OLED passport!

A cousin asked me last week to call the US embassy regarding the policy on the new machine readable passports. I was a bit lost about it 'coz it was the first time somebody told me to ask about it and its vital rule in visa applications whatsoever. Besides I don't know where on the embassy's website should i check about the policy.

Well i got cross-eyed with the task anyway...hehee! And just now i saw this post on Gizmodo about OLED passports. I find this very convenient indeed! No more needless questions and shorter lines at airport counters! less frazzles! OLED and Gizmodo posted the following about the passport

"Samsung SDI and German security printer Bundesdruckerei have demonstrated a passport that features a slim and bendable OLED colour display within a polycarbonate data page. The display can be used to provide a raft of information including a video of the document holder.

According to the suppliers, tommorow’s ID documents will work without contact and without internal batteries. The integration of a display makes electronic ID documents even more difficult to forge and opens up the way for new security applications, they claim.

Samsung SDI developed the display to be just 300µm thick. However, even with the integrated colour display, the data page of the ePassport is still only 700µm thick, the companies claim.

The display comprises an active matrix display with organic light emitting diodes (AMOLED). This means that located behind every pixel of the display is an active electronic circuit with low power consumption. AMOLED displays are said to provide excellent colour images and can be produced in much thinner formats that conventional LCDs.

The materials used for the display are heat-resistant, so that the passport card can be laminated and hence protected against manipulation.

The display is activated via the power provided by a contactless reader, so that the document itself does not require any batteries. The suppliers say that it will be possible to retrieve all kinds of information via the display, for instance, a moving passport image of the document holder, as well as text-based information, such as the passport holder’s address."

kiddie weekend

On weekends it is our practice to at least visit the church, hear a bit of the mass, and mumble some prayer. Even before we can enter the church they start asking and being soo kulit as to where we will go next after mass! Hay naku!

The kids never fail to ask for some kiddie entertainment and some kiddie meal (fastfood!). Jollibee tops the list. I don’t know why but they always ask for Jollibee. And it seems that Filipino kids have the same thing in mind when it comes to eating out –– Jollibee! No need to say that there’s no empty table nor chair in any Jollibee outlet during weekends. It’s good my eldest loves Greenwich’ pizzas, so we ate at Greenwich.

mom and grouchy tabachinchin

It seems that Greenwich has stopped serving solo pizzas. I would have ordered 2 different solo pizzas for the kids but I was told that they don’t have solos anymore. I had to order 2 pizza bars, the kids can't consume much when there's chicken on the table. Don't know why but they LIKE chicken so much, I sometimes say they might grow feathers someday (hope not! que horror!).

bunso and Papa

And as usual bunso asked for "jump jump" (her term for the inflated rubber playplace inside the biggest mall in Dasmariñas, Cavite. They stayed there for an hour, jumping, and horsying around the place until their throats got parched. They got so thirsty they were able to finish more than 3 large cups of juice!

bunso (blurry in pink) jumping at "jump jump" hehee...

jaded!

I like wearing jade rings. Those semi-precious stones somehow gives me a warm feeling.

Do you know that jade rings are cool even when worn in summer? It may be sweltering hot outside but my jade rings still feel cool on my finger! Yep! I was a bit amused when I first realized it. ‘Coz constant use of my wedding ring (and other rings) leaves a mark on my finger, but the jade rings never did. I don’t know how and why.

one of my jade rings, it may not be priceless but i love it nonetheless

I heard (and read) that fine jade can buy you a whole nation (in ancient China). Some even fought with their lives for the possession of jades with superb quality.

I may not be able to describe fine jade or a bit of its history here but I would like to share some tips on how to take good care of your jade jewelries. Here are some tips:

1) Jade is delicate so as much as possible avoid bumping on hard surfaces. A crack may not be seen by the naked eye, but the interior structure may have been damaged. The tiniest crack will gradually appear and reduce the value of your jade accesory.

2) Keep your jade from dust or greasy dirt. Scrub each with a soft brush and mild soap (liquid is better) and wash with clean water.

3) Store the jade in a case or box to protect it from getting scratched or from cracks when bumped.

4) Keep your jade away from perfume, perspiration or chemicals. Jade corrodes easily when exposed to , especially emerald and other high quality jade, so it is better to clean it with a soft cloth after wearing it.

5) Take care not to wear or expose your jade to sunlight (ooops! heheee...) for long periods. It may expand and the quality will change slightly.

6) Jade has certain water content so keep it in an area of humidity to protect it from over-drying

Prayer

I found this very comforting blog today while surfing on things about my hometown. I am sharing it with you so you too will remember what to do when you need Him most...

"Prayer is the door to those great graces which our Lord bestowed upon me.

"If this door be shut, I do not see how He can bestow them; for even if He entered into a soul to take His delight therein, and to make that soul also delight in Him, there is no way by which He can do so; for His will is, that such a soul should be lonely and pure, with a great desire to receive His graces.

"If we put many hindrances in the way, and take no pains whatever to remove them, how can He come to us, and how can we have any desire that He should show us His great mercies?

"Above all I implore all for the love of our Lord, and for the great love with which He goeth about seeking our conversion to Himself, to beware of the occasions of sin: for once placed therein, we have no ground to rest on."

- St. Teresa of Avila, Life, 8:13, 14

sensibilities

i often wonder why do some people stay on the streets? why can't they clean themselves? why can't they get a job, so they don't have to beg or ask for alms? how do these people feel? where do they sleep? what do they eat? do they get sick? if something happens to them, what do they do? where do they go?
i feel so sad whenever i see them. 'coz i can't do more. more than giving some coins or small bills and sometimes food.
i know it's crazy, but i'm a dreamer. and one of my dreams is of me helping those people get some work, take a bath, wear clean clothes, get a permanent shelter, go to school, eat newly cooked meals, live on their own...
i sometimes see pregnant women, kids cuddling babies, disabled or people with deformities asking or begging on the streets. when the traffic lights stop vehicles, they go from one jeepney to a car to a truck begging, asking.
how can they survive?
to land a decent job in the city, you have to secure your birth certificate (sometimes an NSO certified birth certificate is required) clearances from the barangay, police, NBI, numbers from SSS, and your high school diploma or your transcript of records. you can avail of these things easily if you can validate your existence (birth certificate, clearances...). not to mention that college graduates diminish your hopes of landing a job even for customer service related jobs such as sales clerks, cashiers, even for security personnel positions.
no wonder crime statistics fluctuate more often than your electric bills...
i heard that some of them like the Badjao's (yes, the sea faring people) do beg because of necessity. but some does because they are forced to do so.
and yet here's the real ISSUE of all! -- the DSWD project of giving up to Php 1, 500.00 monthly stipend (thru the beneficiaries' Landbank atm cards) to "poor" families.
i have very strong emotions against that DSWD project!
it's not that i don't want these people to receive help, but my socks! the DSWD is encouraging those people to get lazy...to just wait until the next stipend can be withdrawn thru their atm cards!

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puzzling Rubik cube

my son always asks me for pasalubong everytime i come home from work. so i thought of buying him a Rubik cube

the cube kept him from playing outside (even at noon, hmmph!) with his neighborhood friends

i also got a bit hooked with it that i sometimes carry it with me to work just so i can rid off the ick i got from trying to solve the puzzle...

swimming again!

a kumare invited us to her son's birthday/swimming party last Sunday at the Jardin de Dasmariñas at Brgy. Salawag in Dasma. my kids shrieked upon hearing that were going. well i had no choice but to go, no weekend rest for me...

here's joy with friend angie

jb trying the adult's pool (at the shallow part)

the place is a bit small for a resort but it is nice if you're after kiddie fun only. even hubby promised us a day there, maybe next month (? ugh! rainy season month!)

the kids had a lot of fun. their sunburns can prove it!

here' some of our photos, yup that's my daughter, the kid who loves to have her photos taken!

my baby

joy and angie(one of her playmates. ate Ana's apo)

joy and jb loves the shower (having a shower outdoors is new to them, hehee)

this was taken at the empty hut next to the hut that our group rented, the huts are ok

joy and angie by the adult's pool, this was taken before we left

these two loves to pose, yup there's a tree house at the middle of the resort. you can see the whole resort at the top even beyond the resort's fence (another subdivision)

a bit tired(joy was scratching her eyes, a sure sign of a much needed nap) while angie can hardly smile

jolly jeeps

The photos here are of the “jolly jeeps” here in Makati (business district in the Philippines). Office employees buy their lunch and snacks from these small stores. One can even buy cigarettes, tissue, sanitary napkins, and cellular phone load from these rolling stores.

They are constantly monitored by City Health employees (and sometimes there are surprise visits just so proper food sanitation is observed). Companies can get paralyzed by food poisoned employees! May God forbid such a horrible thing…

The food offered by the jolly jeeps certainly are ok and clean. If you’re lucky you may even spot some showbiz celebs who lives in some of the condos around the area (Rada/Legazpi/Palanca Sts.) buying whateve’s.

blue crystals

I made another bracelet. I used Swarovski stones (blue lasered Swarovski crystals), 14Kgold wire, some 14K gold balls, a 14K gold “tube,”and a 14K gold lock. Here are some photos of the finished prod. that I took.

Yeah the photos aren’t that clear, heheee...

I want to make one, using the really clear Swarovski crystals. I like the clear crystals more.

But my officemates’s and friends order the colored Swarovski crystals. Sometimes they order bracelets with crystals in different colors.