dbgg1979

The Phasmatodea (sometimes called Phasmida) are an order of insects, whose members are variously known as stick insects (in Europe and Australasia), walking sticks or stick-bugs (in the United States and Canada), phasmids, ghost insects and leaf insects (generally the family Phylliidae). The ordinal name is derived from the Ancient Greek phasma, meaning an apparition or phantom, and refers to the resemblance of many species to sticks or leaves. Their natural camouflage can make them extremely difficult to spot. Phasmatodea can be found all over the world in warmer zones, especially the tropics and subtropics. The greatest diversity is found in Southeast Asia and South America, followed by Australia. Phasmids also have a considerable presence in the continental United States, mainly in the Southeast. – Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phasmatodea)

Photo taken on April 17, 2011.

Voyages
Cebu – Hilongos
Cebu – Ormoc
Cebu – Naval, Biliran
Cebu – Catbalogan, Samar

For the latest info on schedule of voyages, call their office at (63 32) 232-1849, 232-2236 & 232-2263.

For those who are going home to the provinces on the Holy Week, you may now book your tickets 5 days advance.  Go now and avoid the crowd!

Roble Shipping Inc Ticketing Office at the North Reclamation Area

The Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral held an On the Spot Painting Contest last July 18, 2009. The contest was open to both Amateur and Professional levels. The event started at 9AM and ended at 4PM. There were plenty of challenges that the artists faced. The short time period, the occasional strong winds that blew away their paintings off their easel and the heat and humidity of the day. It was also an overcast day making the colors of the surroundings dull.

Contest Prize
Amateur Level
1st Prize – P15,000.00
2nd Prize – P13,000.00
3rd Prize – P10,000.00
Finalists – P2,500.00

Professional Level
1st Prize – P20,000.00
2nd Prize – P17,000.00
3rd Prize – P15,000.00
Finalists – P3,000.00

Mechanics
1. The competition is open to all artists.
2. There will be two categories: Professional and Student
3. Venue of the competition: Cebu Metropolitan Church and Grounds
4. Registration is free.
5. The competition will be on July 18, 2009, Saturday from 9:00am until 4:00pm.
6. Registration starts at 8:00am, July 18, 2009 at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral Office. Mechanics of the contest will be given upon registration.
7. The subject of the competition will be announced after the registration, prior to the start of the competition.
8. Participants are free to use any medium for their painting.
9. The size of the painting shall be 18″x24″ (inches). There should be no matting.
10. Participants must bring and provide for their own art materials.
11. The top eight finalists of each category shall become the property of Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral.

Here are some photos of the artists busy and at full concentration.




At 4:00PM, everyone was required to submit their entries to the judging area. There were some unlucky ones, pro and amateur, who were not able to finish their works.

I didn’t get all the names of the Judges. I happen to know only 2 of them, Mr. Kimsoy Yap and Mr. Bunny Pages.



THE WINNERS

1. Amateur / Student Category





First place went to the guy with the black shirt in the photo above. Second place went to the guy on the white shirt in the photos above. Sorry, I wasn’t able to get the names of the winners of this category.

2. Professional Category


1st Place – Guy in the middle.
2nd Place – Guy on the right – Mr. Warlen Rodriguez
3rd Place – Guy on the left – Mr. Toni Alcoseba

Their works in close up.

1st Place – Professional Category


2nd Place – Professional Category


3rd Place – Professional Category


The official awarding ceremonies will be on July 29, 2009.

NOTE: I didn’t have the chance to ask for the names of the artists and winners. If you happen to know the names, please leave a comment.

Check out the rest of the photos I took of the event here.

Compared to Incandescent Lamp

Advantages:
1. Colors
- Comes in soft white, bright white and daylight.
- Has a warm spectrum (yellow light) to a cool spectrum (blue light).
- Consumers have plenty of choices to match with their lighting needs at home. For example, warm light for the living room and dining, cooler light for reading lamps and hallways and the coolest light for closets, basement and work shop.

2. Shapes and Styles
- CFL comes in different shapes, giving the consumer more choices depending on the purpose of the lighting. The spiral one is great if you want to really brighten up a room. There are also versions where the light is diffused by encasing the spiral tube in a special glass so you get good lighting and at the same time the light is soft to the eye.

Disadvantages:

1. Only a very few of them can be dimmed with a dimmer switch. So far here in Cebu City, I’ve checked with Handyman in Robinson’s Department Store and True Value in Ayala and they don’t have a CFL than can be dimmed. I only see them in the internet.

2. They don’t work well with applications that require frequent switching between on and off. This process actually shortens the life of a CFL. Turn off your CFL only if you leave the area for atleast 10 or 15 minutes. Although some manufacturers now claim that their CFL has been improved to allow frequent on/off. But I have yet to try this for my self.

3. Very sensitive to temperature changes. Not advisable for applications where temperature can change from high to low frequently. This shortens the life of a CFL. My father tried to use CFL to light the area near the big oven in our bakery and the CFL didn’t last long because it gets exposed to the very hot air vented from the oven and temperature cools down so fast after bakery operation.

4. Probably the biggest issue right now for CFLs is the mercury content in the bulb. Although the amount of mercury in each CFL is so small, this can still lead to a major problem if these CFLs are not disposed of properly. The government is pushing for the use of CFL in every household including utility providers like Meralco and VECO. No problem in convincing people about that. Just show them figures of how much one can save every month if they use CFLs and they’ll switch immediately without complaints. Telling people to dispose them properly is a different story. The government is never successful in implementing garbage segregation. Even if you’re being responsible and segregate your own garbage, they still end up in the same dump site. Well, this is at least the situation in Cebu City. I don’t know about other major cities here in Philippines.

Overall, CFL can really give you savings in the long run. Hopefully, solid solution can be made in dealing with the mercury content. Better disposal system to be implemented? CFL with no mercury? Mercury poisoning is not a joke. They can easily seep down to our underground rivers and contaminate our water sources and surrounding sea.

I saw these syringes and bottles of medicine(?) dumped at the side of Escario Street. Can’t they find a better place to dispose of these?