Looks Do Matter, Particularly When It Comes to Neighborhoods

ScienceDaily (Apr. 27, 2011) — It's an unfamiliar neighborhood and you find yourself in the middle of a bunch of streets and buildings you've never seen before. Giving the environment a quick once-over, you make a snap decision about whether you're safe or not. And chances are, that first 'gut' call is the right one, say Binghamton University researchers Dan O'Brien and David Sloan Wilson in an article published in the current issue of Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

 

In a recent series of studies conducted in Binghamton, New York, evolutionary biologists, O'Brien and Wilson, set out to test whether we do indeed have the capacity to judge urban neighborhood safety just by looking at physical structures. It turns out that we do.

 

More here http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110426111417.htm.

5 Years After_Meeting Zyra

I missed this girl, it felt like we were high school students again, lots of updates, my throat ached when we finally separated. Hope to see you again, mother..

Einstein's God

"I belive in Spinoza's God who reveals himself in the orderly harmony of what exists, not in a God who concerns himself with fates and actions of human beings."

Communicating Uncertain Climate Risks

ScienceDaily (Mar. 29, 2011) - Despite much research that demonstrates potential dangers from climate change, public concern has not been increasing. One theory is that this is because the public is not intimately familiar with the nature of the climate uncertainties being discussed.

 

"All of our climate-related options have uncertainties, regarding health, economics, ecosystems, and international stability, among other things," says Fischhoff. "It's important to know what gambles we're taking if, for example, we ignore climate issues altogether or create strong incentives for making our lives less energy intensive."

 

Read more on http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110329163128.htm

Against the Tide

Currents Keep Dolphins Apart; Study Finds Invisible Oceanographic Factors That Keep Populations Separate

 

ScienceDaily (Mar. 24, 2011) — Conservationists from the Wildlife Conservation Society, the American Museum of Natural History, and other conservation and research groups have discovered that groups of dolphins in the western Indian Ocean do not mix freely with one another. In fact, dolphin populations are kept separate by currents and other unseen factors.

Assessment Training in Davao City

Date: March 14 - 18, 2011 at Davao City Waterfront Hotel

Lessons of 1990 Earthquake lost on vulnerable Baguio

Volcanologists point to the possibility of another big earthquake hitting Baguio, where communities are built atop sinkholes and on steep slopes. Its population nearly doubling during the summer, Baguio has only one fire station and four functioning fire trucks. Typhoon Pepeng and a recent horrific bus crash exposed the city's woeful lack of disaster preparedness.

 

Full Story:
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/215909/special-reports/lessons-of-1990-earthquake-lost-on-vulnerable-baguio

How many times do I need to screw up just to learn?

Even wars have limits. - ICRC

MOA Fireworks Show 13 Mar

Science Notes Today March4

Mapping Human Vulnerability to Climate Change
Researchers already study how various species of plants and animals migrate in response to climate change. Now, Jason Samson, a PhD candidate in McGill University's Department of Natural Resource Sciences, has taken the innovative step of using the same analytic tools to measure the impact of climate change on human populations. Samson and fellow researchers combined climate change data with censuses covering close to 97 per-cent of the world's population in order to forecast potential changes in local populations for 2050. Samson's team found that if populations continue to increase at the expected rates, those who are likely to be the most vulnerable to climate change are the people living in low-latitude, hot regions of the world, places like central South America, the Arabian Peninsula and much of Africa. In these areas, a relatively small increase in temperature will have serious consequences on a region's ability to sustain a growing population."

The More Secure You Feel, the Less You Value Your Stuff
People who feel more secure in receiving love and acceptance from others place less monetary value on their possessions, according to new research from the University of New Hampshire.The research was conducted by Edward Lemay, assistant professor of psychology at UNH, and colleagues at Yale University. The research is published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. Lemay and his colleagues found that people who had heightened feelings of interpersonal security -- a sense of being loved and accepted by others -- placed a lower monetary value on their possession than people who did not.

Light-to-Moderate Alcohol Consumption May Help Stave Off Dementia, Research Suggests
Experts agree that long-term alcohol abuse is detrimental to memory function and can cause neuro-degenerative disease. However, according to a study published in Age and Ageing by Oxford University Press, there is evidence that light-to-moderate alcohol consumption may decrease the risk of cognitive decline or dementia.

Satellite Eye on Earth

Beautiful images captured by European Space Agency and NASA satellites last month:

Image 1: Ebon Atoll, a coral atoll in the Pacific Ocean that is part of the Marshall Islands - located about 1000 km to the north-east of the Solomon Islands.

Image 2: Brasilia (Brazil) is located on a plateau (Planalto Central) in the west-central part of d country & is widely considered to be 1 of the best examples of 20th Century urban planning.

Image 3: Ostrov Shikotan (or Shikotan-to) is a volcanic island at the southern end of the Kuril chain. Shikotan lies along the extreme southern edge of winter sea ice in the Northern Hemisphere.

Jeepneys and Ferry Boats

I miss the ferry boat. I miss the river. It’s been more than a month since the ferry service was suspended, the reason for which I didn’t bother to ask the management. And it’s been more than a month that I go to office and back home via jeepney, passing Quiapo. And there’s been a lot that I have seen and known.

I have smelled the polluted air of the metro minimum two hours a day during weekdays. I have noticed the difference of going out in the street early in the morning, than waking up late and rushing to work. I have passed almost every day the man @ the market, selling fruits @ P10 – which occasionally have become my breakfast, I have loved sitting beside the driver instead of @ the back of the jeepney – so I can see the road the vehicle is heading, I have observed the different errands people are up to – making their lives worthwhile for them. I have listened to the songs of the radio on the jeepney, on the street, or of the blind man playing his guitar beside the sidewalk. They all come to pass, as I pass each of them.

I have seen the lined up devotees of the Quiapo church, sidewalk vendors selling rosaries, candles, handkerchiefs with printed pictures of saints and prayers, herbal medicines saying ‘pamparegla’, stones and amulets, pirated cds and dvds. The stench of early morning drunkards gives me headaches, and in the evening, young boys sniffing rugby or acetone, while begging money on the streets. The first time I experienced it, everything seemed to freeze, and I believe I felt the truth. There was a mother carrying a small child, both of them almost asleep, and we were at the most rear side of the jeepney, while the vehicle swifts off the road. I feared they might fall, but was relieved later when they finally got off.

I just want the ferry back. The sadness of these sights just tell me how bad some things are, how helpless, how poor. But the light shines within each individual; I have seen that as well. A young boy helping out his father-driver collect money from passengers or calling out for possible commuter, I wonder if he even attends school. And a mother/father sending her/his child to school in the morning brings me back the times when my mother/ grandfather send me to my class in kindergarten. They were full of love for these kids who are too curious.

Maybe I really want the ferry back, but I guess, if ever the ferries are back, I’ll always try the jeepneys once in a while.

Tempura Craze & the Moon

Feb 12 2011; back of MOA, while watching the Pyromusical Competition with Willy, pre-valentines date. Its Korea vs Spain, I like Spain's presentation more, shorter but more magical - fireworks and music match magically! I have videos of the show but its too big to upload here. :-)

CCA Workshop – Laguna, 16-18 Feb 2011

Thanks to the IFRC for organizing this event, to the Climate Centre and Laguna Chapter for hosting the event. This event once again tells us that there is something we can do to adapt to climate change, if not to mitigate it that much. As a humanitarian organization, reaching out to the most vulnerable, it’s good to know that no matter how we think invaluable our own efforts are, we actually make a difference – in helping people, in bringing out that smile to our beneficiaries, and easing the hearts of those who feel helpless.

Hope to see all of you again soon out in the field!

Dad's Bday @ Dad's

Feb 3 2011 - A pleasant lunch at Dad's Megamall - yummy yummy food, parang umabot sa leeg pagkabusog ko. The day after, went to MOA Seaside and ate at one of the Paluto Restos. Sarap ulit!

The Good and the Evil

I was once called Joyce Evil and I believe people still call him Jeff Good. ;-) But we get along too well anyways

Restless by Cecilia Borromeo

It is that perennial immateriality dwelling between living and dying

crouched in the corners and grappling by the hinges

only to remain unseen;

We weave our web of what we believe we understand

of the relationship of our acts and events

only to remain misunderstood;

From that odd wisp of steam of heated discussions

to the urgent hiss of a new page calling;

I teeter on that thin ice --

That single space of uncertainty --

And I ask

“What am I doing here?”.

We are Family!

I think I really found a way to keep my brother and Willy from watching TV while I’m doing the housework, and that is playing music that they like! I didn’t realize that would be the result of it until this weekend. We woke up at 9am on Saturday and I played the songs on the new CD I bought. I was playing it from the laptop on my room and my brother came out from his room and turned the TV on. And I told him, ‘Can’t you see, I’m listening to music, turn that off!’. And he did, not out of fear but of goodwill seeing that I’m preparing breakfast for him. Hehe..

 

Suddenly, as I was cooking, I felt they both were uneasy just sitting on the sofa and listening to the beautiful love songs. Then they both set off to do something, Arjay went back to his room to fix his things, and Willy prepared his baggage for Singapore, also doing some house work themselves, while humming or singing with the music. I was a bit surprised about my discovery and smiled secretly. I don’t need to push their asses to throw out the garbage or put things in order. And now Saturday morning will always be ‘Music Morning’! Leisure time comes later after all the housework.

 

One of the songs in the CD is “My Love Will See You Through” by Marco Sison. I remember my father singing that to me when I was still in college. Below are the lyrics.

 

My Love Will See You Through lyrics

by Marco Sison

 

When friends turn their backs on you, And you're so helpless, You dont know what to do, I'll be on your side to comfort you, My love will see you through, When the tears are in your eyes, And you feel like you wanna cry, Just reach out and i'll be around to understand, When you stumble and fall, And you need a shoulder to lean on, All you have to do is call, And i'll be there with a helping hand, When the road seem so long and endless, And all you see is nothing but darkness, Dont give up just walk on, Have faith in your heart, For my love will see you through

 

My love will see you through, When you reach for your star, When you cross the deepest sea, When you climb the highest hill, my love will always be with you, In everything you do, In every step you'll make, In every road you take, Don't be afraid to follow your dreams, For my love will see you through

 

Next week, 3 Feb 2011, he’s turning 48, and he said they will visit us. Hope they’ll go as planned as my leave applications have already been approved!

Remembrances

He walked past beside me. His hair is long and grey and straight, almost below the level of his lungs. I think his name is Jesse, I can't remember, he was one of the guys playing their guitars during cultural events in the university, singing freedom songs, they never tire of these, they've always loved it anyways, and when I saw him again yesterday while walking, I felt he still have the same passion, and I envy him.

When I realized it was really him that I know a long time ago, not as a friend, but maybe, a brother in principle, I tried to speed up my pace to catch up with him, but he's too fast. And after months of not going to the same place to walk or jog, I felt I'm running out of breath. He started to get smaller and smaller from my vision, and its getting dark. I noticed his head is tilted to his right, as if there is some weight on the right side of his body making him do so. After a while, I saw him take out from his pocket a piece of paper? What is it? It might be a poem, a list of names, an agenda for a meeting. He might go to Vinzons Hall or maybe somewhere else. I cant catch up with him anymore. Its getting dark.

After a few minutes of walking, I saw him again, hugged a woman, a friend maybe, accompanied by a man, and they all walked/ jogged together. And I felt relieved. I didnt know why. Its getting dark at that hour. After circling the academic oval for three times, its time to go home. Next weekend, I hope to go back again. I might not see him again but there is always that same nostalgia that will never go away.