Just sick

How's three days of bed rest for an energizer bunny-creature like me? Not fun. But I'm back in the office today. Not yet fully recovered and my voice still sounds kinda funny, and my throat hurts a bit, but I'm feeling much better. For my much improved condition, I thank Wyeth for it's wonderful Dimetapp Day & Night Liquid Caps. It works so fast, it scares me.

Today’s blog is dedicated to my good friend, Mary Ann Palma, who just recently finished her PhD. Mean finished her Bachelor of Arts in Public Administration from the University of the Philippines; holds a Master in Marine Management degree from Dalhousie University, in Canada; and also has a Diploma in the Law of the Sea from the Rhodes Academy of Ocean Law and Policy.

Mean loves the Simpsons, playing with her drum set, and listening to music! She does not like going to the library or going to any ICIS-related activities. But if you do, she would still be your friend. Mean also loves the sun, James Blunt, Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Regine Velasquez. Hahaha, just kidding. She does not like Regine. That would be me, but that is another story.

As I was saying… Mean loves good food but can go working for days without eating. Believe me, she can. I have seen it myself. She is a bit of a workaholic, I guess. Mean loves baking, makes yummy dinuguan and recently bought a happy chopper from Tupperware. Mary Ann introduced me to Ebay, listened to my incessant babbles everyday, opened her fridge for me every single time I go hungry at night after we go home taking the last shuttle and helped me over the years in oh sooo many ways, if I listed them all here, I would need another blog.

But best of all, she has been a true and loyal and helpful and generous friend, for which I am most thankful for. Before I break into tears (or into song, more probably), it would be a good idea to end this blog entry. Again, congratulations, dear friend Doc Mean!

P.S.

I forgot to mention that she got back her thesis from the examination committee just a month (!) after she submitted; without need of any revision (!) [which even my fave site, wikipedia mentions as "fairly rare"] ; and was even given a commendation (!). Wow. That is no mean feat. Well done!!! Now, we can devote our time finding her a boytoy.

On this day, 20 October in 1973, Australia’s iconic landmark – the Sydney Opera House was formally opened by Queen Elizabeth II.

The Sydney Opera House -- with a roof evocative of a ship at full sail -- is truly one of the most recognisable and photographed images of the modern world. This architectural wonder was designed by renowned Danish architect Jorn Utzon. It never hurts to know a bit of history. Yes, however trivial.

On another note, today my supervisors found out about my blog. Oh well. It is not as if I have written anything bad here about them. I guess doing that is out of the question now. Just kidding. I actually consider myself lucky that I have the best people in my field for supervisors. This means, they are very good and are really, really busy people. That is why I do not want to pester them with my mundane concerns. Most of the time, they are out of the country giving lectures and doing presentations. What a life. Oh well. Maybe I’ll get lucky and be like them one day. In the meantime, I have my thesis to write.

Today's blog is dedicated to the Tetragrammaton.

The four characters above are the four Hebrew letters (Yod, He, Waw and He) called the "Tetragrammaton". YHWH or its transliteration, IAUE or Yahweh, is the name of the Almighty Father in Heaven that people commonly call "The LORD" or "God". In Jewish tradition, speaking the name Yahweh is considered a blasphemy. This is the reason why we see "LORD" and "God" instead in our Bibles.

I never thought of my God as having only a Hebrew name. That would have made very sad – for I do not know how to read or write or speak in Hebrew. Does it matter what name you call God? For me, it does not. What really matters is you call on Him and trust by faith that He will answer.

If you have paraskevidekatriaphobia, please stay home.

Paraskevidekatriaphobia is the morbid, irrational fear of Friday the 13th. Yup, you guess right, that’s today. This phobia is actually rooted in history, mythology and even Christian tradition.

While many people dismiss this as a silly superstition, this is no laughing matter to 17 to 21 million Americans and to countless others around the world. The Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute in Asheville, North Carolina estimates that in the United States alone, $800 or $900 million is lost in business each Friday the 13th because some people will not travel or go to work.

Now, go back to work.

University of Wollongong in Top 200 World University Rankings

The University of Wollongong has been listed in the Times Higher Education Supplement Top 200 World University Rankings.

The THES-QS World University Rankings list the Top 500 universities from an estimated 15,000 institutions across the globe. UOW was placed in the Top 200 list, ranked 196.

Now, that is good news.

Canberra

What is there to see in Australia's capital? Lots. I was there just the other day. A day in Canberra is really not enough to see all that the beautiful city has to offer. So, where did I go? I went to see the Telstra Tower, Parliament House, Embassy Drive, and of course, Floriade.