Time for the Joke of the Month from Comedy Plus

It has been a while since I have posted a joke in this site. This one is titled Underwear Dust from Sandee Comedy Plus. Enjoy!

One evening a husband, thinking he was being funny, said to his wife, 'Perhaps we should start washing your clothes in 'Slim Fast'. Maybe it would take a few inches off of your butt!'

His wife was not amused, and decided that she simply couldn't let such a comment go unrewarded.

The next morning the husband took a pair of underwear out of his drawer. 'What the heck is this?' he said to himself as a little 'dust' cloud appeared when he shook them out.

'Cathy, he hollered into the bathroom, 'Why did you put talcum powder in my underwear?'

She replied with a snicker. 'It's not talcum powder; it's 'Miracle Grow'!

Hat tip: Dr. Vern

Comments to Marinduque Rising, Power Double Talk Article

Candle Power

The following are comments from the recent article titled Power Double Talk that I
re posted in my blog recently. My comments on #2 are in bold.

1. Marinduquenos cannot blame anyone but themselves because they were the one who elected public officials that governed the province. People of Marinduque knew that these government was futile and incapable of dealing with the constituents basic need (including power crisis) and yet they gave these officials a "red carpet" to the public office when they casted their vote, so why complained now.???

2. What about renewable energy? Sa San Fernando (Sibuyan Island) Romblon may mini hydro that generates 900kw. May ilog sa itaas ng bundok katabi ng talampas. Binakuran para mag impound ng tubig at saka linagan ng 2 tubo na me lapad ng 3 katao naghahawak kamay. Ang tubig ay dumadaloy sa tubo na nakalagay sa gilid ng talampas at bumabagsak ito na me lalim ng 3 layugan. Sa pagbagsak ng tubig sinasambot ito ng 2turbinang inangkat sa China (me pahintulot ang DOE sa pag import nito kaya tariff at custom duty free) ang pwersa nakukuha sa pagbagsak ng tubig ang syang pinagmumulang ng 900kw. OO maliit ang 900kw sa pangangailangan ng sibuyan island me me kabuohang 1.3mw pangangailangan sa enerhiya sa gabi (700kw sa umaga) pero halos wala silang brownout di gaya sa Marinduque Island na hanggang ngayon ay busy pa rin sa pagtatalo na posibleng umabot sa 1 siglo.

Ang teknolohiya ngayon ay umunlad ng malayo kung ikukompara sa nagdaang o mga nagdaang dekada. Ng minsang napadpad ako sa DBP boardroom nun 2006 para sa isang meeting on dbp forest project, napansin ko me blue map nakadisplay sa wall at ito ay wind and diesel turbine plants around Marinduque, Romblon, at Mindoro Island. Para sa Marinduque me 2 wind/diesel plant nakatutok sa ibabang parte ng Torrijos halos gilid ng Malindig. D ko lang naitanong kung me taker sa project na ito. Inisip ko lang WOW nasa RE investment map pala ang ilang probinsya sa MIMAROPA.

At isa pa. Sa campus ng Romblon State University (RSU) me research facility (Nursery) on Beema Bamboo sila. Sa loob ng 2 taon pinag aralan nila ang acclimatization ng Indian bamboo na ito sa kondisyon ng panahon at agronomiya sa Pilipinas. Naging matagumpay ang research at nagkaroon ng pagpapatunay na sa parehong edad ng punla (Indian nursery vs Pinoy nursery) me 30% mas mataas pa ang punla dito compare sa India. Sa kasalukuyan nagsisimula na sila sa energy crop plantation sa 2 campus ng RSU. Me mga usaping panghihikayat na ngayong isinasagawa upang maisakatuparan ang layuning 160 ektaryang plantation. Ang buyos ng bamboo na ito e 5 beses ang kapal at ang chips nito ang gagamiting pang gatong sa powerplant. Ngayong taon din, sisimulan ang pagtayo ng R&D facility (2MW powerplant) sa loob ng RSU campus. Kung maisasakatuparan ang pagpapalaganap ng energy crop plantation na maitaas sa 600 ektarya, ang ka-partner ng RSU e magpapatuloy sa pag-expand ng powerplant into 8MW para sustenahan ang pangangailangan ng Tablas Island sa susunod na 10 taon. O di ba habang busy ang Marinduque sa satsatan eto me kaganapang nagaganap sa Romblon upang matugunan ang problema nila sa enerhiya sa susunod na panahon.

Marinduque should learn a lesson of what Romblon had done or are doing currently for their power energy source. Let us stop talking/grumbling and do something.

3. David B Katague: Excellent article. Could I repost excerpts of this in one of my blogs?

4. Eli Obligacion: Pls do Dave and maybe also include the above comment that shows what neighboring Romblon is doing while we, Marinduquenos, just keep talking. Thanks!

Latest News on Brown Outs in Marinduque-Timelines

Marinduque Capitol in Boac

I had been following the discussion of the Power Crises in Marinduque in FaceBook. It is interesting to note that the younger generations of Marinduque as well as those working overseas are now concerned for the betterment of this island based on their comments on this subject. However, there are a lot of Filipino-Americans with Marinduque roots here in US who probably are not aware of this FB discussion. So this update is for you, Marinduquenos All over the World who had no Face Book Account. Recently,I asked permission from the author, Eli Obligacion to repost excerpts of his article titled Power Double Talk(marinduquegov.blogspot.com) in my blogs. Here it is for your reading pleasure!

Timelines:

Sept. 27, 2005 – Power supply agreement signed with Marelco, NPC and 3i Powergen under the administration of Gov. Carmencita Reyes.

Feb. 2007 – Commercial operation was to commence (still under the administration of Gov. Reyes). This did not happen.

June 2007 – Extension of contract requested by 3i from Marelco expired.

Sept. 11, 2009 – Resolution purportedly rescinding the power supply agreement was issued by Marelco.

Oct. 12, 2009 – Rally spearheaded by the Bishop of Boac for “Truth and Transparency”.

October 25, 2009, “Final solution” with arrival of gensets from Palawan but with lease agreement between NPC and Agrekko expiring on January 7, 2010.

Jan.- Feb. 2011 - Power outages due to diesel fuel shortage directly related to the NPC's technical bankruptcy. 39 electric cooperatives in NPC-SPUG areas in the country experienced recurrent brown-outs.

June 20, 2011 – Receipt of bids from new bidders.

July 8, 2011 – Opening of bids. No official public announcement appears to have been made on bidding result.

July 20, 2011 - Power outages due to diesel fuel shortage and defective unit/s at Power Barge 12o in Balanacan.

She says, others say:

Quotes from Gov. Carmencita Reyes from her official FB page:
Current Governor of Marinduque-Carmencita O. Reyes

"…I have already given specific instructions on what course of action we are going to take. The MARELCO problem has blown out of proportion. The provincial government has received reliable information that the perennial cause of the electricity supply problem in Marinduque is due to the gross incompetence and negligence of the management of MARELCO. Sources told that MARELCO owes around P69M for VAT payments alone. This amount is relatively small compared to how much MARELCO owes NAPOCOR. From all indications, MARELCO has been grossly mismanaged.

“I am personally not enthusiastic about tapping independent power producers/investors as a means to solve this problem. It might do us some good at the onset because normal electricity flow can be restored in a shorter period of time. However, the risk that is not clearly visible in this scenario is that after some time, there is a strong possibility that this independent power producer/investor can and may exploit us by exorbitant and unreasonable electricity bills and unnecessary fees… (Aug. 2, 2011)

“Ang MARELCO ay isang "kooperatiba" na napapasailalim ng patnubay ng National Electrification Administration (NEA). Walang autoridad ang Provincial Government sa pamamalakad ng MARELCO…”

“3i Power Gen did not go bankrupt…”

From a Sangguniang Panlalawigan media release after meeting with Marelco and NPC July 25, 2011:

"...Bagaman at alam ng buong kapulungan na ang Sangguniang Panlalawigan maging ang Gobernador o sinumang opisyal ng pamahalaang lokal ay walang papel na batayan upang makontrol o pakialaman ang anumang desisyon at pamamalakad ng MARELCO, kooperatiba, ang tunay na nagmamay-ari ay ang taong bayan na konsumidor ng kuryente.

"Gayundin ang mga local na opisyal ng pamahalaan ay walang pananagutan sa estratehiya o programa ng NEA, Department of Energy at ng NAPOCOR na may layuning missionary electrification na unti-unti na ring pinuputol ng pamahalaang nasyunal, hindi maiwasan ng SP bilang boses ng taong bayan na kundenahin ang mga namumumuno dito. Gayon pa man lahat ng paraan ay ginagawa ng SP upang makatulong at maibsan ang suliranin sa kuryente..."

Rewind to 2009:

Board member Jose Alvarez, an ally of Gov. Bong Carrion also referred to ‘mga pulitiko’, but politicians, he said, who were those "behind 3i Powergen and Marelco" (watch this video taken after the rally of Oct. 12, 2009:

Excerpts from the video:

“...Hindi po ba natin alam na kaya po naging ganyan, sinabi na rin po ni Bishop, na nasa likod ang mga pulitiko sa likod ng 3i Powergen… sino po ang nasa likod niyan, sino po ang nasa likod ng Marelco? Yan po ang dapat nating alamin, tingnan po natin kng paano natin mabubuwag ang mga pulitikong nasa likod ng 3i Powergen, nasa likod ng Marelco at nasa likod ng maraming kasinungalingang nagaganap dito sa ating lalawigan...

“Tingnan po natin kung sino talaga ang totoong nang-aapi dito sa atin sa napakatagal na panahong walang pag-angat dito sa ating lalawigan…”

Rewind further back to 2006.

In 2006, Manila-based newspapers like Malaya, Aug. 6, 2006, Manila Bulletin, Aug. 6, 2006 and Manila Standard Today, Aug. 7, 2006, ran similar articles stating:

“...The Board of Investments granted incentives to the three hybrid wind-diesel plants of 3i Powergen Inc. (in Marinduque and Romblon), with combined investments of P1.448 billion. ...

“...All three plants will start commercial operations by February 2007.”

Came February 2007, (with both mother and son team of Reyes sitting as congressman and governor), such commercial operations did not commence anywhere in the islands mentioned.

Came July 2007, there was still no 3i-produced power in Marinduque. By this time a new administration under Gov. Carrion won the election in May 2007, ran the capitol, while the older Reyes sat as Marinduque congress representative.

On 3i’s failure to deliver, 3i vice-president Lagundi reasoned thus: “Ang nangyari.... ay ang pagkakaantala ng pagpapalabas ng loan mula sa mga imbestor dahil sa nararanasang global financial crisis…" (Aug.11, 2008, SP)

One year later, 2009:

“Marelco general manager, Eduardo Bueno said: “Hindi naging makatotohanan ang 3I Powergen, hindi sila nakapag deliver. Iyang 12.48 na iyan kung saan itatayo ang power plant sa Balogo Sta. Cruz. Kung sino man po ang taga Sta. Cruz kung mapapasyal kayo doon makikita natin ay puro hukay. Hinukay nila noong October 2006. Hanggang ngayon po hindi ko alam ang kanilang natapos doon sa proyekto na iyon.” (Jul 6, 2009, SP)

Board member Eleuterio Raza, Jr. said, on the other hand: “...noong pinatawag po natin ang (vice) president ng 3I Powergen si Atty. Domingo Lagundi... he admitted in the session of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan that they are financially incapable to construct the facilities in compliance with the requirements of the obligation. In my view that would send a signal for Marelco’s board to finally decide to rescind or not to rescind the contract...” (July 6, 2009)

Board member Jose Alvarez: “...sinasabi na ni Atty. Lagundi na wala po talaga silang kakayahan at halos magmakaawa at umiyak dito. Actually ang nangyari po parang nag-speculate lang sila na may papasok. Iyon naman po ay practice na tinatanggap natin dahil meron naman silang kaugnayan sa ibat-iba pang mga negosyante subalit hindi katanggap-tanggap iyong katagalan ng proseso.” (July 6, 2009)


SP board member Querubin talked of conspiracy and economic sabotage: “...maaring may sabwatan sa pagitan ng Marelco at 3i Powergen dahil sa kabila ng katotohanan na walang kapasidad ang huli na magsuplay ng kuryente patuloy pa rin ang kontrata... kaya maituturing na economic sabotage ang ginagawa ng Marelco at 3i Powergen dahil apektado ang ekonomiya ng lalawigan”. (Sept. 30,2009)

Note: For details and comments of the original article, read Marinduque Rising, dated August 11, 2011 (www.marinduquegov.blogspot.com). The above article reminds me of my favorite motivational poster as follows: ( image from motifake.com)

Pilipinas Got Talent TV Show Winner- M Pomoy

Do you watch America Got Talent TV Show on NBC? If you do and like it, you should also watch the Philippines spin off of the show called Pilipinas Got Talent (PGT).
This years winner is Marcelito Pomoy, a 25 year-old singer who can sing in a woman's voice as well as his regular voice. What a talented dual voice singer. He deserves to win this years prize. Here's his rendition of My Prayer. What a talent, indeed!

Have You Read a Good Book Recently?

An Excellent Book that I Have read recently.

I have read some parts of the draft of this book and heard/witnessed in person portions of Dr Shetty life and achievements, but it was only the other day, that I was able to purchase the published book. It is an inspiring story, typical of a rags to riches story, but it is different because I know this scientist personally and had supervise his work as a Review Chemist in FDA. The book is titled, "World as Seen Under the Lens of A Scientist". Here's a press release and summary of the book published in March 2009 by Xlibris.

Press Release: Witness This Enduring True Story of Redemption and Change!

"Long before he arrived in America, Dr. B. Vithal Shetty experienced racial arrogance and discrimination. Even though he got admitted to the University of Pennsylvania, he had trouble finding a place to live and decency as white people disrespected him for his ethnicity. Along the way, he made constant adjustments in order to move his life forward while striving to earn respect through his close friendship with African Americans. Eventually, the author finally achieved redemption when he became an internationally renowned drug discovery sterling scientist. An engaging look back at Dr. Shetty's life begins with the release of his new book World As Seen Under the Lens of A Scientist: Negro Zero To American Hero Who Changed United States From American Hypocrisy To Greatest Democracy. Find out this unusual, bold, exciting, forthright, factual and fascinating story and critical analysis of the subject matters under the scientific lenses of Dr. B. Vithal Shetty.

Summary

The text covers Dr. Shetty's own life time personal experiences both in the United States and in India. Through his thorough investigation and penetration into various aspects of American and Indian democracy, freedom, religion and abuse and misuse of human decency and conflict of interest, readers will learn how he has touched the nerve center of functioning of civil rights, religious rights, gun ownership, single motherhood, caste barrier and discrimination. The contribution of America as the leading nation to awaken the conscious of the world to democratic rights and principles of people everywhere, contribution of ancient civilization of India in every aspects of human development including science, medicine, art, mathematics and modern computer technology by Indian Americans, had been highlighted in this outstanding, outspoken, and inspiring book under the lens of an internationally renowned sterling scientist".

For more information, please visit Xlibris.com or call (888) 795-4274 today.

About the Author

Dr. B. Vithal Shetty was born in Bola Village, a poor Indian village in South Kanara, Karnataka State, India. He grew up as one of the ten members of sisters and brothers in a joint family without much schooling. Because of hardship and difficulties as he was made to graze animals and plough fields, he ran away to Mumbai when he was only about eight years old. Here, he stayed with an old man in a cardboard filthy mud floor hut under a bridge among other poverty stricken people while polishing shoes for a living. Latter, he worked in a run down restaurant washing pots and dishes. Because of his burning ambition to improve himself, he attended a night school while working in the restaurant and learned 3Rs. As he made good progress, his sister and her husband helped him to go to day school, pass Mumbai University high school examination and to go to United States for higher education. He left India for the United States in 1948.

World As Seen Under the Lens of A Scientist * by Dr. B. Vithal Shetty
Negro Zero To American Hero Who Changed United States From American
Hypocrisy To Greatest Democracy
Publication Date: March 23, 2009
Trade Paperback; $23.99; 549 pages; 978-1-4415-0471-5
Cloth Hardback; $34.99; 549 pages; 978-1-4415-0472-2

For more information, contact Xlibris at (888) 795-4274 or on the web at www.Xlibris.com.

Note: Dr Shetty was one of the six chemistry reviewers under my supervision when I was still working for FDA. The proceeds of this book will support a Foundation he had started in the place of his birth in India.

Cure For Aids? Dr Vithal Shetty-Former FDA Colleague

Image from blogs.forbes.com

Dr. Vithal Shetty, author of the book " World as Seen Under the Lens of a Scientist" was one of the Chemistry Reviewers under my supervision during my employment with FDA from 1990 to 2002. Dr Shetty is also the discoverer of Metolazone. He is also currently working on drugs for the cure for Aids. I wrote a brief article on Dr. Shetty accomplishements titled "Chemistry Reviewer Still in the Lab" when he was still under my supervision as a chemistry reviewer. It was published in News Along the Pike, an FDA Newsletter before my retirement in 2002. Dr. Shetty's autobiography is an inspiring one. He came from the slums of Mumbai, India and encountered discrimination in 1950's in the US. Today he is an accomplished scientist in the United States with more than 200 patents in his name.

Dr Shetty was interviewed by an Indian-American TV network in 2009 about his life and it is shown in Part 1 and 2 of the following video.



Metolazone is a thiazide-like diuretic marketed under the brand names Zytanix from Zydus Cadila, Zaroxolyn, and Mykrox. It is primarily used to treat congestive heart failure and high blood pressure. Metolazone indirectly decreases the amount of water reabsorbed into the bloodstream by the kidney, so that blood volume decreases and urine volume increases. This lowers blood pressure and prevents excess fluid accumulation in heart failure. Metolazone is sometimes used together with loop diuretics such as furosemide or bumetanide, but these highly effective combinations can lead to dehydration and electrolyte abnormalities.

Metolazone was developed in the 1970s. Its creator, Indian born chemist Dr. Bola Vithal Shetty has been active in helping the U.S. Food and Drug Administration review drug applications, and in the development of new medicines. Reference: Katague, David B. "Chemistry Reviewer Still in Lab". News Along the Pike (newsletter of the Food and Drug Administration' s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research). Volume 2, Issue 10. Accessed on January 25, 2006.

Dr Shetty is also doing research currently on Aids. The following news from CBS reminded me of Dr. Shetty's work. Here's the recent News from CBS on the first man cured functionally from the Aids Virus.

June 5, 2011: Thirty years ago from Sunday, the Centers for Disease Control issued the first report on the emerging AIDS epidemic. Now, after years of progress in holding back the disease, there is finally an apparent case of one successful cure.

CBS News correspondent Hank Plante, with San Francisco affiliate KCBS, reports that 45-year-old Timothy Ray Brown, now living in the Bay Area, tested positive for HIV back in 1995, but now has entered the scientific journals as the first man in world history to have his HIV completely eliminated from his body. It's what doctors call a "functional cure."

He was living in Berlin, Germany, in 2007, dealing with HIV and leukemia, when scientists there gave him a bone marrow, stem cell transplant that had astounding results. "I quit taking my HIV medication on the day that I got the transplant and haven't had to take any since," Brown says, adding that his diseases are effectively gone.

In fact, his only medical problem these days is one involving his speech and motor skills because of neurological damage after the treatment, but that's getting better. "The Berlin Patient," as Brown is known, received stem cells from a donor who was immune to HIV. In fact, about one percent of Caucasians are immune to HIV. Some say it goes back to the Great Plague; People who survived the plague developed an immunity, and that immunity was passed down to their heirs today.

Brown says being the first man to be cured of HIV makes him very, very happy.
Needless to say, Brown is now being monitored by doctors at San Francisco General Hospital and here at UCSF, where we sought out a medical opinion from one of the most respected AIDS researchers in the world, Dr. Jay Levy, who was one of the co-discoverers of the HIV virus.

"If you're able to take the white cells from someone and manipulate them so they're no longer infectable by HIV, and those white cells become the whole immune system of that individual, you've got essentially what we call a functional cure," Dr. Levy says. We also sought out a medical opinion from Dr. Paul Volberding, another pioneering AIDS expert, who has studied the disease for all of its 30 years.

"One element of his treatment, and we don't know which, allowed apparently the virus to be purged from his body. So its going to be an interesting, I think, productive area to study," Dr. Volderding says. "He hasn't had any recurrence now for several years I think of the virus, and that hasn't happened before in our experience."

Timothy Brown's radical procedure may not be applicable to many other people with HIV, because of the difficulty in doing stem cell transplants, and finding the right donor. But this one case does open the door to the field of "cure research," which is now gaining more attention.

"I'm cured of HIV," Brown says. "I had HIV, but I don't anymore."

Those are words that so many in the scientific community are now cautiously clinging to.

Another Style of Scam Letter I Received Recently

Image from hoax-slayer.com

Recently, I received another e-mail from a person that I know. He is a member of MI, Inc ( Marinduque International, Inc.)-a non for profit organization that Macrine and I supports. Six months ago, I received a similar letter from Barcelona, Spain from a member of PAASE ( Philippine-American Academy of Science & Engineering) that I also know personally. The first time I received this e-mail from the PAASE member, I immediately called this person to verify. She said, she never send the letter, so I was assured it was a Scam.

Please note, that I have also posted several styles of scam letters in this blog (from Nigeria, Africa), just in case you have not read it. Readers, beware again of scam letters. In my recent posting, I posted an example of phishing letters that I have also received recently. Here's the latest scam letter from my e-mail.

"I'm sorry for this odd request because it might get to you too urgent but it's because of the situation of things right now, I'm stuck in Madrid, Spain with Family right now, we came down here on vacation we were robbed, the situation seems worse as bags,cash ,credit cards and cell phone were stolen at GUN POINT, It's such a crazy experience for us, we need help flying back home, the authorities ere not being 100% supportive but the good thing is that we still have our passport but don't have enough money to get our flight ticket back home, please i need you to loan me some money, I will reimburse you right as soon as I'm back home. I promise.

All we need is 2,300 euros but anything you can spare right now will be appreciated and I promise to refund it to you as soon as I arrive back home safely, I give you my word. You can get it to me through western union, Please get back to me so that i can give you my details to send the money to".

Thank you
Name of a Person that you know
This person is a member of an organization that you belong or may be a Relative

Note: A few hours after, I received the above letter, the daughter of the person who was supposed to be in trouble, sent an e-mail, that her DAD is ok, insuring me that indeed the above letter is a SCAM.

Time for Some Music-Grand Daughter Favorite Song

Currently, My grand daughter favorite songs are all the songs from the Glee TV show.
When she was 4 years old her favorite songs are all the Disney songs from the movies. This one she sang at our 50th wedding reception program, which she dedicated to us. She is now 8 years old and will be in 3rd Grade this Fall. So every time I hear this song, It reminds me of our Golden Wedding Anniversary at Chateau Du Mer, Boac, Marinduque, Philippines.