The Traffic Light

The last streak of the sunset abruptly reminded me

How much time in this world would I still be?

Is there a meaning for my own individuality,

Or should I depart this world in vain for eternity?

I lost my consciousness and began to perceive

How would it be if this world was I to leave?

Have I been so mean as to nobody would grieve,

Have I been so self-seeking, ill-mannered, and offensive?

Have I been beneficial or did I seek only my gain?

Have I shown compassion or have I been humane?

Have I been dishonest, cruel, and full of complain?

Is my span of existence an underlying bane?

Slowly attaining awareness with the overhead light

Lying in a hospital bed, the realizations and mistakes having been indict

With this second life, my existence, I have decided to rewrite

The end is inevitable, it is time to be better – to be upright!

Amor

Nations and kingdoms – destroyed and forsaken

Men slaughtered in the blood-spattered earth

Obsessions have even led some, lives were taken

Still remains the question, what love is worth?

Is it a curse – a pestilence or some plague?

A madness that drives the minds insane

A burning desire, passion, bold, and vague

A divine intervention or an illusion of the brain?

A mystical, omnipotent power that shrouds everything

Greater and more authoritative than the realm of Hades

For when the fair Aphrodite in her foamy throne springs;

Fallen are those who succumb to the radiance of the lady.

Technology

“We are only just a few nanometers away from the starting line of the seemingly endless advancement, a modicum away from the discovery of fire, and a million light years away from the end point.”

                Humanity has come to an era of contemporary revolutions – a century wherein its ancestors had once dreamt. Hundreds of years ago, man absolutely doubted his own capability which was clearly manifested on the 17^th century belief that metal, a material of rigidness and resilience, would never fly or soar the skies. However, towards the end of the century, the idea was defunct, because of man’s perseverance, ironically speaking, which the Wright Brothers had shown. Humanity itself ended the period of ersatz sorceries through scientific enlightenment.

                Technology, in layman’s term, is the application of science, a much broader field of knowledge. Historically, mankind is continuously seeking for ease in his labours. The invention of the steam engine by James Watt was one of the pioneering innovations of human existence. This allowed several other “engineers” to spearhead the advancement of technology like the first-ever printing press by Johannes Guttenberg, the men behind the development of computer namely Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibnitz, Blaise Pascal, Lady Ada Augusta Byron, Charles Babbage, etc. These served as the building foundation of today’s unceasingly ending search for man’s work to be pacified.

                Human technology is similar to an asteroid travelling across the vast universe, drifting through the infinites of the unknown relative to time and space. Across the cosmos, the asteroid’s structure is progressively adapting to suit its environment and its needs, colliding with other celestial bodies which may or may not alter it path. But on the other way around, technology differs from it too as technology never stops. The pursuit for development will never cease as long as humanity is craving for its betterment.

                Nowadays, with the invention of wireless communication, man has stepped-up the engines of technological revolution, boosting it towards the zenith of total ease through international talks and continuous understanding but still is an end of the tunnel never seen. Who knows, within the 17-stories if the FEU – Institute of Technology the next pioneer will finally reach the light?

               

                

Connecting People

             Technology has almost conquered humanity in the last few decades. With the continuous advancement of the digital era, mobile phones replaced the typical messaging and communicating devices. After all, humans depend on communication; thus, cellular phones have become a need. Mankind is unceasingly searching what can suit his satisfaction.  In particular, the Nokia 3310 and iPhone 5 had acquired the attention of the world with their specifications. Both are used chiefly to communicate. The Nokia 3310 was developed by the Copenhagen Nokia site (Denmark), released in the fourth quarter of 2000. This phone sold extremely well, being one of the most successful phones with 126 million units sold. The phone has since received arguably the biggest cult status of a mobile cell phone, and is still widely acclaimed today (Wikipedia. 2013). These electronic gadgets can also function as a calculator, a stopwatch, or a reminder function. Still, certain features of one differentiate it from other. These features can be categorized in its affordability, durability, and simplicity.

            The Nokia 3310 had a value of around ₱ 4,000.00 to ₱ 6,000.00 subjected to its release back then. Obviously, phones were not yet that popular in the market as it is nowadays. In the present time, this phone surmounts for just half a thousand pesos compared to the iPhone which starts at ₱ 16,000.00 up to ₱ 42,000.00. Although this can be easily taken against Nokia 3310 since its features restrain it, an affordable phone would be better than to have nothing at all. The cost of the Nokia 3310 handset isn’t the only thing that makes it cheaper than the iPhone. Because the 3310 isn’t internet enabled there is no need to purchase a data plan for it making it a much cheaper option. Insurance for the Nokia 3310 will also be much less as it is a cheap phone to replace and has a smaller chance of breaking.

            An internet post shows a humorous comparison of how the two phones are rated according to its durability. The post indicates that when an iPhone falls to the floor, the screen breaks, however, when a Nokia 3310 is dropped, it breaks the floor. Technically, breaking the floor is just a metaphor stating how durable the latter is. One of the biggest issues with the iPhones that people have is dropping it and the screen cracking. This can mean a costly replacement if the phone isn’t under warranty or insured. But the Nokia 3310 rarely had this problem. The screen is much smaller than the iPhones screen and is much sturdier. You can drop the Nokia 3310 from much greater distances than you can with the iPhone.

            Complexity defines an iPhone while simplicity describes a Nokia 3310. With a full barrage of applications and tons of games, the iPhone could literally eat a whole out of your time. Designed for communication and entertainment purposes, new iPhone had trouble utilizing the device. In contrast, with a user-friendly interface and conventional methods of communicating, the Nokia 3310’s simplicity allows users to communicate easily. Apart from this, the buttons on the Nokia 3310 are much more spaced apart than the buttons are on the iPhone. This makes the chance of hitting the wrong button much less likely than it is on the iPhone. This means that you can text much faster and get to the person you want to ring a great deal faster without having the Auto Correct option. Moreover, the battery life of the Nokia 3310 was one of its main selling features. You can do everything on the phone and the battery just doesn’t seem to go. From one charge you could leave it on and use it for weeks without the battery draining. The same, unfortunately, cannot be compared to that of the iPhone. As soon as you start playing games on it or enable the wireless receptor, the battery deteriorates pretty quickly.

            To sum it up, the Nokia 3310 offers a clear overview of the mobile phone era, lacking its entertainment value but regaining on its effectiveness in communication. An affordable, durable, and simple phone with the conventional methods of making calls or messaging, it resembles as the medium between nations apart. The cellular phone is subjected to do its task alone – to effectively communicate without the immersion of the mindset of humans into the digital world much as it speaks of Nokia’s campaign slogan, “Connecting People”.

  

Reference:

        Wikipedia. Nokia 3310. 2013. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_3310

Vision of Capability and Competence

              A true political leader isn’t measured by the structures he had built, the projects he had made, the fund he had raised, or the number of supporters he gained. The essence of leadership lingers in the central idea of devotedness. A true leader is idealistic, innovative, and globally competitive – traits which can be seen from the former secretary of the Department of National Defense and was also one of the 2010 Election’s Presidentiables, Gilberto Eduardo Gerardo Cojuangco Teodoro Jr. or commonly known as Gibo.  He obtained his undergraduate degree in Commerce from De La Salle University in 1985 and pursued law in the University of the Philippines from 1985 to 1989. A bar topnotcher, Gibo even continued studying, obtaining his Masters of Laws degree from Harvard University in 1997 (Barangay GT. 2010). Even though he wasn’t successful in the 2010 elections, he still continued inspiring the hearts of his fellow candidates and politicians to reform the government for the betterment of the society.

            Teodoro Jr. envisioned a better society even before his announcement to be one of the candidates for the position of president. He firmly believes that the foundation of a strong government is political autonomy. Having an autonomous government at regional basis offers the community with benefits far greater than what they can receive from the government due to the partial independence of its governance. Local Government Units (LGU) , “rely heavily on the Internal Revenue Allotment set forth by the national government towards services that it needs to provide to their locality, aside from the local revenues their generate” (De Leon, 2010). This reform will pave way for better governance and independence, thus, allowing the Filipinos to communicate effectively and address their pleas to the government with ease.

            The Philippines had been running rough on the terrain of economy. The country needs more innovative ideas to fuel the industry and the economy. Innovation is the central issue in economic prosperity. The country has been engulfed in the era of remodeling and copying, whereas, Gibo Teodoro points out the significance of the generation of ideas to induce the country towards economic success. Mother Nature has given her riches bountiful yet these blessings have not been used properly. That is to say that building domestic infrastructure is essential to alleviate unemployment and underemployment. The essential key to this concept is sustainable development.

            The Teodoro Presidency has “already an installed Educational Roadmap which must be religiously followed to ensure that the medium of instruction in the country and curriculum design is aligned with that of the rest of the world…” (Barangay GT, 2010). This platform directs the educational sector towards the production of capable and globally competitive graduates. Helping to choose the right career for the students will generate the country with productive citizens, with whom the economic status of the Philippines is dependent to.     The talents and minds of the countrymen is the greatest resource.

 Idealistic, innovative, and competitive – these traits define what the country longs for, traits which define what the Filipinos need, traits that are characterized by Gilbert Teodoro. Who knows, with leap of faith, the next Gibo Teodoro might be the winner of the upcoming 2016 National Elections?

References:

Barangay GT. (2010). Retrieved from http://barangaygibo.blogspot.com/2010/02/vision-for- country-sec.html

Wisdom

“… Is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it”.

Wisdom is a personality possession that one gains over a lifetime of experience. Philosophers, psychologists, spiritual leaders, poets, novelists, life coaches, and a variety of other important thinkers have tried to understand the concept of it. It often requires control of one's emotional reactions (the "passions") so that universal principles, values, reason and knowledge prevail to determine one's actions (Wikipedia. 2013). It is a possession that is bestowed upon a person, rather than one that the person recognizes on his or her own. It comes from all races, all gender, with no distinction from a young seven year-old boy to a centenarian. Many yearned for it, yet few were fortunate ones who found it. Moreover, wisdom is as vital as life is. Many foolishly claim to have it but the history has stated the truth. Wisdom can be defined in several ways; the virtue to discern what is true or right, the use of knowledge, and as the Divine Intervention. Although many different viewpoints regarding this matter arise, the essence of wisdom still reflects a definite idea of goodness.

The virtue of wisdom “provides guidance in the way of righteousness” (Proverbs 4:10-19). This idea of wisdom is the exact opposite of autonomy and arrogance.  Buddhist scriptures teach that a wise person is endowed with good bodily conduct, good verbal conduct, and good mental conduct. A wise person does actions that are unpleasant to do but give good results, and doesn’t do actions that are pleasant to do but give bad results .Wisdom is the antidote to the self-chosen poison of ignorance.

Wisdom is the righteous use of knowledge. At present, humanity has vast amounts of knowledge, but still very little wisdom. Practically, an engineer who knows the concept of beams, foundations, and soil mechanics and builds a building on top of a landfill has knowledge. On the other hand, an engineer who refuses to build such dangerous structure alongside the seashore may not be knowledgeable, but surely he has wisdom. Being wise is the ability to conduct daily activities in accordance to what the conscience complies to do.

The concept of wisdom also lingers in the realm of the Divine Intervention, the Omnipotent God. The bible states of several men who were bestowed by this blessing, one of those fortunate was Solomon. He was humble enough to wish for wisdom rather than longevity or riches and because of that, he was renowned up to this day. According to the story, two women came upon his court for they were quarreling about the ownership of the offspring. The first woman claims that the other woman’s child was already dead. The other claims she stole it in her sleep. King Solomon ordered to cut the baby into half but the real mothers refused and allow the other woman to have it. Finally, Solomon gave the child to the one who was shown worthy enough to be a mother. Such wise decisions can only be attributed to the Giver of Wisdom, the Almighty God.

Wisdom can be characterized as a virtue of the capability in doing what is right, the application of knowledge, or as a bestowment from God. Amidst the many definitions and origin of it, wisdom still points out to a single concept of righteousness and goodness. Only the one who understand what it really is to be morally upright, virtuous and God-fearing makes for a truly wise person.

Boundaries

           “Nothing's ever built to last but that doesn't mean it's not worth building.”

            Fast forward upon graduation and into the field of work, what would be the things I would like to achieve? For others, towering skyscrapers and humungous buildings might be the fulfillment of their dreams. Nevertheless, change is but the ultimate enemy of everything. As a Civil Engineer in the years to come, my ultimate goal is to be inscribed in the pages of history neither because of fame or fortune nor with the Guiness Book of World Records Holder, but to be someone who could undeniably change the surface of the world.

            As technology allows the rise of gadgets and devices which lessen the human effort, the human race is now clearly forgetting what it really means to be a human. Syria reinforced, Iran at State of Emergency, China naval troops surrounding the unclaimed territory- these are some of the headlines nowadays, isn’t it? The cyber world is not also exempted from these monstrosities of the mass population. Cyber Wars, Flamings, scams, block mails and others filled the Internet during these times. The Earthlings are now forgetting the essence of humanity

            With these scenarios laid, I remember a line from John Lennon’s Imagine. “Imagine there's no countries. It isn't hard to do, nothing to kill or die for, and no religion too. Imagine all the people living life in peace” These verses struck me and molded my personality and goals. Years from now, I would build bridges connecting nation from nation - abolishing racism among people to unite us as one. I would destroy walls that separate the communities from another. Building structures for the betterment of all - defying the laws of boundaries to create union among ourselves.

            I want to reshape humanity. Most of our civil engineers nowadays work for the sake of fame and wealth - but my perception is different. I will build structures thinking that someday, my kin would make use of it. I will build bridges putting into mind that it will be the bridge that will strengthen the loose rope of nation-building.

            My ideas and to-do list seems to be like a dream of a kindergarten pupil isn’t it? But these dreams shall be the foundation of my personality, the bases of my education, and will be the tower of my career.