RANDOM NOTHINGNESS

If you run after things, nothing will come to you.  The sea never sends and invitation to the rivers.  That's why they run to the sea.  The sea is content.  It doesn't need anything.  That's the secret in life.  Happiness is the absence of the striving for happiness.

                                                                                                         - Chuang Tzu

In 1901 a curious mechanism was recovered from the Antikythera Shipwreck.   An analog computer built to calculate astronomical positions, its time of construction is now estimated to be between 150 and 100 BCE.   2000 years later, the mechanism was rebuilt using Lego.  Watch the whats and hows of the Antikythera Mechanism in this video :)



The Antikythera Mechanism in Lego from Small Mammal on Vimeo.

lit's only yesterday from the very first time i became a patient of my doctor (way back 2008) that i noticed this at the reception area of his office:



an A0 sized cork board full of keychains from different places.  i was amazed by the sheer volume of keychains attached to the board that i had to take a picture of it.  i know from our conversations that he has traveled to different  countries to train other doctors or visit factories where he can source newly developed medicines fro his patients.  i just didn't realize it's that many until i saw the board.

after my doctor's appointment, my mom and i had lunch at mang inasal.  i've eaten at mang inasal before but it's the first time i noticed those wriggly, very thin strands of worm-like creatures inhabiting the vinegar. i noticed i've been staring a lot at fixed objects so much lately. that's probably why i chanced upon those little critters swimming around the vinegar.  anyway, i called the manager and inquired what those wriggly critters are.  turns out, he doesn't know what they are called, but he assured that it's safe to use the vinegar.  those critters are part of the fermentation process because they are using natural vinegar from coconut.  a few inquiries with mr. google and i found out what those little organisms are: they are vinegar eels (Turbatrix aceti).  they are in there for a reason.  they eat the microbial culture used to make vinegar and then die off once all the bacteria has been consumed. the presence of both the eels and the bacterial culture in the vinegar are not harmful, still it's ewwwness.   from now on, i won't be eating mang inasal vinegar.  just the idea of all those squirming little critters moving inside my mouth gives me goosebumps.  i wasn't able to take a picture of the wriggly fellows but i found this at youtube:



another ewww-worthy addition to my day yesterday was this woman.  we saw her on our way to my qc apartment so i can get some stuff that i'll be needing for my next trip back to work.  she was puking non-stop from baclaran, up to the pearl of the orient building.  outside the window of their very new vehicle.  we had to change lanes and slow down a lot so we can avoid catching all those vomit she was carelessly spitting out.  her companions should have been very horrified/embarrassed by her public display of grossness.

I was supposed to go to the mall on the 11th to buy a PS3 for someone who really wants it.  Oh well, just enjoy your flash games for now.

comics from xkcd

“Mamihlapinatapai: A look shared by two people with each wishing that the other will initiate something that both desire but which neither one wants to start.”

Fallen from Sascha Geddert on Vimeo.

i'm in the mood to update this blog today.

it's another lazy saturday.  the skies are gray and it's relatively cool today.  i opted not to go home to the province in hopes of having a good long rest today.  i woke up to the sound of birds chirping (although i live in the city, there is a patch of land in front of my apartment cluttered with trees and shrubs which is home to several birds (and mosquitoes during rainy season).  oh, and my next door neighbor breeds lovebirds).

i had a breakfast of toast with butter and strawberry jam, care of my dear housemates.  lunch was left-over fish tinola on rice, some watermelon and a flavorful almond-vanilla ice cream for dessert (thanks to my housemate's friend), some orange juice, and finally, freshly steeped lemon tea (from thailand, care of jan).

maybe later i'll go out and watch a movie or do some shopping.  and then start reading this operations manual for the equipment and software that i'll be using for my new job.

ah, life.

it's been what?  two months? since i last wrote an entry here.   been busy lately.  will be working abroad soon.  for those who want me away, don't be too happy just yet, i'll still be in the country most of the time.  i'll be out 24 days (work) and be back in the country for 18 days (vacation); go back abroad for 24 days (work), back to the Philippines for 18 (vacation) *repeat for a total of two years.  talk about being a jet setter. 

oh well, i need to make money for plans i've set up for the future.

take a look at these photos taken from the presently erupting Ejafjallajokull (ay-yah-FYAH-lah-yer-kuhl) volcano in Iceland: