Funky New Clock

The Puzzle Alarm Clock won’t leave you puzzled, but it will leave you wide awake. Reminiscent of the popular toy that you played with when you were a kid that required you to put different shaped pieces into their matching holes, the Puzzle Alarm Clock awakens you to a rocking sound and then fires the puzzle pieces off the clock. The only way to shut off the alarm is to snap each piece back into place. You will not fall back asleep after you have climbed under your bed to grab that last puzzle piece! Nope, you can’t unplug the darn thing to shut off the alarm: you need to complete the puzzle (battery operated). Find it at urbantrendhk.com

The World's 7-Star Hotel

Acknowledged as the best hotel in the world. Designed to resemble a billowing sail, the hotel soars to a height of 321 metres, dominating the Dubai coastline. At night, it offers an unforgettable sight, surrounded by choreographed colour sculptures of water and fire. This all-suite hotel reflects the finest that the world has to offer.

With your chauffeur driven Rolls Royce, discreet in-suite check in, private reception desk on every floor and a brigade of highly trained butlers who provide around-the-clock attention, you can be assured of a highly personalized service throughout your stay.

The Burj Al Arab has attracted criticism as well as praise, described as "a contradiction of sorts, considering how well-designed and impressive the construction ultimately proves to be." The contradiction here seems to be related to the hotel’s extreme opulence. "This extraordinary investment in state-of-the-art construction technology stretches the limits of the ambitious urban imagination in an exercise that is largely due to the power of excessive wealth."

Another critic includes the city of Dubai as well: "both the hotel and the city, after all, are monuments to the triumph of money over practicality. Both elevate style over substance." Yet another: "Emulating the quality of palatial interiors, in an expression of wealth for the mainstream, a theater of opulence is created in Burj Al Arab … The result is a baroque effect". Sam Wollaston writing in The Guardian described the Burj as "...fabulous, hideous, and the very pinnacle of tackiness - like Vegas after a serious, no-expense-spared, sheik-over".

I'm Glad I Am an IT Graduate!

Recently, I received email letter from an IT firm here in Davao, Although I already have a job, I still submitted my application and CV to the company who emailed me, the positions available are mostly for IT related course.
In a news published by one of the national news paper, one article cited that based on the current survey, Philippines will need at least 100,000 IT professionals, for different IT related jobs, by the year 2010, it is based on the demand for the the said field. Wow! I'm glad I'm one of the IT graduate, the opportunity are countless!

Bird's Nest - The Beijing 2008 Olympic Stadium

Design:

In 2002, Government officials engaged architects worldwide in a design competition. Pritzker Prize-winning architects Herzog & de Meuron collaborated with ArupSport and China Architecture Design & Research Group to win the competition. Contemporary Chinese artist, Ai Weiwei, is the Artistic Consultant for design. The ground was broken on Christmas Eve December 2003, and construction started in March 2004, but was halted by the high construction cost in August 2004 and continued again. In January 2008, concerns about construction working conditions arose when it was revealed that at least 10 workers had died during the stadium's construction. Controversy also surrounded the alleged forced evictions of many residents so the construction could go ahead.

Capacity:

The stadium can seat as many as 91,000 spectators during the Olympics. The capacity will then be reduced to 80,000 after the Games. It has replaced the original intended venue of the Guangdong Olympic Stadium The stadium is 330 meters long by 220 meters wide, and is 69.2 meters tall. The stadium uses 258,000 square meters of space and has a usable area of 204,000 square meters. It was built with 36 km of unwrapped steel, with a combined weight of 45,000 tons. The stadium has some 11,000 square meters of underground rooms with waterproof walls. The stadium will cost up to 3.5 billion Yuan.

Source:Wikipedia

Space Party

This weekend sees the celebration of Cosmonautics Day in Russia and the 8th Annual ‘Yuri’s Night’, which celebrates the anniversary of both the first time a human was launched into space (cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin in 1961) and the first Space Shuttle Launch (in 1981). ‘Yuri’s Night’ aims to raise global public interest in space exploration and inspire a new generation of space explorers all over the world. Space travel and exploration has come a long way in the past 47 years and here are some records to show this:

Longest solo spaceflight
The longest duration spaceflight with a single person on board was the flight of Vostok 5, piloted by Soviet cosmonaut Valery Bykovsky. It was launched on 14 June 1963 and landed on 19 June 1963 with a total mission elapsed time of 4 days 23 hr 7 min.

Longest mission by a space suit
On 3 February 2006 Russian cosmonaut Valery Tokarev and U.S. astronaut Bill McArthur jettisoned an old Russian Orlan M spacesuit from the International Space Station. Equipped with a transmitter, 'SuitSat-1' broadcasted nearly 3,500 radio messages and data on the temperature inside the suit which were picked up by amateur radio operators on Earth. The last transmission from SuitSat-1 was received on 18 February 2006, shortly before its onboard battery became depleted.

Most spacewalks by one person
The greatest number of spacewalks is ten, totalling 31h 37m by Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Serebrov (b. 15 Feb 1944) during Soyuz TM-8 (launched 5 Sept 1989 - the five spacewalks took place in Jan/Feb 1990) and Soyuz TM-17 (launched 1 July 1993 - the five spacewalks took place in Sept/Oct 1993).

Most time spent in space
The most time spent in space by an individual is 803 days 9 hours and 39 minutes, by Sergei Krikalev (Russia). He was selected as a cosmonaut in 1985 and has since completed six spaceflights. His most recent flight, as commander of the International Space Station, began on 14 April 2005 and ended on 10 October 2005.

Earliest commercial filmed in space
An advertising campaign for Tnuva Milk, showing cosmonaut Vasily Tsibliyev drinking milk aboard the Russian Mir space station, was broadcast on 22 August 1997.

source: Guinness World Record

World Health Day

World Health Day is celebrated every year on 7th April - the anniversary of the first World Health Assembly in 1948, which also saw the formation of the World Health Organisation. The WHO is the authority on international public health and here are some of their findings:

Deadliest disease
Based on estimates from the United Nations Health Report 2004, a total of 57 million people died of numerous causes in 2002. Of this total, the disease which killed the most people was ischaemic heart disease with an estimated 7.2 million deaths (or 12.6% of the total). Amongst communicable diseases, HIV/AIDs caused the highest with 2.8 million deaths (4.9% of the total).

Commonest disease (non-contagious)
Periodontal diseases, such as gingivitis (inflammation of the gums) are the most prevalent of all non-contagious diseases, affecting approximately 75% of the US population, for example. Although the distribution and severity varies regionally around the world, according to the World Health Organisation 60-90% of school children and the majority of adults in industrialised countries are affected by dental diseases.

Highest budget for health care (country)
According to a World Health Organization report, the United States government spent $5,274 (then £3,480) per citizen on health care in 2002.

Most common cause of death
According to the latest World Health Organization figures, the most common cause of death, globally, is cardiovascular disease, which in 2005 caused the deaths of approximately 17.5 million people (equivalent to 30 per cent of all deaths). Of this figure, 7.6 million were due to heart attacks and 5.7 million were caused by strokes; 80 per cent of the deaths occured in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). Unless improvements are made, cardiovascular disease is set to remain the leading cause of death, with projections of 20 million deaths occurring annually, by 2015.

Most successful immunization
The World Health Organization declared the world free of smallpox from 1 January 1980. Formerly one of the worlds deadliest plagues (it caused an estimated 2 million deaths per annum in the mid-1960s), smallpox was eradicated by the availability of one type of vaccine that was effective against all forms of smallpox. The eradication project involved following up all contacts of every individual and vaccinating them.
Source: Guinness World Record

The Best Automobile Insurance

Attention, for the drivers and car owners out there, this is best for you! There is a company that provides the best competitive and affordable car insurance rates or auto rate for your car and other commercial vehicles. They call this Advantage Insurance Quoting system that allows insurance companies to compete just to give you the best insurance policies. They offer the best rates and cheapest most affordable auto insurance policies for all types of commercial vehicles. And plus, if you have an excellent driving record with no accidents or points, you will qualify for the lowest and most affordable plans.

They also offer insurance for all car makers and car models whether it is a car, truck or SUV. They can find you the best rates on auto insurance from a reputable and reliable insurer. And, if you are a good driver, zero records on accidents, you can have the best reason to avail their lowest cost rates on their car insurance. All insurance companies reward good drivers with excellent driving records.

The company offers three types of automobile insurance, and each type has specific terms of conditions. Fully comprehensive auto insurance policies are the most common type. Comprehensive coverage protects owners in every type of car accident, but no matter what type of auto insurance you decide to buy, the company can search the industry to bring you the cheapest and best rates available for your vehicle.

World's Tallest Building - Taipei 101

Taipei 101, in the Hsinyi dist., Taipei, Taiwan; also known as the Taipei Financial Center. With 101 stories and reaching 1,671 ft (509 m) high, Taipei 101 became the world's tallest building when it was topped out in 2003, surpassing the Petronas Towers; construction, which began in 1999, was completed in 2004. Designed by C. Y. Lee & Partners, the multiuse steel-and-glass skyscraper echoes a traditional Chinese pagoda with its soaring podium base, eight tiers of eight stories (a number that is a homophone for prosperous growth in Chinese), and narrow pinnacle tower and spire. A 18-ft (5.5-m), 882-ton (800-metric-ton), ball-shaped damper located near the top counteracts swaying during earthquakes and typhoons.

The Rocker

"The Rocker" tells the story of a failed drummer (Rainn Wilson) who is given a second chance at fame. Robert "Fish" Fishman is the extremely dedicated and astoundingly passionate drummer for the eighties hair band Vesuvius, who is living the rock n' roll dream until he is unceremoniously kicked out of the band. Twenty years after his rock star fantasies are destroyed, just when Fish has finally given up all hope, he hears that his nephew's high school rock band A.D.D. is looking for a new drummer. They reluctantly make him the newest member of the band, giving him a chance to reclaim the rock God throne he's always thought he deserved, and taking the young band along for the ride of their lives.

STARRING: Rainn Wilson, Christina Applegate, Jeff Garlin, Emma Stone, Teddy Geiger, Jason Sudeikis, Jane Lynch, Demetri Martin
DIRECTOR: Peter Cattaneo
STUDIO: Fox Atomic

Accepted!!!

I've been in Digos City early this morning for a job interview, I arrived at exactly 9:40 am and after 15 mins, I was called, It was my turn. it long only for 10 mins and I requested to see the structure of the computer laboratory. few moments of exchanging words, the principal told me that she really accepts me because they really need my services as a computer laboratory In-charge and at the same time a computer teacher, she request me to start as early as I can, but i replied that, I promised our superior in UIC that I will render my service until the last week of May. I was really happy though I doubtful if I can teach better, my students will be all the high school students of that school, but on the other part, I'm comportable enough, based on my knowledge and abilities, I think, I can. I was really happy becasue I have my job now, I have my own source of income. I can help my mother to re open her small sari-sari store. And most of all, I have now a clear income, in preparation for this coming October.

Another Journey

Last night I made my final decision on where should I go after staying here in this campus for 5 years. I will accept the job offered to me by the administrator in a school in the other city, for 3 main reasons;
First, I need to find a job as early as I can so that I can help my lovely mother to re open her small sari-sari store in our place. Since among the 5 siblings I am the only one who still single, and my mother has great expectation on me. This the main reason why I pursue my ambition to continue my studies.
Second, my girlfriend is working as a teacher in that school, I no longer spend P200.00 for fare every time I visit her.
The last one is that, we're getting married this coming October, and I need a lot of preparations for that.
This work was offered to me a month before my graduation, but I did not make any decision regarding this, because I thought I can work here in this school, but since I figured it out that it is impossible for to get work here, I made my final decision.
The school administrator also told me to find other one who will teach computer subjects for high school. So, for those who are interested teaching computer subjects for high school with me, just post your comment. (^=^).

My Last Speech Being A Student Assistant

Today the Student Assistant AKA working student we're having an activity called "A tribute to the SA graduates", as one of the member that recently graduated, I'll be given a chance to say or to talk to them, how to become successful being SA. I never prepared any letter to other preparation, What I'm going to say is everything that happened to me for the last 5 years of being a student assistant in this university. Everything both negative and positive. Everything that They can learn from me. There's so many things I'm going to say actually. I hope I can overcome my emotions so that no tears will fall from my eyes. If I'm going to recall everything that happened to me for the last 5 years, I can say that, I have strong determination, fighting spirit and courage that's why I able to graduate despite of negative happenings to me. Now I have to face another stage of my journey, and I'm sure I can be a successful professional whatever obstacle that I may be encounter in my journey.