Last day of 2004

A lot happened in 2004 but what I want to remember are the days my mother-in-law spent with us last summer. She passed away just a few days after I arrived here in the U.S. last July. She was undergoing chemotherapy in a hospital in Cebu. The initial results were great and I honestly thought she would make it.

I miss you mommy.

Self powering robot

Talk about scifi becoming real -- a team of scientists and engineers at University of the West of England (U.W.E.) developed a robot that draws energy by digesting flies. CNN.com posted the story today. However, the U.W.E. website has an earlier account of the story.

For now, the robot measures temperature and transmits data via radio. Imagine the other possibilities.

Another shot for Ken!

As if $2.5M is not enough. :)

Ken Jennings will compete for the Jeopardy! super tournament. Host Alex Trebek dubbed the tournament as the "quest for Ken." CNN.com has the full story.

Flight delays

Mae's flight home was delayed by one day. Robert brought her to Roanoke airport early morning today. We pray for her safe travel to Davao. She said she'll start work at UP Diliman sometime in January.

In a related story, CNN.com reports that dependence of airlines on computer systems can cause massive flight delays and lost luggages. No -- the cancellation of Mae's flight yesterday is not because of a computer glitch. Let's just hope that Mae will not encounter another delay in her connecting flights.

22,000+

(UPDATE: The most recent estimate is nearing 60,000.)

That's the latest estimate of people who died because of yesterday's 9.0 quake centered about 160 kilometers off the coast of Indonesia's Sumatra island. The Philippines was spared this time.

CNN.com has this report:

DEATH TOLLS

SRI LANKA
Sri Lankan military authorities report more than 10,000 people killed. Tamil Tiger rebels report 2,000 dead in the territory they hold in the northeast of the country.

INDIA
At least 6,200 killed by waves that flooded the southern coast, official media report.

INDONESIA
News agencies report more than 4,350 killed, many of them in Aceh in northern Sumatra.

THAILAND
Thai authorities report at least 866 people dead.

MALDIVES
46 people are dead and more than 70 missing, according to Hassan Sobir, the Maldives high commissioner.

Pictures at Uncle Ben's

Here are some pictures at Uncle Ben's. We spent Christmas Day in his home at Salem.

Short stay at Uncle Ben's

We stayed for two days and one night at Uncle Ben's home at Salem. Mae Rose, Robert, and I arrived at UB's yesterday around 4pm. Bing, Daisy, and the kids -- Maia and Lia -- went there earlier. The food was great! We watched three movies in row -- Spiderman 2, Stepford Wives, and Collateral. We retired around 3am.

Mae Rose's flight tomorrow is 6am. We hugged her for the last time -- we would probably see her again when we visit UP Diliman sometime in the future.

Happy Birthday

It is widely known that December 25 is not the birthdate of Jesus Christ. It is however a great day to celebrate His birthday.

Merry Christmas!

The Antikythera Mechanism

I caught a feature in History Channel about the Antikythera Mechanism. It is a 2,000 year-old clocklike mechanism found in 1901 by divers off the isle of Antikythera. This find puzzled many since the mechanism is so modern that it can't be that old. However, in 2002, Michael Wright, curator of Mechanical Engineering at the London Science Museum, demonstrated that the mechanism can be replicated using tools possibly available during the estimated time when the mechanism was crafted. It is amazing how we underestimated the capability of our ancestors.

Some information about the Antikythera mechanism are available here.

Cheating

I finally able to see the ending of the HBO movie 'Cheaters'. The story is about the 1995 Illinois Academic Decathlon scandal. Dr. Gerard Plecki taught 7 high school students of Chicago's Steinmetz High School the value of dedication, perseverance, and teamwork -- in addition, he also taught them how to cheat in the academic decathlon. They managed to upset Whitney Young High School in the decathlon finals. Since Whitney Young HS had won the decathlon nine years in a row -- of course they are not happy of the results and called for an investigation.

The ironic part.

The Steinmetz school board managed to prove that cheating happened -- that is after subjecting the high school students to psychological pressure. Each of the students was subjected to a barrage of interviews. One of the students gave in -- after the 'investigator' lied to the student -- saying his other teammates already testified against him.

Dr. Plecki was fired by the Steinmetz High School. The students however were able to graduate and went to decent colleges. At the end of the movie, there was a note saying that the president of Steinmetz school board during that time was found guilty of tax evasion (?).

I'm pretty sure that cheating happens all the time -- not only in academic institutions. You'll be amazed how tolerant people are on cheating.

Sad.

Feeling tired

I feel so tired and bored doing the stuff I do for the research group. I bet I need a break. :)

Long day

Today is a long day -- I kind of fixed my messed up room. It is a good thing that my day started with a telephone call to Suzette and Eking.

Around 2pm, Roy left for VA beach. Mae gave him a friendly hug before leaving. Night time, while Botch, Jess, and I are having a sumptuous treat of party left-overs for dinner, Roy called up -- he said he arrived safely in VA beach but had a speeding ticket along the way.

I'll be in the lab tomorrow to work.

Can spammers evade this?

CNN.com reports that spammers are ordered to pay $1 billion. Here's the opening paragraph of the story.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) -- A federal judge has awarded an Internet service provider more than $1 billion in what is believed to be the largest judgment ever against spammers.

The complete story is here.

Moving

Botch and Vanini moved out from apartment heights today. It was an ordeal! I makes Roy think twice if he still wants to move out to a different apartment next year. :)

In the evening, we went to a party at Mae's. Roy prepared laing using Suzette's recipe. The food was great! Around 9pm, we went to Maysie and Lilian's place to practice our singing skills -- while drinking yuenglings.

JLA Comics and Santa Cap

Mae gave me a comic book (JLA: New order) as Christmas gift. It will be an interesting read. I like superfriends when I was a kid.



Roy also gave me a santa cap -- I will wear it during the party tonight. :)

Myth of unity

The editorial in Inq7.net starts with this paragraph:

IT'S a paradox that in his death, Fernando Poe Jr. has achieved what he sought out to attain in his failed presidential bid: to unite a severely fragmented nation. And it is the paradox of unity that in a people's coming together, politics should debase the national cleansing brought about by a catharsis of grief and sorrow, further causing pockmarks and rifts in the tenuous peace we have built for ourselves in loving deference to a dear departed icon.

Even as I agree with the editorial, it makes me wonder why some people see FPJ as the answer to the ills of the nation. When he was still alive, there was a known perception that he is just being manipulated by his so called 'friends'. Also, I can't recall any instance where FPJ showed his stand on past issues prior to his presidential campaign bid.

Had he won the elections, his charm may not be enough to discipline his 'fans', 'friends' and other 'supporters'. Unity would still remain a myth.

Maryland's anti-spam law ruled unconstitutional

Ugh! Be assured of getting more spam. :(

I got this from CNN.com.

ROCKVILLE, Maryland (AP) -- A judge has ruled that the anti-spam law in Maryland -- the first state law to penalize senders of junk e-mail -- is unconstitutional because it seeks to regulate commerce outside the state's borders.

So, are we expecting Spam III from F? :)

Oh gift!

That search for perfect something for exchange gift -- drives us wandering around walmart and NRV.

Death

Monday night, the jury recommends death penalty to Scott Peterson for killing his wife and unborn child. Scott Peterson is reportedly emotionless as the verdict is read.

Twelve

We watched Ocean's 12 last night.

The movie is not as good as Ocean's 11 -- but it is entertaining enough. I wonder if National Treasure is better.

Comatose FPJ

Fernando Poe Jr. (FPJ) is reportedly in coma. He lost to President Macapagal Arroyo last election. He however recently challenged the result of the elections and alleged that the incumbent is a cheat.

(UPDATE) FPJ passed away past midnight of monday.

Agap Bikol

Ateneo de Naga spearheads relief operations in Bicol. The faculty and staff of Ateneo de Naga forgo of Christmas party this year. The funds alloted for the party (PHP 135,000.00) will be used for relief operations.

Skeptic Look on Faith

I wonder how this will be answered by church leaders. This snippet came from an article in Newsweek:

Perhaps the most intriguing possible hint of illegitimacy in the New Testament comes in the Gospel of John, in an exchange between Jesus and the Temple priests. The back-and-forth is sharp, even brutal, with Jesus accusing the priests of failing to live up to the example of their common father, Abraham. Their reply: "We be not born of fornication; we have but one Father, God Himself." In his exploration of this passage, the late Raymond E. Brown, a distinguished scholar and Roman Catholic priest who taught at Union Theological Seminary, wrote: "The Jews may be saying, 'We were not born illegitimate, but you were.' The emphatic use of the Greek pronoun 'We' allows that interpretation."

Coffee celebration

Mae successfully defended her thesis today. In her happiness, she treated us at Starbucks --- oh frosted coffee! -- let's drink to that. :)

IBM no more?

Lenovo, a china-based computer maker, acquired the PC business of IBM for 1.75 billion dollars. IBM Philippines however is optimistic that it will be business as usual. IBM PC products are known for their durability -- they are however more expensive.

I wonder if IBM products (under Lenovo) will become more affordable.

Jenny and the World of Tomorrow

I have been checking out Jorge Cham's Jenny JetPack comic strips at www.comicssherpa.com. Jenny is a six-year-old kid who happens to live in a futuristic world where flying cars and robots are common place. Image a kid studying sub-nuclear particle physics in her first grade. :)

Categories

I finally reached the end of the 3rd chapter of Pierce's Basic Category Theory book. The book is just less than 100 pages but boy it is a sleeping pill. I hope Blyth's book on categories would be better.

If I manage to finish Blyth's, at least I will know which book is more effective in making me crave for frequent nap.

Sugar - Wooh Honey Honey

It is official! Virginia Tech Hokies (#8 BCS) and Auburn Tigers (#3 BCS) will meet in Sugar Bowl at New Orleans, La. How I wish I can go to New Orleans and cheer for the hokies. The TV coverage of ABC however will do. :)

Looking back, the hokies started ranked #38 by SportsIllustrated and #37 by College Football News. They are predicted to struggle to even get a decent bowl game in December. The ACC in fact never considered inviting Virginia Tech into the conference at first. It is sweet that the hokies end up being the ACC champions and earn a BCS berth at Sugar Bowl in their inagural season.

The hokies are now ranked #6 by College Football News, ranked #9 in both AP and Coaches polls, and #8 by BCS.

ACC Kings!

The hokies won the orange bowl 16-10! ESPN has the full story and some pictures.

Sugar bowl up next. Go Hokies!



(AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Underdogs

In today's hokies vs. canes match-up, the hokies are once again the underdogs. The predictions of most sportswriters show that the canes will win by a small margin. But then, aside from CollegiateTimes, it seems that canes is very much favored to win.

I would still cheer for the hokies. Win or lose, we're still champions!

Prediction Source            Hokies (Virginia Tech)  Canes (Miami FL)

Stewart Mandel (SI.com)               24                   21 

College Football News                 23                   21

John Harris (CFN)                     24                   20

John Tamahana (NBCSports.com)         27                   23

Fox Sports                            23                   21

Rise as one

President Arroyo rallies all Filipinos to rise as one amidst the ravage of recent typhoons. I hope everyone heeds this call.

Meanwhile, the prices of basic food products have been raised at once.

900

That's the current estimated number of dead or missing because of the recent barrage of typhoons in the Philippines.

Phone Call

I got an early phone call. Eking was on the other end of the line singing a birthday song for me. In a very cheerful and thoughtful fashion, he asked me what's my wish today. Suzette thought it would be good to celebrate this day with cake and ice cream. Eking would then blow the candles for me.

My wish? It is simple, to be with them the next time we celebrate this occassion. :)