Blown away by Clean Energy: Bangui Windmills

A Theme Thursday post.
Bangui Wind Farm in Ilocos Norte, Philippines.

On the way to the Pagudpud Beach, north of the Philippines, we stopped by to take photos of the Bangui Wind Farm. The sun was about to set so we had to hurry to catch the last sliver of light. We were just in time. :D

According to WikiPilipinas, the Bangui Windmills are located in Bangui, Ilocos Norte, Philippines. It was a project by the NorthWind Development Corporation as a renewable energy source and ...to help reduce the greenhouse gases that cause global warming. The project is the first “Wind Farm” in the Philippines consisting of wind turbines on-shore facing the South China Sea and considered to be the biggest in Southeast Asia. This clean energy source provides 40% of the power requirements of the whole Ilocos Norte province.

Personally, I was just blown away by how clean energy could be so cool. ;)

This photo of me and my dad, actually won for me a feature at our monthly e-Newletter sent to all sites in the world. :D




Want to read more about our trip to Pagudpud? Read this "Pagudpud and other related Adventures"

South Korea's 40 Richest in 2009 and Korean crazy Pinoys

If you check out my sidebar, a few Koreans visit my blog! (lol!) Most visitors are Filipinos or Americans, next are Canadians, and then Koreans! I wonder if they come here by accident or are really looking around Filipino blogs. If you're a Korean reading this, please leave a comment!

A lot of Filipinos have become Korean crazy, from the soap operas, to the clothes, to their hairstyles and even Korean food (kimchi anyone?). I even know a few people who work part time as English tutors for Koreans! They say Koreans go here to learn English because it's cheaper here than anywhere else. I think they like it here because people are not rude to them, and even treat them as special most of the time.

Because of the tremendous increase in Korean tourists in the country, almost all the tourist destinations now have Korean signs, Korean restaurants, Korean spas, Korean everything. The net effect, give it a decade or so, you'll now have a generation of Filipino-Koreans (like Filipino-Chinese are called "Chinoys" or Filipino-Americans are "Fil-Ams", maybe they will be called "Korenoys" or "Fil-Kors").

Anyway, as a welcome mat to my Korean visitors, I've found this for you! Forbes Magazine released on May 1, 2009, their list of 40 richest people in South Korea...

Here is the first 10 richest in South Korea:
1. Lee Kun-Hee - former Samsung Group Chairman
2. Chung Mong-Koo - Hyundai MOtor Chairman
3. Chung Mong-Joon - Korea's richest politician
4. Lee Myung-Hee - heads retailer Shinsegae (sister of #1)
5. Shin Dong-Bin - vice chairman of Lotte Group in Korea
6. Shin Dong-Joo - vice president of Lotte in Japan
7. Jay Y. Lee - senior vice president developing Samsung's global business
8. Chang Pyung-Soon - owns Kyowon Group, an education company
9. Koo Bon-Moo - Chairman of LG Group
10. Shin Chang-Jae - Chairman of Kyobo Life Insurance

See the complete list at Forbes here! Leave a comment!

Poor Britney

Last Saturday, a Britney Spears fan went up to the stage of her Circus tour concert in Connecticut, apparently wanting to dance with her and maybe get a little bit of spotlight. Well, he did. Kyle King, the 20-year-old man, was arrested, but was released after posting a $250 bail.

Here's the video of the incident, the man comes in at 2:19 and freaks the hell out of Britney Spears...



She was obviously lip synching because the microphones didn't catch any of her "Oh, my God!" screams. She was also stunned that for a few moments she stopped dancing altogether.

Being myself a performer in the past, I can somewhat imagine how much she freaked out. While you're up on stage, you're adrenaline is pumping, you're concentrating on doing so many things at once: singing, dancing, making sure you go to the right places on the stage, you don't trip on the stairs, your face portrays what you're singing, listening to the music, and everything else. And then seeing this stranger there right in front of you in shadows, that must've been really surprising. Add to that the fact that she is a huge celebrity, so her initial reaction was probably that the guy was going to harm her.

That to me was not funny at all.

Why Filipinos love Manny Pacquiao

I am not a big boxing enthusiast, I've never boxed my whole life, but whenever Manny Pacquiao is in the ring, I make it a point to watch: I shout at every punch and cheer every time he lands one on the face of his opponent. I even cuss when he gets one himself. "Ow!" "Wooot!" "Shat!" "Iyown!"

And I'm not the only one. In fact, every Filipino is like that. It's widely known that every time Manny Pacquiao fights, crime rate is ZERO in the Philippines. Everyone is tuned in to support and pray for his victory. Manny's victory becomes our victory, as a nation, as Filipinos.

"...because he is a Filipino..."

"I have Aquaphobia"

A Theme Thursday post

Actually, no I DON'T have Aquaphobia. (sorry, lol!)
But I could very well have developed a fear of water after having experienced two, shall we say, "watery" accidents.

"...getting an anxiety attack when splashed with water..."

What is Aquaphobia anyway? Aquaphobia is an abnormal and persistent fear of water. Not to be confused with "Hydrophobia" (which is also fear of water but in a more I've-been-bitten-by-a-dog kind of way), Aquaphobia is manifested by avoiding activities such as swimming or boating, and may extend to getting an anxiety attack when splashed with water or thrown into a pool.

Wikipedia explains further that Aquaphobia may be "a reaction to a traumatic water experience - a near drowning or other such event."

The first of two events happened in Feb 1999... It was our graduating year in high school, and one of our friends was celebrating her 18th birthday (traditionally called the "Debutante"). It was a formal afternoon party followed by a swimming party. Unfortunately I had a bit of a fever that day and so I decided not to go swimming. After the formal event, I was just lounging around the pool watching some of my friends swim.

"...I found myself flying through the air and down into the deep end..."

While I was standing near the 6-feet deep side of the pool, I suddenly felt a jolt and found myself flying through the air and down into the deep end of the swimming pool. Someone has pushed me in as a prank!!! Mind you, I was all dressed up in my slacks and leather shoes. It was too deep for me I don't even remember reaching the bottom (yep, I'm that short...) and when I finally surfaced, the panic began.

I was trying to scream "Help! I can't swim!" but I couldn't even breathe. I willed myself to reach the side of the pool, thinking "will nobody help me?". I was almost at the side when the debutante herself shouted "He can't swim!" and only then did people help me out of the pool. It must've been only a few minutes, but it seemed like an eternity to me. Gasping for air, shivering and coughing, they scampered to get me a towel and a change of clothes.

I only found out later on that everyone thought I could swim.
"Damn it. I need to learn how to swim..." but I didn't. And so when accident #2 came around, I was still grossly unprepared...


READ PART 2 HERE: "If I let go, I'm going to drown!"

"If I let go, I'm going to drown!"

This is the conclusion of the post titled "I have Aquaphobia, a Theme Thursday post"

It was a bright sunny summer day back in 2004.
We were having a great time in Sur, Oman, visiting my dad. We went to the Turtle beach early in the morning and saw sea turtles laying eggs, dozens of tiny baby turtles, we also rode on camels, rode ATV's and went up and down the sand dunes.

Off on a speedboat along the coastline of the Gulf, we were being stupid adventurous and accepted an invitation to ride on the banana boat... with no life vests.

"...since I was going on a floating device, I wasn't so worried..."

I asked them to be careful and not go too fast because I wasn't a very strong swimmer. At the time, I had learned how to swim short distances, but I've never been in open water before without a life vest. They reassured me that they would be careful, and since I was going to be on a floating device, I wasn't so worried. It was my first time to go on a banana boat. I didn't realize it was going to be like that...

The banana boat was big enough for only 2 people. My dad and I boarded, and the speedboat started pulling us. It was great! Exhilirating! Exciting! I was even cheering and howling while holding on tightly to both side grips of the banana boat...

And then it happened: the speedboat revved-up, and with the change in speed, the banana boat tilted, then turned on its side. My dad let go instantaneously (which was the proper thing to do), but I didn't. The turn made me lose my grip on my right hand, so I was holding on to the banana boat with just my left hand.

The speedboat was still running and I was being dragged over the water, my left hand holding tightly on to the banana boat for dear life. My arms and legs were flying all over the place (which my sister later described as like watching a rag doll). But I had no feeling in my body other than my left hand. And I had no other thoughts just, "don't let go...don't let go or you'll drown! DON'T LET GO!"

I managed to hold on until they slowed down and pulled me in. I even managed to laugh and say I was fine after the fact. But for a while after that I was seriously scared of the open water.

The lesson folks: Don't be crazy, wear a life vest.


Have you ever almost drowned or had a "near miss"?

P.S.
We actually have this on videocam, but when I fell off the banana boat and was being dragged over the water, my sister who was holding the cam forgot all about shooting so all you see is the floor of the boat. :p