www.kgargar.tk

Mapanganib sa ekonomiya ng Pilipinas ang pagsandal sa call center industry

2012-01-27T05:01:00.000-08:00

MEDIA RELEASE
27 January 2012

IBON Foundation, Inc., IBON Center 114 Timog Avenue, Quezon City Philippines
Phone: (632) 927-6986/927-7060 to 62|Fax: 929-2496| E-mail: media@ibon.org
http://www.ibon.org

OBAMA'S "INSOURCING" HIGHLIGHTS RISKS OF RELYING ON BPOs

The recent pronouncement by US Pres. Barack Obama to bring outsourcing jobs back to the US highlights the dangers of relying on business process outsourcing (BPO), and on foreign economies in general, for Filipino jobs. According to research group IBON, even if it is still unclear if Pres. Obama’s proposed “insourcing” legislation will pass, the vulnerability of the sector and the government’s misplaced attention to this is increasingly apparent.

The “insourcing” initiative has been dismissed either as mere election-related rhetoric or in any case as unlikely to prosper against corporate lobbying, such as by the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP). But the initiative is just another example of adverse trends facing the sector and more of this are likely to emerge as the crisis in the US and the rest of the world worsens in the coming years, the research group said.

Government and industry estimates for the BPO are of 1.3 million jobs and US$25 billion in revenues in 2016. These are unlikely and it will be recalled that the original BPO “Roadmap to 2010” target was for 1.0 million jobs and US$12 billion in revenues in 2010 – of which only 525,000 jobs and US$8.9 billion materialized.

As it is, IBON noted that the growth of the BPO sector is already slowing slightly in terms of jobs and revenues. The 21.9% growth in BPAP-reported jobs in the sector in 2011, to an estimated 640,000, was slightly slower than the 24.1% growth in 2010. Similarly the 22.5% reported growth in revenues, to some US$10.9 billion, was slightly slower than the 25.3% growth in 2010.

The slowing global and, in particular, US economy appears to have affected the sector’s performance despite the country reportedly having nudged India out as the world’s leading BPO center. The World Bank has previously estimated global economic growth to have fallen to 2.7% in 2011 from 4.1% in 2010 and US economic growth from to 1.7% (2011) from 3.0% (2010). Developments in the US economy are particularly relevant because the latest Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) data notes that the US accounts for 72% of foreign investment and 80% of BPO service exports.

It can for instance be noted that the trend in the deployment of Filipino nurses to the US dropped from 649 in 2008 to just 85 in 2010. In his campaign for the US presidency, Pres. Obama campaigned for prioritizing American nurses over migrants declaring: ““The notion that we would have to import nurses makes absolutely no sense.” Recently, the Democrats’ House Bill 1933 reviving temporary visas for registered nurses was approved by Congress. Among others the bill limits the number of H1-C temporary registered nurse visas to 300 per year from a previous quota of 500 annually.

The government has so far budgeted at least Php575 million in subsidies for private foreign BPO investors consisting of trainings, curriculum and teacher development, career marketing and scholarships through TESDA and CHED. According to IBON, these funds will be more productively spent supporting Filipino industry, science and technology than for a sector that is such a small part of the economy and by its nature does not give much value-added. The BPO sector is barely integrated into the local economy outside of its relatively few jobs and so does not stimulate or encourage domestic production. (end)

IBON Foundation, Inc. is an independent development institution established in 1978 that provides research, education, publications, information work and advocacy support on socioeconomic issues.

English Wikipedia anti-SOPA blackout

2012-01-17T07:30:00.000-08:00

To: English Wikipedia Readers and Community
From: Sue Gardner, Wikimedia Foundation Executive Director
Date: January 16, 2012

Today, the Wikipedia community announced its decision to black out the English-language Wikipedia for 24 hours, worldwide, beginning at 05:00 UTC on Wednesday, January 18 (you can read the statement from the Wikimedia Foundation here). The blackout is a protest against proposed legislation in the United States — the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the U.S. House of Representatives, and the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) in the U.S. Senate — that, if passed, would seriously damage the free and open Internet, including Wikipedia.

This will be the first time the English Wikipedia has ever staged a public protest of this nature, and it’s a decision that wasn’t lightly made. Here’s how it’s been described by the three Wikipedia administrators who formally facilitated the community’s discussion. From the public statement, signed by User:NuclearWarfare, User:Risker and User:Billinghurst:

It is the opinion of the English Wikipedia community that both of these bills, if passed, would be devastating to the free and open web.

Over the course of the past 72 hours, over 1800 Wikipedians have joined together to discuss proposed actions that the community might wish to take against SOPA and PIPA. This is by far the largest level of participation in a community discussion ever seen on Wikipedia, which illustrates the level of concern that Wikipedians feel about this proposed legislation. The overwhelming majority of participants support community action to encourage greater public action in response to these two bills. Of the proposals considered by Wikipedians, those that would result in a “blackout” of the English Wikipedia, in concert with similar blackouts on other websites opposed to SOPA and PIPA, received the strongest support.

On careful review of this discussion, the closing administrators note the broad-based support for action from Wikipedians around the world, not just from within the United States. The primary objection to a global blackout came from those who preferred that the blackout be limited to readers from the United States, with the rest of the world seeing a simple banner notice instead. We also noted that roughly 55% of those supporting a blackout preferred that it be a global one, with many pointing to concerns about similar legislation in other nations.

In making this decision, Wikipedians will be criticized for seeming to abandon neutrality to take a political position. That’s a real, legitimate issue. We want people to trust Wikipedia, not worry that it is trying to propagandize them.

But although Wikipedia’s articles are neutral, its existence is not. As Wikimedia Foundation board member Kat Walsh wrote on one of our mailing lists recently,

We depend on a legal infrastructure that makes it possible for us to operate. And we depend on a legal infrastructure that also allows other sites to host user-contributed material, both information and expression. For the most part, Wikimedia projects are organizing and summarizing and collecting the world’s knowledge. We’re putting it in context, and showing people how to make to sense of it.

But that knowledge has to be published somewhere for anyone to find and use it. Where it can be censored without due process, it hurts the speaker, the public, and Wikimedia. Where you can only speak if you have sufficient resources to fight legal challenges, or if your views are pre-approved by someone who does, the same narrow set of ideas already popular will continue to be all anyone has meaningful access to.

The decision to shut down the English Wikipedia wasn’t made by me; it was made by editors, through a consensus decision-making process. But I support it.

Like Kat and the rest of the Wikimedia Foundation Board, I have increasingly begun to think of Wikipedia’s public voice, and the goodwill people have for Wikipedia, as a resource that wants to be used for the benefit of the public. Readers trust Wikipedia because they know that despite its faults, Wikipedia’s heart is in the right place. It’s not aiming to monetize their eyeballs or make them believe some particular thing, or sell them a product. Wikipedia has no hidden agenda: it just wants to be helpful.

That’s less true of other sites. Most are commercially motivated: their purpose is to make money. That doesn’t mean they don’t have a desire to make the world a better place — many do! — but it does mean that their positions and actions need to be understood in the context of conflicting interests.

My hope is that when Wikipedia shuts down on January 18, people will understand that we’re doing it for our readers. We support everyone’s right to freedom of thought and freedom of expression. We think everyone should have access to educational material on a wide range of subjects, even if they can’t pay for it. We believe in a free and open Internet where information can be shared without impediment. We believe that new proposed laws like SOPA and PIPA, and other similar laws under discussion inside and outside the United States — don’t advance the interests of the general public. You can read a very good list of reasons to oppose SOPA and PIPA here, from the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Why is this a global action, rather than US-only? And why now, if some American legislators appear to be in tactical retreat on SOPA?

The reality is that we don’t think SOPA is going away, and PIPA is still quite active. Moreover, SOPA and PIPA are just indicators of a much broader problem. All around the world, we're seeing the development of legislation intended to fight online piracy, and regulate the Internet in other ways, that hurt online freedoms. Our concern extends beyond SOPA and PIPA: they are just part of the problem. We want the Internet to remain free and open, everywhere, for everyone.

On January 18, we hope you’ll agree with us, and will do what you can to make your own voice heard.

Sue Gardner,
Executive Director, Wikimedia Foundation

Mga malalaking tuklas sa agham sa taong 2011

2011-12-27T00:59:00.000-08:00

Pakinggan ang 31-minutong podcast ng Science magazine kung saan binanggit ang mga malalaking tuklas sa agham at teknolohiya sa taong 2011. Ang mga tinatawag na "Breakthroughs of the Year, 2011" ay maaari ding makita dito at nakalista sa baba kalakip ang ilang maiikling paliwanag. Nawa'y maging makabuluhan ang mga tuklas na ito sa pagpapaunlad ng buhay ng sangkatauhan sa susunod at mga susunod pang taon.

HIV Treatment as Prevention

Asteroid Dust Solves Color Conundrum

Archaic Humans' DNA Lives On

Basahin ang iba pang breakthrough sa taong 2011

Help Northern Mindanao

2011-12-23T02:58:00.000-08:00

Click here for more information

Swapang at makasarili nga ba ang daga?

2011-12-09T06:13:00.000-08:00

(Hango sa news article: Rats free each other from cages; Altruistic acts raise questions about whether the rodents feel empathy na sinulat ni Virginia Gewin, December 8, 2011.)

Ang mga daga, madalas mabansagang swapang at makasarili, ay maaaring hindi kasingsama ng kontrabidang imaheng minsan ipinipinta sa kanila. Sa isang bagong lathalang papel sa Science [1], ipinakita na ang mga hayop na ito ay tumutulong na palayain ang mga nakakulong na ibang daga -- kahit pa wala silang makuhang ganansya dito.

Dumadami ang mga pananaliksik na nagpapakitang ang mga hayop ay nakikinig din sa emosyon ng ibang kaparehang hayop. Subali't hindi malinaw noon kung ang mga daga nga ba ay kayang lampasan ang sarili nitong paghihirap para lang matulungan ang ibang daga.

Panoorin ang bidyo clip sa baba o ipagpatuloy ang pagbabasa...

Tingin ni Peggy Mason, isang neurobiologist sa University of Chicago, Illinois at siyang pangunahing manunulat ng nasabing papel, ay malaking hakbang ito para masagot ang katanungan. “This finding is the big kahuna — evidence that empathy motivates one individual to help another,” sabi nya. (Ang finding na ito ay isang patunay na natutulak ng empathy ang isang indibidwal para tulungan ang iba.)

Matapos ang dalawang linggong pagpapakilala, ilang pares ng daga ay inilagay sa isang arena. Ang isa ay nakakulong sa isang restrainer sa gitna, samantalang ang pangalawa ay malayang nakakagalaw sa paligid nito. Sa ikaanim o ikapitong araw, on average, natutunan ng malayang daga kung paano palayain ang nakakulong na daga. Madalang na binubuksan ng malayang daga ang kulungan kung walang daga sa loob o di kaya'y laruang daga lamang ang nasa loob nito.

Ipagpatuloy ang pagbabasa (Ingles).

Reference
[1] Bartal, I. B.-A., Decety, J. & Mason, P. Science 334, 1427–1430 (2011), Empathy and pro-social behavior in rats.

Ang relasyon ng mababang antas sa mas mataas na antas ng sistema

2011-11-29T02:26:00.000-08:00

Matagal-tagal na rin akong hindi nakapagblog kaya dadagdagan ko ng isang post na kinopya ko lang sa isang lumang libro ni Brian C. Goodwin na pinamagatang Temporal organization in cells (1963). Ito ay isang paragraph tungkol sa relasyon ng mas mababang antas ng organisasyon ng matter sa mas mataas na antas (lower-order systems versus higher-order systems). Sa pagkakaintindi ko, simple lang ang gusto nyang sabihin, na hindi kinakailangang mas kumplikado ang description ng mas mataas na antas sa description ng mas mababang antas. Sabi nya sa pahina 15:

The possibility that lower-order (shorter relaxation time) variables can be eliminated from the equations of motion of higher-order systems, means that the dynamic description of higher-order systems need not be more complex than that of lower-order systems. Thus there is no necessary relation between the position of a system in a temporal ordering of dynamic activities and its complexity. A biophysical system can and very often does have a much more complicated mathematical description than a population of randomly-mating organisms, regarded as an evolving gene pool.

Nagbigay siya ng ilang halimbawa:

Even more dramatic is the fact that certain epigenetic processes, such as the spiral growth of seeds in the cone of a conifer, can be described in terms of a few initial conditions and a law of growth which follows the Fibonacci number series (Thompson 1959); whereas the metabolic activities taking place in the same pine cone would require a very complex set of equations to adequately describe their dynamics. Again, the growth of a coral reef could undoubtedly be described in much simpler terms than the metabolic, epigenetic, or genetic processes of the organisms whose skeletons constitute the substance of the coral. Here we have clearly a very great difference in relaxation times, since the reef takes many decades to grow appreciably, while the coral polyps have a generation time of a few months.

Dagdag pa nya:

Therefore the "nesting" properties of systems defined according to relaxation times, whereby one system contains all lower-order systems, carries no implications with regard to the complexity of behaviour which is found in one system compared with another.

Occupy Wall Street!

2011-10-19T05:03:00.000-07:00

DKK - Saludsod ni Ading

2011-10-17T13:47:00.000-07:00

Hindi nakikinabang ang Pilipinas sa kasalukuyang pagmimina

2011-10-09T06:27:00.000-07:00

Ayon sa DENR, sa P144,400 M na kabuuang kita ng mga kompanya ng mina noong 2010 P13.7 M (0.0095%) lang ang buwis na nakolekta ng gobyerno.

Ang pulitika ng pananakop ng Estados Unidos

2011-09-30T13:34:00.000-07:00

Description (from the youtube page)
FOR A FREE PUBLIC/GROUP/COMMUNITY SCREENING OF POLITICS OF U.S. OCCUPATION, PLEASE EMAIL US AT politics.of.us.occupation@gmail.com

POLITICS OF U.S. OCCUPATION (AMERICAN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION- MFA THESIS FILM PROJECT)
I wrote, directed, shot and edited the documentary, Politics of U.S. Occupation, which features Linguistics Professor Noam Chomsky of Massachussetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Women's Studies Professor Neferti Tadiar of Barnard College (New York), Asian American Studies Professor Nerissa Balce of Stony Brook University (New York) and Political Science Professor Kenneth Bauzon of St. Joseph's College (New York) who analyze the 1899 Philippine-American War in order to rediscover its historical similarities to the so-called post-9/11 War on Terror. My MFA thesis adviser at American University School of Communication was Professor Russell Williams, who won the Academy Award for Best Sound in Glory (1989) and Dances with Wolves (1990).

Electric guitar music was performed by Rogel Maprangala

SYNOPSIS
The purpose of the half-hour documentary, Politics of U.S. Occupation, was to challenge the historical awareness of the audience as it explores the following:

Firstly, it argues the idea that the Philippine-American war of 1899 (and not World War II) is the foundation of Philippine-U.S. relations. The film also visually shows footage of World War II combat and deaths that were just as traumatic as the images of the Philippine American war.

Secondly, it describes the idea that the Philippine-American war of 1899 was characterized by systematic use of torture (despite official U.S. denials). One of the torture techniques used in the Philippines was the "water cure" - better known now as "water boarding."

Thirdly, it explains the idea that the brutality of the Philippine-American war was not much different from the brutality of the U.S. conquest of its indigenous population- known as the Indian Wars. We also learn that this turn of the century repression of Catholic and Muslim resistance fighters in the Philippines became the template used by the U.S. in its armed interventions in Latin America and the Middle East.

Lastly, it suggests the feminist idea that there is often an interconnectedness between the violence within the United States and U.S. violence overseas as exemplified in the migration of the Indian wars atrocities (e.g. 1890 Wounded Knee massacre) and the Philippine-American war abuses (e.g. 1906 Bud Dajo massacre) to the post-9/11 Iraq War atrocities.

Walang natira

2011-07-30T23:44:00.000-07:00

Brain drain continues under Noynoy Aquino administration; No industrialization plan to provide jobs for S&T workers

Press Statement
July 24, 2011

On the eve of his second State of the Nation Address (SONA), progressive scientists led by AGHAM reminded President Benigno Aquino III that the massive brain drain phenomenon continues under his administration.

Even under the new administration, many science and technology (S&T) professionals still find it hard to secure employment suitable to their skills and expertise. The Department of Science and technology (DOST) was able to produce around 1,437 scholar graduates at the end of the 2009-2010 school year, but we have yet to hear of any remarkable development stating where they have all ended up. It's highly unlikely that many of them have been able to secure jobs in the scientific research arena given that the industry is very small and almost non-existent in the Philippines. For the last decade, the number of emigrating science workers has ballooned to around two and a half times compared to the figure 11 years ago.

There remains widespread discontent and frustration in the local science and research community over the dismal state of our country's science research and development. A year after he assumed the Presidency, Aquino has no plan to develop the economy and establish national industries. His economic platform remains much like that of his predecessors: export-oriented, and heavily reliant on imports.

The Philippines remains an exporter of cheap raw materials but imports expensive finished products. The effect of such economic policy is the slow if at all existent development of domestic industries. We can cite the absence of domestic production of even the simplest everyday goods. In the meantime, the government continues to adhere to a program of mass export of our highly talented human resources which should be tapped instead for domestic needs.

Last July, the DOST announced that it wants to make internet and communications technology as an enabling tool to help expand and sustain the burgeoning business process outsourcing industry. DOST Secretary Mario G. Montejo has said that the DOST has the mandate and the knowledge resources to raise the number of business process
outsourcing (BPO) workforce "in a significant way."

This emphasis of the government’s S&T agency on the BPO industry has only shown the current mindset of the government with regard to science and technology. Instead of strengthening local production of tools and machineries for agriculture and other equally important aspects of the economy, the Aquino government merely continues the
tradition of previous administrations by toeing the line of foreign big business and international lending institutions: do away with ambitions of building strong domestic industries and just serve foreign monopolies with cheap English-speaking workforce.

The science and technology community in the Philippines calls on President Aquino to implement comprehensive reforms involving national industrialization. It should prioritize a genuine and thorough-going agrarian reform program to ensure food security and self-sufficiency. By distributing and developing the country's agricultural lands for domestic food production, the foundations of national industrial development can be more firmly built. Furthermore, it should provide the necessary support and infrastructure to harness the capacity of world class local scientists to address local problems and contribute to domestic industrialization.

We call on all well-meaning scientists, engineers, and other S&T professionals to join in AGHAM's advocacies, including putting pressure on the current administration to put in place an industrial environment where we can practice our technical knowledge and skills
to help propel our country away from pre-industrial and agrarian state that it is in.

http://opinion.inquirer.net/8735/ph-no-place-for-st-workers

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/9255/brain-drain-continues-under-pnoy...
Reference:
Giovanni Tapang, PhD - National Chairperson, AGHAM
Contact details:
0927 5736714

Physics, Biology, and our growing understanding of society

2011-07-29T23:39:00.000-07:00

PROMETHEUS BOUND, The Manila Times

Physics, Biology, and our growing understanding of society
By Kim Gargar

(Dr. Tapang’s colleague Kim Gargar contributed today’s column.)

MANY scientists have realized that the distinction between biology and physics is artificial; that if we are to completely understand living things, we must first accept that each of them are composed of matter wherein various forms of transformation of energy and matter occur within and with their surroundings. While “mainstream” physicists keep themselves busy either with elucidating how fundamental particles work or with finding ways to manipulate inanimate condensed-matter for the development of new materials, an increasing number of their colleagues are helping biologists answer diverse biological questions piece by piece, and for various goals.

The current trend in explaining biological phenomena is to rely on a type of reasoning attributed to Charles Darwin. As stated in the book by Russian Marxist philosopher Viktor Grigoryevich Afanasyev Dialectical Materialism, Darwin “proved that the complex, higher organisms had been formed from the simple, lower ones through the action of the laws of natural selection inherent in nature itself. He also showed that man was a product of nature, a result of the prolonged evolution of living matter.” Add to this the fact that such evolution of matter is ever continuing and actually gave rise to human societies. This is traditionally not touched upon in biology.

Physicists have already unified matter and energy, as embodied in simple form by the famous equation E=mc2. “The theory has been worked on for so long that remaining problems are very subtle and deeply embedded,” said biophysicist Ned Wingreen.

The physics of atoms and of molecules have also been at a certain level of unification as shown by tools currently used by theoretical chemists and condensed-matter physicists, again with many subtleties still left to be uncovered. Darwin and other evolutionary biologists’ successful attempts at explaining in a similarly unifying manner the diversity of biological species has led biology to a level almost at par with how less-evolved forms of matter being studied in physics and chemistry are described. But even more questions on details continue to keep biologists busy.

The difficult task of explaining biology can be approached systematically. The general flow of the evolution of species is from the sea to land. To understand species which evolved inland, there’s the temptation to look at simpler, less evolved marine species for hints. Is it valid to make conclusions about, say, insects based on findings about, say, planktons? Some biologists would say that it depends on the specific question being raised. But can insights be gained into more evolved species by looking at less evolved ones? Many biologists would reply yes. In fact, this has been the trend in many areas of biology: to learn from simpler, so-called “model organisms” to understand phenomena in more complex species. Many medical practices are actually borne out of such trends; human diseases have been studied for the past few decades using lower species of mammals such as primates and rodents.

It seems that there is no other way to approach biological problems than to resort to modeling methodologies. This is where physicists’ training in using models to explain various physical phenomena become handy. Modeling does not necessarily require the mathematization of the problem, although mathematics have an important role in making more precise conclusions. The very fresh field in science called systems biology, for instance, makes use of modeling methods. Organisms are stripped down to the cellular level and their inner workings in order to know how they work.

We are reminded of what the people of China did, as told in the book Silage Choppers and Snake Spirits, in one of their attempts to develop their dairy industry during the 1960s. They bought things from abroad and looked at their parts and how they were built. The Chinese found it more fruitful to develop their own machinery by improving on foreign technology than to start from scratch or to duplicate them.

The more evolved matter is, the more subtle questions there are. If society is considered as the form in the historical development of matter higher than that of organisms, then expect the task of explaining society as a more complicated one. This is a tricky science area where personal biases come into play.

Scientists are part of society — the system they seek to understand. Society itself is not a homogenous mix of individuals; it’s characterized by social classes where members of each class have different natures and interests from those in other classes. Scientists belong to one such social class, the petty bourgeois class if we may use the term; and if they don’t take this fact consciously into their theories of society, then such theories are bound to fail in the long run.

Mr. Kim Gargar, a long time active member of AGHAM, has earned his MS in Physics in UP Diliman and is now finishing his PhD in chronobiology at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands.

Galit Na

2011-07-21T00:16:00.000-07:00

Galit Na

Date dito, Porsche doon
Ganyan lang ang kaya mo
Papogi ka lang sa Malacanang

Nun pa lang alam ko na
Na ang interes mo lang
Ay ang iyong hacienda, Hacienda Luisita

Binoto ka nila pero iyong binalewala
Ang kanilang mga sigaw
Hinding hindi na kami magpapaloko pa
Kaya humanda ka na

Kami ay magpoprotesta
Magmamartsa sa kalsada
Susugod sa Mendiola
Dahil kami ay galit na

Magsasaka na wala pa ring lupa
Manggagawang sahod ay kay baba
Mamamayang naghihirap
Ngayo'y lalaban na

Bayan, bayan ko
Ating tandaan na ang kahirapan ay
Hindi pa nalulunasan

Kaya magkaisa tayo
At ating isulong ang isang
pamahalaang naglilingkod at lipunang maayos

Kung bakit namayani ang mga kapitalista sa Tsina, ayon kay Joan Hinton

2011-06-28T07:12:00.000-07:00

Sa wakas, natapos ko ding basahin ang librong Silage Choppers. Maraming mga magagandang sinabi si Joan Hinton at si Sid Engst. Tungkol sa pamamayani ng mga tinatawag na "capitalist roaders", ito ang sinabi ni Joan:

The Cultural Revolution failed because of the ability of the capitalist roaders to whip up factionalism among the people. And in fact the people are so easily whipped into factionalism. It's the petitbourgeois ideology, which is so strong in all of us; our Achilles' heel. We can't join together to fight the main enemy, because of our own petitbourgeois tendency to become factional. To me, if we can't get over this, it's the one thing that's gonna keep ordinary people from ever being able to develop socialism...

In the US it's against the foreign born, it's whites against blacks and so on -- all done to divide the working people. The working people fall for it all the time, because we do not have proletarian ideology. We don't think that the working people are one family; we just look at somebody from the other village and think "they're not our village..." There's no reason on earth for them to hate each other. All working people get their living from working.

Ang dalawang uri ng niyog at ang kwento ng kanilang paglalakbay

2011-06-26T14:14:00.000-07:00

Ang niyog ay tinuturing na "tree of life" dahil sa napakaraming gamit nito. Ang bunga nito kapag buo pa ay pwede ding magamit bilang matibay na pampalutang para sa isang balsa. Kung paano lumaganap ang niyog sa iba't ibang kalupaan mula Asya hanggang Amerika ay maaaring maipalawanag bilang natural na pagkalat ng mga lumulutang na bunga sa malawak na karagatang Pasipiko. Ngunit maaari ding ang paglaganap na ito ay dulot ng paglalakbay ng tao dala-dala ang mga bunga, na siyang binigyan ng katibayan ng isang bagong pananaliksik.

Sa isang bagong lathalain [1] gamit ang DNA analysis ng libong niyog mula sa iba't ibang panig ng mundo, natuklasan ng mga siyentista na may dalawang klase ng niyog na may kapansin-pansing pagkakaiba sa genetic make-up nito: ang tinatawag nilang Indian Ocean at Pacific Ocean na klase ng niyog. Ang bagong kaalamang ito ay nagpapatibay sa teoryang ang niyog ay nilinang at pinalaganap sa dalawang hiwalay na dako ng mundo: isa sa Pacific basin at ang isa ay sa Indian Ocean basin. Maliban dito, nakaimbak din sa genes ng niyog ang isang talaan ng ruta ng kalakalan noong sinaunang-panahon at pati na rin ang pananakop sa kontinenteng Amerika.

Ayon sa mas naunang lathalain [2] ng parehong grupo ng mananaliksik, may namumuong ebidensya na nagpapatunay na ang niyog sa Ecuador ay maaaring dumating dito mula sa mga manlalakbay-dagat na mga Austronesian galing sa Pilipinas 2,250 taon ang nakalipas. Ito ay magiging dagdag sa kaalaman natin kung paano namuhay ang mga Pilipino bago ang panahon ng pananakop ng Europa.

Basahin ang buong balita (English) tungkol dito.

Reference

Bee F. Gunn, Luc Baudouin, Kenneth M. Olsen (2011). Independent Origins of Cultivated Coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) in the Old World Tropics. PLoS ONE; 6 (6): e21143 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0021143
Luc Baudouin and Patricia Lebrun (2009), Coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) DNA studies support the hypothesis of an ancient Austronesian migration from Southeast Asia to America, Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution 56(2), pp. 257-262

Ang talakayan ng dalawang pilosopo at isang karaniwang tao

2011-06-24T17:34:00.000-07:00

*Unang burador ng salin ng English wikipedia entry tungkol dito.

Ang Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems (Dialogo sopra i due massimi sistemi del mondo) ay isang aklat na sinulat ni Galileo Galilei na nilabas sa taong 1632 sa wikang Italiano na nagkumpara sa sistemang Copernican sa tradisyunal na sistemang Ptolemaic. Isinalin ito sa Latin bilang Systema cosmicum[1] noong 1635 ni Matthias Bernegger.[2] Ang aklat, na inihandog sa patron ni Galileo, Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany at hinatid sa kanya noong ika-22 ng Pebrero, 1632,[3] ay naging mabenta.[4]

Sa Copernican system, ang Earth at iba pang planeta ay umiikot sa Araw, samantalang sa Ptolemaic system lahat ng nasa kalangitan ay umiikot sa Earth. Ang Dialogue ay inilathala sa Florence sa ilalim ng isang pormal na pahintulot mula sa Inquisition. Noong 1633, hinatulan si Galileo na "masidhing pinaghihinalaan ng erehiya" batay sa naturang aklat, na inilagay sa Listahan ng mga Bawal na Aklat at nanatili dito hanggang 1835 (matapos ang mga ideyang itinaguyod dito ay pinayagang mailimbag noong 1822.)[5] Sa isang aksyon na hindi inihayag sa panahong iyon, ang paglathala ng ibang kahit anong mga sulatin o isusulat pa lang nya ay ipinagbawal din.[6]

Overview

Habang sinusulat ang aklat, tinawag ito ni Galileo bilang kanyang Dialogue on the Tides, at nang dumating ang manuscript sa Inquisition para sa pahintulot, ang pamagat ay Dialogue on the Ebb and Flow of the Sea. Inutusan syang tanggalin ang anumang banggit ng tide sa pamagat at baguhin ang preface, dahil ang pagpahintulot sa naunang pamagat ay magmumukhang pagpahintulot sa kanyang teorya tungkol sa tides, na nagtangkang patunayan ang pisikal na galaw ng Earth. Dahil dito, ang pormal na pamagat sa pahinang-pamagat ay Dialogue, na sinundan ng pangalan ni Galileo at ng kanyang pwesto sa akademiya, na sinundan naman ng isang mahabang pangalawang pamagat. Ang pangalan kung saan kilala ang naturang aklat sa ngayon ay sinipi mula sa isang bahagi ng pangalawang pamagat. Dapat itong tandaan kapag tinatalakay ang layunin ni Galileo nang isulat ang aklat.

Ang aklat ay inilahad bilang serye ng talakayan, sa loob ng apat na araw, ng dalawang pilosopo at isang karaniwang tao:

* Si Salviati ay nangatwiran para sa posisyong Copernican at naglahad sa ilan sa mga direktang pananaw ni Galileo, at tinawag siyang "Academician" bilang pagbibigay-karangalan sa pagiging kasapi ni Galileo sa Accademia dei Lincei. Ipinangalan sya mula sa kaibigan ni Galileo na si Filippo Salviati (1582–1614).

* Si Sagredo ay isang karaniwang taong may matalas na pag-iisip na sa simula ay walang kinikilingan. Ipinangalan sya mula sa kaibigan ni Galileo na si Giovanni Francesco Sagredo (1571–1620).

* Si Simplicio, isang matapat na tagasunod kay Ptolemy at Aristotle, ay naglahad ng mga tradisyunal na pananaw at mga katwirang laban sa posisyong Copernican. Sya ay ipinangalan daw mula kay Simplicius ng Cilicia, isang komentarista tungkol kay Aristotle noong ika-6 na siglo, ngunit ang pangalang ito ay pinaghinalaang isang double entendre, dahil ang Italiano ng "simple" (tulad ng "simpleng isip") ay "semplice".[7] Si Simplicio ay inihambing sa dalawang kontemporaryong pilosopo na makaluma, Ludovico delle Colombe (1565-1616?), pinakamatinding katunggali ni Galileo, at Cesare Cremonini (1550–1631), isang katrabaho sa Padua na tumangging sumilip sa teleskopyo.[8] Si Colombe ay pinuno ng isang grupo ng mga katunggali ni Galileo sa Florence, na kung tawagin ng mga kaibigan ng huli ay "the pigeon league".[9]

Bagama't ang aklat ay pormal na inilahad bilang pagsasaalang-alang sa dalawang pananaw (na syang kailangang gawin para ito ay mailathala), malinaw na ang panig na Copernican ang nakakuha ng mas mahusay na pangangatwiran. Dahil sa ganitong makaisang-panig na pagtalakay, marami ang tumukoy dito bilang isang klasikong halimbawa ng katwirang Straw man. Kung ano ang naging talakayan kung si Simplicio ay naging kasingtalas at kasingmaalam lamang ni Salviati ay bagay na haka-haka, dahil walang sumubok na magsulat ng isang bersyon ng dialogue kung saan ang mga tradisyunalista ang nanaig.

Ang dialogue ay hindi nagtalakay sa Tychonic system na naging sistemang nagustuhan ng simbahang Catholic sa panahon ng paglathala. Sa sistemang Tychonic, ang Earth ay hindi gumagalaw ngunit hindi rin Ptolemaic; isa itong magkahalong sistemang Copernican at Ptolemaic. Ang Mercury at Venus ay umiikot sa Araw (tulad ng sa sistemang Copernican) sa mga maliliit na bilog, habang ang araw ay umiikot naman sa di-gumagalaw na Earth; Ang Mars, Jupiter, at Saturn ay umiikot sa Araw sa mas malalaking bilog, na nangangahulugang sila ay umiikot din sa earth. Ang sistemang Tychonian ay matematikong katumbas ng sistemang Copernican, maliban lang sa ang sistemang Copernican ay humuhula ng isang stellar parallax, samantalang ang sistemang Tychonian ay walang ganitong paghula. Ang stellar parallax ay hindi pa kayang sukatin hanggang sa ika-19 na siglo, at samakatwid sa panahong iyon ay walang mabisang patibay na mali ang sistemang Tychonic sa batayang empirical, o ni isang di-mapag-aalinlanganang patunay na tama ang sistemang Copernican. Ang sistemang Copernican ay mahihinuha mula sa laws of motion and gravity ni Newton, lamang ang mga ito ay hindi pa nailathala hanggang 1687.

Hindi kailanman sineryoso ni Galileo ang sistema ni Tycho, gaya ng makikita sa kanyang mga lihaman, itinuring ito bilang kapos at di-kasiya-siyang kompromiso. Ang dahilan ng pagkawala ng sistema ni Tycho (kahit pa man sa maraming pagsangguni kay Tycho at kanyang gawa sa aklat) ay maaaring makita sa teorya ni Galileo tungkol sa tides, na syang nagtakda ng orihinal na pamagat at prinsipyo ng pagsasaayos ng Dialogue. Sapagka't, habang ang sistemang Copernican at Tychonic ay geometrikong magkatumbas, sila ay dynamikong magkaiba. Ang teoryang tidal ni Galileo ay nangailangan ng aktwal, pisikal na pag-inog ng Earth; ibig sabihin, kung totoo, magkakaloob ito ng uri ng patunay tulad ng siyang ipinagkaloob ng Foucault's pendulum dalawang siglo ang lumipas. Nang may pagsangguni sa teoryang tidal ni Galileo, wala ng pagkakaiba sa pagitan ng sistemang Ptolemaic at Tychonic.

Ang talakayan ay hindi lamang umikot sa paksang pang-astronomiya, bagkus sumaklaw ito sa halos buong kapanahong agham. Ang ilan sa mga ito ay para ipakita kung ano ang tingin ni Galileo ay tamang agham, tulad ng pagtalakay sa gawain ni William Gilbert ukol sa magnetismo. Ang ilang bahagi ay mahalaga sa pagtatalo, sinasagot nila ang mga maling katwiran laban sa paggalaw ng Earth.

Isang klasikong katwiran laban sa paggalaw ng earth ay ang kawalan ng pakiramdam sa bilis sa ibabaw ng earth, kahit na tumatakbo ito sa bilis na 1600 km/h. Sa ganitong pangkat may isang eksperimentong isip (thought experiment) kung saan ang isang tao ay nasa loob ng isang barko at hindi makakapagsabi kung ang barko ba ay nakadaong o mahinahong tumatakbo sa tubig: inoobserbahan nya ang tubig na tumutulo mula sa isang bote, ang isdang lumalangoy sa isang tangke, ang mga paru-parong lumilipad, at iba pa; at ang kanilang mga kilos ay pareho lang tumatakbo man o hindi ang barko. Ito ay isang klasikong pagpapaliwanag ng Inertial frame of reference at pinapabulaanan ang tutol na katwiran na kung tayo ay tumatakbo ng ilang daang milya kada oras habang umiikot ang Earth, lahat ng bagay na inihulog ay mabilis na maiiwan at matatangay papuntang kanluran.

Ang bulto ng pangangatwiran ni Galileo ay maaaring hatiin sa tatlong uri:

* Pagtanggi sa mga tutol na katwirang iniangat ng mga pilosopong tradisyunal; halimbawa, ang eksperimentong tungkol sa barko.

* Mga obserbasyon na di-tugma sa Ptolemaic model: mga yugto ng Venus, halimbawa, na simpleng hindi mangyayari, o ang waring paggalaw ng mga sunspot, na maipapaliwanag lamang sa loob ng sistemang Ptolemaic o Tychonic bilang resulta ng di-kapanipaniwalang kumplikadong pag-ikot ng axis of rotation ng Araw.[10]

* Pangangatwirang nagpapakita na ang eleganteng pinagbigkis na teorya ng Kalangitan na dala-dala ng mga pilosopo, na pinaniwalaang nagpapatunay na ang Earth ay nakapirme, ay mali; halimbawa, ang mga bundok sa Moon, mga buwan ng Jupiter, at ang mismong pagkakaroon ng mga sunspot, kung saan wala ni isa ay bahagi ng lumang astronomiya (bagama't ang mga ito ay may medyo kaduda-dudang kaugnayan, sa dahilang wala sa mga phenomenong ito ay may direktang kaugnayan sa mga tanong tungkol sa paggalaw ng earth o ng araw).

Sa kabuuan, ang mga katwirang ito ay matagumpay na nanatili sa mga tuntunin ng kaalaman ng sumunod na apat na siglo. Kung paano ito naging kapani-paniwala dapat sa isang di-kumikiling na mambabasa noong 1632 ay nananatiling isang pinagtatalunang paksa.

Nagtangka si Galileo ng isang pang-apat na uri ng katwiran:

* Direktang pisikal na katwiran para sa paggalaw ng Earth, sa pamamagitan ng pagpapaliwanag ng pag-akyat-baba ng tubig dagat (tides).

Bilang isang paliwanag sa dahilan ng pag-akyat-baba ng tubig dagat o isang patunay ng paggalaw ng Earth, ito ay isang kabiguan. (Sa totoo lang, ang pundamental na katwiran ay nagkakasalungat sa loob, at talagang tutungo sa dulong pasya na ang pag-akyat-baba ng tubig dagat ay hindi umiiral). Subalit si Galileo ay nahibang sa katwirang iyan at ginugol ang "Ika-apat na Araw" ng talakayan dito. Ang antas ng kabiguan nito ay, tulad ng halos lahat ng may kaugnayan kay Galileo, isang bagay na pinagtatalunan. Sa isang banda, ang buong isyung ito ay kamakailan inilarawan bilang "cockamamie."[11] Sa kabilang banda, ginamit ni Einstein ang isang magkaibang paglalarawan:

Ang pag-asam ni Galileo ng isang mekanikal na patunay ng paggalaw ng earth ang siyang nagligaw sa kanya papunta sa maling teorya ng pag-akyat-baba ng tubig dagat. Ang kabigha-bighaning pangangatwiran sa huling pag-uusap ay malamang mahirap nyang matanggap na patunay, kung hindi lang sana sya nakain ng kanyang pag-uugali. [Emphasis added][12][13]

Notes

↑ Maurice A. Finocchiaro: Retrying Galileo, 1633-1992, University of California Press, 2007 ISBN 0-520-25387-6, 9780520253872

↑ Journal for the history of astronomy, 2005

↑ Gindikin, Semen Grigorʹevich (1988). Tales of physicists and mathematicians. Birkhäuser. p. 62. ISBN 9780817633172. http://books.google.com/books?id=Vhx--jfFN8IC&pg=PA62. Retrieved on 22 February 2011.

↑ http://v1.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080829.w50booksdialogue/BNStory/DAVA+SOBEL

↑ The Trial of Galileo: A Chronology

↑ See Galileo affair for more details, including sources.

↑ Arthur Koestler, The Sleepwalkers: A History of Man's Changing Vision of the Universe (1959), Penguin Books, 1986 edition: ISBN 0-14-055212-X, 978014055212X 1990 reprint: ISBN 0-14-019246-8, 9780140192469 [1]

↑ Stillman Drake: Galileo at Work: His Scientific Biography, Courier Dover Publications, 2003, ISBN 0-486-49542-6, page 355 : Cremonini and delle Colombe

↑ "La legha del pippione". "Pippione" is a pun on Colombe's surname—which is the plural of the Italian word for dove. Galileo's friends, the painter, Lodovico Cardi da Cigoli (Italyano), his former student, Benedetto Castelli, and a couple of his other correspondents often referred to Colombe as "il Colombo", which means "the Pigeon". Galileo himself used this term a couple of times in a letter to Cigoli of October, 1611 (Edizione Nazionale 11:214). The more derisive nickname, "il Pippione", sometimes used by Cigoli (Edizione Nazionale 11:176, 11:229, 11:476,11:502), is a now archaic Italian word with a triple entendre. Besides meaning "young pigeon", it is also a jocular term for a testicle, and a Tuscan dialect word for a fool.

↑ Drake, (1970, pp.191–196), Linton (2004, pp.211–12), Sharratt (1994, p.166). This is not true, however, for geocentric systems—such as that proposed by Longomontanus—in which the Earth rotated. In such systems the apparent motion of sunspots could be accounted for just as easily as in Copernicus's.

↑ Timothy Moy (September 2001). "Science, Religion, and the Galileo Affair". Skeptical Inquirer.

↑ Foreword; By Albert Einstein; Authorized Translation by Sonja Bargmann.(passages omitted)

↑ Paul Mainwood (2003-08-09). "Thought Experiments in Galileo and Newton’s Mathematical Philosophy" in 7th Annual Oxford Philosophy Graduate Conference. 7th Annual Oxford Philosophy Graduate Conference. , quoting page xvii of Einstein's foreword in G. Galilei (1632/1953). Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems. Translated by Stillman Drake. Berkeley and Los Angeles, CA: The University of California Press.

Bibliography

Drake, Stillman (1970). Galileo Studies. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0-472-08283-3.

Linton, Christopher M. (2004). From Eudoxus to Einstein—A History of Mathematical Astronomy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-82750-8.

Sharratt, Michael (1994). Galileo: Decisive Innovator. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-56671-1.

Kemikal na taglay ng ihi ng pusa kinatatakutan ng mga daga

2011-06-21T13:36:00.000-07:00

Ayon sa bagong tuklas ng ilang siyentista [1], may kemikal sa ihi ng leon at iba pang carnivores (mga hayop na kumakain ng karne) na naaamoy ng mga daga at kinatatakutan nito.

Nagsimula ang mga mananaliksik sa pag-aanalisa sa ilang espesyal na olfactory receptors na nadiskubre noong 2001 pa na tinatawag na trace amine-associated receptors (TAARs) [2]. Makikita ang mga receptors na ito sa karamihan ng mga vertebrates. Ang mga bubuwit, halimbawa, ay may 15 nito, mga daga 17 at ang mga tao ay meron lang 6. Hindi pa gaanong natutukoy kung anu-anong mga kemikals ang dumidikit dito.

Natuklasan nila na ang isang myembro ng pamilya ng mga receptor na ito, tinatawag na TAAR4, ay matinding nahihimok ng ihi ng pusang bobcat, na tinitinda bilang panlaban sa mga daga at kunehong umaatake sa mga halamanan. Natukoy at napiga nila ang kemikal na nagpapahimok sa receptor, ang kemikal na kung tawagin ay 2-phenylethylamine.

Ang sumunod na ginawa nila ay tingnan ang epekto ng kemikal na 2-phenylethylamine sa pamamagitan ng paglagay ng ilang tulo nito sa kulungan ng mga bubuwit at daga. Napansin nila na umiiwas ang mga nakakulong na hayop sa lugar na pinaglagyan ng kemikal. Nang binura nila ang kemikal na ito sa ihi ng leon sa pamamagitan ng isang enzyme at nilagay ang naturang ihi sa kulungan, hindi na ito iniiwasan ng mga bubuwit at mga daga.

References

Ferrero, D. M. et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA advance online publication doi:10.1073/pnas.1103317108 (2011).
Borowsky, B. et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 98, 8966-8971 (2001).

Mga imahe ng Pilipinas sa ilalim ng España

2011-06-20T01:46:00.000-07:00

Happy Fathers' Day!

2011-06-19T00:01:00.000-07:00

Mga pelikulang pang-Father's Day na napanood ko kamakailan

The Road

World's Greatest Dad

Taken

Hanna

Kick-Ass

Kramer vs. Kramer

The Boys Are Back

Seminar sa Utrecht University

2011-05-27T00:31:00.000-07:00

Ngayon ko lang narealize kung sinu-sino yung limang audience sa seminar ko tatlong araw ang nakaraan. Yung isa pala yung nagsulat sa aklat na Elements of Applied Bifurcation Theory, although never ko naman talaga nagamit ang aklat na iyan. At mukhang natutulog sya (or at least nakapikit ang mata nya) sa huling kalahati ng aking seminar. LOL.

Yung isa naman ay kilala ko na kasi nagmeet na kami nung Workshop on Resonance and Synchronization. Retired na pala sya, pero isa sya sa dalawang hindi kailanman pumikit ang mata sa buong seminar ko. Sya ang nagsulat ng librong Nonlinear Differential Equations and Dynamical Systems. At di ko rin kailanman nagamit ang libro na yan although nabuklat ko na yan noon.

Yung nag-coordinate naman ng seminar ay ang nagsulat ng Local and Semi-Local Bifurcations in Hamiltonian Dynamical Systems na never ko rin nabasa.

Dati pala ay American time ang gamit ng Pilipinas

2011-05-25T12:23:00.000-07:00

Unang nalaman at nakuha ko ito mula sa isang German mathematician dito sa Netherlands:

the (Spanish) government of the Philippines switched from American to Asian date in 1844 (or 1845). And in fact, the American date had only been in use where the Spanish DID govern. In 'rebellious' places like most (all?) of Mindanao the Asian date had already been in use before.

Marami pa talagang aspeto ng kasaysayan ng aking bansa ang hindi ko alam. Absent siguro ako nung tinuro ito.

Hindi ang DNA kundi ang mga protina ang nagbibigay buhay

2011-05-23T06:00:00.001-07:00

Nakakainis minsan na ang bagal kong magbasa. Andaming librong dapat/gustong basahin pero ang bagal kong magbasa at ang bilis ko madistract kapag nagbabasa. Kaya madalas sa tren lang ako nakakapagbasa. Pero ganun pa rin either naaantok ako o nadidistract ako sa landscape.

ENIWEY! Sinimulan kong basahin ang librong Investigations ni Stuart Kauffman at maraming mga magagandang teorya ang kanyang nabanggit. Chapter 2 pa lang ako. Napaka-attractive yung tinatawag nya na "collectively autocatalytic systems". Sabi nya, hindi ang DNA transcription-translation ang tunay na pangunahing katangian ng buhay kundi ang buong organisasyon ng mga protina na nagtutulungan para mangyari ang mga proseso na kailangan para mabuhay ang mga chemicals/matter na bumubuo sa isang buhay na bagay.

Mahalaga ang DNA at RNA pero may isang yugto ng kasaysayan ng mga molecules (molecular evolution) na mga protina o kaparehong molecules lamang ang nag-eexist. Ito ang tinatawag na "prebiotic stage" at malamang nangyayari pa rin ito sa ating paligid ngayon. Ang patuloy na interaksyon ng mga molecules sa yugto ng prebiotic ay nagbunga sa pinakaunang buhay na bagay (living cell). Mga 3.5 billion taong nakaraan ito nangyari.

Yung tinatawag na "autonomous agent" ay dinefine nya sa Preface bilang "a system able to act on its own behalf in an environment". Isang halimbawa ay ang paggalaw/kaugalian ng isang bacterium para makahanap ng pagkain. Tama yung sinabi nya na lahat ng buhay na cells at organisms ay mga pisikal na sistema "lamang" (physical systems): binubuo lamang sila ng mga pinagsamang molecules. Sa ganyang aspeto, ang halaman, halimbawa, ay walang pinag-iba sa bato: pareho silang pisikal na sistema. So ang tanong nya: Ano ba dapat ang meron sa isang pisikal na sistema para "it can act on its own behalf"?

Sa ganyan ding pagtingin, (tingin ko lang; hindi pa ito nababangit sa libro so far) walang pinag-iba ang buhay na bagay sa lipunan. Ang isang buhay na bagay ay hindi lamang pinagsamang mga molecules--ang pagsama-sama ng mga molecules ay nabuo sa isang napakatagal na proseso na maaari nating tawaging napakalaking eksperimento ng kalikasan (nature's experiment). At ang kinalabasan ng prosesong ito ay ang pagsama-sama ng mga tamang uri ng molecules para makabuo ng isang buhay na bagay. Ganundin ang lipunan. Hindi lamang ito pinagsamang mga tao--ang pagsama-sama ng iba't ibang uri ng mga tao ay nakabuo ng isang klase ng lipunan. Ang pagsama-samang ito ay ibinunga ng mahabang kasaysayan (history) ng interaksyon ng mga tao sa kanilang paligid at sa isa't isa... At nagbabago/nag-eevolve din ang lipunan...

Mahabang kwento pero napakainteresante, at least para sa akin.

Ano ngayon ang kaibahan ng mga buhay na bagay (living things) sa mga di-buhay na bagay (non-living things)? Sana matapos kong basahin ang librong ito ni Kauffman.

Quote of the day: socialism has not failed

2011-05-22T01:41:00.000-07:00

Hindi ko pa talaga nabasa ang buong article (oo, ang bagal ko magbasa) ni Pao-Yu Ching na Rethinking Socialism: What is Socialist Transition, pero gusto ko lang i-quote yung dulong paragraph:

During the past century, thousands of millions had taken up the task to advance their societies toward socialism. Unfortunately, the first round of attempts to build socialism failed. We need to learn from their valuable experiences, because thousands of millions will take up the task again in the future. Socialism has not failed, because we have not yet entered its threshold.

Maraming economic data

2011-05-15T02:13:00.000-07:00

Para sa mga nananaliksik sa ekonomiks, maraming mga datos ang makukuha sa website ng Groningen Growth and Development Center. Medyo kaunti nga lang ang datos sa Pilipinas kasi mukhang ilang bansa lang ang pinagtutuunan nila ng pansin.

Meron pa kayang gumagamit ng Windows Live Messenger?

2011-05-10T06:05:00.000-07:00

Microsoft goes on the defensive with Skype acquisition
By Mikael Ricknäs
May 10, 2011 08:33 AM ET
Source: ComputerWorld

IDG News Service - Microsoft's $8.5 billion acquisition of Skype is largely seen as a defensive move by analysts, as the company struggles to keep up with the likes of Google and Facebook on the Internet.

There is a huge battle that only continues to intensify over where users go on the Internet for their services. Companies including Google, Apple, Facebook and Microsoft need to attract users, and that is what a deal to acquire Skype is all about, according to Paolo Pescatore , analyst at CCS Insight.

Microsoft seems to feel it needs to fight back, and the deal looks like a largely defensive move to prevent its rivals from acquiring Skype, Pescatore said. Microsoft doesn't really need to make the acquisition, because it has all the technical assets it needs to compete with Skype...

Read more

Palayain ang mga nanay! Happy Mothers' Day!

2011-05-08T00:29:00.000-07:00

Ang pagtulong sa gawaing bahay ay isang paraan ng pagpapalaya sa mga nanay nang sa gayon sila din ay makalahok sa pagpapalaya ng bayan.

Tula ni Lorena Barros

Ano ang isang ina?
Mayamang hapag ng gutom na sanggol.
Kumot sa gabing maginaw.
Matamis sa uyayi.
Tubig sa naghahapding sugat.

Ngunit ano ang isang makabayang ina?
Maapoy na tanglaw tungo sa liwayway,
sandigang bato.
Lupang bukal ng lakas sa digma.
Katabi sa laba't alalay sa tagumpay ang aking ina.

Mother's Day Proclamation
By Julia Ward Howe 1870

Arise, then, women of this day!

Arise, all women who have hearts,
Whether our baptism be of water or of tears!

Say firmly:
"We will not have great questions decided by irrelevant agencies,
Our husbands will not come to us, reeking with carnage, for caresses and applause.
Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn
All that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience.
We, the women of one country, will be too tender of those of another country
To allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs."

From the bosom of the devastated Earth a voice goes up with our own.
It says: "Disarm! Disarm! The sword of murder is not the balance of justice."
Blood does not wipe out dishonor, nor violence indicate possession.
As men have often forsaken the plough and the anvil at the summons of war,
Let women now leave all that may be left of home for a great and earnest day of counsel.

Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead.
Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means
Whereby the great human family can live in peace,
Each bearing after his own time the sacred impress, not of Caesar,
But of God.

In the name of womanhood and humanity, I earnestly ask
That a general congress of women without limit of nationality
May be appointed and held at someplace deemed most convenient
And at the earliest period consistent with its objects,
To promote the alliance of the different nationalities,
The amicable settlement of international questions,
The great and general interests of peace.

Ode to Isaac Newton by Edmund Halley

2011-04-30T01:57:00.000-07:00

Sa mga magaling sa Tagalog dyan, pakitranslate naman nito.

Written in 1686 by Edmund Halley under the original title:

To the illustrious man Isaac Newton
and this his work done in fields of the mathematics and physics,
a signal distinction of our time and race.

Translated from Latin by Leon J.Richardson.

Lo, for your gaze, the pattern of the skies!
What balance of the mass, what reckonings
Divine! Here ponder too the Laws which God,
Framing the Universe, set not aside
But made the fixed foundations of his work.

The inmost place of the heavens, now gained,
Break into view, nor longer hidden is
The force that turns the farthest orb. The sun
Exalted on his throne bids all things tend
Toward him by inclination and descent,
Nor suffer that the courses of the stars
Be straight, as through the boundless void they move,
But with himself as centre speeds them on
In motionless ellipses. Now we know
The sharply veering ways of comets, once
A source of dread, nor longer do we quail
Beneath appearances of bearded stars.

At last we learn wherefore the silver moon
Once seemed to travel with unequal steps,
As if she scorned to suit her pace to numbers -
Till now made clear to no astronomer;
Why, though the Seasons go and then return,
The Hours move ever forward on their way;
Explained too are the forces of the deep,
How roaming Cynthia bestirs the tides,
Whereby the surf, deserting now the kelp
Along the shore, exposes shoals of sand
Suspected by the sailors, now in turn
Driving its billows high upon the beach.

Matters that vexed the minds of ancient seers,
And for our learned doctors often led
to loud and vain contention, now are seen
In reason's light, the clouds of ignorance
Dispelled at last by science. Those on whom
Delusion cast its gloomy pall of doubt,
Upborne now on the wings that genius lends,
May penetrate the mansions of the gods
And scale the heights of heaven. O mortal men,
Arise! And, casting off your earthly cares,
Learn ye the potency of heaven-born mind,
Its thought and life far from the herd withdrawn!

The man who through the tables of the laws
Once banished theft and murder, who suppressed
Adultery and crimes of broken faith,
And put the roving peoples into cities
Girt round with walls, was founder of the state,
While he who blessed the race with Ceres' gift,
Who pressed from grapes an anodyne to care,
Or showed how on the tissue made from reeds
growing behind the Nile one may inscribe
Symbols of sound and so present the voice
For sight to grasp, did lighten human lot,
Offsetting thus the miseries of life
With some felicity. But now, behold,
Admitted to the banquets of the gods,
We contemplate the polities of heaven;
Discern the changeless order of the world
And all the aeons of its history.

Then ye who now on heavenly nectar fare,
Come celebrate with me in song the name
Of Newton, to the Muses dear; for he
Unlocked the hidden treasuries of Truth:
So richly through his mind had Phoebus cast
The radiance of his own divinity.
Nearer the gods no mortal may approach.

Dinner

2011-04-25T13:24:00.000-07:00

Kalapati sa puno

Hindi ako nagsisi sa aking desisyon na sumama sa dinner kasama ang dalawang bisitang siyentista: Fred Turek at Steven Shea. Pito kami sa mesa tapos naging walong tao dahil humabol si Serge Daan sa bandang panghimagas na. Masarap ang pagkain... at libre.

Sumama lang naman ako kasi gusto ko din marinig ang dalawang kilalang bisita sa isang impormal na setting. Sa makalawa kasi ay magbibigay sila ng pananalita tungkol sa pinakabagong pananaliksik na nagawa nila na may kaugnayan sa nutrition, metabolism, and the brain. Masaya ang kwentuhan lalo na ang mas seryosong diskusyon sa bandang huli tungkol sa aming ginagawang research. May mga bago akong nalaman at naisip na gawin tungkol sa aking partikular na gawain.

Yan lang siguro bilang pagmarka sa gabi kung kelan naiputan ako ng dalawang beses (likod at harap) ng kalapati. Sa loob na kami nagdessert matapos ang insidenteng iyon.

Hindi ako nagsisi kasi swerte daw ang maiputan ng ibon. Hahaha!

Ang kwento ng pinagmulan ng tao

2011-04-25T12:30:00.000-07:00

The untold story of evolution

Around six million years ago in Africa, human history began. But how exactly did hairy, tree-dwelling apes, become modern 21st-century people?

By Tim Radford
Source: The Guardian

We share almost 99% of our DNA with chimpanzees. Photograph: Paul Lovelace/Rex Features

Human evolution must be the greatest story never told. It begins in an unknowable past and continues mysteriously for the next five or six million years. Is it a thriller, an epic or a comedy of errors? There is no dust jacket, no title page, no dedication, no acknowledgements. Almost all the text is missing, apart from the occasional phrase, sentence or paragraph, seemingly torn at random from the great six-million-year narrative. If the story of humanity is a single volume, then only the last page survives.

Every so often, scholars find yet another fossilised scrap of the missing narrative, a new character enters, and the plot takes a new twist. Some things are clear: the story began in Africa, between 5m and 7m years ago, with the last common ancestor of two kinds of chimpanzee and of Homo sapiens sapiens. Charles Darwin calculated as much when he began telling the story in The Descent of Man (1871). "We thus learn that man is descended from a hairy, tailed quadruped, probably arboreal in its habits, and an inhabitant of the Old World," he wrote.

Anthropologists agree on the human-ape connection. The consent is there in the titles of books published in the past 40 years: The Aquatic Ape, The Naked Ape, The Third Chimpanzee, The Talking Ape, Our Inner Ape, The Thinking Ape, The Monkey in the Mirror, The Hunting Apes, The Ape that Spoke and The Artificial Ape.

These books are all attempts to work backwards, from what we are now to what we might have been. The fact that zoologists, anthropologists and palæontologists can write so many books with the word "ape" in the title tells us two things. One is that the evidence is so sparse that people are free to frame a favourite hypothesis about what it was that made humans different. The other is that the human-chimpanzee connection is so clear that there is nowhere else to begin.

First, the family likeness: chimpanzees struggle for status, vocalise, communicate, play politics, use subterfuge, show aggression, reject outsiders, groom and support each other, betray each other and resort to violence or sexual bribery to get their way. Chimpanzees display awareness of self, ability to reason, and a grasp of numbers. Chimpanzees are opportunistic omnivores that also make and use tools for gain, and groups of chimpanzees in the wild have separate traditions, practices and ways of doing things that they pass down the generations. That is, chimpanzees have culture. Chimpanzees and humans have a genetic kinship so close that they share almost 99% of their DNA.

The Victorians called them "man-like apes". Twentieth-century scientists and observers started referring to humans as naked apes. Early in the 21st century, some taxonomists and conservationists began a campaign to change the chimpanzee genus from Pan to Homo, so close are the parallels between the species.

But the African chimpanzee is an endangered species, down to perhaps 150,000, while the human population is about to tip seven billion. The implication is that, long ago, the earliest human ancestors also lived in small social groups, and co-operated and competed for the resources of the woodland and the savannah. Why did humans become so different: bipedal, upright, hairless, with limited strength, feeble jaws, bad backs, embarrassingly large heads and brains with a cerebral cortex four times the size of a chimp's?

For decades, the conventional evolutionary lineage was a simple one: shambling simian stands upright, evolves into bipedal hairy brute, then slouching hairy brute with hand axe and finally into hairless human with BlackBerry. This is the ladder theory of human evolution. It was kicked away long ago. Discoveries in Africa – a femur here, a fragment of skull there, a pelvis, now and again a partial skeleton, a set of footprints fossilised in ancient volcanic mud – reveal a picture more of confusion than direction: a flowering of creatures more or less apelike or manlike, some of them possibly direct ancestors, some of them probably cousins along a parallel lineage, all of them trying to make a subsistence living in a very different Africa, millions of years ago. The fossils turn up in South Africa, East Africa, Ethiopia and even the Sahel. They have generic names such as Sahelanthropus, Ardipithecus, Orrorin, Australopithecus, Paranthropus, and Kenyanthropus, and their remains were unearthed from the dust, stone and mud sediments laid down 3m, 4m and 5m years ago.

Two million years ago, creatures that bear the generic name Homo begin to appear in the fossil record: Homo habilis, Homo ergaster, Homo erectus, and with them appear worked stone tools, hand axes, things for chipping and cutting. Hardly any of these early human relics is complete. Palaeoanthropologists were once fond of saying that the entire human fossil record could be laid out on one table, or packed in a matching set of Gucci luggage, but this is no longer true. What is true is that even 2m years ago, the human lineage begins to look like a bush, with species sprouting in all directions.

And then the story starts to get really complicated. At some point, early humans get up and start moving. They spread. They pack their hand axes, leave Africa and start to colonise the Middle East, Europe, and South Asia. And there is more than one migration out of Africa: first Homo erectus or something even more primitive, and then, much later, Homo sapiens. And they continue to differentiate into new species. At one point in human history, around 40,000 years ago, modern humans must have shared the planet with at least four other human cousins: Homo erectus, the Neanderthals, a strange, small-brained human found only on the island of Flores in Indonesia, affectionately known as the Hobbit; and most recent of all, species X: a separate human genetic lineage identified in 2010 only by DNA extracted from a finger bone found in a Siberian cave.

What gave early humans their get-up-and-go? Why did humans develop large brains and long legs? Should the first mobile humans be classed as asylum seekers, driven from their native land by climate change? Or were they economic migrants, on the lookout for better opportunities in wide-open Europe and Asia?

Brains are what biologists call expensive items: the human brain at rest consumes 20% of the daily calorific intake. In other words, brains have to be fed. So a large, greedy brain becomes valuable only if it helps to deliver even more food and greater security. So was the larger brain a genetic mutation that increasingly delivered a selective advantage in the struggle for survival? And how did humans get from thinking about food-gathering strategies to thinking about taxonomy, tax-avoidance and Twitter?

The big brain story may have begun in the trees. Arboreal primates that search over wide areas for food in the canopy seem to know what is good for them: they often ignore easy supplies and go looking for special foods. They seem to have a notion of a balanced diet – protein-rich leaves and high-calorie fruits and not too much fibre – and they have been watched deliberately selecting plants with medicinal properties. All this requires a working memory, a mental map of where to go and what to look for. According to at least one study, the primates that hunt high and low for the quality fare tend to have larger brains than those that do not.

Then the human story begins at some point with climate change: in a cooler and more arid continent, once-arboreal creatures had to start exploiting the woodland and savannah. It would clearly be an advantage to stand up and walk on two feet, to see further, to have a hand free to carry an infant. Pair bonding – love and marriage to non-biologists – is already an evolutionary feature, and a bipedal male could go further to find food for his family, and carry it back.

"Darwin argued that bipedalism freed the hands," says Chris Stringer, head of human origins at the Natural History Museum. "He was arguing that 150 years ago and it is still there. But there is another view worth considering: it could have begun in the trees. Orangutans, for instance, walk bipedally." To get to the tastiest forage, orangutans walk along branches, holding on to yet higher branches. So there could have been a long period when early members of the not-yet-human family walked on the ground, and lived in trees.

And by this time, brain size had begun to increase. There are new challenges, new opportunities, new foods to try and new difficulties to overcome. In the past three decades, researchers have floated a number of ideas about how the human story might have developed. Did hominids start to develop bigger brains because they lost most of their body hair? A hairless human with a talent for exuding sweat would be at less risk of overheating; longer legs would enhance the surface-to-volume ratio and keep the brain cool; and as a bonus, ticks, lice and other parasites would have nowhere to hide.

Or did hominids become free to develop bigger brains because their jaw muscles began to shrink, allowing the cranium to expand? Did early humans start to develop even bigger brains because they became increasingly efficient endurance runners that could get to a carcass before the hyenas and vultures, and strip away a nourishing meal of meat, fat and marrow? Did humans begin to stand upright by taking to the water – and to nourish bigger brains with high-protein deliveries of fish and shellfish?

Did humans discover the use of fire millions of years ago, long before the colonisation of Europe? Cooking would make plants both more nourishing and easier to digest; it would dispose of infections and pathogens in meat, and it would deliver greater supplies of energy per mouthful. Teeth, jaws and digestive tracts could shrink, and so brains could get bigger. Did humans grow bigger brains because the extra neural circuitry was needed to make sense of the demands of social and co-operative life?

"I think a lot of our brain is actually mapping relationships, and mind-reading our friends and enemies: what are they doing? You need a lot of processing power to do that well," says Stringer. "If you are starting to hunt animals, you have to out-think them, and that is driving the growth of more processing power and bigger memory. So I think the social brain and meat-eating was the key to that."

Somehow, out of this million-year-mix of food, fear and hunter-gatherer companionship in Africa, complex language emerged. The human who could frame the sentence "You wait behind that rock at the end of the ravine and I'll drive the deer towards you" has demonstrated awareness of cause and effect, of geography, of zoology, of strategy, of co-operation for future mutual advantage. Somewhere in such a sentence there is also the germ of the first play for two actors, the first computer game and the first adventure story.

But there are no neat stories to be told of the first departure from the African homeland. Once again, the evidence is fragmentary, sometimes teasingly ambiguous, and capriciously rare. But there is enough to confirm the presence of early human species in Georgia, in Spain, Portugal, Germany and Britain as early as 800,000 years ago, and also in the Middle East and South Asia. The first migrants could have been pushed out of the country by climate change, or competition for resources, or the desire for somewhere new. They could possibly have made a direct crossing by water from the Horn of Africa to what is now Yemen, or they could have travelled up the Nile Valley and across what is now Gaza into Europe and the Middle East. This fabulous odyssey may not have been intended, it may have just happened. Hunter-gatherers follow game, and when the game disappears, they move on. All these first migrants needed to do was to hug the coast: first up the western shore of the Red Sea, and then down the coast of Arabia.

"They just extended in that ribbon of the coast, out of Africa, around Arabia, around the southern Asian coast: at low sea level, they could have got all the way to Java just on the coast. Then they just need to invent boats along the way and they can get to Australia," says Stringer. "One mile a year and you have gone all the way to Java in 10,000 years."

And in the course of this great adventure, the migrants change. New species appear, and with them, new behaviour. The Neanderthals become the first to formally bury their dead.

And long afterwards, modern humans turn up. Once again, the story begins somewhere in Africa, nobody knows for sure where, and once again, at least 60,000 years ago – and maybe, on recent enigmatic evidence of stone tools in Arabia, as long as 125,000 years ago – a new human species begins to leave Africa and spread around the planet, across all of Europe and Asia, and then finally across the arid freezing plains that will in time become the Bering Straits, to Alaska and then the whole of the Americas. Modern humans are still hunter-gatherers, but around 30,000 years ago there is evidence of sophisticated technologies based on stone and bone and shell. They use needles, decorate with ochre, create works of astonishing art, put on ornaments, and exhibit a sense of religion – the evidence for all these things lies alongside the human fossils. In Europe, these newcomers live alongside the Neanderthals, hunt the same animals, gather the same seeds and fruits. There is recent evidence that – somewhere in the European chapter of this story – modern humans and Neanderthals must have interbred, but in all other respects, the Neanderthals seem to be a different species.

Long before the end of the last ice age, the Neanderthals and all the other human species that have travelled the same road vanish altogether, leaving the newcomers alone of their kind, and in undisputed possession of the planet.

Maagang summer sa lupaing mahangin

2011-04-25T05:53:00.001-07:00

Nakakatawa/nakakalungkot na short film tungkol sa isang Pinoy sa New York

2011-04-24T01:16:00.000-07:00

Creative License

Created in 24 hours by Team Angry Doxen Films for the Brooklyn Film Race 2010 based on a theme (exaggeration) and surprise element (pizza). 1st Place Overall in the 2010 Film Racing Tour. For more information on Film Racing and to learn how to participate, visit http://www.filmracing.com.

For more information on the filmmakers, visit http://www.youtube.com/paolody

Dito ko napulot ang video na ito.

Nature podcast on the Fukushima nuclear emergency

2011-04-21T00:04:00.000-07:00

Japan is struggling with a nuclear emergency following the earthquake and tsunami on 11 March. In this podcast, reporter Geoff Brumfiel brings us up-to-date on the situation at the Fukushima power plant.

Download the mp3

Egyptian Princess Mummy Had Oldest Known Heart Disease

2011-04-15T01:30:00.000-07:00

Ang paniniwala ng maraming mga doktor at medical scientists ay makabago itong mga sakit na "blocked arteries" at "heart attacks". Inakala nila na ang lifestyle ng mga tao noong unang mga panahon ay hindi nagdudulot ng mga ganitong sakit. Ngunit ang paniniwalang ito ay mukhang magbabago dala ng bagong pananaliksik sa mga katawan ng Egyptian mummies. Ayon sa isang balita sa National Geographic, maaaring ang ikinamatay ng isang Egyptian princess na si Ahmose Meryet Amon ay coronary atherosclerosis, isang kondisyon na dulot ng buildup ng arterial plaque, na siyang naging dahilan ng heart attack o stroke.

Resonance tongues and hairs

2011-03-26T11:58:00.000-07:00

Related post: Modeling the mammalian circadian clock

Ang nakakamanghang kwento ng mga enzymes

2011-02-05T04:08:00.000-08:00

Nung highschool ay tinuro sa amin kung ano ang enzymes pero hindi ganun ka detalyado ang kwento kaya hindi ko sila gaanong na-appreciate. Ngayong mas biology papers ang mga binabasa ko ay lagi ko silang nakakasalubong sa mga binabasa ko. Medyo mahaba at madaming pasikot-sikot ang kwentong ito; maraming mga aspeto ng kwento na hindi pa natin alam, pero ang kabuuang kwento mula sa pagkabuhay hanggang sa pagkamatay ng mga enzymes ay nalaman na.

Ang kwentong ito ay maririnig natin mula sa mga cells na may nucleus; may mga cells na walang nucleus tulad ng mga bacteria at ng red blood cells natin. Tulad ng iba pang mga proteins, ang buhay ng mga enzymes ay nagsimula sa DNA sa loob ng nucleus. Ayon sa kwento, isang malaking enzyme katulong ang iba pang maliliit na enzymes ang pumupunta sa DNA at mula dito ay binubuo nila ang mga RNA. Ilan sa mga RNA na ito ay mananatili lang sa loob ng nucleus, pero ang iba ay lalabas mula dito sa tulong na rin ng ilang proteins na nakatira sa bakod ng nucleus (nuclear membrane). Ang mga messenger RNA (mRNA) ay magpapatuloy sa cytoplasm at dito sila ay magpapalutang-lutang. Makakasalubong nila ang ilang enzymes at iba pang molecules sa cytoplasm, pero may mga specific proteins na eventually ay makakasalubong nila na gagabay sa kanila papunta sa pagawaan ng proteins. "Hi mRNA, halika dito tayo pumunta," sabi ng malaking protein na ito.

At dito uusbong ang isang protein na later on ay magiging enzyme. Ang bagong-gawang protein na ito ay magpapalutang-lutang na naman sa cytoplasm, naghihintay ng pagbabago sa kanilang katawan (post-translational modification) at itsura (protein folding) para sila ay magkakaroon ng specific na gawain. Hangga't hindi pa nababago ang itsura nito, hindi pa nito maipapamalas ang kanyang potential. So sa ilang saglit ay makakasalubong nito ang isa o marami pang enzymes na magpapabago sa itsura nito; ang mahabang sequence ng amino acids na bumubuo sa protein na ito ay aayusin ng mga particular na enzymes para ang buong protein ay magkakaroon ng specific na hugis na syang kailangan para makapagsimula na itong gampanan ang kanyang gawain.

Ang bawat enzyme ay may kanya-kanyang gawain, pero sa kabuuan, ang gawain nila ay baguhin ang itsura at komposisyon ng mga proteins at iba pang molecules. May mga enzymes na magdidikit ng dalawa o mas marami pang molecules, meron ding mga enzymes na magpapabago sa hugis ng molecules.

Ang kanilang buhay ay panandalian lamang; ang tagal nito ay depende sa kanilang komposisyon ng amino acid at hugis. Dadating ang panahon na makakasalubong nila ang isang uri ng protein na magsasabi sa kanila na mag-retire na (ubiquitination). Minsan naman ay sasabihan din sila ng mga ubiquitins na magbago na sila ng gawain at sila ay ipapadestino sa ibang parte ng cell.

Ang dulo ng kwento ay ang kanilang kamatayan. Pagkatapos ng isang panahon ng pag-gampan ng gawain, pagtulong sa iba pang proteins, at pakikihalubilo sa iba pang enzymes at iba pang molecules, sila ay magreretire na. Sila ay bibiyakin ng ibang proteins at ang kanilang mga amino acids ay gagamitin muli sa susunod na pagbubuo ng mga bagong enzymes.

Natutunaw

2010-12-05T10:30:00.000-08:00

Nagising ako mga alas-kwatro ng madaling araw dahil sa lakas ng tunog ng tagaktak ng tubig sa sahig. Dumadagundong ang pagbagsak ng isang tulo ng tubig kada ilang segundo. Bumangon ako at hinanap ang basahan para saluhin ang mga tulong nanggigising. Pagkatapos ay bumalik sa higaan at ipinagpatuloy ang paghihilik. Umakyat na naman pala lampas sa zero celsius ang temperatura.

An impotent love

2010-11-29T10:36:00.000-08:00

Sino nagsabi nito?

If you love without evoking love in return – that is, if your loving as loving does not produce reciprocal love; if through a living expression of yourself as a loving person you do not make yourself a beloved one, then your love is impotent – a misfortune.

Galing yan dito.

Modeling the mammalian circadian clock

2010-10-01T06:13:00.000-07:00

Ang Mga Ungas

2010-09-05T07:20:00.000-07:00

ni Alexander Martin Remollino

Walang nakababatid
kung sino sa inyong mga pinaslang sa Kampo Bagong Diwa
ang tunay na mga bataan ni Khadaffy Janjalani.
Wala,
liban sa mga dingding na sumaksi
sa walang-kadahilanang pagkakasadlak ng karamihan sa inyo
sa likod ng mga rehas.
Ngunit ay! ang tatak na "Abu Sayyaf"
ay mistulang lintang nakakapit sa inyo,
sinipsip at inubos ang inyong dugo --
sapagkat ano pa nga ba kundi dugo rin
ang karapatang daluyan ng dugo sa mga ugat?

Ay! para kong napapanood sa aking harapan
ang moro-moro ng mga Kastilang kongkistador,
para kong nababasang muli
ang salaysay ng mga "Krusada" sa Banal na Lupain:
mga yugto ng kasaysayan
kung kailan ang bansag na "Moro"
ay dili iba't isang hatol ng kamatayan,
kamatayan sa salang pagtangging paalipin
alinsunod sa mga katuruan ng Koran.

At sila pa'y nagtatakang yaong Bagong Buwan
ay lagi't laging isang sakdal-talim na karit?
Ang mga ungas,
hinahanap ang mga salarin
ay hindi marunong tumingin sa salamin.

Noong payat pa ako...

2009-10-06T08:26:00.000-07:00

Kuha ito noong huling taon ko sa kolehiyo.

Chronobiology: Rhythms in life

2009-08-20T07:40:00.000-07:00

I was already teaching for eight years when I decided to temporarily leave the Philippines for a Ph.D position here in The Netherlands. It was a difficult decision to make not only because I already had then a six-month old daughter, but also and more importantly, because of my active role in AGHAM, a national organization of advocates of science and technology for the people.

Working for AGHAM means believing that the current backward state of science and technology in the country can only be improved by working closely with the Filipino people especially those from poor communities. Leaving the country for a Ph.D position abroad meant leaving behind the people whom our science and technology must serve. It cannot be denied that my decision is comparable to those seeking greener pastures abroad—a selfish decision that puts the individual over the society.

Whatever my specific justification, I still carry the same dream of contributing to the uplifting of the state of science in our country. I can list many ways of how this dream can be made real even by Filipino scientists like me who are away: I know many Filipinos overseas, scientists and not, who are helping the country in their own way. Let me do my part by writing about the science that I am studying.

Chronobiology is a branch of biology, which is not widely known, perhaps, even among Filipino biologists. It is the study of rhythms observed in plants, animals, and other organisms. An example of these rhythms is our sleep-wake cycle which takes place within a period of around 24 hours. This is the reason why such rhythms are called circadian (“circa” = around, “diem” = day).

Other rhythms observed in nature are called circatidal, circalunar, and circannual; each type of rhythm corresponds to a cyclic behavior of the Earth. Circatidal rhythm includes, for instance, hatching behavior of some species of crabs: they tend to synchronize with the cycle of alternating low and high tides. Menstruation cycles exemplify a circalunar rhythm. For circannual rhythms, we can cite a four-year study in the 1980s, which revealed that testosterone in boys at prepuberty peaks around July, suggesting a circannual hormonal rhythm. As you can see, circannual rhythms are the most difficult to study and thus least understood among the four biological rhythms mentioned—your experimental data for one year is not enough statistically to conclude that there is indeed a rhythm. Besides these four Earth-synchronized biological rhythms, there are also biological rhythms that have periods ranging from milliseconds to decades.

A practical question about chronobiology: what is the use of knowing these biological rhythms? There are several practical uses of chronobiology ranging from biological timers to drug administration. Linnaeus’s flower clock is based on the difference in timing of opening and closing of different plants. Imagine a garden with plants whose flowers open at 6 a.m. and at 9 a.m., at 12 noon, and at 3 p.m. and at 6 p.m. Besides the difficulty of maintaining such a garden, this may also be not of much use to many people since we can buy cheap China-made watches nowadays, which may be of the same precision as flower clocks but are definitely more portable.

In medicine, chronobiology can help in determining the right timing of drug administration. As an example, studies have shown that our blood pressure is not really constant, but follow cycles throughout the day which peak around 6 p.m. This also varies per individual depending on circumstances. Thus, it is also very likely that blood-pressure-lowering medicines have different efficacy across the day, and it would be wise for doctors to determine the correct timing for a specific individual. Chronopharmacology is the field of medicine that deals with how the effects of drugs vary with biological rhythms.

A scan of scientific journals in chronobiology and conversation with chronobiologists will give you an idea how wide-ranging the topics are in this not-so-popular field in biology: detection of mood disorders based on sleep patterns; the link between night-shift work and cancer; zoo management (there was a study on the feeding schedule of koalas in a zoo); physiological effects of low-gravity; timing in the brain, etc.

Chronobiology can also be applied in the agriculture sector. For fisherfolk, it would be very useful to know the abundance of fish and their types at a given time, day, or month. For farmers, knowing when pests thrive would save precious time for other activities. It is possible that fisherfolks and farmers actually have these knowledge in crude form that local scientists might help refine. After all, science is the product of the accumulated experience of the people throughout history.

An active member of Agham, Kim obtained his physics bachelors and masters degrees at MSU-IIT and UP-Diliman, respectively. He is now pursuing doctoral research in chronobiology at the University of Groningen, Netherlands.

Prom.bound@gmail.com

Putting a cork on brain drain

2008-09-05T23:35:00.000-07:00

PROMETHEUS BOUND, The Manila Times

Putting a cork on brain drain
By Kim Gargar

A graduate of BS Biology working as bank teller; a BS Chemistry graduate teaching P.E.; a physicist fresh from college selling toothpaste and other products of a multi-level marketing company; a mechanical engineer assembling electric fans in a Laguna factory; an electronics engineer soldering TV circuits for a Japanese TV company; a cum laude chemical engineering graduate titrating every day in a quality control laboratory for a food manufacturing factory. [Editor’s note: Titration is a simple laboratory method of quantitative/chemical analysis often used to determine the unknown concentration of a known reactant. It is also called volumetric analysis because volume measurements play a key role in the procedure.]

These are the realities of under- and mismatched employment many science and engineering graduates in the Philippines have been facing for decades: as students they went through several years of hard study in high-level science but end up working to do activities that do not require their advanced skills. Add to these our medical doctors who after studying for more than nine years just to add an “MD” after their names are now starting to prepare themselves to become nurses in America. How about our few very good high school science teachers migrating to the US to earn dollars by teaching in public schools there?

The list seems to be never-ending and these specific cases only reflect the general state of science in the Philippines. A Science Education Institute survey revealed that only one out of five high school physics teachers is qualified to teach physics. In another study, a Trends in International Math and Science Study (TIMSS) survey of 2nd year high school students, the Philippines ranks 43rd among Asian countries. At the top is South Korea while Indonesia ranks 36th on the list.

The number of research scientists and technologists for every million Filipinos is around 100. This is very much lower than the United Nations prescription for the Philippines—380 for every million. However, even with the small size of the science and technology sector, underemployment is one big problem of the sector. This is not surprising as underemployment in the Philippines is a common phenomena. According to the National Statistics Office, 6.38 million (18.9 percent of the total employed) were underemployed in 2007. The actual statistic could be higher.

If a fresh science and engineering graduate is lucky enough, he gets to teach in universities and colleges and be able to impart what he had studied for several years. If not, he would go abroad and join research laboratories in Japan, the US, and Europe depriving the country further of highly skilled intellectual workforce. Even with a Balik scientist program, it is hard to have them stay here in our country.

If not teaching, those with some sense of patriotism remain in the country as technicians or as managers (still not a science practitioner) in multinational corporations. For instance, many graduate Physics degree holders or students from the National Institute of Physics are now in the production lines of semiconductor companies where research and development (R&D) activity is very minimal and limited to improving operations efficiency. They will soon have to contend with Intel Philippines moving its operations to other countries.

Many chemical engineers or chemists practice their profession as consultants to local or foreign chemical companies helping them solve elementary problems that do not require advanced methods or principles in chemistry. “Brain drain” does not only happen with people leaving the country for employment abroad; it is also possible when people’s talents are not tapped for domestic use.

What we have is an educational system that produces far very few good scientists and engineers and a working environment that needs less or none at all. With the rise of call centers and other business-process outsourcing companies, the underemployment rate is expected to also rise.

Increasing the number of human resources in science and technology is only one part. There is a move to increase the quality and number of graduate studies in engineering through the Engineering R&D for Technology project where nearly P6.5B is targeted for scholarships and infrastructure. However, the government’s strategic plans on development are not geared towards building a truly self-reliant economy. These plans have been tailored for our export-oriented and import-dependent economic model that weakens domestic production through its policy of opening national industries to foreign corporations and deregulating and liberalizing ownership of critical base industries. In such a situation, what need is there for a highly trained scientist or engineer?

This problem can be faced head on by putting up basic industries to manufacture goods and materials for domestic needs which will require science and engineering graduates. This will widen their employment opportunities as technical workers and be involved in research and development for local industries and hopefully put the cork on our brain drain.

Kim Gargar has a Master of Science in Physics from UP Diliman and now teaches at the Mapua Institute of Technology. He has been active in AGHAM since 2001.

prom.bound@gmail.com

Radical Einstein

2008-08-22T23:37:00.000-07:00

PROMETHEUS BOUND, The Manila Times

Radical Einstein
By Kim Gargar

No other scientist can surpass the popularity attained by the physicist Albert Einstein. He is popular even among ordinary market vendors. It is commonplace to hear someone calling a person with an ingenious solution to a simple day-to-day problem as an “Einstein.” Despite this popularity, much information about this man remains in the confines of a few biographies and is not known to the wider public.

In the community of physicists, Einstein’s century-old theory of special relativity—explaining how a four-dimensional object can be viewed through our three-dimensional eyes—is considered to be a work of a genius even up to this day and is labeled by many of his contemporaries as a radical shift of interpreting relative motion. His famous equation, E=mc2, which relates the amount of energy in matter is the cornerstone of our understanding of nuclear energy.

His general theory of relativity which deals with gravity predicted that three-dimensional space can be “curved” resulting in the bending of light passing through it. This is now being used to get images of far away galaxies using gravitational lenses.

The implications of his Nobel-winning work on photoelectric effect which represents light as a particle or a quantum of energy was so radical in his time that even he himself had a hard time believing it later on. This work would also helped usher in our quantum understanding of the universe and would be the basis for solar energy panels and electronics.

Einstein’s radical mindset, a characteristic noticeable in his physical theories, prompted him to think out of the box and, in the process, contributed to his discovery of several laws of nature. One of his biographers even attributed “[Einstein’s] cocky contempt for authority” as one big reason for the way he thought. This same radicalism is also manifested in Einstein’s views on social issues of the day, views, which earned him a label “left-wing scientist” by some biographers.

Just how radical Einstein’s thinking was in relation to social issues is less popular even among physicists. How Einstein managed to focus on his scientific endeavors despite many distractions around him—family problems, war, and political upheaval—is not very much talked about even within the scientific community.

During his first years as a professor in Germany, Albert Einstein opposed World War I that was raging within Europe in disagreement with the majority of German scientists. His protest against the production and use of the nuclear bomb during the Second World War is well-known.

Einstein showed his civil libertarian and pro-human rights stance in 1940s through his constant media warnings on the imminent danger to American liberty brought about by the government-sponsored hysteria about the alleged Red menace. The McCarthy hysteria resulted in the labeling as “communist” of many scientists and reform advocates in the US who voiced against certain government policies.

His support for socialist economic policies and civil liberties was consistent throughout his life. He befriended several socialist leaders and intellectuals in British and America, and his 1949 article “Why Socialism?” influenced many political figures and scientists across the globe.

At this time of surging economic and political crisis worldwide, one wonders what Einstein would say about the rising prices of oil and commodities, unemployment, and global economic slowdown? In his 1949 essay, he pointed to the mode of production motivated by profit as the one “responsible for an instability in the accumulation and utilization of capital, which leads to increasingly severe depressions.” His arguments resonate with the argument that the current trend of monopoly globalization is one of the major causes of our sufferings.

Albert Einstein is an epitome of a socially conscious scientist. For AGHAM, Einstein’s image can be seen in our many posters and T-shirts. Being a national organization advocating science and technology for the people, AGHAM has been organizing the ranks of Filipino science and technology practitioners since 1999 for them to apply their talents and skill in solving the social and economic problems of our people.

It might seem at first that facing these challenges is less appealing than research work within the laboratory but Einstein may have had the answer to why this is so. In a 1949 article, he said that “one of the strongest motives that lead men to art and sciences is escape from everyday life with its painful crudity and hopeless dreariness,” to which he added that “Man can find meaning in life, short and perilous as it is, only through devoting himself to society.”

Kim Gargar has a Master of Science in Physics from UP Diliman and now teaches at the Mapua Institute of Technology. He has been active in AGHAM since 2001.

prom.bound@gmail.com

Interview by the student paper of Mapua Institute of Technology

2008-03-07T07:49:00.000-08:00

Interview by Thessa Quilalang

1. What do you think of the Lozada issue? (NBN-ZTE, Pres. Gloria)

Before I answer this question, let me state that I am a member of an alliance of scientists, technologists, engineers and other individuals who want the truth and want change, Scientists for Truth, Scientists for Change (STSC). I am stating this fact because we in STSC have already declared our analysis of and position on this issue.

The NBN-ZTE issue is not just an issue of large-scale corruption in the government. It shows the thinking of the current administration when it comes to modernizing our country. Even if corruption did not take place, why should the government rely on a foreign IT company to install a national broadband network? Our country has enough scientists, engineers and IT practitioners whose expertise can be tapped in order to do this. Based on the pile of exposes after exposes, we conclude that the government under Mrs. Arroyo is not really interested in developing a national broadband network but only wants the kickbacks along with the NBN-ZTE contract.

2. What can you say about the situation today? Regarding Mapuans's response to our national situation?

I cannot really generalize on MIT faculty, students, and staff's response to the current situation since I have not talked to most of them, but based on my discussions with some faculty members, students, and staff of MIT, I can say that many Mapuans are concerned about this issue. Being an academic institution, where debates and ideas are expected to flourish, it is but natural to expect MIT to make a stand on the issue. Many MIT constituents are already doing this. In fact, some of us are joining a coalition among academic and non-academic communities along Taft Avenue and in Intramuros area. It was publicly launched last February 28 at UP Manila. We expect more Mapuans to join this coalition since it is a venue to air all our grievances on the issue in a unified manner. They may want to contact me about this.

3. What do you think does this have an effect to you? Positively? Negatively?

The current corruption scandal affects us both positively and negatively. Negatively, massive corruption in the government deprives all Filipinos of the money and resources that could have been spent on education, health, and industrialization. Positively, it illustrated that what we have done in the two EDSA uprisings have not eliminated all evils in the government. We could look at it as an opportunity for all Filipinos to unite once again, and this time we will not stop until the government is totally clean and devoid of corrupt officials.

4. Does this hinder your profession?

As a research scientist and as a teacher, no. In fact, it gives me more enthusiasm to reach out to other scientists and teachers and unite with them in searching for the truth.

5. What do you think can you contribute as a Mapuan?

Mapuan or not, we are all needed to contribute to the resolution of this conflict, and we can do this by uniting with each other, by organizing ourselves.

6. What is your say to those Mapuans who are not interested on this issue?

Kung kaya nyo pa tiisin ang pangungurakot sa ating kayamanan, marami ang hindi na.

7. Ano ang masasabi ninyo sa reaksyon ng ibang mga estudyante about the ff:
a. Natatakot akong sumali kasi baka masuspend ako?

Wala akong nakikitang batas na nagbabawal sa pagpapahayag ng mga saloobin. Freedom of expression is enshrined in our Constitution, and this freedom is useless if we don't exercise it.

b. Bakit ako sasali eh wala naman akong alam sa issyu na yun?

Makialam. Bilang estudyante, pag-aralan ang mga nangyayari.

c. Sasama ako kapag sumama yung mga kaibigan ko?

Ipaliwanag ang sitwasyon. Mag-conduct ng mga study sessions about the issue and make a united stand with your friends.

8. Sa pagiging "repressive" ng mga students, ano sa tingin mo ang maitutulong mo/part mo in order to help Mapuan to be fully aware of the current situation? (national issue)

Maybe you mean "repressed", not "repressive", ang mga students. In situations like this, it is really up to those students who have more knowledge and deeper understanding of the issue to reach out to other students, explain to them, and unify them on a common stand and actions.

9. Message to Mapuans?

I expect Mapuans to be critical thinkers, brave, and patriotic. We should be seeing more Mapuans doing what should be done for the good of the country, and that is to voice out in public and join all sectors of the society in condemning corruption, demanding accountability, and searching for the truth. I am inviting them to STSC or the coalition Samahan sa U-Belt Para sa Tunay na Pagbabago ng Lipunan. Remember that the more parallel forces you have, the greater is the acceleration.

The lives of Galileo, Tycho Brahe, and Kepler

2007-07-08T13:21:00.000-07:00

Ang mga sumusunod na talata ay hango mula sa aklat na sinulat ni David Brewster noong 1841, na mababasa sa internet.

Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)
Galileo seems to have been desirous of following the profession of a painter: but his father had observed decided indications of early genius; and, though by no means able to afford it, he resolved to send him to the university to pursue the study of medicine. He accordingly enrolled himself as a scholar in arts at the university of Pisa, on the 5th of November, 1581,[5] and pursued his medical studies under the celebrated botanist Andrew Cæsalpinus, who filled the chair of medicine from 1567 to 1592.

Tycho Brahe (1546-1601)
His father, Otto Brahe, who was descended from a noble Swedish family, was in such straitened circumstances, that he resolved to educate his sons for the military profession; but Tycho seems to have disliked the choice that was made for him; and his next brother, Steno, who appears to have had a similar feeling, exchanged the sword for the more peaceful occupation of Privy Councillor to the King. The rest of his brothers, though of senatorial rank, do not seem to have extended the renown of their family; but their youngest sister, Sophia, is represented as an accomplished mathematician, and is said to have devoted her mind to astronomy as well as to the astrological reveries of the age.

Johannes Kepler (1571-1630)
John Kepler, the youngest of this illustrious band, was born at the imperial city of Weil, in[205] the duchy of Wirtemberg, on the 21st December 1571. His parents, Henry Kepler and Catherine Guldenmann, were both of noble family, but had been reduced to indigence by their own bad conduct. Henry Kepler had been long in the service of the Duke of Wirtemberg as a petty officer, and in that capacity had wasted his fortune. Upon setting out for the army, he left his wife in a state of pregnancy; and, at the end of seven months, she gave premature birth to John Kepler, who was, from this cause, a sickly child during the first years of his life. Being obliged to join the army in the Netherlands, his wife followed him into the field, and left her son, then five years old, under the charge of his grandfather at Limberg. Sometime afterwards he was attacked with the smallpox, and having with difficulty recovered from this severe malady, he was sent to school in 1577.

Brain teasers and math problems

2006-02-14T13:02:00.000-08:00

This page is lifted from Homepage of Padmanabhan.

This page has a variety of mathematics problems/brain teasers which I have come across and solved at different times. They have appeared in several publications
dating from antiquity and I have discussed some of them in a column called
"Playthemes" I used run for an Indian Science Magazine in the eighties.

Brain teasers buffs will know a fair fraction of them, but --- hopefully --- everyone will find something new. I have put them here because I like them. I plan to add more to this list periodically or even make subjectwise pages if/when I get time.

Prove that the area of a cyclic quadrilateral of sides a,b,c,d is
A=sqrt[(s-a)(s-b)(s-c)(s-d)]. Of course, things become familiar when d goes to zero.

Take any n points in a plane and let D and d be the greatest and least distances determined by points of this set. Prove that 2D > sqrt(3) [sqrt(n)-1]d.

A right angled tetrahedron ABCD is one in which the three angles at the vertex A are all right angles. Prove that the square of the area of the triangle BCD is the sums of the squares of the areas on the other three sides. [This can be done mentally in 10 seconds with the right approach.]

If a cube is cut into finite number of smaller cubes, prove that at least two of them must be of same size.

In a circumference of circle with center O and radius R, take three points EFG which are the vertices of an equilateral triangle. Draw three circles with centers E,F and G respectively with radius R. These three circles overlap pairwise forming three petals. Find the area of the overlapping region.

Imagine two very long cylinders of unit radius located along the x-axis and y-axis respectively. Find the volume of the overlapping region. [No, it does not require calculus. Moreover the answer does not involve pi.]

Let S be the set of all positive definite integers written in base 10. Remove from it all the integers which have the digit 9 appearing in them. Add up the reciprocals of the remaining ones. Is the sum finite or divergent? Remember that the sum of the reciprocals of all primes diverges.

(a) A region of area A in a plane is bounded by a simply connected curve of length L. Is there a straightline passing through the region such that it divides both the area and perimeter into two equal parts?

(b) There are two nonoverlapping regions of arbitrary shapes, in a plane each bounded by simply connected curves. Is there a straight line passing through both and dividing both simultaneously bisecting the areas ? If "no", prove it; if "yes" give the construction.

A decagon ABC...IJ is inscribed in a circle. Show that the length of AD is the sum of the side of the decagon and the radius of the circle. (Sure, it is trivial to do this with trigonometry; but there is an elegant geometrical solution.)

Let ABCD be a convex quadrilateral with perimeter P and the length of the longer diagonal L. What should be the shape of ABCD if (P/L) has the maximum possible value ? [No, it is not a square!]

The diameter of a convex region of perimeter P is defined to be the length of the longest chord in that region. We can define the "pi" for any convex figure by taking the ratio of perimeter to diameter of that convex figure. Prove that this "pi" is bounded from below by 2 (trivial!) and above by actual pi.

Compared to the last one this is surprisingly easy: Show that the area of any convex region of diameter D is bounded from above by (pi/4)D^2.

A circular region of radius 16 cm has 650 points marked inside. You are given a circular ring of inner radius 2 cm and outer radius 3 cm. Show that for any choice of 650 points, you can always place the ring covering at least 10 points.

What is the area of the largest ellipse that can be inscribed in a right angled triangle of sides a,b ? [Yes, there is an nice way of doing it].

Given an acute angled triangle, inscribe in it a triangle such that it has the minimum possible perimeter. [There are elegant geometrical solutions; but if you are a physicist/engineer it should be trivial]

These three are classics but I have come across people who haven't seen them. So ....
(a) In any triangle prove that the nine-point circle touches the incircle and the three excircles [If you don't know what a nine-point-circle is your education is incomplete].

(b) In triangle ABC the trisectors of the interior angles A,B,C are drawn making the adjacent ones meet at D,E,F [There is only one sensible way of doing this]. Prove that triangle DEF is equilateral.

(c) Start with an arbitrary triangle ABC. Draw three equilateral triangles ABX, BCY, CAZ on the outside on each side of the triangle. Show that the centers of these three equilateral triangles form an equilateral triangle.

In triangle ABC, AB=AC, angle A = 20 degrees, a point P is chosen along AC such that AP = BC. Find angle PBC.

Construct a triangle given the three altitudes. [Before you start drawing a triangle with the 3 altitudes as sides, ask yourself: Will the three altitudes of a triangle always form a triangle ?]

A point P is chosen inside a triangle ABC and the perpendiculars are dropped from P to the sides AC and BC.

(a) Prove that if x and y are the perpendicular distances then xy is a maximum when P lies on the bisector of angle C.

(b) Consider next the case when the perpendiculars are dropped from P to all the three sides with lengths x, y and z. Find P such that the product xyz is a maximum. [Sorry! It is not the incenter.]

Construct triangle ABC given the circumcenter, incenter and one excenter.

When a beer can is full of beer its center of gravity is at the geometric center.When the beer can is empty it is again at the geometric center [assume the can is a perfect cylinder and any asymmetry between the top and bottom faces are ignorable]. As one starts to drink the beer, the CG, of course, starts to come down towards the bottom. It must reach a minimum height and rise again. If the beer weighs x grams and the empty can weighs y grams, find the lowest point reached by CG as a fraction of the height of the can.

Two ladders of length a,b are leaning against opposite walls separated by distance x. Their feet rest at the opposite walls. If the height of intersection
of the ladders is d, find x in terms of (a, b, d).

Here is a politically incorrect cryptaithm: (EVE/DID)=.TALKTALKTALK..... Each letter stands for a digit and the right hand side is recurring as shown. Find the numbers.

Show that the 13th of a month falls more frequently on Friday than on any other day.

Let us assume you are a distance x units away from certain disaster in your life. Everything you do has a probability p of moving you 1 unit away from disaster and alas, a probability 1-p of taking you towards the disaster. What are your longterm chances of avoiding disaster in your life ? [Comment: Obviously, for p=0 you court disaster while if p=1 you will monotonically move away from it. Do you think p=0.3 persons are doing better than p=0.01 persons in their life ?]

Every young man dating girls has faced this dilemma. "Should one move towards commitment or move away and hope that the next one will be better ?" Assume that: (a) You hope to consider a sample of N girls, one at a time. (b) You can't go back to someone you rejected. So if you pass up (N-1), you are stuck with the Nth for your life who could be a Medusa. At any given time, you have the rankings of all the previous girls you have dated to compare with the current one. What is your optimal strategy to get the best one ? [Ans: For reasonably large N, pass the first [N/e] however good they are and then choose the first one who is better than all those you have passed, without waiting further. If such a candidate doesn't come up, marry the Nth (Medusa) with the satisfaction that you did your best! I was never convinced "e" is natural until I solved this one!]

Quickies

A point P is chosen inside a square ABCD such that angle PAB=angle PBA =15 degrees. Prove that PCD is equilateral.

Rectangle ABCD has AB=3 BC. Points P,Q trisect AB and are ordered A-P-Q-B. Show that angle CAB+ angle CPB =angle CQB

Give 1000 consecutive integers, none of which is a prime number.

Prove that there exists numbers of the form n=p^q where (a) p and q are irrational and (b) n is rational.

A book of 500 pages has 500 typos randomly distributed. What is the probability that page 29 has no typos ?

(a) A point P is chosen inside an equilateral triangle such that its distances from the vertices are 3,4 and 5 centimeters. What is the size of the equilateral triangle? (b) For a non-quickie generalisation try the following: If a,b,c,d denote the three distances from the vertices and the side of the equilateral triangle show that 3(a^4+b^4+c^4+d^4)=(a^2+b^2+c^2+d^2)^2

In a shuffled deck of cards what is the most probable position [from the top, say] for the first black ace ? What is the most probable position for the second black ace ?

What is the rule behind ordering of these letters: z,x,c,v,b,n,m ?

What about the set : o,t,t,f,f,s,s,e, ..... [Find the next few letters]

Here are sets of numbers enclosed by square brackets. Fill the next set of numbers. [1],[1,1],[2,1],[1,2,1,1],[1,1,1,2,2,1],[3,1,2,2,1,1],
[.............]

Given any obtuse angled triangle is it possible to dissect it into smaller triangles, all of which are acute ? [The answer is "yes"]

Express 64 using two 4's without the use of any mathematical symbols.

Add a suitable mathematical symbol in the space between two and three in 2 3 so that the resulting expression has a value between two and three. [I know two ways of doing it]

An old chestnut is to express numbers in terms of, say, 4 fours and mathematical symbols, like 97=4(4!)+(4/4); 71=(4!+4.4)/(.4). Give a general formula to express any positive integer in terms of four 4's and symbols.

1023 players (yes, not 1024) participate in a tournament in which each game produces a decisive winner. Players are eliminated by knock-out with byes being given when odd number of players occur at any given round. How many matches need to be played to find a winner ?

One of the papers by the famous mathematician Littlewood published in a French journal concludes as follows (The sentences in the journal were, of course, in French; what I give below is the English translation).
1. I am greatly indebted to Prof. Risez for translating the present
paper.
2. I am greatly indebted to Prof. Risez for translating the previous foot note.
3. I am greatly indebted to Prof. Risez for translating the previous foot note.

Littlewood is completely ignorant of French language; so how did he avoid infinite regression?

Judging Einstein

2005-12-16T05:00:00.000-08:00

Before most physicists would believe the claims of relativity, they required proof—which would come in the form of a solar eclipse

J. Donald Fernie

This year we celebrate the centenary of Albert Einstein's special theory of relativity. Indeed, 1905 was the year in which Einstein first gave notice of his astonishing abilities. He was but 26 and had just earned his doctorate, but that year he published four papers on separate topics, each of which marked a major advance in physics. The first of these, on the photo-electric effect (the subject of Roald Hoffmann's Marginalium in the previous issue), would bring him the Nobel Prize, but it was the third, on special relativity, that made him both famous and controversial. A decade after this flurry of papers, in 1915, he unveiled the theory of general relativity, shaking again the foundations of science.

To test predictions of Einstein's theories... So different was relativity from the prevailing beliefs that most physicists demanded proof that it could explain phenomena that Isaac Newton's canon could not. Satisfying such demands was difficult, because the difference between the two models could only be apparent under extreme conditions. There seemed little hope that any terrestrial experiment could decide between them, but Einstein later identified three astronomical tests. The first was the proper calculation of the orbit of the planet Mercury—a feat that was beyond Newtonian physics (see "In Pursuit of Vulcan" in the September-October 1994 American Scientist). The second test required the comparison of light emitted from atoms in the Sun with light from similar atoms on Earth—relativity predicted that the Sun's light would have a longer wavelength (an example of the so-called redshift). The third test posited that if relativity was true, then rays of starlight that passed near the Sun would be bent compared to the same rays when the Sun was elsewhere in the sky. In each case, the relativistic effects are caused by gravity from the Sun's huge mass.

Early attempts to perform these tests did not silence Einstein's critics, because some observations supported his theory and others did not. Thus, the general theory of relativity yielded a much better solution to the Mercury problem than did Newtonian models, but another prediction of relativity, the redshift of the solar spectrum, could not be verified. (Eventually, astrophysicists learned that several other factors complicated the observation of this phenomenon.) So with one result in favor and another in doubt, the third test became something of a deciding vote for or against relativity.

Einstein first suggested how this light-bending effect could be measured in 1911. He predicted that those rays of starlight that passed closest to the Sun would be deflected by 0.85 arcseconds (0.00023 degree) because of the Sun's gravitational field. However, stars that appear next to the Sun are only visible during a total solar eclipse. To test Einstein's hypothesis, one would have to take photographs during an eclipse that showed background stars near the Sun's disk and compare them with photos taken months earlier or later, when the same stars rose in the night sky. Did stars appearing on opposite sides of the Sun's disk maintain the same spacing when the Sun was gone, or not?

This prediction seemed easy to check. Many pictures of solar eclipses already existed, as did photos of the night sky. Even so, skepticism about Einstein's theory was so prevalent that few astronomers rushed to their archives. And when they did examine previous photographs of solar eclipses, they found that the pictures were unsuited to proving or disproving Einstein's claim: The telescopes had been set to track the Sun's motion across the sky, not the stellar motions, and the slight differences between these perspectives obscured the small, predicted shifts in star positions. However, as time went by and other experiments gave equivocal results, the solar-eclipse experiment represented the best chance to test the truth of relativity.

Hoping for a Dark Noon

As early as 1912 it seemed possible to capture the necessary photographs with little fuss. In October of that year, a total solar eclipse was to run across the northern parts of South America, and the astronomical observatory of Córdoba in central Argentina was near enough to mount an expedition. Unhappily, almost all of South America was under clouds that day.

Another suitable eclipse loomed in August 1914, running northwest to southeast across eastern Europe. Erwin Freundlich, a young German astronomer, was determined to test Einstein's theory but encountered grave difficulty raising money for the trip. The scientific establishment in Germany was uninterested in paying for it, leading Einstein himself to offer his own none-too-abundant finances. With so few options, Freundlich appealed to other countries for collaborators that would help fund the expedition. He had only one taker: William Wallace Campbell and a team from the Lick Observatory in California. Later, the Berlin Academy provided additional support.

The eclipse was due August 21, but the team of Germans and Americans established a camp near Kiev well before that date to prepare for the event. Unfortunately, history intervened: On August 1, 1914, Germany declared war on Russia, and the German astronomers were taken prisoner. Russian forces expelled the older scientists and held the younger ones as prisoners of war. The Russians did allow the Americans to stay for the eclipse, but again the sky was totally clouded out. Campbell later wrote "I never knew before how keenly an eclipse astronomer feels his disappointment through clouds. One wishes that he could come home by the back door and see nobody."

The next year, at the height of the First World War, Einstein published his general theory of relativity. This timing greatly complicated the theory's dissemination because German scientific journals were then unavailable to the English-speaking world. It was an astronomer from neutral Holland who brought word of the new theory to Britain. Moreover, Britain was going through a period of almost hysterical opposition to all things German. Ardently opposed to this mindless, pervasive hatred, a young British astrophysicist named Arthur Stanley Eddington stood almost alone. Eddington was not only a rising star in astronomy but a Quaker—a religious pacifist. As such, he refused to fight in the war, although he was willing to risk his life providing aid to civilians caught in the violence. Because of his beliefs, Eddington lived on the verge of imprisonment during much of the war and suffered vicious attacks for his pacifism and efforts to counter his peers' nationalistic hostility toward German science.

Eddington learned of Einstein's general theory from the Dutch astronomer Willem de Sitter and was immediately taken with it. He was almost certainly the first (and, for a while, the only) English-speaker to understand the theory and appreciate its significance. Eddington grasped the fact that Einstein's new work meant that the eclipse experiment was an even more significant test of relativity—the general theory predicted twice as much deflection of light rays passing the Sun as did the special theory. Another suitable eclipse would occur in 1919, and although in 1915 there was no immediate hope for peace, the British Astronomer Royal, Frank Dyson, began to lay plans (no doubt at Eddington's prompting) for an expedition to photograph the event. Eddington, of course, was eager to lead such an expedition but worried that his uncertain standing with the authorities might cause difficulties for the project. Then, in a stroke of genius, Dyson wrote a carefully worded letter to officialdom. In response, the government notified Eddington that he was lucky so far in having avoided prison, and that his only hope of remaining that way was to lead Dyson's expedition, whether Eddington liked it or not! Eddington dutifully bowed to the hoped-for ultimatum.

Partly Cloudy

Around the same time, an eclipse in the United States in June 1918 was almost entirely obscured by clouds, but Campbell's team did get some photographs. These poorly exposed plates seemed to indicate no relativistic effects, much to the delight of Einstein's skeptics, including Campbell.

The eclipse of May 29, 1919, was to start near the border between Chile and Peru, then traverse South America, cross the Atlantic Ocean and arc down through central Africa. No part of the path was far from the equator, and the desirable, longest-lasting portion was in the Atlantic, a few hundred miles from the coast of Liberia. The British planners decided that the tiny island of Principe, nestled in the crook of Africa's Gulf of Guinea, would be best despite the poor astronomical viewing from low-lying tropical regions. The choice of Principe introduced other challenges. One modern travel agency advises prospective visitors to the island that "It's best to go between June and September. The rest of the year is muggy and hot—you'll be swimming in rain and your own sweat." Just in case Principe was cloudy at the crucial time, the British sent a second expedition to observe the eclipse from Sobral, in eastern Brazil.

The main instruments at both sites were existing astrographic telescopes of 33-centimeter aperture designed specifically for photographing star positions with high precision. Although these telescopes were designed to automatically follow the stars, their temporary emplacement in the field required each telescope to be immobilized as a clockwork-driven flat mirror tracked across the sky and fed light to the main lens. As an afterthought, the Brazil contingent added a small 10-centimeter telescope to its roster. In the end, it saved the day.

The expeditionaries set out months ahead of the eclipse to allow for travel difficulties. Although the war officially ended in November 1918, chaos continued for months thereafter. Upon arrival, they had to evaluate the terrain, choose a site, and set up and test their equipment. Eddington's group arrived at Principe in late April and, amid the heat and rain, found themselves under such constant attack by biting insects that they needed to work under mosquito netting most of the time. The rain grew worse as May advanced, and the day of the eclipse began with a tremendous storm. The rain stopped as the day wore on, but the totality phase of the eclipse would start at 2:15 p.m. and last only five minutes. Eddington wrote:

About 1.30 when the partial phase was well advanced, we began to get glimpses of the Sun, at 1.55 we could see the crescent (through the cloud) almost continuously and large patches of clear sky appearing. We had to carry out our programme of photographs in faith. I did not see the eclipse, being too busy changing plates, except for one glance to make sure it had begun.... We took 16 photographs ... but the cloud has interfered very much with the star images.

The weather in Brazil was much better—beautifully clear, in fact. The observers took 19 photos with the astrograph and eight with the small telescope. But when the photographs were developed, they found that despite their precautions, the astrograph's pictures showed, according to Dyson, "a serious change of focus, so that, while the stars were shown, the definition was spoiled." Even under ideal conditions, the predicted relativistic displacement on the photographs was only 1/60 of a millimeter—about a quarter of the diameter of a star on a sharply exposed image. Although they could measure such a minute shift, the poor focus made this task nearly impossible. By contrast, the small telescope's photographs were clear and sharp, but on a reduced scale.

Weighing the Data

Many months later, back in England, Eddington pondered the inconsistent results. Einstein's theory predicted a displacement of 1.75 arcseconds, but none of the experiments was in perfect agreement with the theory. The usable photos from Principe showed an average difference of 1.61±0.30 arcseconds, the astrograph in Brazil indicated a deflection of about 0.93 arcseconds (depending on how one weighted the individual spoiled photos), and the little 10-centimeter telescope gave a result of 1.98±0.12 arcseconds. The smaller device, in addition to yielding the most precise data, afforded a wider field of view and supported Einstein's theory of how the displacement should vary with angular distance from the edge of the Sun. But the validation of relativity required exact measurements, particularly because physicists had realized that Newtonian theory alone could predict a stellar displacement that was half that of Einstein's, or about 0.83 arcseconds.

Eventually, Eddington, after much discussion with Dyson, suggested an overall measurement of 1.64 arcseconds, which he took to be in pretty good agreement with Einstein, but he also gave the separate results from each telescope so others might weight them as they saw fit. Moreover, Dyson offered to send exact contact copies of the original photographic glass plates to anyone who wished to make their own measurements, which should have gone far to refute the occasional allegation that Eddington had cooked the results.

Ironically, confirmation of Eddington's conclusion (and the theory of relativity) came from Campbell's team at an eclipse in Australia in 1922, for which they determined a stellar displacement of 1.72±0.11 arcseconds. Campbell had been open in his belief that Einstein was wrong, but when his experiment proved exactly the opposite, good scientist that he was, Campbell immediately admitted his error and never opposed relativity again.

Acknowledgment
I am indebted to Dr. Jeffrey Crelinsten for granting access to his unpublished work on this topic and for providing comments on an earlier version of this article.

Bibliography

Clark, R. W. 1971. Einstein: The Life and Times. New York: World Publishing Company.
Crelinsten, J. In press. Einstein's Jury: The Race to Test Relativity. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
Stanley, M. 2003. An expedition to heal the wounds of war: The 1919 eclipse and Eddington as Quaker adventurer. Isis 94:57-89.

Obituary: Sir Joseph Rotblat

2005-09-02T05:14:00.000-07:00

Nuclear physicist and Nobel peace prizewinner who quit the Manhattan Project and whose Pugwash initiative helped thaw the cold war

GO Jones
Friday September 2, 2005
The Guardian

Sir Joseph Rotblat, who has died aged 96, was a nuclear physicist and a tireless worker for peace. When he and his creation, the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs were jointly awarded the 1995 Nobel peace prize, some newspapers identified him only as a "little known" physicist. But scientists in many disciplines, and officialdom in many countries, knew him well.

Born in Warsaw, Poland, Rotblat remained there until the age of 30, during which time he had been working in nuclear physics. What saved his life was that he had arranged to spend a year as Oliver Lodge fellow at Liverpool University with the Nobel prize for physics recipient Professor James Chadwick - the man who proved the existence of neutrons. This meant that Rotblat, after a short return visit, left Poland two days before Hitler invaded his country, otherwise one of the most extraordinary scientific careers of the 20th century would have been lost.

In the year 1939 came the discovery of nuclear fission in uranium and Rotblat himself subsequently worked on fission, briefly in Warsaw and later in Liverpool, where certain basic experiments were carried out into the feasibility of an atomic bomb. Inevitably, with the entry of the United States into the second world war in 1941, and the subsequent move to develop the A-bomb, he soon found himself at the centre of the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos, New Mexico.

Like a minority of the scientists involved, he was concerned then about the morality of working on a weapon of mass destruction, but convinced himself that the apparent danger of a German bomb justified it. However, unlike those other scientists, as soon as this danger had clearly disappeared he left the project and returned to Liverpool University to resume his post as a lecturer, and then senior lecturer, in the physics department and director of research into nuclear physics.

In 1950 he became professor of physics at London University's St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College. He remained in the post until 1976 - then becoming emeritus professor. During those years his professional career was devoted to the application of nuclear physics to medicine.

But Rotblat's real life's work was summed up by Bertrand Russell in his autobiography: "He can have few rivals in the courage and integrity and complete self-abnegation with which he has given up his own career (in which, however, he still remains eminent) to devote himself to combating the nuclear peril as well as other, allied evils."

Rotblat first took the lead in setting up, in 1946, the British Atomic Scientists Association (Basa), following meetings between Liverpool and Oxford physicists who had worked on the Manhattan Project or its British precursor, code-named Tube Alloys.

Although Basa was much smaller than its counterpart, the Federation of American Scientists, it was able to stimulate public debate through its journal, through public statements and its atom train travelling exhibition. It had adopted a non-political stance and its list of vice-presidents - all fellows of the Royal Society - included many of Britain's most eminent scientists as well as government advisers, and covering almost the whole political spectrum, from critics of British defence policy like Patrick Blackett to Winston Churchill's personal scientific adviser, Lord Cherwell.

Unfortunately, it turned out to be insufficiently non-political for some of the vice-presidents, following a public statement in 1957 about the danger of strontium-90 in fallout from nuclear weapon tests. Basa was wound down and finally dissolved in 1959. Many of Britain's leading physicists, including Harrie Massey, Nevill Mott, Rudolph Peierls and GP Thomson, had taken active roles in it. But Rotblat was its driving force and conscience.

By this time Rotblat had become active in other directions. He had helped Russell and took the chair at the launch of the famous Einstein-Russell Manifesto in 1955, signed by Albert Einstein two days before his death, and by nine other world-famous scientists, mostly Nobel prizewinners. At the time of his death, Rotblat was the last surviving signatory. He was a founder member of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, launched in 1958, and was briefly on its executive committee.

Rotblat's main contribution, nevertheless, was still to come. It was through the Pugwash Conference on Science and World Affairs, financed by a Canadian-American industrialist, Cyrus Eaton, which was first held in 1957 at Pugwash, a small fishing village in Nova Scotia.

Conferences followed approximately once a year, organised by Rotblat and his friend Professor Patricia Lindop of St Bartholomew's. The lists of up to 100 participants, from as many as 40 countries, but mostly from Great Britain, the US and the Soviet Union were a Who's Who of international science; the list of locations is a map of the world.

Most significant was the understanding that participants attended as individuals, not as representatives of governments, though observers from such organisations as the UN or the UN's educational scientific and cultural organisation Unesco were welcome. Scientists from both sides of the iron curtain could talk freely and informally but could, of course, report back to their governments. A Unesco/Pugwash symposium: Scientists, The Arms Race And Disarmament (1982), mentions several instances where Pugwash discussions had clearly contributed to subsequent international agreements.

Rotblat was secretary-general of Pugwash from 1957 until 1973, chairman of British Pugwash from 1978 to 1988 and from 1988 to 1997 president of Pugwash worldwide. Its annals, many edited by him with various collaborators, have provided continuing and wide-ranging analyses into current problems of disarmament and world security.

While working at Los Alamos, Rotblat had been shocked to hear General Leslie Groves, director of the Manhattan Project, remark quite casually that the real purpose, of course, was to subdue the Soviet Union. When he decided to leave the project, a determined but highly incompetent attempt had been made to "fit him up" as a Russian spy.

It is a tribute to his universally recognised integrity, and to his skill in treading delicately though forcefully (he was very much aware of the cost of respectability as well as of its advantages) that among his many honours from east - including several from his native Poland - and west was the CBE, awarded in 1965. No measure of his real contribution, the honour at least signalled that his help to the British establishment by then outweighed his nuisance value.

In 1992, jointly with Hans Bethe (obituary, March 18 2005), he was awarded the much coveted Einstein peace prize, and in 1995, unusually late in career for a distinguished scientist, he was elected to the Royal Society. But perhaps the accolade that meant most to him was the sometime Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev's statement that Pugwash papers and conferences had helped to guide the foreign policy that had led to the thaw in the cold war.

Rotblat wrote or edited more than two dozen books and scores of papers, culminating in the 1995 Nobel lecture - a powerful and moving exposition of the continuing danger to the world of the existence of nuclear weapons. In it he appealed to the nuclear powers to abandon cold-war thinking, to his fellow scientists to remember their responsibility to humanity, quoting the last passage of the Russell-Einstein Manifesto: "We appeal, as human beings to human beings. Remember your humanity and forget the rest. If you can do so, the way lies open for a new paradise; if you cannot there lies before you the risk of universal death."

Rotblat continued to work into his 90s with apparently undiminished energy, lecturing in dozens of cities in Britain and abroad - including Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Since his Nobel prize, he was aware that he was now "somebody" - his own expression - and spoke out on wider issues. In 1996, he appealed personally to President Weizman of Israel to show clemency to Mordechai Vanunu, the former technician who had "leaked" to the Sunday Times about Israel's secret stockpile of nuclear weapons and was then still in prison - in solitary confinement - after 10 years.

Following the disclosures about cloning experiments, he argued that an international ethics committee must be set up to monitor developments. He said: "I feel, however unpleasant it may be for scientists, that science may have to be controlled. We have got to tackle it because I think the whole future of mankind is in jeopardy."

Anthony Tucker adds: In accounts of Joseph Rotblat's important work for the wartime Tube Alloys Project (the British nuclear weapons programme) at Liverpool University, of his time at Los Alamos, his reasons for leaving the project and turning to the much harder battle for peace and disarmament, Rotblat consciously excluded all references to his life before the war. He called such references "extraneous personal elements", almost as if his life had begun when he left Poland in 1939.

Yet his life and attitudes had, by that time, been profoundly affected by isolation, family disruption and social deprivation. After the turn of the century, his father built up and ran a nationwide and prosperous horse-drawn transport business based in Warsaw. The family owned land and bred horses out in the countryside and, with two brothers and a sister, Joseph's formative years were initially in a context of culture, comfort and social esteem.

When he was five, things changed dramatically for the worse. The first world war turned Europe into a charnel house triggering, among other things, a wave of antisemitism that swept away his family's business and position. Rotblat grew up as an increasingly deprived, often hungry and sometimes physically abused child in the breadlines of a starving nation. Experiencing first-hand the near-insane intolerance and injustice generated as a political condition of war, these years forged Rotblat's unswerving ideals of world peace and of the use of science for the benefit of man and the planet.

In spite of great difficulties, the family remained together in Warsaw and, by 1918, Joseph was reading everything he could find, in English as well as Polish and Russian. His parents, recognising his outstanding intelligence, wanted him to become a rabbi. But Joseph, with a natural gift for mathematics and a flair for experiment, was determined to become a scientist.

During the early interwar years, he scratched a living as a teenage domestic electrician in Warsaw and, through sheer brilliance - for he was without formal education -won a very rare free place in the physics department of the University of Warsaw. At the same time he was granted a position as junior demonstrator, which carried a pittance rather than a salary. In spite of - or perhaps because of his experience of poverty - he never looked back academically, becoming a research fellow at the university in 1933 and assistant director of the atomic physics institute at the Free University of Warsaw from 1937 to September 1939.

During this period he married but, when he left Poland for Liverpool University on the eve of the outbreak of the second world war, his wife was ill.

They planned that she should follow him to England as soon as she was able. In the event she was killed, or died in the appalling conditions of the Warsaw ghetto during the first months of the Nazi occupation, a fact known to British intelligence in 1941 but not passed on to Rotblat until 1945.

Indeed, when he left Los Alamos in 1944, Rotblat had planned to return to Poland immediately after the war in the hope of finding his wife. Instead, in recognition of the important role Rotblat had played in nuclear weapons research, the British government agreed to try to find any other survivors of his family.

Rotblat thought that his parents would be dead. But his mother, sister and two brothers, who had escaped from the Warsaw ghetto to go into hiding or join the anti-Nazi guerrillas in Russia, were found to be alive. By negotiation and by devious routes, all were brought to England in the postwar years, cementing Rotblat's loyalty and, through their experiences, reinforcing his unceasing and single-minded pursuit of an ideal world in which the primary goal is peace.

In his 90th year Rotblat might be said to have finally entered the public consciousness by appearing on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs.

In 1998, he surprised some of his friends by accepting a knighthood at the level (Knight Commander) usually associated with establishment figures such as lords lieutenant or permanent secretaries. But all will have appreciated the words of the citation: "for services to international understanding".

Anthony Tucker died in 1998. His contribution has been revised and updated.
Joseph Rotblat, nuclear physicist and peace campaigner, born November 4 1908; died August 31 2005

Guardian Unlimited (c) Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005

C. de Oro academics rant over education budget cut, join calls for Arroyo's ouster

2005-08-17T04:22:00.000-07:00

By Maricel Casino-Rivera
The Mindanao Goldstar Daily
Volume 16 No. 41

A GROUP of academics from major colleges and universities in Cagayan de Oro yesterday joined militant youth groups in calling for the ouster of the embattled President Arroyo as the Lower House resumed deliberations on the impeachment complaints.

This came even as a handful of students gathered in front of the Jesuit-run Xavier University, braving the heat at noon-time, to pursue their call for Arroyo's resignation.

Academics who call themselves the Educators' Caucus, an informal gathering of teachers and other education workers coming from private and public education institutions in the city, said they were dismayed over the sorry state of the country's education system. The group includes academics from Xavier, Mindanao Polytechnic State College (MPSC), Liceo de Cagayan University, Capitol University and Cagayan de Oro College.

The group said the government budget for education significantly decreased from 17 percent in 2002 to 14.9 percent this year.

In a statement, the organized academics said the government also reduced the education department's budget for maintenance and other operating expenses and services.

In 2004, they said there was an overwhelming lack of public teachers.

"The lack of budget for education led to massive contractualization of teachers, low quality of education due to increased number of working hours and number of class size and the decreased income for the teachers," their statement said.

Kim Gargar, MPSC Physics department chairperson, said the Educators' Caucus is a venue for discussions on issues that concern the education sector and promotes and forms the broadest unity among their ranks for their legitimate democratic rights and interests.

"It believes that as significant members of the academic community the educators are at the vantage point to observe, analyze and help solve the problems besetting the country," said Gargar.

Gargar said the group is also fully supporting the impeachment process. Its members have shown concern over reports that Malacanang was bent on using the alleged ill-gotten wealth of the Marcoses to influence the outcome of the impeachment hearings.

The Presidential Commission on Good Governance (PCGG) is finalizing details on the auction of the jewelry owned by former First Lady Imelda Marcos by the end of this year with an estimated value of US$10 million.

Gargar said it was time for Arroyo to go because the evidence--the "Hello Garci tapes"--clearly show that "she cheated and betrayed public trust to usurp power".

"The tapes [are] the last straw. From the first day she assumed office, her credibility has been questioned. The President has lost moral ascendancy, legal mandate and credibility to stay in power," said Gargar.

When you love someone

2005-05-01T08:41:00.000-07:00

When you love someone you'll do anything
You'll do all the crazy things that you can't explain
You'll shoot the moon - put out the sun
When you love someone
You'll deny the truth - believe a lie
There'll be times that you'll believe
You can really fly
But your lonely nights have just begun
When you love someone
When you love someone you'll feel it deep inside
And nothin' else can ever change your mind
When you want someone - when you need someone
When you love someone
When you love someone - you'll sacrifice
You'd give it everything you got and
you won't think twice
You'd risk it all - no matter what may come
When you love someone
You'll shoot the moon - put out the sun
When you love someone

---------
I like the sound of the oboe.

The man with a hoe

2004-10-06T08:06:00.000-07:00

L'homme la houe by Jean-Francois Millet

In 1899 an American schoolteacher, Charles Edward Anson Markham (1852-1940), who used the penname Edwin Markham, was inspired by an 1863 painting to write a poem. The painting was "L'homme la houe" by the French artist, Jean-Francois Millet (1814-1875); the poem was "The Man with a Hoe".

The poem quickly became as famous as the painting. Both continue to be moving testimonies to what the too prevalent inhumanity of humanity can cause.

The Man with a Hoe
by Edwin Markham

Bowed by the weight of centuries he leans
Upon his hoe and gazes on the ground,
The emptiness of ages in his face,
And on his back, the burden of the world.
Who made him dead to rapture and despair,
A thing that grieves not and that never hopes,
Stolid and stunned, a brother to the ox?
Who loosened and let down this brutal jaw?
Whose was the hand that slanted back this brow?
Whose breath blew out the light within this brain?

Is this the Thing the Lord God made and gave
To have dominion over sea and land;
To trace the stars and search the heavens for power;
To feel the passion of Eternity?
Is this the dream He dreamed who shaped the suns
And marked their ways upon the ancient deep?
Down all the caverns of Hell to their last gulf
There is no shape more terrible than this--
More tongued with cries against the world's blind greed--
More filled with signs and portents for the soul--
More packed with danger to the universe.

What gulfs between him and the seraphim!
Slave of the wheel of labor, what to him
Are Plato and the swing of the Pleiades?
What the long reaches of the peaks of song,
The rift of dawn, the reddening of the rose?
Through this dread shape the suffering ages look;
Time's tragedy is in that aching stoop;
Through this dread shape humanity betrayed,
Plundered, profaned and disinherited,
Cries protest to the Powers that made the world,
A protest that is also prophecy.

O masters, lords and rulers in all lands,
Is this the handiwork you give to God,
This monstrous thing distorted and soul-quenched?
How will you ever straighten up this shape;
Touch it again with immortality;
Give back the upward looking and the light;
Rebuild in it the music and the dream;
Make right the immemorial infamies,
Perfidious wrongs, immedicable woes?

O masters, lords and rulers in all lands,
How will the future reckon with this Man?
How answer his brute question in that hour
When whirlwinds of rebellion shake all shores?
How will it be with kingdoms and with kings--
With those who shaped him to the thing he is--
When this dumb Terror shall rise to judge the world,
After the silence of the centuries?

Patindihan sa english

2004-09-25T03:01:00.000-07:00

Galing sa isang email. Enjoy!!

"Who did ordered?"
"Well well well. Look do we have here!"
"Let's give them a big hand of applause."
"The more the manyer."
"It's a no-win-win situation."
"Burn the bridge when you get there."
"Anulled and void."
"Mute and academic."
"C'mon let's join us!"
"If worse comes to shove."
"Are you joking my leg?"
"It's not my problem anymore, it's your problem anymore."
"What are friends are for?"
"You can never can tell."
"Been there, been that."
"Forget it about it."
"Give him the benefit of the daw."
"It's a blessing in the sky."
"Right there and right then."
"Where'd you came from?"
"Take things first at a time."
"You're barking at the wrong dog."
"You want to have your cake and bake it too."
"First and for all."
"Now and there."
"I'm only human nature."
"The sky's the langit."
"That's what I'm talking about it."
"One of these days is not like the other."
"So far, so good, so far."
"Time is of the elements."
"In the wink of an eye."
"The feeling is actual."
"For all intense and purposes."
"I ran into some errands."
"Hi. I'm , what's yours?"
"What is the world is coming to?"
"What is the next that is?"
"Get the most of both worlds."
"Bahala na sila sa mga batman nila."
"Whatever you say so."
"Base-to-base casis."
"My answers have been prayered."
"Please me alone!"
"It's as brand as new."
"So... what's a beautiful girl like you?...."
"I can't take it anymore of this!"
"Are you sure ka na ba?"
"Can't you just cut me some slacks?"
I couldn't care a damn!
What's your next class before this?
Nothing in this world is perfect except the word "change"
Can you repeat that again for the second time around once more from the top?(ulitin natin hanggang mamatay tayo!)
My dad brought home a lot of hand-me-downs! (Translation: Daming pasalubong ng tatay ko.)
Standard and Chartered Bank
I'm very iterated!!! (transalation: galit sya! haha!)
I'm sorry, my boss just passed away. (translation: kakadaan lang ng boss nya.)
Hello, my boss is out of town. Would you like to wait?
What happened after the erection of Mayon Volcano?
Don't touch me not!
Hello?... For a while, please hang yourself...
Its spilled milk under the bridge.
Don't change anything! Keep it at ease.
Hello McDo? Mag-i-inquire lang ako kung magkano ang kidney meal? (yung pang-batang pagkain)
You!!! You're not a boy anymore! You're a man anymore!
Out of fit ako these days eh... (translation: di sya nakakapag-exercise)
Bring down the house down!
I'm the world champion of the World!!!
Beneath the Belt!
Rule of Hand... (thumb yata ibig sabihin...)
Can you repeat it once again?
Mukhang haggard-looking.
Do you have more brighter ideas?
I told you not to go to but you go to..now,look at?
Halatang obvious naman yata.

And that is all it is ... folks (ha ha ha ha ha!)

Pabango Ng 'Yong Mata

2004-08-21T08:53:00.000-07:00

Pabango Ng 'Yong Mata
Orange and Lemons

'Wag ka nang manangis irog
Sayang lamang ang luha mo
May paggagamitan ka nyan
Ako'y malapit nang mamatay
At saka mo na diligin
Ang libingan ko
Ng pabango ng 'yong mga mata

Luha, kusa na lang dumadaloy
Sa mga pagkakataon
Nagpapaalalang tayo's tao lamang

Pagsisisi, lagi na lang sa huli
Sa mga pagkakataong
Nakakalimot pagkat tayo'y tao lamang

Pilitin mang tumindig
Upang ika'y mahagkan man lang ng mahigpit
Kusang napapahandusay sa aking malupit na papag
Nabibilang ko ang sikat ng araw
Parang kay bilis na ng ikot ng mundo
Marahil ito na ang huling awit at hapdi
Na ipadarama ko sayo

'Wag ka nang manangis irog
Sayang lamang ang luha mo
May paggagamitan ka nyan
Ako'y malapit nang mamatay
At saka mo na diligin
Ang libingan ko
Ng pabango ng 'yong mga mata

Church accepted Galileo's ideas 341 years after he died

2004-08-21T07:33:00.000-07:00

from Galileo and the Inquisition

Being one of the most renowned scientist of his time Galileo's opinions were scrutinized not only be his peers, but by also by Church officials and the public in general. This made Galileo the lightning-rod of many complaints against the Copernican doctrine (and also some against Galileo himself). He did not come out unscathed out of these encounters.

In 1611 Galileo came to the attention of the Inquisition for the first time for his Copernican views. Four years later a Dominican friar, Niccolo Lorini, who had earlier criticized Galileo's view in private conversations, files a written complaint with the Inquisition against Galileo's Copernican views. Galileo subsequently writes a long letter defending his views to Monsignor Piero Dini, a well connected official in the Vatican, he then writes his Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina arguing for freedom of inquiry and travels to Rome to defend his ideas.

In 1616 a committee of consultants declares to the Inquisition that the propositions that the Sun is the center of the universe and that the Earth has an annual motion are absurd in philosophy, at least erroneous in theology, and formally a heresy. On orders of the Pope Paul V, Cardinal Bellarmine calls Galileo to his residence and administers a warning not to hold or defend the Copernican theory; Galileo is also forbidden to discuss the theory orally or in writing. Yet he is reassured by Pope Paul V and by Cardinal Bellarmine that he has not been on trial nor being condemned by the Inquisition.

In 1624 Galileo meets repeatedly with his (at that time) friend and patron Pope Urban VIII, he is allowed to write about the Copernican theory as long as he treated it as a mathematical hypothesis.

In 1625 a complaint against Galileo's publication The Assayer is lodged at the Inquisition by a person unknown. The complaint charges that the atomistic theory embraced in this book cannot be reconciled with the official church doctrine regarding the Eucharist, in which bread and wine are "transubstantiated" into Christ's flesh and blood. After an investigation by the Inquisition, Galileo is cleared.

In 1630 he completed his book Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems in which the Ptolemaic and Copernican models are discussed and compared and was cleared (conditionally) to publish it by the Vatican. The book was printed in 1632 but Pope Urban VIII, convinced by the arguments of various Church officials, stopped its distribution; the case is referred to the Inquisition and Galileo was summoned to Rome despite his infirmities.

In 1633 Galileo was formally interrogated for 18 days and on April 30 Galileo confesses that he may have made the Copernican case in the Dialogue too strong and offers to refute it in his next book. Unmoved, the Pope decides that Galileo should be imprisoned indefinitely. Soon after, with a formal threat of torture, Galileo is examined by the Inquisition and sentenced to prison and religious penances, the sentence is signed by 6 of the 10 inquisitors. In a formal ceremony at a the church of Santa Maria Sofia Minerva, Galileo abjures his errors. He is then put in house arrest in Sienna. After these tribulations he begins writing his Discourse on Two New Sciences.

Galileo remained under house arrest, despite many medical problems and a deteriorating state of health, until his death in 1642. The Church finally accepted that Galileo might be right in 1983.

Piketlayn

2004-06-16T08:50:00.000-07:00

ni Ina Alleco R. Silverio

Tanghaling tapat nang unang makilala ni Mang Joe si Mario. Nakaliliyo ang init. Matumal ang pagdaan ng mga dyip, kotse, at iba pang sasakyan sa kalsadang katapat ng pabrika; at ang ilang manggagawang matiyagang na nagc-cb o collection box sa mga dumadaang sasakyan ay nagrereklamo: kasabay ng kumpas ng kamay na may hawak na maliit na kartong pinatibay ng packing tape ang kanilang pagbulong ng “Taragis na init ito...”

Nakatalungko sa isang banko si Mang Joe sa ng barong na barong na itinayo ng mga welgista sa tapat ng Gate 2. Tumatagaktak ang pawis sa kanyang leeg na maya’t-maya’y kanyang pinupunasan ng bimpo. Kwarenta y tres anyos na siya, ngunit dahil sa hindi siya basta-basta nagpapagambala sa kahit mabibigat mga problema, mukha siyang mas bata. Nakakatulong din na nasa katauhan niya ang pagiging masayahin. Panaka-naka, sumisipol siya ng “Leron-leron sinta.”

May hawak siya noong komiks, ngunit sa sobrang init, tinamad siyang basahin ang mga salita, at nagkasya na lang siya sa pagtingin sa mga larawan.

Nasimula na siyang mapikit sa antok nang mapansin ang aninong pumatong sa pahina.

“Magandang hapon ho,” and bati ng may-ari ng anino. Binata.

“Magandang hapon din,” ang tugon ni Mang Joe. Nakipagkamay siya sa binata at sa tatlong kasama nito, dalawang dalaga, at isa pang binata. Minasdan niya ang unang binata. Maamo ang mukha. Medyo malalim ang mata. Madalas sigurong puyat, ani Mang Joe sa sarili.

“Upo kayo,” ang paanyaya niya. Nirolyo ni Mang Joe ang komiks at isinuksok sa bulsa sa likod ng kanyang medyo kupas nang pantalon. Sumilong ang mga kabataan at umupo sa kanyang tabi.

“Gusto ho sana naming makiisa sa pakikibaka ninyo dito sa Gardenia, ” simula ng binata.

Napangiti si Mang Joe. Seryoso ba’ng batang ito? Wala pa yatang beinte-dos, pero heto’t gumagamit ng mga salitang tulad ng “pakikibaka.”

Ngumiti si Mang Joe. “ Ganoon ba? E, Tara’t papakilala ko kayo sa mga kasama.” Tumayo si Mang Joe at lumabas nang barong-barong kasunod ang mga kabataan. Nakakailang hakbang pa lang sila nang huminto si Mang Joe.

“Teka nga pala, ano nga bang mga pangalan n’yo?”

Natawa ang mga kabataan, at parang iisang katawan na may apat na ulong nagkamot ng mga sintido. “Ako ho si Mario,” ani ng unang binata. Bumaling siya sa mga katabi, “Sila sina Lorena, Tere, at Goryo.”

“Ako si Joe,” pakilala ni Joe. “Joselito, pero ambisyong maging steytsayd, kaya ‘Joe’.”

Natawa ang mga estudyante, at kinabig ni Mario si Lorena sa kanyang tabi. Hindi ngumiti ang mga labi ng dalaga; subalit sa mga mata nitong pinapayungan ng mahabang pilikmata nakita ni Mang Jose ang masayang tugon ni Lorena sa biglang yakap ng binata.

Doon nagsimula ang pagdalaw-dalaw nina Mario sa Gardenia. Madalas may mga kasama siyang iba pang kabataan, isang dosena kung minsan. Mula nang dumating sila, naging madalas ang mga kuwentuhang kung tawagin nilang “dg.” “Discussion group” daw ang ibig sabihin.

Uupo sila sa isang bilog -mga estudyante at welgista - sa sementong sinapinan ng dyaryo at bubuo ng isang bilog. Pag nakapwesto na’ng lahat, saka sisimulan ang kuwentuhan. Kadalasan, si Goryo ang nagsisimula. Magbibiro muna ito (“O mga kasama, ano ang inilalagay sa kaha ng repridyireytor para lumamig ito? Sirit? E di yelo!”) at magpipilit na sila’y patawanin. Pero mas madalas kaysa hindi, pinupukol siya ng mga nilamukos na papel.

Medyo mabigat ang laman ng mga dg -- tungkol sa mga problemang kinakaharap ng mga manggagawa - hindi lang ng mga taga-Gardenia, kundi pati na rin ng mga taga- ibang pabrika at industriya. Napapag-usapan din ang mga nangyayari sa mga magsasaka, at sa mga iskwater o maralitang taga-lungsod. Minsan naman, tinatalakay ang kasaysayan ng Pilipinas.

Maaalam ang mga bata sa mga bagay usaping iyon, bagay na ikinamangha ni Mang Joe. Ganun ba’ng itinuturo sa mga eskwelahan ngayon? Aba’y noon lang niya nalamang traydor pala sa bayan si Aguinaldo! At lahat ng mga presidente mula kay Osmena hanggang kay Ramos sa kasalukuyan e sunod-sunuran lang sa gobyerno ng mga ‘Kano !

Sa mga ganoong kwentuhan at sa pagitan ng mga ito, mabilis na lumago ang pakikipagkaibigan ni Mang Joe sa mga kabataan.

Noong una, nahihiya siya kay Lorena, dahil sa anyo pala lang ng dalaga -- sa pananamit, sa kutis -- halatang anak-mayaman ito. Hindi niya alam kung paano ito babatiin. Ngunit napansin niyang hindi naman sa kanya naiilang o nahihiya si Lorena. Pagdating sa piketlayn, malayo pa lang si Lorena, pakanta na siya nitong binabati, “Mang Joe, kamusta ho kayo?”

Si Goryo naman ang payaso ng grupo. Maligsi at palabiro, maasahan si Goryong magpatawa kahit sa gitna ng pinakaseryosong dg. Walang magawa ang kanyang mga kasama kundi mapailing na lang sa kanya at matawa.

Samantala, kung nahihiya si Mang Joe kay Lorena, kumportable naman siya kay Tere. Giliw na giliw sa kanya si Mang Joe dahil kahawig ng maliit na dalaga ang anak niyang panganay na si Luisa noong ito’y mas bata pa. Estudyante ng fine arts si Tere, at kontribusyon niya sa piketlayn ang myural sa pader ng gate 4 kung saan dumadaan ang mga taga-manedsment. Pininta ni Tere ang logo ng Gardenia na isang bulaklak ng gardenia, pero sa halip na maputi at maaa-sutla ang mga talulot at buko nito, kinulayan niya ng putik at abo.

Ilang gabing pinagpuyatan ni Tere at ng kanyang mga nahakot na kaklase ang myural. Nang matapos ito, lumapit si Tere sa manggagawa, “O ano’ng sey mo Mang Joe, bilib ka na ba sa anak mo?”

Marami at paiba-iba ang mga batang mukhang dumaan sa harap ni Mang Joe, subalit ang mukha ni Mario ang naging pinaka-pamilyar sa kanya. Walang araw na hindi nakikita ang anino ng binata sa piketlayn. At tatlong gabi kada linggo , doon na rin ito natutulog, sa mga piraso ng karton na nagsisilbing banig na inilalatag sa malamig at malubak na semento.

Sa mga gabing sa piketlayn natutulog ang binata, sa tolda sa Gate 2 siya naglalagi at hanggang sa dalawin sila ng antok, nagpapalitan sila ng talambuhay ni Mang Joe.

“Ilang ba kayong magkakapatid, Mario?” ang tanong ng manggagawa.

“Nag-iisa lang ako, Mang Joe.”

“Isa ka lang? Buti’t di ka pinagbabawalan sa mga pinaggagawa mo!” iling ni Mang Joe. “Naglalagalag ka sa mga piket at rali, ‘di ba nang-aalala mga magulang mo sa ‘yo?”

“Minsan. Pero si Papa, wala dito. Nasa Saudi, kaya medyo maluwang akong nakakakilos.”

“E nanay mo?”

“Titser siya sa isang pribadong hayskul.”

Nalaman ni Mang Joe na tatlong taon nang aktibista si Mario. “Wala kasi akong ibang masalihang grupo sa kolehiyo, Mang Joe. Hindi ko naisipang mag-frat kasi wala sa itsura ko ang fratman. Pagdating sa sports, sa holen lang ako magaling kaya hindi rin ako sumali sa anumang varsity team,” ang biro nito.

“ Pinipigilan ka ba ng nanay mo dyan sa mga pinaggagawa mo?” ang tanong ni Mang Joe.

“Hindi naman.” Tumingin si Mario sa malayo. “Pero madalas na pinagsasabihan. Palagi daw mag-ingat, umiwas sa gulo...” Nang matanaw kung ano mang hinahanap, bumaling ang binata sa manggagawa.

“E kayo ho, pinipigilan ba kayo ni Aling Nida na sumali dito sa welga ninyo?”

Seryoso ang tono ng manggagawa. “Hindi rin naman. Pero madalas sinesermonan. Mag-ingat daw palagi, umiwas sa gulo...” Nagkatinginan ang dalawa at kapwa natawa.

“Siguro ang nanenermon talaga sa yo e si Lorena,” ang kantyaw ni Mang Joe.

“Oo nga ho,” patol naman ni Mario. “Daig pa niya ang Mama kung pagsabihan ako!”

“O yung mga nagugutom diyan at hindi pa nakakain, may natira pang kanin dito.”

“Maiuugat natin ang mga problema ng bansa sa pagiging mala-pyudal at malakonlonyal ng lipunan nito..”

“Tang’na yung mga lamok kagabi, bok - pinadala yata ng manedsment, ambabangis!”

Isang gabi na naman sa piketlayn.

Tuwing ikalawang araw kung umuwi sa kanilang bahay si Mang Joe. Maliligo lang siya kukuha ng pambihis, at pagkakatapos ay balik na sa piketlayn.

Maunawain ang kanyang maybahay na si Aling Nida. Naging kaklase ni Mang Joe ang dating Erlinda de Jesus sa PUP. Dalawang beses siyang niligawan ng mapilit na si Joe bago siya napasagot. Pagkalipas ng dalawang taon ng pagiging magkasintahan, nagpakasal sila bagamat kapwa hindi pa tapos ng pag-aaral.

“E pano, parating na si Luisa noon,” kuwento ni Aling Nida minsang dalhan niya ng pagkain ang asawa. “Binalaan siya ng kuya na kung hindi niya ako papakasalan, makikita na siyang lumulutang sa ilog bago pa ako lumubo nang tuluyan,” ang dagdag niya.

Mabait at pasensiyosa, sinusuportahan niya ang asawa sa pag-uunyon nito. Nang magwelga ang Gardenia at mawalan ng trabaho ang asawa, lalong nagpakasipag si Aling Nida sa pagtitinda ng lutong ulam. May kaunti na rin silang naipundar na puhunan para sa isang maliit na karinderya; at sa tulong na rin ng buwanang remitans na padala ng anak na nars, hindi gaanong nag-aalala si Aling Nida para sa kanyang pamilya. Hindi rin mabigat ang bayarin sa martikula ng bunso nilang si Jojo dahil may iskolarship ito. Sekond yir sa akawnting sa UST si Jojo.

Kung meron man siyang ikinakatakot, para yon sa kaligtasan ng asawa sa piketlayn. Pero sa halip na ipaalam ang pangamba sa asawa, idinadaan na lang niya ito sa biro.

“Ikaw na Joe ka baka may iba ka nang asawa diyan sa welga ninyo, ha? Baka ‘yon ang dahilan kung ba’t lagi kang nandun?” tanong ni Aling Nida sa asawa isang hapon sa piketlayn. “Kayong mga bata, isumbong n’yo agad sa akin kung nagluluko ‘tong matandang ‘to, ha?”

Nagtawanan ang mga bata, at sumabat si Mang Joe. “”Maari ba naman kitang palitan, Nida? Hinding-hindi ko magagawa iyon!” dahan-dahang yakap niya sa asawa. Masuyo ang tinig ng manggagawa. ”Magdagdag ng asawa, puwede, pero palitan? Neber!”

Hindi nakaiwas si Mang Joe sa batok ni Aling Nida.

Isang araw, umuwi si Mang Joe upang datnang sarado ang pinto, at pinid ang lahat ng bintana ng kanilang bahay. Nagtaka siya, at inisip na baka nagkasalisi sila ni Nida, inisip na baka nasa piketlayn ang asawa.

Sisilip na siya sa sariling bintana nang mamataan siya ng isang kapitbahay.

“Mang Joe!” ang sigaw nito mula sa kabilang bakod, “Si Aling Nida, pumunta sa PGH!”

Nagitla si si Mang Joe. “Bakit? Anon’g nangyari kay Nida?”

“Hindi ho si Aling Nida, si Jojo, ho. Nabangga daw ng owner na dyip. Patawid daw si Jojo sa kanto ng Forbes at Espana. Tinakbo ng nakabangga sa ospital. Tinawag dito sa amin mga isang oras na.”

Hindi pa tapos magsalita ang kapitbahay nang nagmamadaling tumalikod si Mang Joe.

Pagdating sa emergency ward, agad niyang nakita ang asawa. Nakaupo sa isang gilid, at nagkumpulan sa kanyang tabi ang ilang kaklase ni Jojo.

“Asan na si Jojo?” nanlalambot niyang tanong.

“Nasa emergency. Hindi pa lumalabas ang duktor.” Mahigpit na pinulupot ni Aling Nida ang kanyang bulaklaking panyo sa isang nanginginig na kamay. “Nag-long-distans na ako kay Luisa, pero hindi ko naabot sa apartment. Ang sabi sa ospital, may kumbensyon daw ng mga nars sa Quebec, sa isang linggo pa ang balik.” Nagmamakaawa ang titig ni Aling Nida. “Saan tayo kukuha ng pambayad? Kawawa naman si Jojo...” at tuluyan nang tumulo ang luha ni Aling Nida.

Noong gabing iyon, hindi bumalik si Mang Joe sa piketlayn. At hindi rin kinaumagahan, maging sa mga araw pagkalipas noon.

Mag-iisang linggo mula nang dumating ang masamang balita, may kumatok sa pintuan nina Mang Joe. Laking gulat niya nang makitang nakatayo doon si Mario kasama si Lorena.

“Mang Joe, kamusta ho kayo?” ang bati ng dalawa.

Hindi agad nakasagot, pinatuloy ni Mang Joe ang dalawa. Sumenyas na lang siya sa supa at siya man ay naupo rin.

“Parang namayat kayo, Mang Joe. Nagdidiyeta ho yata kayo? ” ang nangangapang biro ni Lorena.

Hindi ito pinansin ni Mang Joe, “Paano ninyo nalaman ang bahay namin?”

Sumagot si Mario, pag-aalala sa mga mata. “Ipinagtanong ho namin kina Mang Andoy at iba ninyong mga kasamahan. Matagal na rin ho kasi kayong hindi pumupunta sa piketlayn.”

Hindi pa rin makasagot ang manggagawa. Paano ba niya ipagtatapat ang ginagawa niya noong mga nakaraang araw na iyon?

Alam ng mga welgista na may mga ka-manggagawa silang nag-iiskirol; mga skab na hindi nakikisa sa welga, bagkus pumapasok pa sa pagawaan at nagpapatuloy ng produksyon na siyang nagpapahina sa epektibidad ng welga.

Ilan ito sa mga natutunan ni Mang Joe sa mga dg sa piketlayn. Pero noong mga nakaraang araw na ring iyon, nagi-iskirol siya.

Gabi ng aksidente ni Jojo nang dumalaw ang isang tuta ng manedsmen. Hinikayat nito ang manggagawa na bumalik na sa trabaho. Masakit man sa loob, pumayag si Mang Joe -- kapalit ng P900 kada araw na doble ng kanyang karaniwang tinatanggap bago ang welga.

Hatid-sundo sila ng mga van na pag-aari ng kumpanya. Tinted ang salamin ng mga sasakyan, kaya’t di kita mula sa labas ang mga nakasakay. Diretso din ang pasok ng mga sasakyan sa production area kaya’t hindi rin mamatyagaan ang mga pasehero pag pababa na sila dito. Hirap ang mga welgistang i-monitor ang nangyayari sa loob dahil sa mataas na mga geyt; at sa bantay-lawin ng higit-kumulang 300 sikyurity gard na nagroronda sa paligid araw-gabi. At para sa lahat ng ito ay nagpapasalamat si Mang Joe na nahihiyang magpakita.

Ngunit nang dumalaw sina Mario sa kanyang bahay, nagkunwaring galit si Mang Joe upang pagtakpan ang nararamdamang hiya.

“Bakit ba kayo nanghihimasok kayong mga batang kayo, ha?”, bulalas niya. “Hanggang dito ba naman sa bahay ko, ginugulo ninyo ako!”

“Mang Joe...” ang simula ng binata.

“Mabuti pa’y umalis na kayo. Bumalik na kayo sa piketlayn o sa eskuwela o kung saan mang impyerno kayo galing. “

Natulala si Lorena, at bakas ang kalungkutan sa mukha ni Mario. Di magawa ni Mang Joe na tumingin sa dalawa. “O, umalis na kayo. Sige na.”

Parehong napaiiling, tumayo ang dalawang bata at tumungo sa pinto.

Lumingon si Mario. “Mang Joe, kamusta na lang ho kay Aling Nida. “

Kunwa’y walang narinig ang manggagawa.

“At kamusta din ho kay Jojo. “ Sa gilid ng kanyang mata, nakita niyang ilapag ni Lorena ang isang sobre sa mesita. “Iiwan ho namin ang tatlong araw na cb, at ang mga kontribusyon ng mga kasamahan ninyo. Para kay Jojo. Sana ho gumaling na siya. Tara na, Lore.” Marahang binuksan ni Mario ang pinto, lumabas dito, at marahan din itong pininid.

Hindi malaman ng manggagawa ang mararamdaman. Hindi niya alam na umabot pala sa piketlayn ang

Pero bakit nga naman hindi? Sa kabilang eskinita na lang, ilang bahay mula sa kanila ang bahay ni Andoy na mixer operator ding katulad niya, at kasamahan sa unyon.

Sumunod na araw, dumating ang isang sulat DHL na sulat mula kay Luisa sa Canada. Kinakamusta ang ina, at ang kapatid. Binalita ni Luisa na nanalo siya sa katuwaang pa-rapol sa katatapos lang na kumbensyong kanyang dinaluhan. “Gamitin niyo ang pera, Tatay. Ilipat niyo sa pribadong kuwarto si Jojo. Sa makalawa, magpapadala ulit ako. Hintayin niyo ang tawag ko kina Aling Sepa. ”

Kalakip ng sulat ang isang tseke para sa $2,000, ang pinagsamahang sahod ni Luisa para sa dalawang linggo at ang perang napanalunan.

Patuloy pa ring nag-iskirol si Mang Joe. Ito ay kahit na napag-usapan na nila ni Aling Nida na maari na siyang bumalik sa piketlayn dahil gumaan na ang pinansiyal na pasanin, at pagaling na si Jojo na hindi naman naging grabe ang kalagayan.

“Pero nahihiya na ako, Nida. Sa mga kasamahan ko, kina Andoy, kina Luis, kay Pangulo...”

Pinisil ni Aling Nida ang kanyang kamay. “At sa mga bata na rin, siguro, ano Joe?” Tumango si Mang Joe.

“Naiitindihan naman nila kung bakit ka nag-eskirol.”

Napailing si Mang Joe. “Bukas, huling araw ko na bilang skab. Babalik lang ako sa pagawaan para kunin ang mga gamit ko sa loob.”

Kinaumagahan, eksaktong alas-singko dumating ang L-300 sakay si Mang Joe at ang iba pang iskirol. Kasunod nito ang iba pang L-300 na mga skab din ang lulan. Nasa geyt na sila nang harangin sila ng mga welgista.

May barikada sa harap ng geyt.

Mula sa bukas na bintana ng drayber ng kanilang sasakyan, dinig nina Mang Joe ang programang isinagawa ng mga welgista.

Kay Goryo ang tinig. “Hinihingi natin ang pakikiisa ng ating mga kaibigang gwardiyang nakabantay sa atin ngayon. Tandaan ho natin na maging kayo ay pinagsasamantalahan ng Gardenia - hindi ba’t mga agency-hired o kaya’y kontraktwal rin kayo? Wala kayong kasiguruhan sa trabaho, at lubhang mababa ang inyong sahod. Laban n’yo din ang laban ng mga manggagawa dito sa Gardenia!”

At tuloy ang programa. May mga pumalit kay Goryo, mga taga-suporta, mga lider ng unyon, mga manggagawa mula sa ibang pabrika.

Sa loob ng van, matalas na nakinig si Mang Joe. Maya-maya, nakilala naman niya ang tinig ni Mario. Buo ang boses nito, at matapang bagamat mahinahon.

“Mga kasama, tanging nasa ating sama-samang pagkilos makukuha ang nais nating tagumpay. Tuloy-tuloy nating palakasin ang welga sa Gardenia! Isulong ang interes ng uring manggagawa!”

Walang ano-ano, bumaklas sa pormasyon ang mga nakahilerang sekyurity gard.. Pinaghahatak nila ang mga nagpoprogramang di na nagawang magkapit-bisig.

Sa loob ng L-300, kinabahan si Mang Joe.

Dinig niya ang ingay ng tulakan at hatakang nangyayari sa labas. Sa gitna ng gulo, isa-isang pumasok ang mga L-300, pangatlo ang sasakyang lulan si Mang Joe.

Pagpasok sa gate ng L-300 ni Mang Joe, nasilip niya sa siwang ng bintana ng drayber na may batak-batak na lalaki ang isang sikyu. Pamilyar ang t-siyert ng lalaki, Gayundin ang gupit ng buhok.

Nanlamig si Mang Joe. Si Mario ba iyon?

Narinig niya ang mga galit na sigaw ng mga manggagawa - “Ibalik n’yo siya sa amin, mga hayup! Tang ina n’yong mga bayarang maton! Maawa na kayo sa bata! Papasukin n’yo kami!” Madilim sa loob ng sasakyan, ngunit nakita ni Mang Joe ang pamilyar nang t-siyert na asul at may mga berdeng guhit. Ang t-siyert na noo’y halos nahuhubad na sa katawang nakadapa sa semento ng parking lot.

Pinagsusuntok ni Mang Joe ang bubungan ng L-300. Nagulat ang kanyang mga katabi. May pagtataka at takot sa kanilang mga mata, at pilit na gumitgit sa tabi ng pinto ng sasakyan ang kanyang pinakamalapit na katabi.

Hindi dama ni Mang Joe kanyang bawat suntok sa bubong ng sasakyan. “Ihinto ninyo ito! Bababa ako! Palabasin ninyo ako dito!”

Nagmamadaling binuksan ng ibang pasereho ang pinto ng L-300. Hindi pa nakakaparada ang saksakyan, tumalon na si Mang Jose.

Mabigat ang kanyang bagsak sa semento. Ilang oras makalipas, mararamdaman niya ang pananakit ng kanyang mga buto, at makikita ang mga galos na natamo nang gumasgas sa magaspang sa semento ang kanyang mga braso. Ngunit sa sandaling iyon, wala siyang nasa isip kundi maabot ang binatang kitang-kita niyang sinisikaran ng mga blu-gard.

“Tama na, tama na!” ang naiiyak na sigaw ni Mang Joe. Nabigla ang dalawang sikyung nagpapalitan sa pagtadyak sa nakahandusay nakatawan. Si Mario. Tinulak ni Mang Joe ang mga sikyu at lumuhod sa harap ni Mario.

Dahan-dahang siniyasat ni Mang Joe ang walang malay na Mario. Lamog ang binata. Tumutulo ang dugo mula sa kanyang ilong, at gayundin mula sa kanyang batok. May malaking punit ang kanyang tisyert, at nagsisimula nang magmarka ng itim at asul na pasa ang noo nito.

“Mario, anak? “ ang bulong ni Mang Joe, Dahan-dahan niyang hinaplos ang buhok ng binatang pikit pa rin ang mga mata. “Mario?” Halos malusaw ang kanyang puso.

Nang hindi pa rin dumilat ang binata at Mario, at tumugon a sa kanyang paulit-ulit na bulong, -- “Mario, Mario anak?” --, sinigawan ni Mang Joe ang mga natulalang sikyu.

“Tulungan n’yo akong buhatin siya!” Waring natauhan sa galit na tinig ng manggagawa, kiming lumapit ang mga sikyu, at sa direksyon ni Mang Joe, binuhat nila si Mario.

Parang napakalayo ng Gate 3. Para siyang nasa isang panaginip kung saan unti-unti siyang nalulunod, at hindi niya matanaw ang pampang. Buong ingat na inalalayan niya ang langong ulo ni Mario.

Nakita ni Mang Joe na ilit na binubuksan ni Mario ang kanyang mga matang pininid ng mga suntok. “M--mang j-Joe, ikaw ba yan?”

Huminto ang mga sikyu. Marahan nilang inihiga ang binata sa semento. Nang nagpilit itong bumangon, isinandal si Mang Joe ang kanyang sarili sa binata.

“Mang Joe, kamusta ho? Long-time no-see. Na-miss ka na namin sa piketlayn.” Nakangiti si Mario; ngunit pagkasalita, nawalan ito muli ng ulirat.

Kinalong ni Mang Joe si Mario, at bagamat hirap, kinarga niya ang binata lampas sa iilang metrong naghihiwalay sa kanya at sa kanyang mga kasamahang naghihintay sa kabila ng geyt.

-wakas-

Projectile motion in a murder mystery

2003-07-10T08:19:00.000-07:00

A person shoved out of a window makes just as good as a projectile as a golf ball rolling off a table. Read the murder mystery entitled A Damnable Man that follows. In order to solve the crime, read the section on projectile motion in your text carefully and reason out for yourself what variables might be important in solving the crime. In fact, not all of the information given in the mystery is relevant and some information, which you can find for yourself by observation and experiment, is missing. Solve the crime by presenting a clear explanation of the equations and calculations you used. (Hint: If you are in the physics lab and shove your lab partner fairly hard, you will likely find that your partner end up with a speed of about 2 m/s.)

A Damnable Man
by Kevin Laws

It is warm, quiet, humid night in the city---the traffic has died away and there isn't even a cooling breeze. There is a busy hotel that is so well built that sounds don't carry through the windows. The hotel has impressively large rooms. This is obvious from the outside because there is more space between floors and rooms than normal. The rooms appear to have 14-foot-high ceilings, nice plate glass windows that slide open, and fully two-foot-thick floors for ducting and sound insulation. This is the type of hotel that people like to stay at when someone else is paying the bill.

Outside the hotel, a man is speaking quietly with the doorman, then begins to measure the plush runway carpet for replacement. He is reeling out the tape measure between the hotel and the curb when a scream breaks the quiet. Looking up, he sees a man falling toward him. Stunned, he drops the tape measure and runs for the safety of the hotel. The doorman stands, horrified, as the man completes his fall with a sickening sound, ensuring that the carpet must be replaced. At intense times, people can think of the strangest things, and the carpet-man finds this to be true... all he can think of are bloodstains left on his tape measure. Even if they are cleaned off, he doesn't hink he can use it again without thinking of tonight. Even measuring with another will be hard, and 18 feet will be indelibly marked in his memory---that's where the blood stains are.

The police arrive and quickly conclude it is not a suicide---among the victim's personal effects, they find pictures and records that indicate he has been blackmailing four other occupants of the hotel. He also has bruises on his shins where the ledge at the bottom of the tall hotel window would have hit them; he must have been pushed pretty hard. Adam Able is the dead man's name, as it appears on the driver's license in his wallet. His license indicates that Adam was 5'11" tall and weighed 160 lb. He has been blackmailing Adrianna Myers, a frail widow in Room 356; Steven Caine, a newspaper reporter in Room 852; Mark Johnson, a body builder in Room 1956; and Stanley Michaels, an actor in Room 2754. All of the suspects admit they were in their rooms at the time of the murder.

Who killed Adam Able?

Hinihintay

2003-03-22T12:49:00.000-08:00

Hinihintay
Bong Ramilo

Hinihintay ang pagtatapos ng isa pang araw ng paggawa
Nagmamadali sa pag-uwi dala ang gamot ng panganay
Iduduyan niya hanggang mahimbing
Tuwing pag-ubo ay hahaplusin
Ihehele niya at magigising
Nagtataka di-gumagaling

Hinihintay umigsi ang pila ng nag-aabang sa ospital
Nagmamadali sa pag-uwi, walang pambayad kaya't itinaboy
Iduduyan niya hanggang mahimbing
Tuwing pag-ubo ay hahaplusin
Ihehele niya pag magigising
Nagtataka di-gumagaling

Hinihintay dumaan ang oras, nag-aalala sa naiwang anak
Nagmamadali sa pag-uwi kahit di pa tapos ang paggawa
Maduduyan pa ba hanggang mahimbing?
Mahahaplos pa ba niya tuwing uubuhin?
Mahehele pa ba pag nagigising?
Nagtataka ka ba?

Hinihintay masaid ang luha, ang panganay ayaw ng umubo.

Messages from Em-em

2003-01-16T07:26:00.000-08:00

20-Dec-2002 23:52:03
Kim, kumusta na? Pasko na jud no! Cl na nako ni. Mipalit dyud ko kay a must man. Manapat ra ba ni ako amo, kung grabe na ang kasuko.2ud ako na nalang isa dri kay uli na adtong domingo si agnes. Pro ayaw lang balaka nako kay kabalo man ko 'momagic'...:) cge tulog na ko, sau pa ko mata ugma 'nyt...Huhummm..

11-Jan-2003 19:18:20
km, mangumusta lang unta ko. Mingaw man gud dri uy. Ok unta bsag lay kastorya, pro d japon ka rest kay kadalihuk ni amo, hala tawag...LIZA!!pnabundak pa jud...

11-Jan-2003 19:45:54
sukol mo lang. Dli na gud ko tawagon ni amo kong molakaw cya, agakonon man. C kok na lang agak. La pa nako dawat sulat balay; Kanunay man ko ampng dri..lisod na,'guwang na ra ba..ulaw. Maau kay kay nakatxt ka,"dli ma2gkad ang kalipay nga nabat ning dughan kong..."STOP! Me du 'yack' na. Btaw, la pa di ka 2log? Gabi na!

12-Jan-2003 23:02:06
Ako na pod ngau sori nimu kay la dayun ko 2bag imo. Nagpamiskul ra ko aro sulay opn imu cl. Mgtxt unta ko unya tawag man ko ni amo, la na lng. Pag-ampng baya sa nu buha2n sa jan 20, 'stay alyv w/ what u bliv, not "2 die bcos of it..."'Sayang no la ko dra! Agi unta na celebration ako brthd sa. Cge godnyt na...mm

15-Jan-2003 13:35:02
km, naa ka # ate jolie o kay manoy ba kaha? Pakgrit ko ate jolie 'hapi brtd'. Dli man nako kontak balay mao malihog na lan ko imo. Salamat. Cge..c",) Amping nunay

15-Jan-2003 14:58:35
Cge salamat! Ayaw lang nunay sulat nako kay mahal jud, dri worth 25p lang. Sori la dun ko 2bag ngaon na cla mao bc. Ikaw lang unta 2 grit, la unta ka gas2 15p..

Tumungo sa kanayunan

2003-01-08T07:03:00.000-08:00

Sinulat ng isang kaibigan.

January 8, 2003

Dilat na dilat ang aking mga mata na iniisa-isa ang mga gusali at tindahan sa City pagkababa namin mula sa bus matapos ang lampas sampung oras na biyahe. Madilim na nang umalis ang sinakyan naming jeep galing dito papunta sa lugar kung saan masasaksihan kinabukasan ang pagdiriwang ng anib. Halos dalawang oras din ang iniupo namin sa madilim na sasakyan na bumaybay ng sementadong daan. Madilim dahil maliban sa walang liwanag na nanggagaling sa labas (maliban sa pangilan-ngilang nadadaanang sasakyan at kabahayang maliliwanag) ay pinatay ang ilaw sa loob ng sasakyan para walang ibang makita mula sa labas ng humaharurot na sasakyan kundi anino lamang naming walong "bisita" at iba pang kasama na sumundo sa amin. Halos mga ilang kilometro pa lamang ang inilayo namin sa aming pinanggalingan nang mapansin ko ang nakakasilaw na liwanag na tumagos sa loob ng jeep at nanggaling sa isang tricycle na matagal-tagal ding hindi nawala sa aming buntot hanggang sa hindi na ito makahabol dahil na rin sa dami ng tricycle at jeep na aming nalampasan. Marahil ay napansin din ito ng iba pang sakay ng jeep dahil biglang naging tahimik ang dating malakas na kumustahan, biruan, kwentuhan, at minsan ay takutan ng mga kasama na matagal nang nagkikita-kita sa kalunsuran ngunit noon lang nagkasama sa isang aktibidad na ang seguridad ay mas pinag-iingatan.

Tumigil ang sasakyan, ikinarga ang maraming sako na mukhang ang laman ay bigas o arina, at sumabay ang ilang tao na magdadala ng mga mabibigat na bagong karga. Sa di kalayuan matapos baybayin ang minsan-maputik-minsan-sementadong daan ay ibinaba kami sa isang lugar na walang ibang liwanag kundi mula sa kislap ng mga bituin at walang ibang matatanaw gamit ang liwanag ng spot (flashlight) kundi damuhan, mga puno ng niyog, at isang masikip at maputik na daan. Gaano pa kaya kalayo ang lalakarin namin papunta sa site?

Matapos ang halos limang minutong lakaran ay may natanaw kaming maliit na bahay. Meron na palang ilaw dito. "Nakakakilos na pala sila malapit sa sentrong bayan?" tanong ko sa sarili. Mag-aalas-dose na nang tumuloy kami sa bahay na iyon at nag-briefing. Isang oras pa daw ang lalakarin papunta sa site sabi ng sundo pero pwede kaming doon muna sa bahay ng masa magpalipas ng gabi. "Sa inyo isang oras, sa amin baka dalawa" banggit ng isang bisita.

Sa lugar na ito ay aktibo nang lumalahok ang masa para isulong ang kanilang kagalingan. Ayon sa ulat na aming narinig ay lampas kalahati na raw ang nakukumpiskang lupain dito. Ang mga kumpiskadong lupain ay hindi ibinibigay sa mga walang lupang magsasaka para ariin kundi binubukas sa kanila para pagyamanin at kanilang mapagkunan ng ikabubuhay.

Nagpasya kami na dumiretso na para dun na matulog at makapagpahinga at halos lahat ay excited na ring makita ang lugar kaya tuloy ang maputik na biyahe. Mga isang daang metro na ang aming nalakad nang may napansin kami sa unahan na isang sasakyan, isang jeep. Pinatay kaagad namin lahat ng spot. Buti na lang at malapit kami sa mga matataas na damo. Hinintay naming makaalis ang jeep ngunit huminto ito at nag-park doon mismo sa tapat namin. (Yun pala ang jeep na sinakyan namin kanina at nanggaling na siya dun sa pupuntahan namin para ihatid ang suplay. Kung di na kami bumaba eh konti na lang sana ang maputik na daang lalakarin namin.) Tuloy lang ang lakaran pagkatapos pero binawasan na namin ang paggamit ng spot. Delikado daw.

Kung walang asong tumatahol dahil nakaamoy ng mga di-kilalang baho (o bango), yapak lang ng mga sapatos at sandal at kaluskos ng mga damit at mga dalang gamit ng mga naglalakad ang maririnig sa kapaligiran maliban sa palakas ng palakas na ugong ng isang motor. Nakisabay din sa wakas ang kalangitan. Biglang lumitaw ang kanina pa nagtatagong buwan at pinamalas ang nakakaakit nitong kagandahan na para bang maliwanag na bangkang lumulutang sa napakadilim na karagatan. Ang pagkislap naman ng mga bituin ay sinasabayan ng pagsayaw ng mga alitaptap at pagwagayway ng mga dahon ng mga puno. Sapat na ang liwanag ng buwan para maaninag namin ang isa't-isa at maiwasan namin ang mga matutubig na bahagi ng daan. Mula sa maputik na highway ay pumasok kami sa isang maliit na daan na bahagyang pababa. Nalakad kami ng mga ilang metro at pagkalampas namin sa isang maliit na ilog (di ko talaga nakita ngunit narinig ko ang agos nito) ay dinig na dinig na namin ang ugong ng generator. Abalang-abala pa yata sa paghahanda ang mga kasama para sa gaganaping pagdiriwang bukas pagsilang ng araw. Mga isang oras lang pala talaga ang lakaran.

Sa unang pagkakataon ay nakakita din ako ng mga kasamang katulad ng nakita ko. Nagmukhang mga malalaking paniki ang mga duyan ng mga tulog na kasama sa loob at labas ng nag-iisang bahay sa isang masukal na gubat. Mukhang mahimbing na mahimbing ang kanilang tulog. Marahil ay sobrang nakakapagod ang kanilang ginawa sa buong araw (o sa buong linggo). "Sa ganitong lagay ba ay ang dali-dali pala silang pasukin ng masasamang elemento at gambalain ang kanilang katahimikan?" tanong ko sa aking sarili at siguro ay tanong din ng iba pang bisita na tulad ko ay first time ding nakakita ng mga kasamang katulad ng nakita ko.

Dumiretso kami sa kusina dahil yun lang ang bakanteng bahagi ng bahay at dun na rin namin itutulog ang nalalabing oras bago masilayan ang pagpula ng silangan. "Ganito ba talaga sila ka-lax?" tanong ng isang bisita habang nag-aayos ang bawat isa ng gamit at puwestong matutulugan. Ang sandaling kwentuhan ay naputol ng may pumasok na kasama. Narinig ko na galing siya sa kanyang dating pwesto malapit sa may maliit na ilog na dinaanan daw namin. Marami pala silang nakabantay sa paligid at sinisiguro ang kaligtasan ng bawat isa.

Ayon sa isa sa kanila, bawat isa ay may magagawa dito at walang gawaing maliit o di-importante. Dito ay hindi palaging madali o palaging mahirap ang gawain. Tagaluto, tagalinis, tagabantay, tagasulat, o tagapangasiwa man, bawat kasama ay may silbi.

Ang dami ko pang naisip na mga bagay-bagay hanggang sa bumagsak na ang dati ay dilat na dilat kong mga mata. Sa panaginip ko na lang muna itutuloy ang biyahe para pagpula ng silangan ay maididilat ko ulit ito ng may panibagong lakas. Kailan kaya ako tutungo sa kanayunan ng mas matagal para ipamalas ang aking galing at talino upang pagsilbihan ang tunay na nangangailangan?

Salamat Musika

2002-11-30T07:08:00.000-08:00

Salamat Musika
by Gary Granada

Paano mo patatahimikin
Ang isang bunsong iyakin
Huhunihan ni inay ng la-la-rin-la-rin
Paano mo patatahanin
Ang pagtatampo ni Neneng
Pasalamat ka't may awit na kakantahin

Sa mga indayog tayo'y napapasayaw
At sa labis na galak ay napapasigaw
Ang mga kirot sa puso ay lumilipad
Ang mga mithi ay natutupad

Salamat, salamat musika
Lahat ng panahon maaasahan ka
Salamat, salamat musika
Itong munting mundo ay napapasigla

Ang mga bituin sa langit
At mga katha ng isip
Ay hindi sapat upang mabuhay ang daigdig
Ang magagandang tanawin
At mga tulang malalim
Kukulangin din upang tayo ay aliwin

Aanhin ang kayamanang di madadala
Aanhin ang kagandahang pansamantala
Ang katahimikan ba ay may magagawa
Upang ihayag ang nadarama

Salamat, salamat musika...

Napapasaya!

Salamat, salamat musika...

Stories from my Martian friend

2002-05-26T08:11:00.000-07:00

the never-ending intelligence(?) report
i was having my usual overnyts when one of my close friends send me a txt message, asking me to be with her ryt away. i was shocked to see her in panic. kulang na lang musolod sa ilalom sa katre. y? a txt message had been circulated about the MILF attacking the city at 2 am. with all the assuring words and the eyebags, the MIs remain as ghosts until now. nagwoder lang ko, with all the eyebags, how much work had been sucrificed the next day... ( pastilan, samot kalate ako assignments. :) ).

sosyal na pobre?
at gaisano iligan, two students (obviously, IITians) were standing infront of the mineral water section. they wre fighting over whether to buy a mineral water and just skip a meal, or not.

"Unsaon man daw nimu pagkaon beh kung wala kay mineral water? tangent!", said one student. its the budget.

Ows? sosyal na d i ang mga studyante karon? mineral ha. then my cel rang. msg? "maris pls dont drink tap water. rumor is the MIs are going to poison the whole city thru it. pls pas to the people u care." with matching tawag p para maaware daun daw ko. IC.

Ikaw? kaya nimung magtubig na lang bisag gutom na?

Buti na lang di na ako pobreng estudyante ng IIT. :)

the kandila issue
sumo! nakakita na ba ka ug pinkagagmayng kandila na ang price kay P5.00? ( = 1 serving rice) kesyo magbrown out daw kay bombahan sa mga MIs ang NPC. panic daun. pasakay daun ang mga tindahan. tsk tsk tsk...

god bless us... spare the innocents!
i was havng my last-minute internet tutorial with a friend. as i was about to leave, my friend asked me with all the innocence, "Te, kabalo ka sa email ad ni pres. bush?". curious. anyway i said, "its time to use the 'power' of the internet.". we were barely 3 minutes bfore her history class. "kadyot lang 'te ha." she looks really so innocent for me.

i was touched. i never intended to sneak-up but i couldnt hold back when i accidentally saw she really addressed it to the president. it goes..

dear mr president,

"what have you done to your people? you are selfish. just be sure that what you have been doing is for the common good of all of us people and not for yourself alone.

that's all. "

and yet, shes only a first year college student.

Urban blight

2001-09-01T06:55:00.000-07:00

Hindi ako ang nagsulat sa article na ito.

Inundated streets with children frolicking about disease-laden flood waters. Traffic going to a snarl amidst noxious pollution assailing the nostrils from industrial and automotive fumes as well as from stinking uncollected garbage.

A group of teenagers enjoys a game of basketball in a depressed suburb oblivious to a cemented tank beneath the basketall court containing toxic waste irresponsibly dumped by the gian power firm, Meralco.

Meanwhile, "clean and green" has also become a byword for a pseudoenvironment-friendly city autocrat whose environmental initiatives has become a mask for anti-people programs and policies.

That, though in a limited sense, reflects the current environment of Metro Manila.

But in more comprehensively looking terms, Metro Manila is the picture of urban blight--a metropolis waiting for the next (and probably worse) ecological disaster after a stream of environmental nightmares brought about by socio-ecological conflicts of a grander scale. Almost all of major river systems in Metro Manila has already been declared biologically dead. This despite never-ending efforts to dredge and revive these rivers, foremost is the Pasig river.

And even as the government continues to spend millions in "dengue" warnings, flooding in the metropolis has become a perennial, spawning not only malaria, cholera, diarrhea and skin diseases, but also the lately discovered fatal Leptospirosis coming from rat-infested esteros and creeks.

Environmentalist cannot help but pin the sorry state of the environment to an uneven development path taken by government planners and policy makers.

From time immemorial, a centralist attitude has pervaded all government decisions prioritizing Metro Manila as the hub of economic development and urbanization.

As a result, environmental crises piled up one on top of another as government and reformist non-government organizations turned their attention to remedial and mitigating measures forgetting that in the first place environmental problems cropped up because of poorly planned and lopsided policies on national and ecological development.

Flooding, the direct result of a depleted forest cover, is bound to get more catastrophic as global warming, because of unmitigated pollution, intensifies. The tropical cyclones that increasingly and more intermittently pour into the city and the rest of the country cannot but be attributable to the wanton neglect of the environment. Neglect that for the most part happens because of an overly congested urban area where people from the provinces troop for lack of economic opportunities and means of development in the countryside.

Worse, globalization is exacerbating this situation.

With more and more of the country's rich natural and human resources coming under the control of transnational corporations, the despoliation and destruction of the environment becomes a matter of course.

As millions more Filipinos leave the countryside because virtually every corner of the earth in the provinces has become the domain of big foreign mining companies, the urban blight is bound to get more seamier.

No amount of technology, clean and green efforts, or cosmetic solutions could solve the urban ecological conflicts that are deeply rooted in a problematic social set up.

- from Feedback, September 2001

Theory group

2001-03-01T08:39:00.000-08:00

Ang mga siga sa theory group.

The foolish old man who removed the mountains

2001-01-20T07:12:00.000-08:00

This is an ancient Chinese fable which tells of an old man who lived in northern China long, long time ago and was known as the Foolish Old Man of the Northern Mountain. His house faced south and beyond his doorway stood the two great peaks, Taihang and Wangwu, obstructing the way. With great determination, he led his sons in digging up these mountains hoe in hand. Another greybeard, known as the Wise Old Man, saw them and said derisively, "How silly of you to do this! It is quite impossible for you to dig up these two huge mountains." The Foolish Old Man replied, "When I die, my sons will carry on; when they die, there will be my grandsons, and then their sons and grandsons, and so on to infinity. High as they are, the mountains cannot grow any higher and with every bit we dig, they will be that much lower. Why can't we clear them away?" Having refuted the Wise Old Man's wrong view, he went on digging every day, unshaken in his conviction. God was moved by this, and he sent down two angels who carried the mountains away on their backs.

Apolitical Intellectuals

2000-12-25T07:17:00.000-08:00

by Otto Rene Castillo

One day
the apolitical
intellectuals
of my country
will be interrogated
by the simplest
of our people.

They will be asked
what they did
when their nation died out
slowly,
like a sweet fire
small and alone.

No one will ask them
about their dress,
their long siestas
after lunch,
no one will want to know
about their sterile combats
with "the idea
of the nothing"
no one will care about
their higher financial learning.

They won't be questioned
on Greek mythology,
or regarding their self-disgust
when someone within them
begins to die
the coward's death.

They'll be asked nothing
about their absurd
justifications,
born in the shadow
of the total life.

On that day
the simple men will come.

Those who had no place
in the books and poems
of the apolitical intellectuals,
but daily delivered
their bread and milk,
their tortillas and eggs,
those who drove their cars,
who cared for their dogs and gardens
and worked for them,
and they'll ask:

"What did you do when the poor
suffered, when tenderness
and life
burned out of them?"

Apolitical intellectuals
of my sweet country,
you will not be able to answer.

A vulture of silence
will eat your gut.

Your own misery
will pick at your soul.

And you will be mute in your shame.

Biography

Otto Rene Castillo, born 1936, was a Guatemalan revolutionary, a guerilla fighter, and a poet.

Following the 1954 CIA-sponsored coup that overthrew the democratic Arbenz government, Castillo went into exile in El Salvador, where he met Roque Dalton and other writers who helped him publish his early works.

When the dictator Armas died in 1957 he returned to Guatemala and in 1959 went to the German Democratic Republic to study, where he received a Masters degree.

Castillo returned to Guatemala in 1964 and became active in the Workers Party, founded the Experimental Theater of the Capital City Municipality, and wrote and published numerous poems. That same year, he was arrested but managed to escape, going into exile once again, this time in Europe.

Later that year he went back to Guatemala secretly and joined one of the armed guerilla movements operating in the Zacapa mountains. In 1967, Castillo and other revolutionary fighters were captured; he, along with his comrades and some local campesinos, were brutally tortured and then burned alive .

Bisdak joke

2000-11-20T12:23:00.000-08:00

DAD:Anak, bili mo ko softdrink
ANAK: Coke o pepsi?
DAD: Coke
ANAK: Diet o regular?
DAD: Regular
ANAK: Bote o can?
DAD: Bote
ANAK: 8 oz o litro?
DAD: PUNYETA! Tubig na lang!
ANAK: Natural o mineral?
DAD: Mineral...
ANAK: Bugnaw o dili?
DAD: Lambusan ta man ka aning silhig ron...
ANAK: Lanot o tukog?
DAD: Animal man siguro ka!
ANAK: Baka o baboy?
DAD: Layas!
ANAK: Karun o ugma?
(Ang DAD na lang tingali ang milayas...)

Puzzles and mathematics

2000-11-01T08:34:00.000-08:00

Three people decided to eat some ensaymada together. Andy brought 3 pieces, Belen 5 pieces, and Carlos none. All the ensaymada were identical. And all were eaten, each person eating an equal amount. Because Carlos had not brought any ensaymada he calculated his share (1/3 of expenses) and contributed 4 pesos. How should Andy and Belen divide the 4 pesos?

The sum of an odd number of consecutive odd numbers beginning from 1 to N. Show that the sum of the first and last numbers is 2/√N.

Twenty-one identical soft drink cases are to be loaded onto three carts. Seven of the cases are empty, 7 of the cases are full of softdrink bottles, and 7 are half full of soft drink bottles. The soft drink bottles are all identical, and therefore have equal weights. How can all these be loaded so that the weights are equally distributed among the three carts and without transferring any of the bottles from one case to another?

A rectangular sheet of paper 30 cm x 40 cm is folded so that one corner is placed on the diagonally opposite corner as in the figure below. How long is the resulting fold?

The number 30 can be expressed as the sum of one or more consecutive positive integers in these 4 ways:

30; 6+7+8+9; 9+10+11; 4+5+6+7+8;

Express 240 as sum of consecutive positive integers in as many ways as possible.

In the figure the triangles OAB and OPQ are similar with angles A and P congruent. If OA/OQ = 3 and OB/OP = 2, then AB/PQ = ?

A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H are the vertices (in order) of a regular octagon. The diagonals AD and BH cross at I. How large is angle BID?

From a large cardboard circle four touching circles were cut out as shown. The two larger circles are congruent, and the two smaller circles are congruent. After cutting out the four circles, what part of the cardboard was left?

Let A be a two-digit integer and let B be a two-digit integer whose digits are the same as those of A but in the reverse order. Find A so that A²-B² is a perfect square.

A small square is cut out from the corner of a large square, leaving a L-shape. Given that the side lengths of both the squares are whole numbers in centimeters, and that the L-shape has area 60 cm², how many possible values are there for the area of the original large square?

If x is a real number such that x²+2x-7>0, show that (x²+34x-71)/(x²+2x-7)≤5.

Show that the product of any three consecutive integers is divisible by 3.

If a and b are integers and b is odd, show that x²+2ax+2b=0 has no rational root.

Determine the radius of the largest circle that can be drawn inside a quarter-circle of radius r.

In the figure, points C and F are on sides AD and EG respectively. Show that that area of parallelogram ADFB is equal to that of parallelogram BCGE.

3D street art

2000-06-02T09:22:00.000-07:00

Julian Beever is an English artist who's famous for his art on the pavement of England, France, Germany, USA, and Belgium. His images are drawn to give a 3D image when viewed at the right angle. See for yourself! It's amazing !!!