Day 2 and 3 will be on the next post. I'm tired of this very slow internet connection and I hate crappy blogger upload tool(I used photobucket instead).

Some things I've pondered on over the sem break and I think are true. I'm too lazy and incompetent to make a critical and beautiful discussion of these things I'll just list them down(in no particular order):

1. Being boring is a sin to mankind. Boring meaning becoming content, stagnant, unchanging, not developing, not helping or being a commensal(parasites are actually good since they provide adversity resulting in innovations).

2. The Homosexuals should not believe that they need to work hard or get rich or do something noteworthy before they gain the respect and/or tolerance of society. Many heterosexuals do not even deserve to be tolerated yet they are(ex. politicians).

3. Related to 2, the Filipino society is hopelessly homophobic and will remain this way for at least 2 more generations(unless the Martin Luther King of the Filipino homosexuals will appear).

4. Proper sex education for all is a good tool for population control and in prevention of STI's, however; for practical purposes, use of contraception and condoms is currently the best method to achieve lower growth in population and infected people. Related to this, many have a point that sex education may be better taught by parents but they always fail to remember that these parents are usually as ignorant as the kids they're supposed to be teaching regarding reproductive health.

5. Use of condoms should be encouraged. I have now 2 nephews concieved(but not born) out of wedlock. To the Church: They already performed premarital sex, do you really want them to commit more sins by bringing to this world an unwanted child? No, adoption won't do for Filipino society. It's either marriage or abortion, usually. And about STI's, they already have eternal hellfire waiting for them after this life(at least, according to you), why not allow them to be safe from HIV, Hepatitis, Herpes and some other icky diseases and live a relatively happy life here. What is 60 years compared to eternity any way?

6. Religion is indeed the opium of the masses.

Forgive me if I'll be sounding very grade conscious in this post.

So sad... I'm not recieving the University Scholar award this semester. I have to settle for the lower but still respectable, College Scholar award. Tsk... Goodbye consistent US achievement. At least, I still haven't received any grade higher than 1.75(2.00, 3.00, etc). I hope I can focus next semester and regain my US title and be one step closer to the magna award(I've computed my grades, I'll never become a summa.).

I'm back from Bohol. Skin-color still the same; didn't go swimming when the sun was out. It was nice. Expensive but nice. Story with pics later this week; I need to transfer it to my PC first. Man, my internet connection is so slow...

Bakit nila pinalaya si Erap? Hindi ko malubos maisip kung ano ang pumasok sa ulo ni pGMA at ibinigay niya ang pardon; pati nga si FVR, na isa sa pinaka-maipluwensiya niyang kakampi, ay tumututol dito eh. Lalo tuloy nadadagdagan ng ebidensya ang isang hypothesis na isa lang siyang presidenteng papet(pasista? hindi pa ata. pahirap sa masa? ewan ko, magulo ang masa, hindi nila maintindihan kung nahihirapan ba sila o hindi.) lalo na nang binanggit pa ito ng isang abogado na taga-usig sa kay Erap na malamang isang malakas na grupong politikal o/at relihiyoso ang pumilit kay pGMA na bigyan si Erap ng pardon.

Ang sakit kasi ng pakiramdam. Para kang ginahasa, sinaktan tapos sinabi na kasalanan mo at ginahasa ka. Hindi man lang nilagay si Erap sa totoong kulungan ni hindi nga siya nakatapak sa Bilibid. Pagpapahirap ba ang house arrest kung saan ang dami-daming luho; mga luho na hindi man lang nararanasan ng karamihan sa bansa. Bukod pa roon, parang malaya na rin siya dahil karamihan ng mga kahilingan niya na bumisita kay ganoon o ganyan dahil Pasko o kaarawan ay natutupad.

Masakit rin sa ulo ang mga katwirang ibinigay ni pGMA at ng mga sumusuporta kay Erap. Nakakawa?! Patawa ka! Matapos niyang magnakaw sa bayan, gastahin ito para sa mga luho niya at hindi man lang aminin na siya ay may kasalanan, patatawarin siya bigla? Matapos niya sabihin na ayaw niya ng pardon, bibigyan mo siya niyon? Ano naman kung matanda na siya? Ibig sabihin ba noon kapag matanda ka na pwede ka na gumawa ng krimen? Ang dami nga diyang mga lolo na nasa kulungan dahil ginahasa ang apo. Hindi ba't para niya na ring ginahasa ang bayan sa mga pinaggagagawa niya? Marunong naman kami maawa pero hindi naman nahirapan si Erap. Inuulit ko, hindi siya tumanda sa totoong prisinto at matanda na siya noong kinulong siya. At paano ngayon ang mga matatanda na nasa prisinto, iyong mga tumanda doon hindi iyong mga bagong pasok, ano na ang gagawin sa kanila? Buti sana kung bibigyan rin sila ng pardon eh. Pakiramdam ko hindi. At para lang maging makatarungan dapat matapos bigyan ng pardon ang matatandang iyon, dapat bigyan rin sila ng house and lot at kabuhayan showcase para lang matumbasan ang halaga ng pardon ni Erap.

Isa pang masakit sa ulo. Bakit nawawala ang mga demonstrasyon, mobilisasyon at mga protesta? Nasaan na ang mga balita ng malawakang pagkilos ng mga "kilusang makabayan?" Wala ata akong narinig at kapag hindi ko nakita sa TV, narinig sa radyo o nabasa sa dyaryo, hindi siya naganap. Ano naawa na rin ba sila? Nasaan na ba ang mga maboboka na tibak ng UPM? Bakit walang statement ang USC o ang Karatula o A-K? O baka dahil nasa Pedro Gil ako at wala sa CAS kaya wala akong naririnig pero parang malabo kasi kapag may walk-out kadalasan dadaan pa rin sila sa malapit sa amin at iikot ng UP-PGH. Baka naman nag-aaral? Kung may makakabasa nito at maiinsulto, patawad na lang. Bato-bato sa langit ang tamaan huwag magagalit.

I haven't been getting good and restful sleep these past days. I don't have troubling going to sleep, I just resume to constructing my fantasy world and before I know it I'm asleep. The problem is at around 4am I wake up or have these really fancy dreams. Usually, I like having dreams but these dreams do not let me rest. I now know how Egwene(the Dreamer in Wheel of Time) feels after Dreaming(prescient dreams).

Last night was especially tiresome(actually, it wasn't really night as it happened at around 5am), I actually dreamed that I was taking a very important test. The test itself wasn't hard; it was surprising that I know all of the answers. However, I wasn't taking the test seriously but I know it's a very important test. And I was yawning and taking my time for every question while all of my seatmates are trying to create fire using their pens and papers. Another funny detail is that I literally saw the clock moving at a very rapid rate and before I knew it, the end of the exam was near and I haven't answered anything yet! I then experienced astral projection(in the dream) wherein my awake self was screaming at my dream self to fucking hurry up. I didn't get to finish the dream because my alarm went off. It's a good thing though because I couldn't imagine what I'll feel after submitting those incomplete answers.

I know that I get these really fancy dreams when I'm feeling stressed but it is the sem break! It's supposed to be my rest and relax time. How can I get stressed out? Why am I stressed out? Argh...

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Like webcomics? Try explosm.net and jesusandmo.net. Here's a sampler:

From jesusandmo...


From explosm.net...


Have fun!

It's rainy today. Cloudy, dark, cold and gloomy too. It's the kind of weather that you wish you had a cigarette with one hand and a bottle of strong alcohol in the other, then again, I don't smoke and I can't drink so I'll settle for a jacket. And smoking is bad bad bad for your health(and mine).

Any way, since we're mentioning smoking. At the jeepney stop and loading area, an old lady almost rode our jeepney. The problem is she just lit her cigarette. How stupid can you be? Lighting a cigarette then riding a jeepney. Granted many do it and they probably do not know it is illegal and downright annoying to the other passengers. They probably never heard of the saying, "One's freedom ends where the freedom of another begins." At that time, I was seriously contemplating whacking her with my umbrella if she even lands one foot inside the vehicle.

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I've been thinking how crappy sex education in the Philippines is. No wait, it's non-existent. I blame the Catholic Church. I guess it's the time for non-government groups to start acting(UP hello!!!!) on the problem. Even if its effect on population growth is negligible, its effect on the number of unwanted pregnancies(and abortion) and sexually-transmitted diseases would be more than enough reason to push it through. Still, the Church doesn't want it and believe that the modules tend to be pornographic and immoral. Yes and their anuses are sewn shut.

Maybe I should be more active in HySoc and try to make it as one of the organization's programs.

(edited, damn! I made some very stupid grammatical errors.)

Ang dami nangyari noong mga nakaraang linggo. Nanalo ng Nobel Peace Prize si Al Gore, nawindang ang medical community sa linya ni Teri Hatcher sa Desperate Housewives, tinawag na slut si Cory(good job! Daily Show), may sumabog na bomba sa Glorietta(9 ang patay ayon sa huling balita pero malamang alam mo na iyon), natapos na ang 1st sem(grades na lang), naayos ko na ang bagong itsura ng aking munting blog(na iilan lang ang nagbabasa) at marami pang ibang bagay. So? Wala lang. Gusto ko lang i-recap ang mga pangyayari.

Bakasyon na pero babalik pa rin ako ng UPM bukas. May training kasi kami sa StDC buong linggo at gagawa pa kami ng mga ka-tsenesan na gagamitin sa nalalapit na lantern parade. Sh*t! wala ako maisip na bagong steps, walang inspiration, nasaan na ba ang aking muse?

I tried disciplining my 2 year old godchild. Oh, I didn't spank him. I think hitting a child is the worst thing in the world, unfortunately, his parents seem to think otherwise. Anyway, so I tried the firm voice thing. No good, the only voice he's scared of is my father(come to think of it, all of my smaller cousins and relatives seem to be afraid of him. too bad, I haven't learned his technique... yet.). I tried showing him the the mess and telling him in a firmer voice to pick it up. Still no good. SO I used the stand-in-the-corner method. It seems to work but I think he thought it was a new game we were playing, too bad. Soon enough he started crying and calling for his mother. Yeah whatever, firm and strong discipline. No good. I returned him to the scene of the crime(the mess he made), still crying and not listening to my pleas but finally he did. Good kid but he still didn't stop crying. I just know he is going to hate me for that episode. Heh!

Lagpas 200 na pala ang posts ko... 203rd ko na ito. Ang galing tumagal ako hanggang 200+.

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Langya! Nababaliw na ako. Kasi kani-kanina lang, naisip ko, suot ko ba iyong relos ko at singsing? Tapos, tinignan ko kamay ko. Ala ako nakita at naalala ko na kakagaling ko lang sa banyo, baka naiwan ko. Kaya bumaba ako at pagdating ko sa huling step(ano ba Filipino nito?) ng hagdan, napansin ko na suot ko na pala ang relos at singsing ko. PI! Ano ba ang nangyayari sa akin?

Dagdag pa, kahapon napaghalo ko na ang binabasa kong nobela at ang aking buhay. Noong nagising ako mula sa aking siesta, naisip ko na ang mga "followers" ko inaantay ata ako gawin ang ritual na panggabi. Tapos naisip ko bigla, anong followers? Anong ritual? Ah... iyong sa Children of Dune! Syete!

Yey! New images! Good-bye crappy pseudo-pop art banner! Hello yellow dude in a white uniform!

It's still black. I'd want a green one but the win of La Salle is still too fresh in the minds of many people. Stupid UE...

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They stopped airing the Cinemalaya films on ABC 5. Drats! Last thing I caught was Mudraks. It seems like a modern take on the Mrs. Dalloway story(haven't finished the novel but heard about the plot), a good one and the acting was superb(I'm not an expert but I know really good acting when I see it). I just hope they're busy working out on the next season/crop of films they're gonna be showing next. I never manage to catch the films during the festival period and it really is a hassle to go to Diliman to catch only one film.

I really like this:

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.(strike through's mine)

Except for the child of God and glory of God part, it is a really good thing to remember, especially during exam week. I first heard it in the movie, Akeelah and the Bee(nice feel-good flick) and was supposedly from Nelson Mandela who got it from Marianne Williamson.

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To anonymous: Mess = my grades. They're not so bad(at least, I'm not failing), just well below what I am aiming for.

I think I need a new color scheme and header. I really like this layout but the colors seem to depressing for my already depressed state. End of the sem blues...

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Aaaaargh!!! I wish I could make a time go a little faster. Then again, if I am able to make time go faster I wouldn't notice because I'm stuck in it. Or if I do step out of it, I'm gonna miss out on the experience I would have had going from time A to time B(also, means missing the important long exams and lectures). And do I really want it to be 2nd sem already? I haven't even finished cleaning up my mess from the 1st sem.

I'm getting grade-conscious again. It is not a bad thing in itself since students should really be conscious of their grades because it is somewhat a good measure if you are learning something or not. It is the ultra-competitive/every-one-is-my-enemy attitude that is bad. I've somehow learned to control it in high school and I wasn't really aiming for anything high during that time, I was happy to land any where but this time it's different.

I guess I should remember that my only competition is myself. As crappy and cliche as it is, it is true especially with the grading system of my school. I've decided way back that getting a grade of 2.0 and higher(meaning 2.25, 3, etc) is bad since it means I learned and mastered only 80%(or less) of the subject matter or at the very least, it will be perceived that way. The real reasons why I took the final exam in Chem 31 because I feel that I should test my true knowledge in Organic Chemistry and really get the grade I feel I truly deserve.

The point is this week I'm getting annoyed by the grades of other people and have begun monitoring the grades of other people as well. Why the fuck should I care if other people get higher grades than I do?! Based on my philosophy, I shouldn't , right? But I am caring and it really sucks. I guess it is the just end of the semester jitters because everybody is able to and computing their grades already. And if I want this to stop, I just have to will it to stop.

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Happy Banned Books Week Everybody! Too bad I'm stuck with the textbooks for this week(and the next one) so I'd probably not be able to join the uh... festivities.

I just read this really stupid(illogical, fallacious, etc.) e-mail(emphases in the original):

DID YOU KNOW THESE FACTS?

Death is certain but the Bible speaks about untimely death!

Make a personal reflection about this. Very interesting, so read on...

It is written in the Bible (Galatians 6:7):
"Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap".

Here are some men and women who mocked God:

1.John Lennon (singer, composer, member of the former Beatles).

Some years back , in one of his interviews with a leading American Magazine, he categorically said:

"Christianity will end, and it will disappear. And I do not have to argue about that. I'm certain, Jesus was OK but his subjects were too simple. Today, we're more famous than him" (1966).
Lennon, after saying that the Beatles were more famous than Jesus Christ, was shot six times.

2. Tancredo Neves (President of Brazil):
During the Presidential campaign, he said if he got 500,000 votes from his party, not even God would remove him from Presidency.
Sure he got the votes, but he got sick a day before being made President, then he died.

2. Cazuza (Bi-sexual Brazilian composer, singer and a poet)
During A show in Canecio (Rio de Janeiro), while smoking his cigarette, he puffed out some smoke into the air and said: "God, that's for you."

Then he died of AIDS in a horrible manner at the prime age of 32 .

4. The man who built the Titanic
After the construction of Titanic, a reporter asked him how safe the Titanic would be.
With an ironic tone he said: "Not even God can sink it..."
The result:Of course, we all know what happened to the Titanic.

5. Marilyn Monroe (Famous & Controversial Hollywood Actress)
She was visited by an equally famous US evangelist Billy Graham during a presentation of a show. And he said to her that the Spirit of God had sent him to preach to her.

After hearing what the Preacher had to say, she said to him:
"...I don't need your Jesus".
A week later, she was found dead in her apartment.

6. Bon Scott (Singer)
The ex-vocalist of the AC/DC. On one of his 1979 songs, he sang:
"Don't stop me, I'm going down all the way, down the highway to hell".
On the 19th of February 1980, Bon Scott was found dead, he had been choked by his own vomit.

7.Campinas, Brazil (A freak vehicular accident in 2005)
A group of drunk young guys, went to pick up a lady friend...

The mother accompanied her daughter to the car and was so worried about the drunkenness of her friends and she said to her daughter while holding her one hand, who was already seated in the car:
"My daughter, go with God and may He protect you..."

She responded:
"Only If He (God) travels in the trunk, 'coz inside here... it's already full."

Hours later, news came by that they had been involved in a fatal accident, everyone had died,
the car could not be recognized what type of car it had been, but surprisingly, the trunk was intact.
The police said there was no way the trunk could have remained intact. To their surprise, inside the trunk was a crate of eggs, none were broken.

8. Christine Hewitt (a Jamaican journalist and entertainer)
She said that the Bible (Word of God) was the worst book ever written.
In June 2006, she was found burnt beyond recognition in her motor vehicle.

Many more important people have forgotten that there is no other name that was given so much authority as the name of Jesus. Many have died, but only Jesus died for our sins, rose again... and remains ALIVE until now.

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Fine! But I thought the Christian God was supposed to be a forgiving being and is reserving judgement for uh... Judgement Day. This is so like the fundamentalists, using faulty logic and contradicting themselves. Any way, if all those who "insult" God die a horrible horrible death, there should be no atheists and agnostics nowadays and I should be dead a month ago.

And is this really a good way to convince people to convert? Making them fearful of punishment and untimely death! That's stupid! Why should I worship a God who revels in making his or her followers stupid and afraid, assuming he or she is real?

New link... good thing I decided to visit the peyups forum.

www.atheista.net

Not that I'm really sure I'm atheist. I am agnostic and kinda leaning to the atheism side but I'm still very open to change.

Still, it's not just about atheism. Sometimes it is about education and life in general, the comments are fun to read except for the occasional hardcore fundie theist or intolerant Christian. It is slightly refreshing because the people here are generally more polite and tamer than the ones in scienceblogs.com.

FUCK!

Robert Jordan is dead!

This is so sad.

It feels as if the wheel of time has encountered a bump on the road, no a pot hole.

And the really big question: What will happen to the WoT series?

Apparently, like what happened to the Dune series; it'll get published, co-authored. Still as one commenter said, "I know I'm being selfish but it won't be the same." Damn right! Damn right...

If there is such a thing as an afterlife, I hope RJ is happy there.

If there isn't, I don't know what to wish for.

Too late to say goodbye, too early to say hi.

Hey! I'm nearing my 200th post or may be I have reached it already, when I moved from bravenet to blogger I left some of my 1st posts behind. Too lazy and most of the stuff I wrote were very crappy. Anyway, this'll be quick, I have to study for a test tomorrow and I need to know by heart a lot of stuff in order to pass.

We went to Mall of Asia yesterday. I spent most of the time in the skating rink. I'm not good but at least I know now how to skate backwards. Not very fast, mind you, more like baby steps really. It's really fun watching the good skaters practice. I really liked watching this lady do practice her spins and stuff. Also, I stayed close to skater and her coach hoping to get some tips for free, too bad that she's many levels above me. Not that I want to become a real ice skater but learning how to dance on ice would be nice. During the course of my ice skating, I realized that skates really need to fit properly. Too bad that I have a very unique pair of feet, not the normal narrow one but with a bony protrusion(I forgot what it's really called) near the big toe. In the end I wore skates about a half larger than my foot length is and it really didn't help me balance better. Then again, during my first try I wore the "right" size and it really hurt. I couldn't stand skating for more than 1 hour.

UAAP cheering competition is today, at around 2 pm. I hope UP would win, it'd be a consolation for not winning any basketball matches this season.

Bakit ba ang bobo ng aking kapatid at ama? Teka, dapat siguro Ingles na lang ginamit ko, hindi ganoon kasakit marining. Hindi, ibang salita na lang. Bakit ba ang bagal at ang tigas ng ulo ng kapatid at ama ko? Ayaw nila gayahin ang ina ko, madali makaintindi. Paulit-ulit nang ipapaliwanag hindi pa rin maintindihan. Tsk tsk... Ayaw nila maniwala na walang patutunguhan ang "research project" ng kapatid ko. Paki alam ko ba kung in-approve ng research teacher nila, obviously walang alam sa analytical chem, physiology at simple biology ang teacher nila kasi kung meron sasabihin ng teacher nila na hindi kakayanin ng mga HS students isagawa ang project na iyon sa ikli nang panahon na ibinigay sa kanila.

Ganito kasi, itong kapatid ko may Research na subject sa school at isang req't ang gumawa ng isang research paper. Syempre, natural science kasi hindi naman sila tinuruan pa tungkol sa paggawa ng Sociological at Behavioral research tsaka mas mabenta iyon sa Intel-ISEF. Anyhoo, ito namang ama ko sinabi na subukan nila pag-aralan itong isang halamang gamot. Ayos lang naman sana pero sinabi niya subukan nila alamin kung gagana ba ito sa bato sa bato(as in kidney stones). Grabe!

Ayos lang naman ang topic pero ang daming problemang kailangang harapin na hindi kakayanin ng iilang HS students lalo na ang sa lebel nila(nabasa ko ang proposal nila, joke talaga!). Hindi man lang ata nila binasa kung paano gumagana ang mga bato(kidneys hindi stones), kung paano nabubuo ang bato sa bato(kidney stones) at kung anong dating research o anecdote na sumusuporta kahit kakaunti sa kanilang binabalak tapos gusto pa nila ito subukan sa tao kaagad! Sabi ko nga sa kanila ipapakulong ko sila(kasama ang guro nila) kapag tinuloy nila ang balak nila.

Tapos matapos ang ilang linggo, sabi nila hindi na sa tao. Ilulublob na lang nila ang isang kidney stone sa crude extract. Joke ba yun! Malamang mawawala iyon. Ilublob ko sa kumukulong tubig, baka malusaw(dissolve) iyon pero hindi ko naman pwede sabihin na dapat uminom ng kumukulong tubig ang isang tao para mawala ang mga kidney stones niya.

Okay fine, tinigil na nila ata iyon, gusto naman nila ipa-analyze na lang ang halaman at ang crude extract mula dito. Okay, sabi ko para saan? Ano gusto nila makita? Sabi nila iyong makikita? PI! Tubig makikita nila, okay ba iyon? Malamang hindi. Siguro kulang pa ang nababasa nila dahil walang lab sa mundo ang papayag sa ipagagawa nila o kung meron man tiyak na milyon ang ibabayad nila tapos hindi pa nila masasabi na research paper nila iyon kasi ala naman silang ginawa bukod sa magpakulo ng tubig at maglublob ng dahon doon.

hay... ayos! Aral na uli!

Unang beses ko mag-turo kahapon. Hindi naman sa totoong klase, limang tao lang naman ang tinuruan ko. Tungkol sa Chem ang aking tinuro, ang pinaka-ayaw ko pa ang topic: Thermodynamics. Napatunayan ko pa lalo na upang malaman mo kung gaano ka kagaling sa isang bagay, dapat subukan mo itong ituro sa ibang tao.

Kumusta naman? Maayos naman. Naliwanagan naman ata sila tungkol sa kanilang inaaral. Tinanong pa ako kung pwede raw akong pumalit sa teacher nila. Aw... shucks... willikers... Na-plattned naman ako. At, malaki-laki rin ang bayad sa akin. Hehe, pwedeng-pwede na gawing raket ito!

Pero next time aayusin ko na talaga, tsaka nakalimutan ko sagutin iyong tanong ng isa kong tinuturuan sa 1st batch(dalawang batch ang tinuruan ko). Natulog naman siya sa akin kaya ayos lang. Hindi ko naman kasalanan na makatulog siya; lima na lang sila tapos natulog pa siya. Tsk tsk... any way. Ayos naman. Kaya lang, babay Sabado na ata ito.

Ano ang nangyari sa aking unang "sweldo"? Pinambili ko nang Havianas para kay Madie! Ang aking birthday at going-away gift para sa kanya. Ayos lang naman na naubos ito kasi madali ko namang mababawi iyong nawala sa susunod ko na sesyon.

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Parang gusto ko panoorin ang Avenue Q kaya lang wala akong libreng oras. Malapit na matapos ang sem at naiipon na ang mga gawain. Naglalabasan na nga muli ang mga exam eh pero ang pinakaproblema ko lang ngayon ay kung paano ko papalitan ang nawala naming susi ng locker sa micro lab. Kailangan i-interrogate pa si Mang Lab tech kung saan talaga napapa-duplicate ang susi na iyon.

Denialists... They come in many forms: HIV-AIDS deniers, Global Warming deniers, Germ Theory deniers, Gravity deniers, Evolution deniers(usu called I[ntelligent]D[esign]iots or Creationists), name any scientific concept and you'll find one who doubts its validity.

It's a wonder why, despite overwhelming contrary evidence, that they manage to hold on to their beliefs. I blame the neglect of history. These denialists usually claim that this certain study done before gave results that are contrary to mainstream belief or that in the past, this theory was believed to be true and the reason we don't consider it now is because of politics. They also believe in things that were already disproved and seem to be really ignorant about the fact that is was disproved already. Atleast, nobody denies that we have hearts...

I think if they just studied their history and read about all those experiments that scientists performed to prove or disprove something, maybe, they'll be a bit more quiet. IF they really read about how scientists(especially during the late 1800's and early 1900's) are trying very hard to not lose face and gain eternal glory just to prove their hypothesis and how heated these series of debates and experiments became, they'd probably understand why the scientific method works and why we have these facts and scientific truths. Maybe they'll even pick up why they are wrong in believing these forgotten theories and realize that politics played a very small role in science.

Then again, a huge part is their distrust of people or at least those in/with power or the knowledge. Not that it's such a bad thing, many important scientific discoveries were made due to this distrust(Galileo for instance) but it distrust can only be up to a certain degree. Distrust of something many have proved to be true and trustworthy without explaining why you distrust it(like those who distrust the scientific method) is crazy. Many of these denialists like to think themselves as those who branch off from the thought of the mainstream, as a certain kind of noble rebel and probably aspire to be the next Galileo, unfortunately, most of them are just full of hot air and are miseducated about the things they "rebel" against.

Nawawala na ang aking barbero. Naaasar ako sa gupit ko. Ginawa ba naman akong HS student uli? Tsk tsk... Sumpa ata talagang maging maliit at payat sa mundong ito. At least napigilian ko siya gawing "white-side wall" ang gupit. Kaya lang dahil atat siyang matapos nasagad na niya ang razor sa aking anit kaya ayun, mukha na naman akong kabute: Ahit ang gilid tapos may masa ng buhok sa tuktok. Hmp!

Kunwari na lang new punk ang trip ko. Bala na, buhok lang iyan, tutubo rin. Nakakaasar nga lang dahil ang pangit ng gupit pero babalik pa rin ako doon. As if naman may choice ako; dun lang ang mura sa amin na malapit. Karamihan kasi parlour shop, wala naman akong galit sa mga parlour shop(o sa mga bading) pero ang mahal kasi ng singil nila at hindi ko gusto ang gupit nila. Kasi naman lumayas-layas pa ang dati kong barbero na may fungal infection sa braso(so talagang, napansin ko iyon!)! Hay... lalo akong nagmukhang mataray at parang humababa lalo ang mukha ko.

Pero medyo nag-o-oa lang ako, maayos naman itsura niya kapag mamasa-masa ang buhok ko problema lang hindi ako nag-ge-gel(isang luhong sumisira ng maraming gubat) at lalong hindi ako magpupunta sa CR para basain ang buhok ko oras na matuyo ito(sayang ang tubig!)! Tsaka at least, kakaiba ang gupit ko(mabuti ba iyon?).

You Are 96% Feminist

You are a total feminist. This doesn't mean you're a man hater (in fact, you may be a man). You just think that men and women should be treated equally. It's a simple idea but is somehow too complicated for the world to put into action.

Are You a Feminist?

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What do you do when you feel like you're outgrowing your old friends? Do you become some kind of preacher and tell them that the things they believe in are wrong? How can you teach something to them without losing their friendship? I guess, if the thing to be learned is easy, it's okay but what if it is something more serious? And what do you do if they think you're just joking? Example, I always say to my friends that in the LRT(anywhere and in any situation actually) there are only two kinds of passengers(people) able and unable(elderly, disabled, pregnant and, obviously sick) but they seem to think I'm just joking and seem to think I'm going bonkers again.

Related to this, I hate that the LRT management allows female passengers have first dibs on seats(of an empty train). It'd be alright if they have stored value tickets but no, even those who buy single ride tickets can avail of this advantage. As if they pay double the amount we pay! And the argument that female have a disadvantage because they're physically weaker than males is just wrong. I'm physically weaker than most males(due to my small build) but I manage to get a seat most of the time, it's not brawn, it's brains!

Then again most male passengers have the wrong attitude also. They give their seats to female passengers for no apparent reason except maybe chivalry. Pfft! I actually took advantage of this. Last night, I was riding the LRT with a female friend. She gets off at Doroteo Jose Station. One station before that(Carriedo), a seat became available. Usually, I'd take the seat(since my friend is getting off anyway) but a man was standing in front of it and seems to be offering it to my friend. Cunningly, I let her have the seat to avoid any conflict(hey, I'll even appear like a gentleman, hah!). At the next station, she stands up and I take the seat before the man recovers his senses(and inside, I was laughing). A previous incident with the same female friend is even funnier. A man offered his seat(he stood up) to my friend. Instead of sitting down, she gave it to me and I took it(she's getting off at the next station). We ended up clutching our stomachs and biting our lips. We couldn't bear to look at the man's face, I just sensed that he moved to another part of the train, far away from the two of us. Hah!

Stupid! I lost the key to our locker in microbiology and biochemistry. Good thing that the lab tech has a spare key but I need to have it duplicated. It seems it's not a big problem but the key is a weird one and I do not think they make keys that are like it any more. Still, I could comfort myself with the fact that they'd probably stop using those locks if they do not know any one who could make a duplicate of it. Actually, there is a place, somewhere in Buendia. I do not know where exactly but what I do know is that Buendia is a big place. Hufff... I just hope I didn't really lose the key and it's just hiding somewhere in one of my classmates bags.

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I've just learned that there was a contest about the Filipino language. It said that the entries were supposed to be blog entries on the theme of Filipino Month(Buwan ng Wika). Well, the contest has ended and the winners will be announced next week. Too bad since I have so many things to say(rant...) about the Filipino language and the language situation, I think I have made a post about it in the past, I just don't know when and where it is(I'm too lazy to look for it).

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Somenone's been pestering me about my past crushes. Oh please! Like I'll ever tell! It's my BIG secret who those(plural?!) are. Besides, I've decided to not fall in love with anybody(as if I could stop that from happening... well, I could... I'd just have to surround myself with academics and friends... then again, I get a bit lonely sometimes...) and focus on my studies, I have yet to make a scientific breakthrough or uplift the lives of people in a certain community. Love can wait.

Ang ganda ng kantang Wag Ka Na Umiyak ng Sugarfree(well, the best pa rin ang Mariposa) at maganda rin ang music video pero may panira sa dulo. Smoking! Ano ba? Smoking? Paninigarilyo ba ang solusyon sa mga problema sa buhay? Tsk. Sinisisi ko ang direktor, marami namang pwedeng ibigay sa isang nalulungkot(kung ako tatanungin mas ok sa akin ang chocolate) pero bakit kailangan sigarilyo? Bakit kaya pumayag ang banda na ilagay ito? Siguro naninigarilyo sila pero kailangan ba nila ipalandakan at ipilit sa kanilang mga tagakinig(at taganood) na ayos lang ang manigarilyo lalo na kung ikaw ay nalulungkot? Siguro OA lang ako at ang pagbigay ng sigarilyo at isang paraan ng direktor ipakita ang pagusbong ng pagkakaibigan ng dalawang tauhan sa video PERO sana naman pinagiisipan ng mga bandang ito ang mga bagay na idinidikit sa kanilang pangalan. Para tuloy silang Foo Fighters, mga itinatanggi na HIV virus ang sanhi ng sakit na AIDS at sinuportahan pa ang isang may pagkabaliw(hindi naman siya baliw, matino naman ang kanyang isip) na babae at ang kanyang organisasyon. Ang yayabang pa nilang magkalat ng mga impormasyong hindi naman nila naiintindihan ni kaunti.

Balik sa paninigarilyo, kapansin-pansin na maraming palabas ang nagpapakita ng paninigarilyo pero hindi naman ang galit sa lahat ng mga iyon (minsan kailangan talaga na naninigarilyo ang isang tauhan) medyo galit lang pero may iilan na tama ang paggamit ng paninigarilyo at sa sugarfree video, pakiramdam ko mali talaga.

Naalala ko tuloy nung nakita kong ginagawang smoking area ang aming nirerenovate na student's lounge ng mga trabahador! Aba! Ano pakiramdam nila nasa Pilipinas sila? Bawal kaya manigarilyo sa campus; napaka-big deal kaya niyon kasi Health Science center ang aming unibersidad tapos binabastos-bastos mo lang! Kaya lang, ako naman tanga, hindi nagsumbong. Tsk tsk. Sa susunod talaga... At naalala ko tuloy iyong mga guwardiya ng MRT na naninigarilyo sa MRT station tapos nasa likod nila isang napakalaking sign na nagsasabing BAWAL MANIGARILYO SA LOOB NG TREN O ISTASYON. Sayang hindi ko nakuhanan ng litrato.

It's getting crazy in here. Our class schedules all jumbled up. I feel that this semester will be made one week longer. It's not that bad but it's weird when there comes a time(usually early to mid-October) the only students that seem to be stressing out in Manila are the students from UPM. On the plus side, our test for Anatomy and Physiology was postponed. Unfortunately, they're all dumped into next week. So for next week, Tuesday will be for Micro and Biostat, Wednesday for Anatomy and Thursday for Physiology, Friday will be free but we have a scheduled dance for that date. Ugh... And I have test tomorrow.

Tests... I seem to be talking about tests all of the time right now. Sorry. I have very few adventures(as if I have adventures...) these days since ALL of my time is spent on studying or taking a break(usually reading something else or sleeping or eating) from studying. No time to go outside then again I rarely do go out. I prefer the comfort of our couch from the thrills of the outdoors(urban or real). Heh!

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Sino kaya nakaisip na i-suspend ang classes ngayong araw na ito. Ang liwa-liwanag nga sa amin at wala pang baha. Tutal, hindi ko naman dapat gamitin na basehan ang aming lugar para gumawa ng mga konklusyon tungol sa panahon at kalagayan sa ibang bahagi ng NCR kasi kadalasan ay naliligtas ang lugar namin sa mga bagyo at baha. Matagal-tagal na nga nang huling nagka-blackout sa amin dahil sa bagyo o malakas na ulan. At hindi ko pa nararanasan na lumangoy sa baha o maglipat ng gamit dahil pinasok na kami ng baha(Kaya siguro ayaw ko lumipat ng bahay o kaya tumira sa Maynila, ew... baha... yuck!).

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Epal talaga ang mga politiko sinisisi ba naman ang PAG-ASA(meteorology center, hindi ang abstract na object o iyong ibong namatay na). Kailangan ba nila talaga ng gabay mula sa PAG-ASA para sa lahat ng gagawin nila? Helo! At hindi nila kailangan maging tama palagi! Hindi sila Diyos! Hindi sila Kalikasan! Hindi nila kaya utusan ang mga bagyo na lumitaw bigla! Kaya lang nila ay gumawa ng "educated guess." At least, sinabi nila(mga politiko) na baka kailangan nang palitan ng PAG-ASA ang kanilang mga gamit. Ewan ko kung kailangan nila, baka hindi, wala kasi akong balita tungkol sa kalagayan ng mga gamit sa PAG-ASA(pero pakiramdam ko medyo naghihirap na rin sila). Parang ewan nga lang sila kasi ininsulto muna nila ang mga taong nagtratrabaho sa PAG-ASA tapos tsaka sinabi na baka ang equipment ang may kasalanan.

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Ang racist talaga ng mga Pilipino. Tignan niyo na lang ang mga jokes ng Pinoy(iyong mga tipong may Pilipino, may Hapon at may Amerikano...). Iyon nga lang jokes lang iyon. Kaya lang parang pag ininsulto ang lahing Pilipino ang bilis natin magalit(joke man o seryoso tulad ng ginawa noon ni Jay Leno). Ano ba talaga? Huwag nga gawin sa iba ang ayaw mong gawin nila sa iyo eh.

That's it! I've wasted my youth(well, a good part of it).

Meet Eva Vartes. It's a bit long a little less than 20 minutes but I promise you will learn something. She could have done a better job(she keeps walking and saying um... and pausing and um...) but it's good enough to get the message across. Take note, she's only 17 in that video. I'm 18! What have I done with my life? Nothing! Nothing!

I blame the lack of opportunities here in the Philippines and my laziness and lack of initiative. But really, I shouldn't be too hard on myself since science is not about how young you start(or how long you've been working), it's not even about the greatest discoveries, it's on how good(reliable, repeatable, unbiased) your work is, even though you end up having proven the null hypothesis(no correlation). Still, I wish I had done/experienced some real research.

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Napanood ko kahapon iyong pelikulang Batad. Hindi ko natapos kasi may kailangan pa akong gawin pero gusto ko ang napanood ko. Sayang talaga at hindi ko natapos. Nakakaaliw pa naman. Uulitin naman siguro iyon sa Channel 5 o kapag swinerte, magkaka-commercial release pa(pirata kaya meron?).

Maganda ang isyu na tinalakay ng pelikula. Isa na ang Tradisyon o Pag-asenso? Ano nga ba ang dapat mangyari sa mga IP(tulad ng mga nakatira sa Batad, hindi ko alam kung Ifugao, Ibaloy o Kankanay sila eh) group sa Pilipinas? Hindi ba't dapat makapag-aral sila? Pero paano na ang kanilang mga tradisyon at kultura? Hindi ba't maaaring mawala ito lalo na't kung lahat sila ay titigil na sa kanilang tradisyonal na pamumuhay? Sa kaso nila, paano na ang mga rice terraces? Magagaya na ba sila sa Native Americans, magiging karaniwang tao o mananatiling nakaugat sa kanilang tradisyon? Pero, sino nga naman ang nagsabi na dapat mawala ang tradisyon kapag umasenso. Magulong usapan... hindi kasya sa post na ito. Kailangang mag-isip.

Pero tungkol talaga ito sa sapatos. Hindi! Seryoso! Kailangan ko makita ang huling bahagi, makahanap nga ng pirata... joke! ng legal na kopya.

Another day wasted...
Instead of studying(which I seem to be doing all the time nowadays), I spent the whole day playing Lineage II. I blame the heavy rains caused by Chedeng and Dodong. If it weren't for the suspension of classes last Wednesday and Thursday, I wouldn't have installed L2 in my PC. And if I didn't have L2 in my PC, I wouldn't be able to play whenever I feel to do so. I really should stop playing and should refrain from it for this week but I'll probably give in and play... I hope open beta ends soon...

More complaints: If classes weren't suspended, I wouldn't have such a heavy workload for this week. If classes weren't suspended, the biochem exam would have been over. Then again, I wasn't totally prepared for the test so I guess I should be happy about it. And all this suspended classes really wrecked our class schedules(and our org schedules).

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I saw this Global Warming ad in MTV. Stupid really! Full of false information(GW is caused by water vapor...yadda...yadda...we can't do anything about it... it is a part of a natural cycle...blah blah). They even used children to spread the word. If I were someone who is confused about Global Warming(which I slightly am but enough to know that it is real and is most probably caused by us humans), he or she would become even more confused. Tsk. Even their solutions are stupid. Recycling? Sure it'll help but saving electricity would be better. Playing outdoor games rather than computer games would be better. Still, they had some things right like those about the Hummer and other big vehicles. Then again, maybe they like to show(via this ad) how confused the topic of GW is and how it affects even the children. I dunno... if it is about how we should care more about the Earth and how GW is a threat, the message didn't reach me.

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Fun link... a bit long but it's really good:
http://celobox.googlepages.com/god.html

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Ang saya noong nakaraang Wednesday. Malakas ang ulan pero may test kami kaya kailangan pumasok. Go! Sumabay pa ako sa kapatid ko para maaga ako sa PH at makapag-aral pa. Sa LRT, imbes na matulog ay nagbasa ako hanggang sa may Tayuman nang biglang hinabol na ako ng antok. Babay aral! Heheh.

Pedro Gil. Baba ng LRT. Baba sa hagdanan. Inaantok pa ako pero pagdating ko sa baba...wah! Nasa Manila pa ba ako? Ang baha! Ang baha! Ang ihi! Ang baha! Napatigil pa ako. Paano naman ako papasok nito eh hindi pa ako nakakatungtong ng UP eh hindi na ako mukhang estudyante. Sa huli sabi ko na lang, "Ah basta! May tsinelas akong baon." Naghubad ako ng sapatos at sinuot si Hawianas(remember?). Tinupi ko ang aking pantalon(wala rin kwenta kasi nahuhulog bawat hakbang ko), nilabas ang payong at binuksan. Habang hawak ko sa isang kamay ko ang sapatos, sa isa ng payong at nakaipit sa aking braso ang aking libro(mga kalahating-dangkal lang naman ang kapal niyon), ako'y naglakad na papuntang CPH. Sabihin na lang natin na puti pa naman ang uniform ko pagdating ko sa CPH. Nakakaaliw sa bandang Taft, para kang nasa beach, may alon pa bawat daan ng sasakyan.

Sa CPH, walang tao maliban sa staff(guard, janitor). Diretso agad ako sa CR at hinugasan ang aking paa. Lahat ata ng ihi ng mga tao, hayop at kung anu pang nabubuhay sa mga kanal ng Taft at P.Gil ay nadikit sa paa ko. Kadiri! Wala akong sabon kaya dinaan ko na lang sa alkohol(buti na lang ang boy scout ko nung araw na iyon). Paglabas ko, naupo ako at nagsimula na mag-aral. Kaya lang medyo na-di-disturb ako sa aking pantalon. Naalala ko na may dala akong training attire(tennis/short shorts). Bahay na ito! T-shirt, shorts at tsinelas. Kung may dumating na mga prof(at may dumating nga), napaisip sila siguro kung bakit may batang nawawala sa CPH. Heheheh.

Syempre, nasayang lang ang pagpasok ko ng maaga(at paglusong sa baha) dahil na-suspend nga ang klase at ang aming exam.

I think I will take a break from studying after I receive my BSPH. I think it will help me get excited for medical school because right now, I'm getting annoyed at how my classes are going. It's not the subject or the instructor's problem, it's just me. I'm getting tired and I feel my mind is wandering too much that it hinders my learning.

SO what will I do during that one year break? I don't know. I'm looking for summer learning programs(abroad), internship/externship programs or something where I'll be studying but not in the usual lecture-test method. Unfortunately, my search has produced no suitable programs. I guess I could apply as a research assistant in NIH or beg to be a part-time TA or RA in CPH.

I could get a job. I don't know if QCSHS still accept teachers that do not have a BSSEd. If they do, that'll be something I'd like to do.

I'll definitely take the board exam. I will definitely take a 1 week vacation somewhere away from home(Europe?).

I guess if I want to do something productive for that year, I could ask my professors(or relatives) if they know some programs that I could apply to.

BUT I really shouldn't worry about it too much since I still have about 2 academic years before I graduate AND I could still change my mind and go to med school.

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It seems I was wrong when I said RBC's don't produce ATP. They do. Apparently, the reason of the RBC's real death(not the one resulting from nucleus expulsion) is the loss of their ability to produce ATP. They do not have mitochondria but their cell membrane and cellular enzymes still produce ATP. Read physio books for more details.

BUT, NOT-doctor Tam Mateo is still a quack. And I still wouldn't trust him for medical and scientific advice since he is still wrong when he said RBC's are the one that produce the ATP for the body. RBC's couldn't possibly supply all the ATP needed for biochemical processes. The ATP they produce is for maintaining their structural integrity and plays a part in their transport functions.

Another entity becomes part of my blacklisted pseudoscience health practitioners, this time it's not just one person but an organization: PITAHC or Philippines Institute for Traditional and Alternative Health Care. They seem harmless and many of their advice ARE harmless and some are quite helpful(three of the 10 featured herbs were proven to be effective in curing certain diseases) BUT they are a anti-vaccination group and currently recruiting an army of ND's(not doctors) and OD's(oo! hindi doktor) to initiate the "Natural Method of Treating Disease" takeover program.

Also, they spout the nonsense about natural products are better at curing disease just because they're NATURAL. ugh! An atom is an atom and an drug extracted from a plant is as effective as the same drug synthesized from the lab. Unless of course, the extraction procedure was not completely effective in purification which caused a helpful substance to be extracted also(note: usually the contaminants[those that should have been removed in the purification process] are toxic and not very helpful).

Grabe ang ulan kanina nung pauwi na ako. Bigla ba namang bumuhos ng kanda lakas-lakas! Sa ikli ng lalakarin ko papuntang LRT station, nagawa pa niyang gumawa ng baha sa Pedro Gil. Hindi pa naman super baha pero sapat na para mabasa ang loob ng aking sapatos. Kadiri! Napabili tuloy ako bigla ng Hawianas(pekeng Haviannas; mas matigas ng onte kaysa sa isa pang peke, Havannas).

Sana lang hindi ako nangangamoy sa LRT kanina. Hindi ko naman naamoy kung mabaho ako pero siguro iyong may mga sensitibong ilong naamoy ang aking kinakalat. Heh! Ikaw kaya subukan mong magalakad buong araw, magsayaw tapos ilublob ang paa sa baha ng Pedro Gil.

Ayun. Ayos lang naman na nabasa ang paa ko kanina. Hindi ko lang matanggap na nabasa lahat ng laman ng bag ko. Eh ang tanging laman ng bag ko ay mga photox; puro mga papel! Kaya ngayon nakalatag sila sa may sala namin para matuyo sila. Dahil nabasa sila, hindi ako tuloy makapag-aral ng biochem. Pati nga iyong isang libro ko hindi pinatawad ng ulan eh. Biruin mo mas matanda pa sa akin at glossy paper, nabasa ba naman!

Pero sige, ayos lang naman ang ulan. Dapat na matigil na ang dry spell. Wish ko nga lang sa may bandang North ang ulan hindi sa may South.

Okay. So, I'm now an unofficial member(I haven't paid the membership fee of $79) of the International High IQ Society. Not that I'm very proud of it. How can you be very proud of something you were probably born with?(Man, that is so Aiel.) Besides, IQ can be so overrated and I think luck played a huge part in some of the tests. I doubt that the reason I qualified is solely because of me having an above average IQ; I think it was because I know many problem solving strategies.

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Our 1st exam for Biochem Lab was postponed. It was because pGMA made yesterday a special holiday. It was good because I haven't studied enough yet. Unfortunately, the test was moved on Aug 15, the day of our 2nd Anatomy exam. Anatomy is an okay subject but the 1st test was hard and studying for it is very tiresome as the reference book seem to cast a sleeping spell on those who want to read it. I guess the best thing to do is to start studying. Actually, I am going to study after blogging but not anatomy or biochem but microbiology; I find that subject more interesting than the other two.

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Two more holidays this month. Yey! Both on Mondays. I wonder what would happen to our Anatomy and Physiology schedules...

Tao: Anong year mo na?
Ako: Third year na po.
Tao: Ano course mo?
Ako: Public Health po
Tao: Ah... Public Ad... so pagkatapos mo iyan mag-lo-law ka?
Ako: Hindi po public ad, Public HEALTH.
Tao: Ah... so pagkatapos mo iyan mag-me-med ka?
Ako: Um... opo.

Sige na... hindi mo na alam kung ano ang Public Health. Kasi naman eh napaka-low profile ng degree program ko. Ayan tuloy hindi alam ng tao kung ano ba ang inaaral namin. Siguro mabuti na rin iyon para masiguro namin na ang tanging nasa field ay ang mga desidong isulong ang mga layunin ng Public Health pero parang ang kaawa-awa naman namin 50 lang kaming BS Public Health at mga 200 lang ang grad students, eh ilan na ba ang tao sa Pilipinas? Paano naman namin magagawa ng maayos ang(magiging) trabaho namin eh ang walang pake alam ata kahit ang mga health professionals(tulad ng mga nars at doktor) sa Public Health? O baka nag-i-ilusyon lang ako.

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Dapat tigilan na ng DOH ang pagsuporta sa STAR margarine. Alam naman nila siguro ang mga health risks ng pagkaing may trans-fat eh(malamang, trabaho kaya nila iyon). Isa nga ako sa mga nabiktima ng margarine craze noong bata ako. Wala naman siguro masyadong malaking effect iyon sa akin kasi hindi naman ako na-adik sa margarine pero paano na ang ibang tao? Mahirap na nga sa Pilipinas, ang dami na ngang nagkalat na infectious diseases, kung anu-anong parasites at mga pulmo-respiratory diseases dadagdagan mo pa ng Cardiovascular diseases? Paano na ang mga Pilipino?

Siguro, ang bilang pampalubag loob, iisipin ko na lang na ka-kaunti lang ang may kayang bumili ng margarine dahil kailangan pa nila bumili ng ibang pagkain. Pero parang mapupunta naman ako sa ibang problema, noodles. Noodles! Noodles! Adik ako sa noodles pero nabasa ko na ayos lang kumain niyon basta may pagitan na tatlong araw para naman maalis ng katawan mo ang ilang undigestable na components nito. Karamihan ata ng mahihirap ito ang pagkain kapag kinakapos at malamang hindi na nila iintayin pa ang tatlong araw kasi gutom na nga sila. Hinde pwede ito!

Syempre lahat ng problemang nabanggit ko problemang nauugat sa Public Health. Mukhang tatanda at mamatay nga ako ng maaga. Joke lang! Magiging mahaba ang buhay ko.

I just finished reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Yey! I got my copy 10 minutes earlier than expected. The book store was supposed to open by 7 am but they didn't, they were open by 6:45am! Yey! I didn't start reading there anyway. I started reading at around 7:30am and finished at around 3:15pm. It was good. The Mugglenet people did a very good job predicting some of the things that would appear in this book like the psyche of Snape and the plans of Dumbledore but the novel contains much more that I didn't encounter in the essays that I have read and I do not think any thought of it. Any way, I was not entirely happy with the romantic pairings at the end and JKR forgot to mention Luna in the last chapter. Maybe we could ask her to post the story of Luna in her website or blog.

As for my future reading material, I just hope the last Wheel of Time book gets finished before Robert Jordan dies. In the mean time, I'll be sinking my nose into my textbooks. This sem has really been harsh on my reading time.

I want it to be Saturday tomorrow. The primary reason would be it is because Saturday is the release date of HP 7: HP and the Deathly Hallows(yeah!). Other reasons are three things that are going to happen on Thursday and Friday. Tomorrow: 1st test in Microbiology Friday: Handog sa Freshie + another dance immediately after. Both very important performances and I'm still not confident we'd do it as properly as we could and should. Still, I must fight and move forward! I can do this! We can do this! Aja!

Please beware of Tam Mateo, ND(not doctor) and his proposed "cures" for diseases.

I know if his curse oops... cures don't work, then why does the ABS-CBN let him talk to the public in many of their shows? Well, I don't know exactly but you might notice that many of their sponsors are Alternative Medicine/Food Supplement companies. Anyway, please beware of him. Do not trust his medical and scientific claims. They are mostly lies or half-truths.

RBC's don't produce the ATP supply of the whole body(each cell usually produces ATP for its own use). Enzymes from veggies are mostly enzymes for veggies not for humans. And they most probably end up as amino acids(the building blocks of enzymes) and not absorbed as the the intact veggie enzymes. A vegan diet would probably help your bowel movement(all those fiber) but it is not a cure for any disease much less breast cancer. Cancer is not a disease that can be cured by strengthening the immune system(except maybe Cervical, I'm not sure). Tumors are cells of your own body therefore the WBC's wouldn't destroy them because they recognize them a as part of your own body. Fine, follow the fucking diet regimen but do not stop taking the chemo.

I first encountered him on the radio. He was in a show with a licensed MD. The MD was stupid, really! I think her license should be revoked and she be forced to take basic biology again. And he, he was just unbearable. True, most of his cures will probably be harmless but he seems to like saying to people to stop using conventional(proven) cures like chemo for cancer and instead use his naturopathic herbs. Then, I saw him again this morning on Salamat Dok. I feared for the worst since he was talking about Breast Cancer cures. HE had the audacity to say that his all-veggie diet can cure breast cancer. Shame on ABS for not researching properly! A simple google search on naturopathy will lead them to quackwatch and other sites that will provide them sufficient knowledge on the quackery that is naturopathy.

Okay. I sucked at my physio exam. Oh well. I guess I shouldn't have spent the exam time doodling. Yes! I actually spent exam time doodling. Heck! I couldn't answer some of those questions even if I think until my brain explodes. In any case, I would try to perform better at the others tests at least I now know that many of the questions they ask are trivial in nature. I know I should have mastered anatomy before studying physiology(and it cost me at least two questions) but why should I remember the surface area of the lungs? Why? Why? Shouldn't they have asked more questions about the control and process of respiration, digestion and circulation? Why! Still, I have 2 exams(I think) to look forward to and I could always take the final exam to try to increase my grade. I know grades aren't that important but I want to go to med school and grad school and good grades is a must to get into those schools.

I guess, I should just comfort myself with the fact that physio is only 2.5 units and I could still focus more on anatomy, biostatistics and microbiology. Well, we had the 1st exam in biostat and next week, we'll have the other two. I should try to do really well on those two subjects. Besides, I want to do well since it would test my mastery over those subjects. And mastery is important.

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HP movie is out and I haven't seen it. Maybe next week after I'm not so busy. I know I will probably hate it but I saw one clip and it seems to be more promising than the other previous movies. I hope I wouldn't be too disappointed. HP4 movie still seems to be the worst since the only scene I remember clearly is the entrance of the Beauxbatons students with the blue uniforms and "ah..." dance. I still hate the director for putting a sexist twist on that with Beauxbatons being an all-(pretty)girls school and Durmstrang an all-(jock)boys school. They weren't!

Additionally, all the actors(male and female, in case you'd be confused) were too pretty. Hermione was to be geeky looking and look stunning(not that Emma is stunning) only on the Yule Ball. Exceptions include Rubeus who I find to be satisfactory, Malfoy who is a bit too ugly and Sirius who was disappointing at best. JK wrote that Sirius is a handsome man, even after escaping jail. When I saw him, I went! WTF? Who put a Pirate(of the Carribean) in here and its not even Johnny Depp. And after seeing the posters of HP5, I judged that cleaned up Sirius is still too ugly.

Oh yeah and the ending of HP3 was crap. Much of the story revolved around the Firebolt broom stick and they fucked it up big time with that one.

Sleep is such a nice thing. I know scientists are learning that it is possible that we really do not need the recommended 8 hours every night but I still think(and findings agree) that people perform better when they get their complete sleep(which depending on the individual can be range from 6 to 10 hours a night). Naps are very very helpful for most. For me, I find the best time to take naps is in the afternoon. Taking naps in between writing papers at night do not help much.

I guess I need to show some evidence. Take Marion Bartoli. Who? Well, she's only one of the finalists in the Women's Wimbledon 07. She was a set down(in a best out of 3 match) during the her quarterfinal match against Krajicek. She was playing poorly then the rain came. After the delay, she returned to court and dispatched of Krajicek with minimal fuss. In her after-game interview, she explained
“I was short of sleep so I slept for an hour during the rain delay. After that I was feeling much better so it was good for me to have rain today."
Wow! And that's just with a nap. With the complete sleep she had last night(and some very good tennis), she managed to defeat Henin(world no.1) and reach the finals. Okay! So it's an anecdote, so suit me! = )

But really,if all of us just get enough sleep every night(or day) and sacrificing our night habits(surfing the web, clubbing, drinking) the world'll be a slightly better place to live in.

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Speaking of sleep. It seems my attempts at trying to control my Dreams is working. Just kidding! In our microbio class, I was trying very hard not to fall asleep but the prof is just so boring so I failed. Every time I close my eyes I zoom right into dream mode but I quickly realize that it's a dream and I wake up. This repeats about 50 times. Every time I close my eyes, I fall asleep and dream for a second then I wake up. I do not know if those are really dreams but it somehow always ends with some loud noise like someone shouting or an object falling. I guess, I should be happy those ended like that because if it didn't I had probably fallen asleep in class.

And just this afternoon, this happened. I took a nap(after reading my microbio book). I set my alarm to 1:40. I fall asleep. Soon enough I started dreaming. It was a nice dream. It was like a movie, with a great plot and many many characters. It was really nice and enjoyable. It was nearing the climax(I don't now why I knew it was nearing the climax) when the alarm went off. Blast it! So I reached for the alarm and turned it off. I thought may be I should wake and stand up now since my dream is probably gone but I didn't. I went back to sleep and somehow I managed to continue my dream and find out the ending. Unfortunately, I forgot what it was about. I think there was a dragon in it and we were in this big house but I can't remember clearly. Any way. Maybe I should really try working on remembering those dreams so I can put the good ones in here.

I'm so drained... I feel a cold coming up. = (

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Rain hasn't come yet. I want it to rain. I know it'll be really hard to keep my uniform clean when it rains and the streets become flooded but I still want for the rain to come. Besides, those poor farmers who cannot afford irrigation need the rain and the Angat Dam seems to be near-critical water level again. Coincidentally, the last place where they want rain is very wet right now. Where? Wimbledon of course! The tournament's schedule(pronounced: schedyul not skedyul) is whacked and the top players are relegated to smaller courts rather than on Court 1 or on Center Court.

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Those blasted trainees! They didn't come to practice even though I told them to come! Blast it! They better be prepared for Tuesday. *evil grin*

Fuck! It's only 9 and I really want to sleep already. Maybe I should, I have a nasty test coming up next week.

Guess what! I probably had a twin. He(or maybe, she) vanished in the womb(either I ate him/her or my mother did... okay! so ate may not be the most appropriate word).

Just learned about Vanishing Twin syndrome from the In the Womb documentary by NGC. They said left-handed people are probably the surviving members of once twins. It's all related about how twins are sometimes mirror images of each other(ex. one is left-handed while the other is right-handed). I wouldn't be able to confirm it right now(maybe in the future) because my mother did not undergo the normal laboratory and scanning tests while I was inside her. Something about how she and her doctor believes the scanning device could harm me(the embryo/fetus/baby).
It is seems possible that the surviving "twin" could be the right-handed one but according to their logic, left-handed are more probable to have vanished twins because the human species seem to be more(selectively?) right-handed(more right-handed people than left-handed ones and more left-handed people than twins). However, modern research does not support the (very old, 1928)hypothesis. I guess NGC should have read more or if they did should have mentioned that the hypothesis is still a hypothesis and one that is probably wrong.

Still, I wonder what would it be like if I had a twin. We'd probably end up killing each other... well... maybe not.

Encoding data is hard work. Even if you are using software created to make your life easier. I do not like doing this. I dislike doing tasks that are repetitive and boring but needing utmost focus. Not that I dislike titrating; maybe doing it 20 times would be boring but at least the thrill of finding the end point would support me, in encoding you just have to copy and type, copy and type. I know its part of the job of a researcher and I should try to get used to it now before I become one. Still getting used to something does not prevent you from disliking it.

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We were able to hone our microscopy skills this week. I particularly liked the challenged offered by the TB-positive sputum smear, wherein we need to find these tiny specks of pink in a huge sea of yellow and every time you move the slide it becomes slightly out of focus. I think I just got a bit lucky when I found the TB bacillus. Still, it did took me more than 10 minutes of back-breaking searching. Hopefully, there is a much easier way of determining if a sputum smear is positive for TB or not. Well, I think there is, I just do not know about it.
Speaking of microscopes, we used them in our biochem class just this morning. It was fun; I was finding stuff that are not related to what I was really looking for. Heh! The instructor was actually laughing at the things I was able to find. Still, I managed to find another tiny object in a sea of white and bigger particles.

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Another bomb threat. Another prank. This time, it was our college's main building(aka Lara Hall) that was the victim. It's weird. Nobody took it seriously. We just evacuated the building but no one was seriously expecting a bomb to go off. Why? Because, we couldn't think of a possible motive. Why would someone even want to destroy that building? You wouldn't be able to kill many people. Very few is inside at any time. Of course, I feared for the very old books, the very old microscopes and the live microorganisms inside the building. Blowing it up would not cause too much damage to UPM, infrastructure-wise, not unlike if you blow up the college of pharmacy or the college of arts and sciences buildings. They do store very volatile, very flammable and/or very toxic chemicals in there. Good thing though was our class just finished when the evacuation was started.

Nakabili na ako ng notebook. Hah! May notebook of everything na ako! Gusto ko sana nang magaganda-gandang notebook pero wala na akong makita. Hindi iyong itsura sa labas. Lumalayo pa nga ako kapag nakakakita ako ng kung anu-anong design eh. Hanap ko ay plain na color o kaya pattern o kung may design man ay hindi dapat related sa kung anu mang cartoon. Pero ang hanap ko talaga ay magandang papel. Mayroon namang mga notebook dyan na maganda ang papel tulad ng Green Apple at Cattleya pero mahal ang mga iyon kaya hindi ko binibili. Ang aking gamit last sem ay Avanti! na notebook. Matino na ang papel at mura pa.

Iyon ang hinanap ko sa National pero wala silang plain na Avanti. Nakakagulat nga kasi sa dami ng notebook na tinda nila ay wala akong mapili. Mamaya-maya may napansin akong isang Starnotes notebook na may picture ng Panda. Sabi ko pwede na siguro ito kung wala talaga akong makitang may solid color na cover pero nang siniyasat ko na ay nakita ko na pangit ang papel. Medyo manipis at hindi ata maganda ang ganito lalo na't madiin ako magsulat at mahilig ako sa matintang mga ballpen. Ibababa ko na sana ang notebook at aalis na ako nang napansin ko na parang baligtad ata ang cover. Aba! Left-handed notebook pala ito! At kung sisiyasatin mo ang mga katabi niya ay malalaman mong iyon lang ang left-handed notebook. Destiny na ata ito(kunwari naniniwala ako sa destiny) kaya binili ko na!

Hindi naman ako nagsisisi sa aking binili kasi mura naman siya at pang-left-handed nga! Hindi pa ako nakakagamit ng ganitong notebook. Tutal wala rin naman gaanong epekto dahil ang ginagawa ko ay maraming subjects sa isang notebook at nagsisimula ako magsulat sa parehas na dulo. Kapag nakuhanan ko na nang picture i-po-post ko dito.

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Hindi na ako gumawa ng ipapasa ko para sa Public Herald. Hindi ko maayos ang aking mga iniisip. Parang kapag ginagawa sa utak ang isusulat ko ay humahaba ng humahaba at napapalayo ako sa topic. Tsaka parang ang daming isyu bigla na naisip ko tungkol sa UP at epektibo nga ba ang UP na ipasok sa utak ng mga Isko at Iska ang magandang paraan ng pagkatuto o ang aking mga sariling karanasan, labas sa kolehiyo, ang tumutulong sa aking matututo kung paano mag-aral at matuto. Tsaka parang nagiging hambog ako at nagiging masyadong makasarili bigla ang nagagawa ko. Medyo hambog nga ako pero hindi na dapat lumabas iyon sa aking ipapasa. Tapos iyong ibang parte parang nagiging lecture na imbes na pagkwekwento ng mga karanasan. Siguro sa isang taon na lang at nagiging toxic na rin naman ang buhay hindi ko na muna siguro dadagdagan.

Masyado na ata ako natutuwa sa mga Friday. Para kasing isang malaking bato palagi ang natatanggal kapag Friday na. Buti na lang at hindi (pa) toxic ang mga subjects ko kapag Friday. Medyo natutuwa na rin ako dahil dadalawa lang ang mga subjects ko bawat araw kasi kahit pagod na ako pagdating sa bahay ay nagagawa ko pa rin makapaghanda ng kakaunti para sa mga subject ko sa kinabukasan.

Nagkakagalit na naman ata kami ng Chem. Hindi ko alam kung bakit bigla na lang ako inaantok kapag binabasa ko ang Biochem book. Siguro medyo saturated pa rin ng Chem31 ang aking utak o pangit lang talaga ang pagkakagawa ng libro kong binabasa. Sana naman matuwa ako sa Biochem dahil gusto ko talaga matuto sa subject na ito lalo na't pinakaa-abangan ko pa naman ang susunod sa PH160 series, ang Nutrition. Sa wakas malalaman ko na rin ang mga nangyayari talaga sa loob ng tao kapag may kinain ka! Oo, alam ko na may cellular respiration at chu-chu na kung anu-ano pero may ilang bagay pa na malabo para sa akin. Sa totoo lang gusto ko rin sana na may Pharmacology kami pero sa Med school ko na lang siguro iyon matututunan.

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The purpose of a college education is to learn how to learn. However, it is not the only purpose of getting a college education. Along the way you need to learn a few things and acquire some skills that would be essential in your future job. Also, you need to fix a few things high school messed up in you, may it be in academics, personality or in philosophy/ies in life. For me, college and the atmosphere of UP has helped me realize who I am and what things do I really believe in. Additionally, all those exposures(be it good or bad) had led me to believe that I should really be in the field of Science and I should try to be more of a scientist(skeptical, critical, hard-working, ever curious).

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My college's official (undergraduate) publication is calling for new members. Coincidentally, the topic for the application essay is the thing one loves the most about college. My favorite thing about college is learning and learning how to learn properly(see previous post). A close second would be college allowed my to free myself from certain people who are hindering my progress. I haven't decided if I'd apply(I'm not also certain if I'm eligible and I have never joined a writing club). I should hurry since the deadline for the essay is tomorrow. But I guess, I could always just use this blog to "publish" my thoughts. Besides, my writing ability tends to come and go as it pleases and I believe my (non-scientific ie not lab reports)work is not yet ready to be printed.

What's the point of a college education?

I cannot say I totally agree with it but it does have a good point. No time to discuss, I have class later. My thoughts on it would be posted on Saturday or Sunday. Sorry! It did made me think though on the current college situation here in the Philippines.

Ang hirap ng walang inaaral lalo na kapag may mga bagay ka na ayaw mong isipin. Buti na lang simula na ng totoong pagtuturo at pag-aaral bukas sa CPH. Anat at Physio bukas(2 subjects bawat araw, 3-4 hours bawat isa). Napakagandang kombinasyon at dahil mas matindi ata ang kagustuhan ng mga taga CPH at CM na maging world-class ay nakahanda na ang schedules namin para sa buong sem at mayroon pa kaming kopya. Tutal meron rin niyon sa CAS pero hindi naman ata nila sinusunod. Problema ko lang bakit hindi ata coordinated ang Anat at Physio namin. Kumusta naman! Habang nag-aaral kami ng mga cells at epithelium sa Anat ay nag-aaral naman kami ng puso at circulation sa Physio. Kaya siguro kami pinag-aral ng BIO 22 at BIO 102, bwiset, kailangan ko ata muling buklatin si Hyman.

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Natuwa naman ako sa mahiwagang baul ng aking mga kamag-anak dahil hindi ko na ngayon kailangan pa bumili ng mga libro. Oo medyo luma na at siguro may mga kulang at maling impormasyon doon. Oo, may kakaibang amoy na ang iba(pero gusto ko talaga ang amoy ng lumang libro). Oo, kailangan ko siguro bumili ng bagong libro para naman may magamit ako sa med school at sa grad school pero maghihintay muna ako at napansin ko kasi nagiging tamad na ako mag-notes dahil nasa libro na nga. Kung alam kong hindi ko mapagkakatiwalaan ng todo ang aking mga libro ay mapipilitan akong makinig at mag-notes. Ang magiging problema ko lang siguro kapag walang kwenta ang lectures pero sa tingin ko hindi naman mangyayari iyon. Mas mataas naman ata ang quality ng mga prof sa CPH kung ikukumpara sa CAS(pero matino na rin naman ang mga tao sa CAS at parang DPSM ata ang pinagbabasehan ko ng aking mga sinasabi) kung pagbabasehan ang kanilang kaalaman at karanasan sa kanilang itinuturo.

I was attending Mass and the homily was boring, if not non-insightful so I just let my thoughts wander. To keep up with the religious theme, I decided to think about God. I decided to think about the existence of God. True, Kant said that logic shouldn't be used in tackling God's existence and one should rely on faith and belief alone but I decided why not. Turns out, he was right because if you used logic you'd reach an atheist conclusion(There is no God) or to the very least realize that God just doesn't care what you do in the living world, bleak but logical. Of course, I discounted those so called "miracles" and relied only on what I think could be measurable and quantifiable events.

Logic says that if all the things we believe about God is true we'd be experiencing Him or Her every time we ask for help since God did promise to extend his/her hand to us at our time of need but I do not think that happens... no wait, that does not happen at all. Ultimately, our problems are solved by our own hands and actions. Some would say God guided them and what not but you cannot prove that. You cannot conduct a mental or physical experiment to test that claim. In the end, you just have to believe that God did guide you and everyone else in the world(God is omnipotent and omniscient). And if God is indeed all good, logically, murder would not exist. Tests of faith are fine but allowing murder is taking it too far; what about the person that was killed what happens to his test for entry to heaven? I do not believe all those murdered are good people. And all those children who die everyday? What about them? They can't all be innocent. If God does care, he would stop that person in mid-action and zap him straight to hell.
But, if you do believe that God does care, you can. I would like to remind that faith should not be proven and questioned using logic and rationality(religion is another matter), I was just pondering on that impossibility.

During the part where those attending Mass recite the Apostle's Creed, I didn't open my mouth. I cannot force myself to lie. I do not think Christ rose again after death or there are saints in heaven. I do believe in the God the Creator(the Creator of what? the natural laws? the one who triggered the Big Bang? certainly not the direct creator of us humans, we are just an accident). I do think that the many of the teachings of Jesus are sound and could be used as a guide on how to live the life of a good human being. But all those other things that the Catholic religion(not faith) require me to believe in is just too far. Many people would hate me but I trust in Science and Logic more than what religion(as in the dogma) is saying to me. Science and Logic do have limitations, I do not think we'll ever really prove conclusively the existence of the Big Bang or prove that the current theory of the Death of the Universe due to Expansion(solar systems drift apart, soon planets fly off then atoms decompose into subatomic particles and all things would move away from each other never meeting each other again). We cannot create a Universe in the lab but I think the newly developed accelerators are nearing that goal and we won't be here when the Universe is dying.

Yes, confusing, unorganized, characteristic of ramblings. What I'm just saying is that one shouldn't try to prove his or her faith using logic. Say I believe in God or God is dead. Just say it and no more. God's existence is beyond the living person's capability to prove and understand(if it was only one religion would exist). Maybe he or she does exist or maybe not or maybe he or she did exist once and is now dead, we just won't know all we'll ever know is that we live in a world that is functioning apparently without any help from God.

UPDATE: And you are an... AGNOSTIC. Or at least I'm becoming one. I do not think I meet all the categories yet(heck I'm a believer). Not that it is such a bad thing. And I do not think I will be that person Mitch Albom is describing in Tuesday's With Morrie(the one where he points out the difference in the deaths of an agnostic and an atheist, so false...)

Mahirap ang palaging nag-aantay. Hindi ito romantic ek-ek noh! Hindi ang nag-aantay ng pag-ibig o kung anu man, hello! ang pag-ibig ay hindi inaantay kundi hinahanap. Anyway, mahirap talaga ang nag-aantay ng mga tao. Lalo na kapag sinabihan mo na sila dalawang linggo na ang nakaraan na may usapan kayong magkikita. Mahirap lalo kung noong gabing iyon ay tinext mo silang lahat para magmakaawa na dumating sila ng maaga. Mas mahirap lalo kung mainit at wala kang upuan. At sobrang hirap lalo na't ang dami mong planong gawin nang araw na iyon; mga gawaing sobrang importante. At sobra-sobra sa hirap kapag hinahanap mo sila(text, tawag, abtp) ngunit walang pumapansin sa iyo. Ikaw na nga ang nagsasakripisyo ng load para matawagan sila, ikaw na nga ang nauna, ikaw na nga ang nagpakababa kahit sila naman talaga ang mali pero hindi ka pa rin pinapansin. Idagdag mo pa na alam mo namang may utak ang mga taong ito ngunit hindi man lang maisip na hindi lang sila ang tao sa mundo at hindi dapat binabawi nang walang sabi-sabi ang kanilang mga binitawang salita. Parang ang sarap-sarap tumigil at bayaan na sila ngunit iyon nga iyon eh ang dali-dali lang sumuko pero mas marami ka namang makukuha kapag nagtyaga ka. Hindi ko naman sila pinagalitan o pinahirapan nang dumating na nga sila; mahina talaga ako. Pasalamat na lang sila dahil ang dami ko nang naisip na mga pagpapahirap habang nag-aantay ako sa kanila.

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Rant on a certain Steve(I couldn't reply to him since the last comment was 2 months ago):

There's so many misguided people in the world. Why would you attack vaccines? Why would you ever consider not having your children vaccinated? Do you really think that this would cause so many unproven disfigurations and disorders? Do you really think a compound long ago removed from vaccines cause autism? Do you really think that this treatment which probably have removed all the heavy metals it can could help in the development of your child? Why would you believe that a miracle cure exist for autism? People still prefer to hold unto their wrong beliefs despite overwhelming counter-evidence. People reject guidance and pleas to stop their "stupidity." People are attacking scientists, doctors, health professionals and public health workers, believing all of them are trying to prevent their child's success but all they're trying to do is prevent YOU from harming YOUR CHILD. Why? Why? Why must you be like the people who believe Extra-virgin coconut oil can cure all their diseases? I must ask you to try this: stop giving your child all treatments except chelation and other biomedical hoo-hah for about 5 years and see what happens. I must insist all kinds of treatment like guidance and speech therapy from professionals and from you. See what happens, then after that do the opposite and see what happens. Of course, you wouldn't do it seeing as that procedure would probably harm your child but since you have great faith on those treatments why not give it a shot.

Link(see comments): Stupid steve

What would you want to become? A cyborg or a genetically-enhanced human being?
Cyborgs would be born humans and then have machine implants to gain superhuman abilities while genetically-enhanced human beings would be as the name states genetically enhanced to achieve superhuman abilities. Two methods, same ends. For me, I'd rather be a genetically-enhanced human being rather than a cyborg as I really like full control and feel of my body rather than partial control. I doubt that we'd ever develop technology that could mimic the sense of touch and fine control. Of course, cyborgs would probably have a better chance at immortality than g-e hb's but who said you can't become both?

Info on how scientists are tackling the "Coordinator"(Gundam Seed) plan to human improvement? Read this.

I haven't found an article related to cyborgs but I have seen in National Geographic a show about the first human cyborg. No not the Terminator looking one, he just has this optical fiber implanted in to his arm and a chip I think which enables him to control computers from far far away.

I cannot believe, I've only heard of it today(thanks to RSS)!

Why would anyone propose to not require the reading of fiction in (elementary and high)schools?
Well, Ms. Althouse here proposed that. Here's the link. Do not read the comments yet as I would also like to share a counter-article about her proposal. Just go to these two: Adventure in Ethics and Hullabaloo. The first is shorter but the second is nastier.

My take on the matter? Well, Ms. Althouse mentioned that schools shouldn't force kids to read fiction as some may not be inclined to reading it and she pushed for pure nonfiction readings in schools. Also, she told things about how reading fiction and reading for pleasure is not related to economic success. Maybe, it is not related. I am not sure. The Philippine situation seems to contradict my belief, as I do not think many of the successful businessmen here like to read fiction. Studies point out though people who likes reading fiction have higher scores in standardized tests. Again, higher scores doesn't guarantee economic success. I do not think anything ever guarantees economic success. Anyway, I digress.

Regarding her thoughts on the inclination of children, I do not think many people are naturally inclined to math or science or history yet the schools are forcing them to study it. Why? Ms Althouse says they are "something academic and substantive." And reading is not academic? So all those diplomas for MA's and PhD's on literature are just glorified asswipes? Faculty members dedicated to the study of literature are just bums afraid to do "real work?" Not substantive? Hah! By substantive, she would be referring to its usefulness and haven't tons of studies already highlighted the important role that reading fiction play in the growth of a mature human being?

Also, applying her belief that we should let every child to choose what to study based on her inclinations would just lead to anarchy or at least, a very stupid generation as most children are not naturally inclined to anything academic. It's like the Creationists' argument, schools should teach all the knowledge they could offer; teach both evolution and creationism. With the notable exception that Creationism should not be taught, at least in Science class, because it is not a scientific theory. And schools are supposed to be places where kids will learn what they want to do, what they want to become, what they want to learn and what they want. Depriving them of reading fiction would not lead them to thirsting for it. Not introducing them to fiction is the same as saying that all of the children would become scientists even though science was not introduced to them. With her plan, I would be surprised to see the resulting adults even wanting to read anything. Or maybe it'll lead to a society where thick reference books are the Harry Potter books. Besides, how could you entice people to read thick wonderful novels by depriving them of it and forcing them to read textbooks?

But I do agree that good reading material should be present in schools. Not just fiction and not just nonfiction. But seriously? Non-fiction used to entice people to read? Or maybe it is because I tend to attach the word nonfiction(textbooks, lab reports, case studies, essays, biographies) to the word boring.

Maybe after finishing the Dune Series and the Harry Potter series, I should start tackling Tolkien. Yes, I already know the main story( the good guys win, bad guy/s lose) but I am intrigued by the series because of the number of Tolkien fanatics out there. Hey! These curiosity is what led to my being a WoT and Dune fan(not yet a fanatic; when you see me cosplaying as a Mydraal or a Suk Doctor, I'll be a fanatic) Besides, the last book for the Wheel of Time is set to be at the shelves by 2008. Assuming of course that I do not get buried under textbooks in the coming academic year, I need to find another series to read. Or maybe I should start reading General Fiction again. Those best-selling novels are tempting me with their very beautiful book covers. I know I shouldn't judge a book by its cover but if that were always the case, making cover art wouldn't become such a nice business. Neil Gaiman seems nice but his books are too expensive. Compare the near 1000 leaves of a Wheel of Time book to his novel with 300 leaves and the Gaiman book manages to be more expensive. Normally, I would dismiss Gaiman and call him an overrated author but I have read one of his "kiddie" books and it was great! But I shouldn't be thinking about these books right now because I still do not know how I would manage to buy the needed textbooks for the next semester. This semester will be learning things we'd actually apply in our lives(as public health workers)!

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Sabi ko sa inyo para akong babae kapag nag-e-english eh! Naisip ko lang kasi na kung gusto ko magkaroon ng mga mambabasa kailangan ko na uli mag-blog gamit ang wikang Ingles. Hindi ko naman gusto ng mga fans o kung anu man. Gusto ko lang na may maka-diskusyon ako paminsan-minsan. Weird! Eh kapag nasa mga ORPG nga ako ay ang taray-taray ko tapos ngayon gusto ko ng kausap. Hehehe.

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New links and blogs! Visit them! I recommend Dream Anatomy in the links section and Science blogs in the blogs section. And no, it's not just about science. If you like reading about the Creationism controversy, this would be a good place to be and if you know nothing about it, it would be a good place to start. On second thought, the Simpsons would be a better one(start with the Angel discovery then to the Ban on Evolution). Seriously though, Creationists need to have their heads whacked a bit with a hardbound copy of the Bible.

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I've learned about RSS yesterday. You should try it! Click here to learn more. After you set-up your reader, try subscribing to my blog. Heh. Shameless promotion! Most of the blogs in blogger do not show their subscribe buttons/links but could be easily fixed by typing in the adress box: + feeds/posts/default. ex. http://purpolkurtina.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default. That will lead to the subscription set-up page.

Sinubukan ko gumawa ng tula; hindi kinaya ng utak ko. Tungkol siya sa kalungkutan ng buhay ng isang lion(paano ba ang Filipino ng lion, leyon? layon? li-on? leon?). Hindi ba't kay lungkot ng kanilang buhay?

Kung lalakeng lion ka puro tulog lang ang ginagawa mo. Tulog tulog tulog tapos gigising ka may pagkain na! Hindi mo na kailangan tumakbo o mangaso(aso...lion...hehehe), lalapit ka na lang sa patay na bangkay, tatabi ang lahat at kakain ka na. Kung ayaw mo na kumain, matutulog ka na lang uli. Kung ayaw mo naman matulog, makipagtalik ka sa lagpas lima mong kasamahan. Talik lang nang talik walang pag-ibig(Ewww... ado!). Kapag matanda ka na, papatayin ka ng anak mo o kaya ng kung sino dyan o kung hindi ka mamamatay, itataboy ka at mamamatay ka mag-isa. Sa lahat ng kaso, mamamatay kang mag-isa. Eto na ay kung maswerte kang may pride ka! Kung wala, pagkapanganak pa lang sa iyo papatayin ka na. Kung hindi ka naman namatay, mabubuhay kang mag-isa hanggang may makuhang kang pride. Para namang maganda rin ang buhay kung may pride ka.

Kung babae ka naman, utusan ka ng mga tamad na lalake. Ikaw ang mangangaso at magpapapakapagod mag-alaga ng inyong mga anak tapos ikaw pa ang huling kakain. At wala kang choice kapag gusto ni lalake. Basta gusto niya, ayan na papatong sa iyo. At kapag hindi nakontento sa isang orgasm boom isa pa! Long lasting ang partner mo. Tapos kung mamalasin ka pa, sariling anak o pinsan o kapatid ang gumagawa niyon sa iyo.

Conclusion: Huwag maging lion.

Kung sino man ang writer diyan, pwedeng-pwede mo ito gamitin kung gusto mo. Basta pakibigyan na lang ako ng copy.

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Ano ba ang meron sa Multiply?

Halos lahat kasi ng kilala ko ay may multiply account na. Tutal, may blogger account naman ako, pero may blog feature rin ang multiply. Bukod pa sa silang lahat ay meron, palagi pa akong nakaka-recieve ng e-mail invitation(o invitation e-mailkumuha ).

Siguro mag-mu-multiply lang ako kung mangingibang bansa ako o kaya naging mahilig ako kumuha ng mga litrato(Ang tanda na ng mga pictures ko sa pc, last yata eh iyong debut noong December pa!) . Ang hindi ko lang alan kung may edit option sila kasi parang puro pre-made template ang mga nakikita ko sa mga kilala ko. Kapag wala, hindi ako mag-mu-multiply, mag-pho-photobucket na lang ako! Hehehehe. Kapag meron, tinatamad ako mag-lipat ng posts at hindi naman ata affiliated ang Blogger sa Multiply so malamang mahihirapan ako. For connectivity may Eskwela at Friendster naman dyan at may mga yahoo groups pa so hindi ako mawawalan ng connection sa kanila at syempre, ang ever reliable e-mail(joke pala, hindi ever-reliable ang e-mail, minsan nagloloko si yahoo).

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Medyo nagsisimula na ako ma-adik sa Anarchy online. Free ang account, until 2008 anyway, free ang game client(mga 700mb) at global ang server so kahit saang bansa ang isang tao basta may internet connection, makakapaglaro siya. Medyo pangit ang graphics kung ikukumpara mo sa mga recent MMORPG's pero hindi ka naman maglalaro ng mga MMORPG's para sa graphics eh. Medyo windang ang gameplay at skill system nila; hindi ko pa rin gets masyado kung paano. Maraming classes at skills; as in super kaya nga windang na ako eh. At ang pumipigil sa aking pagka-adik, keyboard ang gamit para gumalaw. Kawawa naman si W-key at Up-arrow key ko kasi baka lumubog sila.