[did you know?] evil, lies, and self improvement

well this is not a did-you-know fact.  but i can't post it as a "quote me" because it's not from me.  and i don't wanna start a new thread right now.  so what the heck, did you know that the following quotes come from the following people?


"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil, is for good men to do nothing" - attributed to Edmund Burke, British philosopher.  From Wikipedia: This quotation, although often attributed to Burke does not occur in his works or recorded speeches. It first appeared in the 14th edition of Bartlett's Familiar Quotations (1968), which incorrectly sourced it to a letter that did not in fact contain the quote.



"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." - popularized by Mark Twain.  "Lies, damned lies, and statistics" is part of a phrase attributed to Benjamin Disraeli and popularised in the United States by Mark Twain as above.  The statement refers to the persuasive power of numbers, the use of statistics to bolster weak arguments, and the tendency of people to disparage statistics that do not support their positions.  

"If you can't measure it, you can't improve it." - William Thomson, a.k.a. 1st Baron Kelvin, or Lord Kelvin, British scientist, engineer, and inventor, from whom the Kelvin scale of (absolute) temperature originated from.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Thomson,_1st_Baron_Kelvin

[did you know?] animals and ears

animals with ears bear their offspring.  animals without ears lay eggs!

(at least that's what one of our calauit safari tour guide said.  any biology majors out there who can confirm this?)

[quote me] quotes are not necessarily true.

i do not like forwarded text and e-mail messages with seemingly "quotable" quotes but if you really look at it, it's not something that some might think as "good," say in the eyes of God. 

but they oftentimes appeal to the emotions, particularly of younger people ("young" being a culture-dependent term), and sometimes when you hear something that you like to hear, you also like to think it is true. 

sometimes these "quotable" quotes have ulterior motives written somewhere in between the lines.  an example might be "when ."

sometimes they are true for one person, but not universally true.  hence, i do not think they should be "put in print" - or in our age of digital printing, even via text or e-mail messaging.  because younger, less mature people (say 16-year olds?) who receive them might think they are universally true even more so when it comes from someone even just a little bit older.

be careful of the "quotes" you receive.  i think quotes should be taken from a specific book, article, author/writer, or speaker, and that book, article.  otherwise, look at them only for their entertainment value.  and tell younger people to consult you about the "quotes" they receive.

[did you know?] canned fish and similar products

some canned fish (tuna, sardines, milkfish/bangus) that i just recently bought now has "Nutrition Facts" on their labels.

GREAT.

if you read closely, their Nutrition Facts say that one serving of their product contains sodium that is 25% of the recommended daily allowance (RDA). one would think that going above 100% is not good for health, so if you're only consuming 25%, you are still 3 cans away from unhealthy.

WRONG.

that small, PhP11.00 can of sardines - their nutrition facts say it contains around 3 servings. so you're actually consuming an amount of sodium that is around 75% of the RDA! if you're a big person like myself, one can is just half a serving! so for a full meal i would be consuming sodium that is around 50% more than the RDA!

moral of the story:

• avoid eating canned or packed food products. they usually use sodium (as part of MSG, sodium nitrate, or salt (sodium chloride)) to preserve the food product. this includes canned tuna, canned vegetables, corned beef, vienna sausages, etc.
  
• don't buy canned or packed food products!
  
• buy fresh, eat fresh! you're also helping the environment (and you don't even know it).
  
• know the facts! ingredients, nutrition facts, etc.
  
• read the product labels!
  
• don't buy food without the appropriate product labels!
  
• know your limits! (some people should definitely have much less sodium intake per day)
  

[quote me] tips are given, not asked for.

have you ever been asked for a tip?

at best, service-workers, like bellboys for example, could stand and wait in front of your room but i don't think can they ever verbally (or by hand gesturing) ask for a tip.

it's not just tip actually.  there are others out there that are given, but never asked for.  what else can you think of that are like that?

[did you know?] a quote

i have my quotes.  but this is one from Lord Kelvin, a British scientist and inventor (also known as William Thomson before he was given the honour of 1st Baron Kelvin - are you familiar with the Kelvin unit of temperature?):


"if you can't measure it, you can't improve it."


i love that quote.  what do you think about it?

[marketplace] crocs for sale

brand new crocs venture canvass, for only 2000 pesos (with box and plastic, original price is 3700 pesos). cash basis only. size is 11 (us size). can be a good gift for your husband, father, brother, or boyfriend.

FREE Krispy Kreme Chocolate Glazed Doughnut and Signature Coffee

Totoo to na try ko na .. Mahilig b kau sa kripy kreme? kaya eto bibigyan ko kau ng free krispy kreme. Just fill in the questionnaire in the link below and you will have a free krispy kreme! Rapsa!

Sagot na!

http://www.chocolatekarnival.com/

Kelangan niyo mag-signup muna sa website ha at dapat may e-mail address kayo! :-D

Eto proof:

---

From: Krispy Kreme [mailto:info@chocolatekarnival.com]
Sent: 02 April 2009 05:30 PM
To: Ronwaldo Aquino
Subject: Ronjie, here's your Krispy Kreme Chocolate Glazed Doughnut and Signature Coffee

Hi Ronjie,


You have been GLAZED! Print this email and head on over to the nearest Krispy Kreme store to claim your Krispy Kreme Chocolate Glazed Doughnut and Signature Coffee. If the image of your coupon doesn't show up in your email, please click "Display images" or "Load images" from the page.






To GLAZE more friends, click HERE.
And you can view the rules HERE.


Verification Details:
Ronwaldo Aquino, you are closest to Ayala Avenue.


Ronjie, hope to see you soon and remember to bring a valid I.D. and a printout of this e-mail.

[reactions+reflections] Slumdog Millionaire

[quote me] love is a decision.

i'm starting a new thread on my blog, called "quote me."  and what else has ronjie.com been advocating since... 2005?

love is a decision.

think about it.

ALERT▲M7.2 quake to hit M.Manila?

------ Forwarded Message from a friend

I hope this one's not true. Let's just pray that this will not happen. May God continue to protect us.

--- On Tue, 3/17/09, aceschool.blogspot.com wrote:

From: aceschool.blogspot.com@gmail.com
Subject: ALERT▲M7.2 quake to hit M.Manila - Phivolcs
To: aceschool.blogspot.com@gmail.com
Date: Tuesday, 17 March, 2009, 11:40 AM

Do you know that according to the Phivolcs, a Magnitude 7.2 Strong Earthquake will hit Metro Manila anytime?

Are you prepared?

Please visit http://aceschool.blogspot.com/search/label/Earthquake to view the full information, their sources (for you to verify the accuracy and validity of this message), and how to prepare for this major earthquake.

You see, after the July 16, 1990 Luzon Killer Earthquake (7.8 M, surface-wave magnitude), experts tried to find out if a densely populated Metropolis like Metro Manila is at risk and how serious such a situation would be. The answer was "Yes". The studies were made by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), US Geological Survey (USGS) and the Philippine Volcanology and Seismology (PhiVolcs). It was found out that the Valley Fault System (a.k.a. Marikina Fault) has had major earthquakes every 400 - 500 years.

It has now been 400-500 years since the last major earthquake. It is time for another one.

For information on how and what to prepare, and some official materials from authorities, please go to http://aceschool.blogspot.com/search/label/Earthquake

Please share this to everyone by forwarding this email. You will be saving lives...so give a copy of this to as much people as you can. Thank you.

This has been sent to multiple undisclosed recipients. We apologize if you are receiving more than one copy of this message.

http://aceschool.blogspot.com/search/label/Earthquake

The blog enables everyone visiting it to chat and interact with each other in real time. A second chat allows live audio and video feeds (web cam).

------ RONJIE.COM comments

This is true: "It has now been 400-500 years since the last major earthquake. It is time for another one."

And it is true that it could be a magnitude 7.2; it could even be stronger.

When exactly it will happen, no one (except God) knows.

Let us pray it will not happen.

However, given the available scientific data (i.e. facts) from what has happened and given the results from acceptable practice in statistical analysis, it could happen and that it could happen anytime soon.

Let us also pray that more people understand that this could happen and that more people prepare for this and that more people who know can inform those who don't know about it.

Let us also pray that we (those who know) are guided so that we can disseminate this information.

Like the global warming crisis we are experiencing, this could have been avoided if only we knew years ago that this could happen. In our case we shouldn't have built cities around this earthquake zone. But this is what has happened (i.e. we only knew about it just this past few decades and we've already built our cities and our homes) and so now we should do something about it. We should pray but at the same time we should do our part.

Indeed, "Please share this to everyone by forwarding this email. You will be saving lives...so give a copy of this to as much people as you can. Thank you."

[reactions+reflections] Grace Before and AFTER Meals

We all know the Grace Before Meals:

Bless us, O Lord, and these thy gifts which we are about to receive from thy bounty, through Christ  our Lord.  Amen.

Now there is such a thing as Grace After Meals but it's been practically forgotten.  It's not a bad idea to revive it within your families and/or communities:

We give Thee thanks, Almighty God, for these Thy benefits
Who lives and reigns, world without end.
Amen.
May the souls of the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God,
rest in peace.
Amen.

The main difference between the two prayers is that the former is about asking for blessings, the latter is more about thanksgiving.  In addition, you may notice that during this prayer, opportunity is taken to give an offering of prayer for the souls of the faithful departed.  Read more about these two prayers.