Reality and G+

My online life started in 1999, from few minutes of research and infotainment to now hours and hours of status updates and check-ins.

I guess, I spend 50% of my life and 75% of my waking hours in cyberspace. The cyberspace now is my new reality. Before, I used to spend much of my time reading books, utilizing much of my waking hours in exploring the different world constructed by creative authors. Now, I spend them in cyberspace, in the world with overload of information.

I belong to the generation of the future. My mind always looks forward to something new, something that will send us to space something that will put us a virtual reality, beyond our tangible world.

Just few days ago, I had a chit chat with a good friend. I told her that I missed the days when we were still in college, spending much of our time reading books, coffee-klatsch, and discoursing on different philosophical and scientific views. But, her reply made me realize that I am now in a different reality. We can’t do the things we did before. Things have changed. Time has changed. And all I need to do is to admit and face that my reality now has changed.

Now, I have a new playground in cyberspace, Google+ (plus), new social media site, like Facebook. I am happy to be one of the First Generation users. It has promising features and I think it will be a good competition to Facebook. Let’s see what will give us in the coming years.

Here’s how it looks:

And here’s the cheat sheet on how to work around G+.

My life now will be spent more online.

The problem is, how will these online venues improve my whole state of being? How will I get rich, or will it provide me lifetime stability?

I hope one of these days this new reality will give me more leverage, more productive endeavours that will feed my dream and ambitions.

I hope that this new reality will put me in the place where I should be, a place where immortal dwells.

Gen is right. I just need to acknowledge my new reality and move on with my life.

It’s Not Over Yet

NASA recently announced that they are going to end the Space Shuttle mission this July. The agency received so many uproars and others think that US is ending its supremacy when it comes to Space Exploration.

So, I dig out some information about this, curious on why they are going to end this mission.

After reading an article on the response of NASA administrators on this news, I was relieved. NASA is not going to close down, or will end up as irrelevant agency. NASA will continue its missions, many more missions and will just end one mission… the space shuttle mission. Maybe the best reason is concentrating more on innovation and looking-forward missions or plans. They will leave the space shuttle nitty-gritty to the private sectors and divert more funds on technology innovation, planning and preparation for more ambitious goals.

Here are some points I found on what they will be going to do next, most particularly for the next 50 years (hopefully, I am still alive by that time).

Going to Mars.

So they are really serious in going to Mars. That’s good! I hope I can witness someday the first walk of man on the surface of Mars. If the baby-boomers witnessed the first walk of man on Moon, then I think, I may have the chance to belong to the generation who witnessed the first walk on Mars.

Currently, NASA is focusing all their energies on the development of Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle. It is a module/capsule that will allow 4 astronauts to explore Mars for 21 days.

This is really ambitious. Once we conquered Mars, we are ready to go beyond it!

Science

NASA is still serious about ISS mission. It will still be there to staff the US module with 6 astronauts to conduct different scientific experiments in low/zero-gravity environment.

ISS is still there, it will always be there. This is the first space station of mankind, the initial start of Deep Space Nine station. Hopefully, someday, we can build a bigger, better station. Certain aspects of this operation will be outsourced to private companies such as SpaceX and Orbital.

Aside from ISS, NASA will still send different space probes and satellites. Such as the following:

Juno - The solar-powered Juno spacecraft is to orbit Jupiter's poles 33 times to find out more about the gas giant's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere.

GRAIL - The Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory mission's primary science objectives will be to determine the structure of the lunar interior from crust to core and to advance understanding of the thermal evolution of the moon.

Curiosity Rover - The Mars Science Laboratory is a rover that will assess whether Mars ever was, or is still today, an environment able to support microbial life and to determine the planet's habitability.

So NASA is not really gone. It is just redesigning, refocusing and redefining its purpose and goals.

I have great confidence that within my lifetime, we will go to Mars. NASA is not the only one who is serious about this, ESA as well. ESA is also preparing their AURORA program.

Back to My Little Woods

It’s 1:00 AM in the morning. I just opened my eyes as I went back from my wanderings in Dreamland to reality. My mind was still trying to unload the excess dreaminess carried over from Dreamland.

I hit the bathroom and splashed some water on my body, hoping to wake up my whole soul. How could someone remove this dreaminess after sleeping for 16 hours? Yes, I slept for 16 hours.

And I think, I am going back to Hibernation period… a period in a year that I usually sleep for very very long hours. I can sleep for the whole 24 hours.

Maybe I am just tired with the whole thing in life.

I may need a break. I need a vacation… somewhere far, somewhere I can find my little woods of joys!

As a grabbed a good mug of coffee, and sipped some of the highly concentrated caffeine liquid, I began to think about my life. Of things, I used to do but now ceased to do. Of little things I enjoyed but now somewhat forgotten. I feel like I am already one of those mundane things in this universe! I no longer differ! I no longer see the distinct me in this crowded world.

Maybe it is time for me to break from my usual routine… time for me to find something productive and worthwhile, something I will really do to secure my long-term happiness.

Maybe, going back to writing will provide me a little escapism, or a needed break.

Maybe, going back to solving problems will give me the joy I am looking for.

Maybe, spending more time on photography will show me more direction, more light in how I view life.

(As Time Goes By – Peggy Lee – on the background)

Oh well, I needed to start somewhere so I opened my blogs again and realized that I have not been writing for more than a year now (for some of my blogs more than 3 years already).

I used to write to express what I thought, as well as to exercise my command of English language. However, somewhere sometime I ceased to write.

How about going back?

Yes, I will go back to writing. But before that, I need to revisit my blogs.

(Every Little Bit Hurts – Peggy Lee – on the background)

THE CHILDREN OF MY MIND

The Seven of Nine

I opened this blog to jut down my thoughts on everything and anything. I had already several entries, almost 200 of them since 2006. This is not my first blog. The first was somewhere in the archive of Live Journal, the time when I was drowned by my thoughts on love and sentimentalism.

The Seven of Nine, should be my general blog, every though I may think of should go in that blog. It experienced the same fate as my other endeavours in life… it was stalled and became stagnant!

It needs to be reborn and I need to breathe life again to this.

But before that, it needs a new look!

Neelix’s Kitchen

It was created in 2007, a place where I can put the clamors of my tongue, the musings of my mind on food, and my expertise in the kitchen and table.

Oh well, it never really kicked off. I just had some few entries but never really wrote something worthwhile.

And now, I think it deserve another consideration because after-all I am an epicurean! A bulk portion of my salary goes to food! So, I think it also deserve some of my time just like how I give time to eating!

How about the look? Well for now, it works!

Enterprise

Yes, the name can tell everything about this blog. It is for my travels and exploration! Yes, it will tell everything about my escapade, my goal of stepping on all the 7,107 islands of the Philippines, my dreams of visiting all the wonders of the ancient world, my ambition of exploring the corners of the world and my childhood wish of exploring the Universe.

This is the place where I chronicle all of my travels. It should be the basket of my photos of the different views of the world and places.

But, this blog never really took off. Nothing happened to it for 4 hours. Created 4 years ago with no growth at all! That’s crap of me.

I travel a lot, so I guess it is just right for me to re-launch this site

Need to revamp the look as well.

So many things to fix, so many ideas to write, so many words to explore.

And not to mention thousand and thousand of pictures to upload.

It is just I am a lazy guy… who knows nothing but sleep and sleep and sleep.

It is better for me to convert those 16 sleeping hours into something productive and useful.

And I think of spending them in re-launching my blog sites!

It is time for me to go back to my little woods!

(At Last – Dianne Reeves Version – Closing Song)

Answered! It’s Cuscuta sp!

Few weeks ago I blogged a certain plant I found somewhere in Pan de Azucar Island, Concpecion, Iloilo. It’s an orange stemmed plant entangled on a certain shrub.

My speculation was correct. It’s a parasitic plant. This is my first time to hear about a parasitic plant (though of fungi as the only parasitic plant-like organism). I am happy to know about this parasitic plant.

I don’t know the name of this plant. So, I emailed several botanists regarding this plant and someone replied and answered my question. I am very happy to receive an email from Emily Magnaghi of California Academy of Sciences – Botany Department.

That orange stemmed plant is from Cuscuta family, it’s a Cuscuta sp. I don’t know yet the exact species name of the one I found in the island. It could be Cuscuta sandwichiana. But who knows, this could be another species or subspecies.

To know more about this plant you can check this site. It’s parasitic! Cool!

Wow! 2,443 Authors?

First time in my life I encounter a paper written by 2,443 authors (scientists). This unimaginable. Well, I think for large collaborative research such as the one being done in CERN, then I guess it is just natural to have thousands of authors for a paper.

Here's the paper (if you want to read it):

Alignment of the CMS Silicon Tracker during Commissioning with Cosmic Rays

Imagine what a collaboration can do? I have high respect for any task, job, project, program conducted through collaboration.