The Four-eyed Journal » Weather

On the Samurai Umbrella…I want one!

jhay — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 02:53:18 +0000

When it comes to wisdom, factoids, trivia and explaining stuff, most of my friends turn to me for their regular dose and questions. But there are limits to what I know and one of them is the Samurai Umbrella. Which is getting quite popular nowadays.

Awesome Samurai Umbrella

I’ve seen one or two in the metro lately on one of my regular trips to work via the MRT. “They got through the security guards carrying those?” Was the first thought that crossed my mind when I first saw one, fooled into thinking they were really bladed Samurai replicas. “Or maybe they were used by cosplayers.” Was another hypothesis of mine.

For a more compact and stealthier ninja, err traveller

As it turned out, they were just umbrellas that look like Samurai sword. Awesome!!! And I want one! Not the full-sized one though, the smaller and compact one for a more stealthier look. Also because I’ve long moved on from carrying around full-sized umbrellas that were mostly a hassle to travel with in our crowded passenger jeepneys and jam-packed buses.

And since my present umbrella is about to give out, I’d replace it with a compact Samurai Umbrella soon. Ah yes, you want one too, right?

And now back to the regular programming

jhay — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 10:39:17 +0000

5 days of no blogging! This is becoming a habit for me.

Well not really, despite having lots of non-class hours these past few days especially when classes were suspended last Thursday because of the storm my time was eaten away by extra-curricular and social work.

Just this last Wednesday, I was a guest at the general assembly of Genshiken, an anime club in DLSUD, to kick-off the launching of their sparkling new website. Their new site/blog is one of my latest projects in my newest advocacy, using blogs to bring communities closer together. These Lasallian otakus are a great bunch of people, many years younger than me. But thanks to Japanese anime, I’m able to retain my child-like ways with them.

Despite the heavy rains, the group still pushed through with their first major project for the semester. It was a great success and the event has already created so much momentum, their new site has had a great jump start. Keep track of their blog as my self and their web team have lots of cool stuff in the offing in the following months.

Speaking of the heavy rains, I really don’t know if I should be thankful for it or not. On one hand it freed me up from the appointments or events I had involvements that Wednesday.

First was a debate about feminism which was a project of the Lasallian Women’s Circle and Vox La Salle Debating Society which I am a co-founder.
The second event was an open-consultative forum for the students of the College of Business Administration, this time it was organized by the University Student Council’s Advocacy Committee, of which I was appointed to be the committee head.
Third was of course Genshiken’s General Assembly in which I was a guest speaker.

All three events were scheduled to take place at exactly the same time! The caution from my K800i’s calendar telling me that the three events were in conflict with each other was really an understatement. Times like this, I wished I could really perform Naruto’s Kage-bunshin technique (Shadow clone replication) or I had that clone (the weird and evil one or perhaps a mutation) to cover places for me. But the rains brought by typhoon Chedeng helped me and shaved off the consultative forum and the debate from my calendar because both both were outdoor activities. Since there’s no umbrella big enough to cover the whole campus they were postponed at a later date. (insert sighs of relief here)

There’s a big lesson here though, besides taking priorities for my self, all event planners (in my university at the most) should really take the weather report into account whenever they plan for their activities and projects. Sure we may live in the sunny tropics but hey, when it rains here, it really, really pours. Time, momentum, resources and working relations are strained to the limit whenever mother nature decides to unzip and ~~piss~~ rain down on our little efforts. Now who said the weather report was boring and useless?

On the other hand, during days of heavy rain and ugly weather, there’s this fear or hope that classes be suspended. Highschool and elementary students would definitely hope for this but us college studs, err students would take a step back and assess the situation first before saying a word. Finishing an academic load of 20+ units in 5-6 months is no laughing matter so time is of great value here. A day of class suspensions is the equivalent of a long quiz, a graded recitation or 3 chapters of the book. Add in term papers, group reports and in my field, experiments! Argh!!! Curse the effin weather!

So what to do when there are no classes and you can’t go anywhere because mother nature is bitching outdoors? Well, as you can see from what I’ve done you can sit for 9 hours in front of your computer and ~~prowl YouTube for sex scandal videos, make money off the internets, and completely forget about taking a bath~~ change the theme of your blog (Honestly, that’s all what I did). Coincidentally, Shari who’s got an award named after her (awesome!) chose to do the same thing and use the same theme. Notice how I tweaked the headings of my sidebar in order to make it more “human” and less Google-bot slave? It’s a good thing this theme is not among the vulnerable ones.

From experiences like this, college life and storms really do not mix well. What really, really doesn’t mix well are military spies and universities. You go to school to learn the in’s and out’s of life, of society, to meet new different people, exchange ideas that will determine the faith of your life and your country, but how could you maximize all these if you have mysterious heavily-tinted vans roaming around campus and stalking student leaders and students who ‘think differently’ (I might get sued by Apple so there I quoted it). Human Security Act? More like Security-for-GMA Act.

Now why can’t mother nature just suspend her and her minions. Permanently. So that our country could go back to its right programming?

How to stay healthy during the rainy days

jhay — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 02:16:28 +0000

It seems that the dry-spell here in the country is over. A tropical depression is growing near Bicol and tropical storm “Chedeng” continues to move steadily up north towards Taiwan. The good new is, dry-hot days are gone for now. Rains will be repleneshing rivers and lakes and hopefully the country’s power problems would not escalate further.

It may a welcomed cool relief but it is during this changing weathers that we succumb to common illnesses that if taken for granted would lead to more serious ailments that costs us money and time. Somethings we bloggers fear the most.

So how to stay healthy and sickness-free during this cold and rainy days?

Bring an umbrella – or something to keep you dry. It may be cumbersome, bulky or not ‘fitting-in’ with your daily get up, but an umbrella, a cap, a jacket or even a raincoat will keep you warm, dry and less succeptible to common illnesses like colds and flu.
Eat well and healthy – stack up on your vitamins, minerals and energy. It will boost your immune system and keep those nasty micro-baddies at bay. You’ll neeed the extra energy to keep warm and alert because during these cold rainy days, our bodies tend to produce more heat to keep us well. Fresh fruits like apples, grapes, oranges, lemon and others rich in vitamin C will do the trick. Besides, they could even be cheaper and more fun to eat than those artificially-synthezised vitamin tablets and capsules.
Sleep plenty and rest well – Sleeping during this cold rainy nights is a wonderful thing to do. It encourages us to get some well deserved rest and sleep from work, travelling, studying and blogging. Just don’t oversleep that you’ll miss work or school. Don’t forget, a good sleep has always given us that much needed boost that we wake up refreshed and full of energy.
Bring a hanky or a towel – This comes handy when you leave behind your umbrella at home or somewhere else. More importantly, use it to wipe dry your hands after handling your wet often dirty umbrella especially before eating meals. Most of all, use it to cover your mouth and nose when you sneeze. It’s not only polite, it’s hygienic.
Tissue paper could also work, blow your nose in it instead of your cloth hanky. It’s much cleaner and safer. Just remember to throw them properly and buy those tissues that are made to be eco-friendly.
Wash your hands – It is one the most basic tenets of staying healthy but also one the most easily neglected by us. Hand sanitizers make this very convenient but be careful in what you buy, you may be allergic to a particular component of a particular variety. So please read what’s on the bottle first before lining up at the cashier.
Take a bath regularly – this goes hand to hand with hand washing. Do I need to elaborate on this?
Visit the doc regularly - Rain or shine, we must give extra effort in staying healthy. Visit our doctors for regular checkups, not just when you get sick or seriously ill.

I hope this tips will help you in staying healthy. Stay safe everyone.

Oh and in case all else fails and you do get sick and you have a blog, ProBlogger Darren Rowse has some tips on what to do your blog when you get sick.

Wishing you a speedy recovery Darren!

*photo taken from Breakfast Blogger

10-Driver Safety Tips

jhay — Sun, 15 Oct 2006 06:05:08 +0000

I found this note lying around the house while I was in search for a battery charger for my mobile phone. Though I don’t own or drive a car of my own, the safety tips enumerated in the little flier are excellent points to remember when using your mobile phone while on the road.

When driving a car, driving is your first responsibility. When using your wireless phone behind the wheel of a car, practice good common sense and remember the following tips:

1. Get to know your wireless phone and its features such as speed dial and redial. If available, these features help you to place your call without taking your attention off the road.

2. When available, use a hands free device. If possible, add an additional layer of convenience and safety to your wireless phone with one of the many hands free accessories available today.

3. Position your wireless phone within easy reach. Be able to access your wireless phone without removing your eyes from the road. If you get an incoming call at an inconvenient time, if possible, let your voice mail answer it for you.

4. Let the person you are speaking with know you are driving; if necessary, suspend the call in heavy traffic or hazardous weather conditions. Rain, sleet, snow, ice, and even heavy traffic can be hazardous.

5. Do not take notes or look up phone numbers while driving. Jotting down a “to do” list or flipping through your address book takes attention away from your primary responsibility, driving safely.

6. Dial sensibly and assess the traffic; if possible place calls when your are not moving or before pulling into traffic. Try to plan calls when your car will be stationary. If you need to make a call while moving, dial a few numbers, check the road and your mirrors, then continue.

7. Do not engage in stressful or emotional conversations that may be distracting. Make people you are talking with aware you are driving and suspend conversations that have the potential to divert your attention from the road.

8. Use your wireless phone to call for help. Dial the emergency number, local or national, in the case of fire, traffic accident or medical emergencies. Remember, it is a free call on your wireless phone.

9. Use your wireless phone to help others in emergencies. If you see an auto accident, crime in progress or other serious emergency where lives are in danger, call the local or national emergency number, as you want others to do for you.

10. Call roadside assistance or a special non-emergency wireless assistance number when necessary. If you see a broken-down vehicle posing no serious hazard, a broken traffic signal, a minor traffic accident where no one appears injured, or a vehicle you know to be stolen, call roadside assistance or other special non-emergency wireless number.

Remember and follow these tips and you’ll arrive at your desitnation safe and sound.

Windbags and climate change

jhay — Mon, 02 Oct 2006 04:20:28 +0000

Contrary to some belief, I’m still alive. hehehe Not that there were people who actually thought the cursed typhoon Milenyo has swept me away to kingdom cum, but I’ve been offline in the last four days now because power and landline services (Globelines) are still down in my corner of upland Cavite. (that’s Silang to save you the trouble of looking for a map)

I wanted to write about a few rants to Meralco but Sir Angelo Racoma of the J Spot has already done it, and done it good. Plain and simple, “Meralco Service Sucks!”

Much has been blogged about Milenyo’s rampage into our country so I think I’d give it a little rest for now. Prayers and stuf goes out to all those who have been severely affected by the storm. It’s high time for some bayanihan spirit and for the government to step up and help those who are in need.

A friend of mine commented in text message that it astounds him as Milenyo’s fury was unleashed full blast only last Thursday. After that, it was bright and sunny all over again, with a little rainshowers but hey, the storm is over. So how come power was still out?

I just replied to him that Milenyo was some mean and serious windbag. That’s why billboards and power poles have fallen down. The winds brought by Milenyo were just so strong, at 90mph in 10 minute averages, I’m not so much surprised that trees would be uprooted and power poles toppeled down. Still, reports say that even our weather guys are a bit puzzled by Milenyo’s behavior. Signs of global warming and climate change I suppose; but more on this at another time.

For now, off I go to give this public pc to another user whom I bet has already been itching to get his game up ang going.