Is This the Result of Climate Change?

Last March 25, a severe thunderstorm hit our locality. Prior to that, we had two major snow storms, both of which dumped more than 12 inches of snow. The snow melted, seeped through the ground, and even before the water has sank to a deep enough level, the thunderstorm hit.

Because the soil was already loose enough, the wind need not be strong enough to topple the decades-old trees. But the wind was really strong and it wreaked havoc on our region.

Tree cut by the March 25 thunderstorm.

Then, last August 16, a storm, which lasted for just about 15 minutes, toppled trees, cut the electric power and the falling trees almost destroyed our house and our car. Because of the storm, the wife and I were displaced for two nights - the utilities guys thought that they needed to check the houses first before they can be declared safe to live in.

Now I don't know if this is really the result of climate change but this year we've had record snow fall, record single rain fall, the hottest summer to date and now two very strong storms that almost destroyed our house. I talked with some old folks who have lived for several decades in our town and they said that they haven't experienced anything like that before.

That's saying a lot.

Our car was almost hit by this tree. Good thing it was short enough... I was shooting through the window which was being battered by the rain.

There used to be two trees in front of our house.  Now there's only one.

Summer Time, Travel Time

Summer time is travel time for majority of the people in the US. With the summer heat, people tend to go on long drives, plane rides, beach parties or just simple frolicking under the sun. Travelling is not much of an inconvenience if you will go on a road trip - especially if you won't be the one driving - but it can be a pain especially if you will be taking a plane ride. One, you won't have the comforts of your home. Two, you must bring enough of your stuff so you won't be cursing at yourself for not bringing what you really wanted. I am a gadget guy so I will discuss here what I bring every time I leave the comforts of my home.

First off is my Macbook Pro. I would have done away with this and just use my iPod Touch, but I decided that I won't be able to do away with the laptop for now. Why? Because the iPod Touch is such a closed system that there is no way to put anything in it without going through iTunes. Take for example the iPad. If I have an iPad now, then I could put into it whatever photos and videos I take via the optional USB connection kit. Why would I need this? If I have the connector then I would be able to share the videos and pictures that I will take to Facebook and Twitter. I can also use the iPad as a back up device, though this may not be a very good proposition because it will fill up the iPad in no time, especially since I am shooting in RAW. So, for now, I will be bringing both my Macbook Pro and my iPod Touch.

The second thing that I would bring is a portable external drive. After each day that I shoot, I make it a habit to transfer whatever photos I take into an external drive and wipe clean my CF card. The harddrive will take care of all my photos for me.

Since I need to transfer photos to the external drive, I need to bring a card reader! Transferring photos via the USB cable provided with whatever camera brand you are using can be a really slow process. Better invest in a card reader and your transfers will be much quicker.

External drive, card reader, iPod touch... Don't forget to bring your cables. Remember that not all USB cables are created equal - there is USB-to-USB, mini-USB, micro-USB, Apple iPod connector, Apple iPod Shuffle connector... If only there is a universal USB cable...

Camera battery charger, iPhone charger, iPad charger, iPod charger, laptop cable, extra batteries for external flash, extra CF cards - so many things to charge. I don't think the hotel you would be staying in would have enough wall outlets to suit all your charging needs, so, I propose you bring a power strip also. This would be most handy when you travel to Europe since the outlets there are different. So what you can do in such a situation is to buy one universal outlet adapter and plug your power strip to that. This would be much cheaper than buying one adapter for each of the gadget that you need to recharge.

LAN cable, for those hotels that only offer such connection. And with this also, you will be able to save because you can set your Macbook to be your wi-fi source. With one Macbook, the wife and I can share the internet connection, including our iPod touches, etc. Just make sure you put a password for your internet connection. You don't want people from other rooms mooching on your dime...

And of course, I don't leave the house without a book or two. However, I now use a Kindle, so I don't need to bring two books anymore, just one Kindle. :) But, this is another thing that needs to be charged, so...

These are the only things I can think of right now. If something else will crop up, then I will just update this entry.

Enjoy summer and happy trip! :)

World Science Festival - New York

Last June 8, the wife and I went to New York to observe the World Science Festival in Washington Square Park in New York. It was a fun event and the kids had a lot of fun also. There were plenty of booths, science demos, and the wife was also able to watch a show narrated by Liev Schreiber.

It was nice to see demonstrations and it was nicer to see people, especially kids, enjoying science applications. There was however, a grinch in the festivities: while the wife and I were watching the liquid nitrogen demos, an oldish woman huffed and puffed away from the stage saying "It's mostly about science!!!" "Ah, ma'am, you are in a science festival..." Is something I would have said to her...

I was a former high school Physics teacher and I always find it nice to see science being promoted to the masses. One cannot get enough of science in our lives.






For those without flash on the mobile devices, you can check out my pictures of the festivities on this link.

Philippine Independence Day in New York

The wife and I went to New York to join in the celebration of the Philippine Independence Day. The affair happened on June 6 and we just wanted to see how it was done here in the US. We didn't know before that such a thing happens so we didn't want to pass up on this one. Also, we wanted to attend the World Science Festival that was held in Washington Square Park. But the science fest is for another blog.

So, after meeting our friend, we went to Madison Square Park where there was a stage set for performances. A street was also closed, I think it was three blocks long, that was used for stalls for food, Filipino delicacies, t-shirts, DVDs, and more.

As the wife and I arrived at the place, there was a slight commotion. It turned out that there was a celebrity that was about to enter the event. And as per usual, there was no barricaded path where the celebrity (or celebrities) can walk through unimpeded. Basically, when the celebrity walked towards the event, he, or she, should be surrounded by body guards so that the person won't be mobbed by the crowd. I thought that there should be a red-carpet-like path which will make it easier for everyone to pass through, not to mention the crowd would have a clearer view of the celebrity that they wanted to watch and not the backs of humongous guys who served as human barricade.

Anyway, we didn't see the celebrity. Someone said that it was a certain Sarah Geronimo but the wife and I didn't wait to see who it really was.

There were some things that I observed were true in the Philippines and still true for Filipinos in the US:

1. Filipinos deify celebrities. They are not just famous; they are gods.
2. The body guards are the priests of such gods and, as such, act like they are also gods, also celebrities. (Do they want to retain this feeling of importance that's why they do not put a barricaded path?)
3. A person, usually a guy, will shout the name of the celebrity then when people look at him to check it out, he will point at an unknowing friend or acquaintance, usually a woman. The friend will then get embarrassed and the person who shouted would laugh out loud.
4. I heard this from an American and I tend to agree: Filipinos are afraid of the rain (it rained for some time during the time the wife and I were there)
5. Filipinos love food.
6. Filipinos love being around other Filipinos.
7. Filipinos love to smile.
8. Filipinos are friendlier to other Filipinos when they (we) are abroad. Or maybe it's just me.

But, let me clarify, these things are things I observed from Filipinos who grew up in the Philippines and migrated to the US. I don't think most of these will apply to those who were born or grew up here. And there are, of course, exception to these.

The wife and I enjoyed ourselves. I wish that we would have been able to watch the parade but the time we spent there was worth the travel.

For those without flash on their mobile devices, you can check out my pictures through this link.

The Filipino Middle Initial

The wife and I lost our census form so a census guy came in and interviewed us briefly on May 27. The questions were simple and the guy was gone in no time.


When the wife and I first came to the US, there's one very glaring difference that I noticed between Filipinos and Americans - the middle initial. I've forgotten about it for some time now but the arrival of the census guy prompted me to remember this topic once more.


For Americans, the middle initial stands for a person's second name, whereas for Filipinos, the middle initial stands for the mother's maiden name. I don't know what started these trends. Was it a cultural thing? The Philippines, more or less, being a matriarchal culture when it comes to family? Or was it just a misinterpretation on either's part?


Whatever the reason is, or are, I don't think there is a single correct explanation to the difference. What I'm sure is one must make an adjustment when one goes from one place to another.


-- written on my iPod Touch

On Not Turning Left

The recent episode of Mythbusters, Waterslide Wipeout, Tori, Kari and Grant talked about a certain courier company's policy on not allowing their delivery people to make a left turn at an intersection. I saw this "policy" from another Discovery Channel show about a year ago and, from that episode, I found out that that courier company is UPS.

Doing some digging around, I found this New York Times article back in 2007 discussing what UPS saved in fuel and CO₂ emissions. Personally, I am greatly impressed by the fact that this very simple thing can save a lot. The article said that you won't be able to save much if you're using "Windstar", an old Ford minivan model, but UPS, with a fleet of delivery trucks, was able to save a lot.


Now, ever since I saw the Discovery Channel episode (which I can't seem to find now) I make it a point to not make a left turn if I can help it. I know I probably won't be able to save much, if at all, but minimizing the wait time is really worth it. And I am basing my actions on the fact that it takes much more to get an object moving than to keep that same object in motion (static versus kinetic friction). That is also the reason why, on highways and interstates, hybrid cars do not have a distinct advantage over conventional cars - hybrid cars are advantageous in stop-and-go situations, like in a city-like traffic pattern.


And I really can't help it but do this no-left-turn method. I do most of my driving in New Jersey and, here, you cannot make a left turn on highways - you have to exit using a "jug handle." So, UPS, as far as highways go, might be very happy with New Jersey. :)

An Open Letter to the Great Guys and Gal at Mythbusters

This blog post, the first of, hopefully many other future posts, is about an episode of Mythbusters entitled Mythssion Control. As per usual in Mythbuster episodes, there were a lot of collisions, Buster getting his socks knocked off, and more. However, Jamie, in this episode, said that he made a mistake. I believe he did not.

The purpose of this open letter is to make a case for my counter claim and prove that Jamie was correct to start with.

However, I cannot make the equations play nice in browsers other than in Google Chrome, so I will just post a link here for the document.

Hope you enjoy reading along. And hope you enjoy Mythbusters as much as I do. :)

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