19 references you can’t do without

A friend send this over …

Bartleby — Famous quotes and full poetry texts

Citizendium — More “professional” Wikipedia, although usually not as detailed

Answers.com — Makes use of the information on Wikipedia and many other reference sites to become a one stop shop

ePodunk — Information about cities and places

Encyclopedia Britannica — An excellent source of information, and much more authoritative than Wikipedia.

Scholarpedia — A step up from both Wikipedia and Citizendium in terms of scholarly respectability; the articles are all written by experts with peer review

JSTOR (limited access; talk to your school or library) — All those stuffy journals around your professor’s office, and articles in your course packets

Oxford English Dictionary (limited access; talk to your school or library) — The definitive resource when it comes to the English language

Wikiseek — Wikipedia with a better search engine

Online Education Database — Over 100 specific search and research tools, often relevant to specific subjects

MathWorld — Everything mathematics from Geometry to Calculus is covered in great detail

GeoHive and Fedstats — Public access to public agency statistics

Theoi and Encyclopedia of Mythology — Excellent resources on the subject of mythology and ancient religions

Glossary of Poetic Forms — You too can know the difference between a Canto and a Cento

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy and Foldop — Excellent sources on just about anything philosophy related

Religion Online — An excellent, excellent resource filled with many primary texts

manila ocean park - update 2

An announcement taken from a mailing list I subscribe to dated 03/01/2008 23:27: 

The Manila Ocean Park is currently looking for part-time tour guides, weekends-only shifts.  Applicants, just bring your resume, we are located behind Quirino Grandstand on Roxas Blvd.  You may come from Mon-Fri, 9am-4pm.  Limited slots only.  Thank you.

Jappy Lim
Programs Facilitator
Manila Ocean Park

installing an old friend

Recently, I re-installed Skype after not having it for years.  Back in the day of dial-up connections, it really wasn’t worth having it because of the slow connection offered us.  Video was impossible - quite jerky.  With reasonable DSL and Cable connections available today, coupled with low web-cam and microphone prices, it’s a tool worth having.

If you check out their Skypeout (a feature to call other phones) rates, it just costs US$0.021/minute (plus a connection fee of US$0.039) to call the USA compared to US$0.40/minute charged by local telephone/mobile operators.

If you make a 30 minute call to a US number, it’ll only cost you US$0.669 … at P40/US$1, that’s P26.76 … imagine that!  Don’t forget that Skype to Skype calls are FREE!!!

I don’t work for Skype or am related to any one in the company.  I just want to share something that I find to be a great product.

sQuba underwater car

Here’s something that every diver would probably want … I know I would: Underwater Car.

Here’s a blurb:

An underwater car, based on a James Bond film, has been unveiled in Switzerland. The amphibious two-seater has been made from a Lotus Elise, with three electric motors replacing the petrol engine—one powers the back wheels, while the other two work the specially designed propellers.

Top speed is 75mph on land, 4mph on water and 2mph below the surface. The zero-emission vehicle is powered by rechargeable li-ion batteries, dives to 10 meters and can stay underwater for up to two hours. Costing almost $1.5 million to build, the sQuba concept car will be on show at next month’s Geneva Motor Show.

And if you run out of power during a dive, the car can always become an artificial reef …

manila ocean park - update 1

Here’s an announcement I received through one of the mailing lists I subscribe to:

Hello everyone! Our website is up and working! Go to www.manilaoceanpark.com.

Also, for job inquiries and applications, please send email to hrd@manilaoceanpark.com (NOT hrm@manila…)

I have been told that we will be opening by the last weekend of February.

Thank you.

Jappy Lim
Programs Facilitator
Manila Ocean Park

whale shark caught in cargo ship’s rear

By Jolene Bulambot
Visayas Bureau
Posted date: January 07, 2008
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/regions/view_article.php?article_id=110902

CEBU CITY, Philippines — A dead whale shark was found caught in the rear part of an international cargo vessel that arrived at the Cebu International Port (CIP) here early morning Monday.

Quarantine officials of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) found the dead whale shark caught in the “icebreaker” of the M/V Elena during the inspection of the vessel when it docked at CIP at 2 a.m. Monday.

The icebreaker is a curved portion at the back of the ship, BFAR and arrastre officials explained.

Lourdes Arciaga, BFAR Central Visayas spokesperson, said they believe the adult whale shark accidentally crashed into the vessel’s icebreaker somewhere in the Sulu Sea or in the seas between Bohol and Misamis Oriental.

It took BFAR officials an hour to extricate the whale shark’s carcass from the vessel’s icebreaker with a cable.

The whale shark, a male, was 7.4 meters long with a body span of 3.4 meters and in the early stage of decomposition, BFAR officials said.

“We believe that the whale shark could have come from the Sulu Sea between the seas of Negros, Bohol or Mindanao because there is an abundant population of whale sharks there. We believe it was just an accident. We don’t think the vessel has a liability,” Arciaga said.

Jun Aui, the vessel’s chief mate, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer (parent company of INQUIRER.net), that they were surprised to learn a whale shark was trapped in the icebreaker.

Aui said the vessel came from Singapore and entered the Sulu Sea on its way to Cebu City, from where it would proceed to General Santos City.

“It [whale shark] was just there. There were strong waves we encountered so we could not notice any bump…” he said.

BFAR veterinarian Thomas Cuyos said whale sharks, considered an endangered species, are found in Visayan waters, particularly in Bohol.

Cuyos said they would get tissue samples to determine the age of the whale shark and then bury the carcass to preserve the bones, which will later be used for laboratory studies.

©Copyright 2001-2008 INQUIRER.net, An Inquirer Company

vote for tubbataha - new7wonders.com

The new seven wonders of the world have been selected and officially recognized last July 2007.  They are currently seeking votes where the new 7 wonders of the world shall be determined.  The Philippines’ Tubbataha Reef in Palawan is a nominee.

Please support our nominee.

For those that don’t dive, here’s a short blurb taken from the Tubbataha Reef site:

“Tubbataha is a reef ecosystem made up of two atolls located in the middle of the Sulu Sea. It is a sanctuary for marine life. The reefs lie on the Cagayan Ridge, a line of extinct underwater volcanoes which starts from the north at the Sultana Shoal and ends in the south at the San Miguel Islands. It is located 92 nautical miles southeast of Puerto Princesa City, Palawan and 80 nautical miles southwest of Cagayancillo, the municipality that exercises political jurisdiction over it. It was proclaimed as a National Marine Park on August 11, 1988 and inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage in 1993, in recognition of its outstanding universal value in terms of marine life species diversity and richness.”

You can vote for our nominee HERE… or click on the link below:

http://www.new7wonders.com/nature/en/nominees/asia/c/TubbatahaReefReef/

manila ocean park

Manila Ocean Park is currently looking for SCUBA divers to help with the maintenance (fish feeding, fish poop cleaning, algae scraping, etc) of all the tanks. It will be a contractual position, full time, for 3 months, with contract renewal subject to performance and the needs of the oceanarium at that time. Some requirements:

- licensed SCUBA diver with all his/her own gear. At least 50 dives logged.
- physically fit
- will not hesitate to get dirty (and I mean DIRTY)
- willing to work weekends and holidays; also, overnight if necessary
- works well with others
- available to work ASAP
- background in marine biology/ecology definitely a plus but not a requirement

Any and all interested applicants please come to the China-Oceanis office, behind Quirino Grandstand on Roxas Blvd, this Monday, Jan 7 at 9am. Bring your CVs and C-cards. Kindly let me know off-list if you’re coming by Sunday.

Jappy Lim
Marine Aquarist
Manila Ocean Park

wa-ta-trip-hkg

For the first time ever (at least for me), I travelled with practically the entire clan.  What makes it special is that we were spending New Year’s out of the country.  At the onset, I already knew that there would be many problems, dissolution’s, and trials.  I also reminded myself that there would be a lot of wonderful moments with the family.

The family is large … counting up to the second degree is large enough for me.  Actually, its not large … its the individuals and their characters that make it seem large.  After all, 16 personalities on a trip is something to deal with.  If you knew my family, you’d understand that it’s impossible to get these many people to move as one …

With all its ups and downs … the trip went well.  I was expecting a lot worse.  I was the designated “tour guide” and coordinator and that made some moments HELL!!!

Looking back, I cherished every single moment and wished I could rewind and tried to schedule things better.  It was a toss up between the family and the two loves of my life - Len and Ira (my princess).  Of course, in terms of conflict, the two ladies won … but I still tried to squeeze a sister, cousin or niece there somewhere.

All in all … it was great … moments cherished forever … smiles and tears seen, heartaches heard, tummies filled, shopping accomplished.

Everybody got home safe and sound … thank God …

I wonder where the next adventure will be …

new year away

In another miracle … we are going to spend New Year’s away from Manila.  The first time was 2004-2005 … it was just my family … the Wife and Daughter.  This time it’s like a major production … the entire (well almost) family … 16 pax in total.

We’re spending it in Hong Kong … land of delicious cuisine … endless shopping and never ending walking … great!!!  There’s even a day-trip for Macau … I’m totally looking forward to the munching happening there…

I also just found out that the HKG government is planning a cool countdown which I am looking forward to … add the cold air temperature (this also depends on where you’re from) forcasted for New Year’s Eve (11-15°C).

This ought to be a test of patience and logistics for the trip … I hope and pray that all goes well.  Needless to say … there will be a report when I come back …

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE …