Tag: May 27, 2005

less than a square inch and no thicker than a mouse pad, this device is capable of storing a full-length movie.

Say hello to a souped-up version of the multimedia memory card (MMC) used in most cellular phones today.

According to Jonathan Kendrick, chair of the London-based ROK Entertainment Group, his company has developed an encrypting process that can shrink a full-length movie and other media like pictures and music into an MMC.

SOON you can drive safely at night, thanks to Thomasian Arjay Tuazon.

A College of Fine Arts and Design graduate, Tuazon has conceived of a modular traffic cone that has white reflectors for night traffic. Tuazon, who drives to school, experienced accidents caused by troublesome traffic barriers and problematic road signals. Thus he decided to design improved traffic cones for his thesis.

BEING “earthquake-proof” aside, the UST Main Building may not last another century as chemical elements are slowly chipping away at its foundation.

That’s the concern of UST cum laude graduate Hayden Gil. She examined the structural integrity of the heritage building in a chemical approach and found enough reasons to be wary.

In her undergraduate thesis, Gil chemically examined the integrity of the 78-year old structure, and found it in “good” condition, but measures for its conservation “have to be devised as soon as possible.”

DESPITE the success of their other programs in the board, the College of Education and the Faculty of Engineering have been experiencing significant passing percentage decreases in the Nutrition and Chemical Engineering licensure exams.

From 2000 to 2004, Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Electronics and Communications Engineering registered high passing rates. The four programs had average passing rates of 89.66 per cent, 89.48 per cent, 92.78 per cent and 80 per cent, respectively.

WITH only P10,000 as regular monthly income from her husband who works as a security guard, Julie Magwan, the mother of a BS Education student, stretches every centavo just to have the family eat three meals a day. The family budget never included college tuition because an educational plan Magwan had finished paying some 10 years ago “assured” her that it would send Shiela, her sole daughter, to college—or so she thought.

EXCITED when the smoke issuing from the Sistine Chapel chimney was at last white, the ecstatic crowd in St. Peter’s square drowned even the pealing bells with loud chants Habemus papam!

The man in the white papal vestments stood before tens of thousands of pilgrims who had flocked to the square, raised his hands, and with a smile, addressed the crowd, calling himself “a simple and humble laborer in the vineyard of the Lord.”

Catholics celebrated the 39th World Communications day with the theme “The Communications Media: at the Service of Understanding between People” last May 8 at St. Peter’s Basilica.

Pope Benedict XVI stressed the influence of the media in launching ecumenical dialogue or provoking violence between different faiths.

The media, the Pope said, is an effective instrument for the “promotion of solidarity” among different nationalities and cultures. However, this can also cause “prejudice and contempt among individuals” if abused.

DID YOU know?

St. Malachy, a medieval Irish priest, foretold the identities of 112 Roman Catholic popes from the reign of Celestine II until the present.

His manuscript was found in the Vatican Archives in 1590. The predictions, although indirect and figurative, characterize a certain pope either by trait, country of origin, choice of papal name, coat of arms or insignia, birthplace, or some symbols.

ALTHOUGH known to be religious, Catholic Filipinos are struggling to live up to their reputation. One reason is the busy lifestyle that seem to hinder spiritual growth. But while some view the Sunday Mass a burden, there are Catholics still willing to take their faith way beyond the usual communion and praying the rosary.

UNKNOWN to many, German shepherd Pope Benedict XVI is a lover of cats. Agnes Heindl, the Ratzingers’ housekeeper for 10 years, had known the Pope well to describe him as much like St. Francis of Assisi, the saint who loved animals.

“When we were on vacation, a little kitten would come by, and he’d be giddy, almost giggling with joy,” she said. “Cats love him; they always go to him straight away. And he loves them back.”