Author: admin

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Appropriate Technology

A nice article on someone I have long admired. I do not want to get all ranty, but
I am from a very poor nation, and most people in my country survive with less than two dollars a day.
I also have been blessed enough to study at two Great institutions of learning in my country, PSHS and UP .
What studying in those institutions allowed me is to interact with a lot of people involved in Science, Technology and Engineering in my country.  What I is disheartening me a little is what I feel whenever I interact with a lot of them.
I don’t know what to call this but I’d christen it “If I Only Had” mentality. Many of my country’s STE people always think that they’d be able to do do (…. insert research etc) if “they only had” (…. insert state of the art equipment here). Its so frustrating hearing these people bemoaning the fact that they do not have the latest anything.
People need to remember that the constraints shape the outcome, but it cannot shape what is never started , what is never tried. I hear and see a lot of people acting like children trying to ask their parents for the newest toys and not doing what we used to do when I was a kid, either use my imagination to conjure castles and horses etc.
I wish they take the article below to heart.
PS: There are a lot of researchers who fall into the can do attitude group, I commend their efforts and wish them luck in their pursuits.
do read the whole thing ;
from here:

The Peruvian village of Compone lies 11,000 ft. above sea level in El Valle Sagrado de los Incas, the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Flat but ringed by mountains, the tallest capped year-round in snow and ice, the valley is graced with a mild climate and mineral-rich soil that for centuries has produced what the Incas called sara—corn.
The farmers of Compone feed corn to their livestock, grind it into meal, boil it for breakfast, lunch and dinner and stockpile it as insurance against future unknowns. They burn the corncobs, stripped of kernels, in the earthen stoves they use for cooking and to heat their homes.
It’s the stoves that worry Amy Smith. One morning, the 45-year-old inventor stands on the front lawn of the town’s community center, beside a 55-gal. drum packed with corncobs that is billowing smoke, a box of matches in her hand and dressed for comfort in faded jeans, avocado T-shirt and a baseball cap pulled over a thick curtain of dirty-blond hair. Smith is ringed by three dozen campesinos who make no move to dodge the lung-burning, eye-stinging cloud. If she just waited a few minutes, the embers would burst into flame on their own and the smoke would dissipate in the intense heat. Instead, she drops a match into the barrel, then jerks her hand back. Nothing happens.
Smith is trying to turn the cobs into charcoal. For an award-winning engineer from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, this would seem to be a humble goal. Wood charcoal has been in use for thousands of years. However, for many of the world’s poor, it can be a life-saving technology. Compone’s farmers are among the 800 million people worldwide who use raw biomass—agricultural waste, dung, straw—for fuel. Globally, smoke from indoor fires makes respiratory infections the leading cause of death for children under the age of 5, claiming more than a million young lives a year. Charcoal burns much more cleanly. “I don’t know how quickly we can change cooking habits here,” Smith says, “but I’d like to see people breathing less smoke inside their homes.”
A well-liked instructor at MIT and member of the Popular Mechanics editorial advisory board, Smith is a rising star in a field known as appropriate technology, which focuses on practical, usually small-scale designs to solve problems in the developing world. She has brought four undergrads to Compone, along with Jesse Austin-Breneman, an MIT graduate who works for a community organization in Peru, and one of her engineering collaborators, 53-year-old Gwyndaf Jones. To get here, the team has lugged bags of tools and low-tech gadgets, water-testing equipment and a heavy wooden crate bearing a pedal-powered grain mill more than 3500 miles in taxis, airplanes and buses.

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Paris Responds to McCain

See more funny videos at Funny or Die
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Bday ThanX!

It was my birthday last August 4, I just turned 25! yehey!
Some thanks are in order.
Thanks to Rainnier, Chuck and Pam for treating me on or before my bday.
Thanks to all those who greeted me!
Thanks to sir Jleg for the the greeting that made me stop and reflect here is the message;

Happy birthday, GIAN!
You are as young as your faith, as old as your doubt, as young as your self-confidence, as old as your fear, as young as your hope, as old as your despair. (Paul Duhn)
Have a great life ahead!
Sir Jleg

Thanks again to rainnier for greeting me a few minutes past midnight and To ate ritzel and bernard for greeting me a few minutes before my birthday ended!
The past year was full of new things like finally graduating, passing the Electrical Engineering board exams, finally working full time, getting fired , a few heartaches and a lot of overnights for work and fun!
To the people who was part of last year thank you!

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Fresh hostilities between AFP, MILF erupt in N Cotabato

this is sad but expected from gmanews here:

Fresh hostilities between AFP, MILF erupt in N Cotabato
08/08/2008 | 10:16 AM
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(Updated 11 a.m.) MANILA, Philippines – A predawn firefight between security forces and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels erupted in North Cotabato hours before the lapse of the government’s 24-hour deadline for the secessionist group to vacate certain areas in the province, military reports said.
Citing field reports, Army spokesman Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner said about 5 a.m., the Baliki detachment in Midsayap town was harassed by an undetermined number of MILF fighters headed by an unknown commander.
An ensuing firefight lasted for nearly two hours although there were no reported casualties on both sides, Brawner said.
A military intelligence report said about 6:30 a.m., one round of 81-mm mortar was fired by MILF elements toward the detachment.

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Sad State Of Philippine Politics

Its sad when you have a senator who got elected because his wife is a superstar.
Its sad when you have a senator few virtues is being a great action star.
Its sad when you have senators whose only contributions were low quality filibustering.
Its sad when you have a president who never follows the laws she doesn’t like.
Its sad when everyone is calling for a gas tax holiday.
Its sad when the media doesn’t even realize that a tax holidays is just a cash transfer to the oil companies.
Its sad when your country is being cut into two because of pressures from secessionist.
Its sad when the only reaction of your government to spiraling prices for foodstuffs is to increase income tax deductions.
Its even sadder when the tax cut isn’t being felt because your tax bureau is holding back the tax table causing the said tax cut to be useless.
to be continued…..
Maybe its universal .. from paul krugman here:

All this is in the past. But the state of the energy debate shows that Republicans, despite Mr. Bush’s plunge into record unpopularity and their defeat in 2006, still think that know-nothing politics works. And they may be right.

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NCotabato Seige continued

from here:
(emphasis is mine)
Puno also said the occupying forces had been involved in the burning of houses, destruction of plantations, looting, and cattle rustling, and had forced civilians to leave area. MILF attacks have also been recently reported in the towns of Pigkawayan and Northern Kabuntalan, he said.
More than 1,500 families or over 6,500 individuals have been displaced in the towns of Midsayap and Aliosan alone as a result of atrocities committed by forces illegally occupying these areas.
In the press briefing, Puno said that after the 24-hour period, the government will exhaust all peaceful means to address the situation, but stressed “we feel entitled and authorized to undertake whatever action is necessary.”
(candidate for understatement of the news cycle)
Puno said a joint police-military task force had been formed to lead the clearing of several barangays in North Cotabato forcibly occupied by alleged members of the MILF and to strictly enforce the law against the unauthorized carrying of firearms in these areas.
……….
(A denial that is expected, but is lacking in believability, damn where are the citizen reporters when we need news, not press releases)
On the other hand, MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu denied reports that its troops have forcibly occupied areas in North Cotabato. “Hindi nag-aagaw ang MILF ng lupain (The MILF does not occupy lands),” kabalu said in an interview on dzBB radio.
In the press briefing, Puno stressed that the order for the MILF to vacate the areas is not a declaration of war but “a declaration of the enforcement of the rule of law.”
For his part, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Hermogenes Esperon Jr said the actions are meant to stabilize the situation and put the rightful owners back to those lands. Esperon said the CCCHs will relay the NSC directives to the MILF side.
Defense Sec. Gilbert Teodoro Jr said the incident is not likely to impact the peace process with the MILF, saying the situation in North Cotabato is a “plain lawless incident.”
“It’s like syndicated squatting,” Teodoro said.

( Part of me understand why Teodoro released these statements but there must be a sense of accountability, tell us who they are, If they aren’t really part of your group.)
Also, Puno ordered the Philippine National Police to disarm civilian volunteer organizations particularly in Aleosan town moving openly with firearms.

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Phil Gov't Give Secessionist Group Deadline

The MILF another secessionist group that would like to create an Islamic State are back to their old ways.
THIS IS WRONG!!!
FROM HERE:

Gov’t gives MILF 24 hours to move out of NCotabato areas
08/07/2008 | 10:51 AM
Memorandum of Agreement on the Ancestral Domain Aspect of the GRP-MILF Tripoli Agreement on Peace of 2001
(Updated 2:05 p.m.) MANILA, Philippines – The government on Thursday gave the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) a 24-hour deadline to move out of several towns in North Cotabato that its forces had “forcibly taken.”
In a press conference at the Philippine National Police headquarters in Camp Crame, Interior Sec. Ronaldo Puno said the MILF’s occupation of several areas in North Cotabato was unacceptable and that the government will be compelled to use “whatever action is necessary” if the rebel forces refuse to leave the area within the deadline.
The decision – which was finalized Wednesday night following a meeting of the National Security Council – came amid an already tense situation in Mindanao over disagreements on the government’s ancestral domain agreement with the MILF, whose signing was halted by the Supreme Court.
Earlier in the day, Executive Sec. Eduardo Ermita disclosed reports of unrest in Mindanao although he did not give details on the report.
“Our peace advisers informed the International Monitoring Team and the combined Coordinating Committees for the Cessation of Hostilities. We are giving those individuals that forcibly occupied these areas 24 hours to vacate. Otherwise they shall be forcibly separated from the area. We cannot allow these things to happen,” Puno said.
“The 24-hour deadline will end at 10 a.m. tomorrow (Friday),” he added.
Puno said that since July 1, several barangays in North Cotabato towns were forcibly occupied by some 800 elements of the MILF, including villages in the municipalities of Aleosan, Libungan and Midsayap.

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Two Sides, Two Very Different Sides

This post on the meeting of Curtis and Michael as part of Michael’s yearlong research with Sudhir

Our journey begins with Michael and Curtis sharing a weekend together in Chicago. Each year I spend several continuous days with squatters to understand how they live on the streets. In Chicago public housing, squatters survive because some housing authority managers to pay them under-the-table to clean and fix the place — instead of unionized janitors. I learn a lot about the community by sleeping, eating, and otherwise hanging out with Curtis and his friends. This time, Michael joined me.
At noon on Saturday I asked Michael and Curtis: “With only $20, how will you survive for the weekend — from now, until Monday morning?” (Curtis and I agreed to exempt rent. It was hard enough using $20 to meet food and personal needs — Michael would never figure out how to squat.) Michael wouldn’t sleep at Curtis’s place — he stayed at the Four Seasons, but to his credit, he hung out in Curtis’s neighborhood.

Classic case of culture shock;

Meanwhile, Michael drove his rental car around the neighborhood. When he returned to meet us he was exasperated. “The food here is awful! No fruit, vegetables are moldy. Only meat, canned food, and soda. What do kids eat? The guy at the store told me no one would eat fruit unless it’s in a can. Is that true?”
Curtis shook his head. I told Michael, “When we get back to New York, I will talk with you about diet and quality of food availability in poor neighborhoods.”
But Michael was growing upset. “All I see are liquor stores and dollar stores and fast food. There was one guy who said he’d buy my food stamps — 50 cents for a dollar in stamps? How can people live like this?”
Curtis laughed. He asked Michael if he’d like some chicken and beans. Michael said, “No thank you,” and sat on the cold linoleum floor. He was silent.
“How much does a banana cost,” Curtis asked Michael. Michael looked embarrassed, unable to answer.
“You don’t know, do you!” Curtis laughed. “See fruit is expensive; raw food is too much for low income people. And we don’t always have a fridge, so you got to keep things in cans. That way it can move with you. And one thing you need to know: low income people always are on the move — not just squatters, all low income folks.”
Michael started to write on paper and looked at me, as if to ask for permission. Curtis told him he could take notes freely.

This makes me think that maybe just maybe Michael could start shelters that close later when it’s not as cold:

“Why not stay at a shelter?” Michael asked.
“Not enough of them around,” Curtis replied. “And you have to be out by 6 a.m. If you got kids, you can’t take them out in the cold. So you stay in a store, or you stay in a vacant building. And no more food kitchens since the projects went down. Not a lot for poor people.”

reading his vaguely reminds me of the beginning of Dr Randy Paush’s last lecture.  “Don’t pity me not unless you can do…..”

Curtis then took out a cigarette. “See this? Always have a loose cigarette. You can always use a bathroom in somebody’s house — maybe even get a shower — for one. Maybe your kid took a dump in his pants. Maybe you need some toilet tissue. Always keep a cigarette for emergencies.”
Curtis cooked another plate of chicken and beans. He was about to eat it, but once again he offered it to Michael. This time Michael accepted. Michael looked overwhelmed; his face was perspiring. Curtis refilled his coffee and gave Michael one of his cigarettes to calm him down.
“Not everyone lives like this,” I said. “And don’t feel bad for Curtis.”
“No!” Curtis exclaimed. “Don’t pity me,” he said, pouring some whiskey in Michael’s coffee. “This will help you sleep tonight …” Curtis lit a cigarette and leaned back on his busted plastic chair. “Just understand that you got to be creative. Even if you got a home, you still got to pay rent — so you take in somebody now and then. Maybe you let your friend stay in the house and they watch your kid, or clean up, or pay you …” Curtis kept on talking. Michael kept on eating.

The triumph of the human spirit. I have to go now, this is slowly bringing me to tears and this is embarrassing because I’m in my cubicle.
PS:
Juxtapose this with an article that made me realize that a lot o rich people have no idea how large a role the environment they had played in their fortunes.
article here:

It is true that the larger a household’s annual income, the more likely the household will give money to charity. Half the households in the top 10% of the income distribution make charitable donations, but only one in six of the bottom 10%. But there is a twist in the figures. The worse off give proportionately more of their income. The top fifth of households give less than 1% of their total income, while the poorest 10th give three times as much, or 3% of their income.

I once noticed a boss and his underling walk past a disfigured kid begging for alms, guess who gave who some money and I was behind them so I know they weren’t sharing their charitable act.