Earth Survey Questionnaire ---- Happy Earth Day to All!!! ^_^

For many of us, we are awed by the great nature that is created by Allah. Truly majestic are His creations, that at times we take for granted what we have on earth. Do ya have ever thought about what is that attracts you to the beauty of nature? Well for Jeremy Taylor, this is his quest, to find out on people's perspectives on nature's beauty. He has initiated the Earth Survey, a blog site that displays the answers of respondents to the survey. Of course one person has the right to privacy, so Jeremy wouldn't mind if the person wish to remain anonymous, but he would still need the contact details as part of information.

As we are nearing close to our final days as Marine Biology students of UMT, I do hope that everyone will now consider themselves as environmentalists. I know this may be too much to ask, but I would like to have a moment of your time to please copy and paste the questionaire below, and send them to jeremyjtaylor@ yahoo.com. As I plea to all to please participate with this survey for it would only take a small token of your time. Thank you.....

Am I hearing thunder outside the house? Is it gonna rain today?

-------------START OF SURVEY---------------

Name:

Title/Organization:

Address:

Email address:

Today's Date:

1. What interaction with an animal and/or nature in your life has had the biggest impact on you?

2. Did you have a favorite place in the great outdoors during your childhood? What is your favorite place in the great outdoors now?

3. As a former zookeeper, I would love to know what your favorite animal is, and why?

4. What do you think is the greatest environmental challenge facing us now, and what do you think will be the greatest challenge in the future?

5. If you could give everyone one piece of advice regarding the environment and our natural resources, what would it be?

-------------END OF SURVEY----------------

Rugby... the good old days in the ISM campus.

Damn I miss playing rugby, especially back in ISM (International School of Manila, the high school I graduated from in the Philippines). I wish I didn't get injured on that very last game before heading to KL for the IASAS (Interscholastic Association of Southeast Asian Schools) finals. Owh well, here's a really good video that will bring me the sweet flashback of the high school life.

How to Attract the Woman of Your Dreams

Ok, so my previous post was not that interesting to read and a good example of making someone "bored to sleep". Well, I've decided to post something that is a bit different, and share tips to my fellow men on how to deal with women, and to help women understand a bit more on men (in case they miss a few things about guys). I have to admit, I have not been feeling too well with my heart: i) being criticized heavily on my work; ii) getting into an argument that I wanted to avoid; and iii) to recieve news that would shatter my heart. However, I'm all good now thanks to the help of my close and sweet buddies who really helped me out, and after listening to this one song, "A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes". Thanks for your words of wisdom. So, to all the men out there, do consider about the tips I'm giving out for these are the mistakes I've learned from after the pains I've caused. I hope my dream will come true....

TEN TIPS FOR GUYS TO KNOW ABOUT DEALING WITH WOMEN

Tip #1: Nice Guys Always Finish Last

I think this is true because women always want a guy who has that strong and powerful attraction. So being nice would equate to the guy being a suitable friend. If you do want to get that woman of your dreams, then don’t be too extremely nice. The guy gotta show that he can take things his way, and it does not necessarily to be nice.

Tip #2: Never Convince Her

Men, women not just talk a lot, but they can think for themselves as well. So even though the woman would say that she's not interested, it's better that you do not do the following: beg, plead, chase, or do anything that would deem as a force to change her thinking about you. Better yet, just carry on what ya do and who knows, only then she will take notice.

Tip #3: Asking For Her Permission Or Approval

For most guys, they think it is better to always ask the girl for their approval and permission to do anything or whatsoever. Another bad idea. Why? This would make an indication that the guy is just a wuss. It's good that the guy would ask for the girl's permission, but don't do it like 100% of the time. I'm not saying that we ought to dominate over the woman, but the guy needs to be critical where he makes the right decision by himself rather than to ask for approval or permission. This way, the woman will take notice that the guy is smart and is tactical in thinking.

Tip #4: Trying To "Buy" Her Affection With Food And Gifts

So you bought her some stuffs, treat her for dinner, which is all just sweet and nice. Well, is it? This may not be the suitable choice as the woman would see this as a way for the guy wanting to show that he can "buy" her by getting her all the cool things and yummie meals that she wants. Better yet, do so in a way that you have a reason for it rather than just say, "Oh, I just felt like doing so."

Tip #5: Telling Her "How You Feel" Too Early
So you've been dating with the woman for a couple of times, and you feel that it's right time to tell her that you really, awesomely, truly, madly, deeply (damn I hate that song) like her. After 2 dates? That's a wrong move because an attractive woman would know that you're falling for her too fast, and guys shouldn't do that. If you really want to her to be attracted to you, then take it slow and enjoy the ride. Don't think that being with her is like a hour roller coaster ride, but think of it as a whole month adventure in the jungle.

Tip #6: Women Attracts To Men Differently Than Men Do

For most guys, they attract to the woman based upon her looks and overall appearance. This could be her sweet face, the view from the back, or even how sexy she wears. Well this is what guys need to know, women are more attractive to guys that are not based on their looks. Fine the guy maybe cute, but the women wants something else. Do I know it? Certainly not because all women have different needs. So it's all depends on the woman. If the guy really wants the woman to be attracted to him, then the guy needs to find the one she's very attracted to that is not physically.

Tip #7: Thinking It Only Takes Money and Looks

For many guys, they tend to give up so easily because they feel that the women wants a guy who looks handsome, has all the money in the world, or is old enough. Most women would disagree because they want a guy who can understand them. The looks and all are just the added bonus, but they want the guy who also has good personality traits. Easily to be hot tempered is so a major turn off, so guys, please control your anger and especially your ego. Be a gentleman and show that you can be the most understanding guy she ever wants.

Tip #8: Giving Away All Of Your Power To Women

Going back to tip #3, it's not a good idea to always seek for her approval or permission. Also, it's not a good idea to let do whatever she wants all the time. For example, the guy wants to take the woman out for dinner. The woman can't decide where to and the guy goes on saying that he'll go wherever she wants to go. This is what the guy should avoid doing, instead he should come up with a suggestion and let her enjoy what the guy feels best. Again, this is not something the guy want to dominate over women, but to stand on our own two feet and show them how to enjoy a good time.

Tip #9: Being Clueless On Exactly What To Do In Each Situation With Women

This is a fact, women are TEN TIMES better in reading the guy's body language. Thus, a guy needs to know how to handle the situation with precision, speed, and ease. For example, the woman wants to buy bus ticket for her friend (which her friend asked her to get for her). The woman couldn't decide which bus operator to buy from, and the guy is there tagging along with her. In this situation, the guy can help her out by going through other bus operators and find which bus operator provides the most reliable time of departure. Don't be clueless or else the woman will think that you are of no help at all.

Tip #10: Not Asking For Help

This is just the main thing about men, we don't tend to ask for help most of the time. For guys, they feel that asking for help is a sign to show that we are just weak and just plain helpless. IF the guy needs help, then ask for it. Don't be shy because that's not gonna solve anything. For example, if you feel that you are having a hard time doing an assignment and that you don't want her to help out, then it's a wrong mistake. Ask for her help as well and get the input from her. The guy can also ask help from other sources as well, and should be self-confident to ask.

Carbon Dioxide as Raw Materials?

Okie, before I go on, I wish to take this moment to apologize for the long silence with my post. Now that I'm into my last month of my studies, I was busy with assignments, lab reports, presentations, and of course, my thesis. Well I've done the first three, but I still got the thesis to work on for the final presentationg and publishing. So all the best of luck to everyone who will be taking their exams! ^_^ Anyway.....

Ever wondered exactly what does mineral water bottle or DVD are made of? Answer: polycarbonate plastics. On to the next question, is it possible to extract the carbon dioxide from smokestack (as in those big smokes coming out of those huge chimneys)? And use that carbon dioxide as a raw material for polycarbonate plastics? If ya answered NO, then that information was so yesterday (well actually off by a week).

How I came to stumble with this information? Well it all started when I wanted to check my email last night, and I recieved a message from the Marine Biology International yahoo group. The message provided a link on a news article about US government spying on environmental groups. I found the article quite interesting and I pondered to the thought of the harsh espionage treatment an environmental conservationist would get. Afterwards, I decided to check out the news site, Mother Jones, and they have such interesting articles on current issues ranging from politics to blogs. Then I decided to look up into the Environmental & Health section, which led me to the article that really got my jaw dropped. The title reads out, "Lock Up CO2 In DVDs."

According to the article, during the 235th American Chemical Society National Meeting held in New Orleans last week, Prof. Thomas E. Müller and Dr. Toshiyasu Sakakura conduct a press conference that discussed about their research, "DVDs and CD-Roms that Thwart Global Warming," on how carbon dioxide can be use as raw materials for the polycarbonates plastics. According to Prof. Thomas Müller, he mentioned how carbon dioxide is so abundant as a raw material and that this method can help to reduce the carbon dioxide emission. Although this may sound good news, I would have to agree with Julia Whitty, Mother Jones's environmental correspondent, as she quote:
"Good idea: make polycarbonates from waste CO2.
Better idea: make less pollution and less polycarbonate plastics."

So exactly how would the carbon dioxide be collected? Well I went for further reading and I stumble upon this article from MSNBC, "Remove CO2 from air? Experts working on it - One approach uses lye to absorb greenhouse gas." The article mentions of two mechanisms: i) to suck out the air and have the carbon dioxide react with lye to turn into limestone and then sublimed (making solid turn into gas) back into gas; ii) to use solar heat to extract the carbon dioxide; and iii) similar method in number two but to use electrochemistry instead. Frank Zeman from Columbia University described the use of his device to direct the air through a chamber and is react with lye (sodium hydroxide) which will absorb the carbon dioxide into liquid form. Afterwards, the liquified carbon dioxide is mixed with lime to produce limestone, which is later baked in a kiln (which is like an oven) to release and then store the carbon dioxide. These methods are still in the experimental phase, but are still hopeful to yield much benefits in the future.