Category: General

Deuts.net No. 100

It must have been awhile, and now, I’m on my 100th entry on this site. It’s amazing looking at how this thing has even started.

The Start

It was around last year when I was looking for a way by which I can save my bookmarks (or favorites in internet explorer) so that I can access them in whichever machine I’m working on. I had my computer reformatted that time, and I had to add the websites that I frequented for quick access.

I was thinking if I could have a customized website where all my bookmarks, shortcuts to my favorite sites (e.g., email, personal internet banking, chessworld.net, etc.) are immediately available, it would definitely help speed up my online browsing. I googled “free website”, and it led me to the best user-friendly, free webhost so far then — Yahoo! Geocities. (Unfortunately, I didn’t happen to stumble upon the various bookmarking tools like Delicious, not even the much simpler ones like My Yahoo!, Personalized Google Homepage, etc.)

What made geocities most viable is the handiness of the site builder. At least, I didn’t need to have knowledge of html encoding (although eventually, I decided I needed at least the basic commands so I tried studying them, I even bought a book for html that I didn’t finish reading at all).

So what have I got back then? Presenting…. the J.O. TUVILLO & CO. website.

jotuvilloco.jpg
Continue reading Deuts.net No. 100

Eid ul-Fitr

It is an Islamic holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the month of fasting. Fitr means “to break” and therefore symbolizes the breaking of the fasting period and of all sinful habits. The detail of the significance of this holiday and its celebration I’ll simply leave to wikipedia to explain.

To the muslims, this could mean a very special day. To non-muslims like us, though, especially living in this Muslim country, it means a long weekend, a long holiday, a long rest…. ahhhhhh!

From October 20th to 28th, 2006, work day is only on the 26th. Regular office days resume on the 29th.

Aswang Festival

ROXAS City – There’s no stopping the controversial Aswang Festival. The organizer — the Dugo Capiznon Inc. (DCI) says will not succumb to public pressure and will stage the third edition of the event on October 27 and 28 as a pre-Halloween activity.

Last year, the festival faced stiff opposition mainly from the religious sector of Capiz but DCI managed to stage it.

In Philippine folklore, “aswang” (witch) is a visceral, sucking creature that flies at night in search of human internal organs, fetuses and infants. And for much of its existence as a province, Capiz has been unluckily associated with the “aswang”.

DCI ” a group of young and creative Capiceños — wants to make something positive out of this “negative” impression on Capiz. Its Aswang Festival capitalizes on the stigma to “sell” Capiz as in fact a “bewitching” or attractive place for tourists and investors.

Source

I don’t think the end justifies the means in this case. Surely, the rest will be left to everyone’s (a foreigner to Capiz) imagination.

The Math Grid

It has been say almost 20 years since I first learned arithmetic. Yet, I could still feel the agony of solving those 100 items each for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

Almost the same items or questions were given from grade 2 to grade 4, yet I only mastered arithmetic on the 4th grade. Of course, the most complex of the four process is multiplication, especially when it involves 2-digit factors (multiplier or multiplicand, see i can still remember those terms…:LOL:), much more with higher-digit factors.

Well, the diagram below offers an alternative way of solving multiplication probles involving 2 or more digit factors. Easy? Yeah, I think it’s interesting.

the math grid

PS: Did you know what helped me become quick at addition when I was yet learning arithmetic? It’s a secret, ok? I used to play “Lucky 9” when I was small…:LOL:

Retake of the 2006 Nursing Exam

In a bid to redeem the sullied integrity of the country’s nursing profession and the professional licensure examinations, President Arroyo has ordered a retake of the June 2006 nursing tests which were earlier marred by leakage.
Read the news. (Update: Nevermind reading that Manila Bulletin article. It’s broken. I think their server can’t handle old articles. That’s what you call a newspaper of national circulation. After you read the paper, you throw it away. They thought the same is applicable in online publication! How pity!)

In a way, maybe. But the question is why it took the President too long to decide on this matter? The exam was in June, and her order comes in September? Okay, maybe she was awaiting the result of the investigation (by the NBI?). Now another question arises, “What was the result of the investigation?” Why don’t they make it black and white. Did the investigation proved that there was indeed a leakage or otherwise?

Looking deeper into this matter, has this practice been happening before? And since when?

In order to restore public confidence in new nursing graduates as well as the conduct of the licensure exams in the country, there has got to be a clear result, a vantage point at which we (Filipinos and foreigners alike) can share a common perspective on this incident. From then on, we can form our own opinion and judgment.

Fortunately, this did not happen to the accountancy profession…(knock on wood!)

Ramadan – The Month of Blessing

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic Calendar, which each month begins with the sighting of the new moon. Basically, Ramadan is one whole month.

Muslims believe that during the month of Ramadan, Allah revealed the first verses of the Qur’an, the holy book of the Islam.

mosque

Continue reading Ramadan – The Month of Blessing

Faith, Reason and the University

On his lecture last September 12, 2006 regarding “Faith, Reason and the University” in the University of Regensburg, where he was formerly a professor, Pope Benedict XVI quoted the opinion of Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos, saying:

Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.

pope.jpgThe quotation from this medieval text drew condemnation from a number of individual governmental representatives and various muslim religious leaders urging the Pope to retract his statement and issue an apology about it. Two cases of bomb attacks in churches in the West Bank in Germany were said to be linked to that statement.

On September 17, Pope Benedict publicly expressed that he was “sorrowed” by the reactions in some countries and stressed that the words which ‘were considered offensive’ were not his own, but were quoted from a medieval text.

Continue reading Faith, Reason and the University