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My old Fujifilm A301 gave up. It has served me well and I am thankful for the countless images it has given.

I used to pine for a digital SLR like the Canon EOS 300D Digital Rebel , and was thinking that somebody will be letting go of this “old” reliable.

Canon Digital Rebel 300D

Now, I am more inclined to get the Panasonic Lumix LX3.  I had the opportunity to play around with this baby and I was very impressed!

Panasonic Lumix LX3

It was very handy compared to the bulky DSLRs but took great crispy-sharp images.

The only problem now is where to get the money to buy one. But I’m sure it would come.

images from http://www.canon.co.uk/for_home/product_finder/cameras/digital_slr/EOS_300D/ and  http://www2.panasonic.com/consumer-electronics/shop/Cameras-Camcorders/Digital-Cameras/

It just might work.

Gary Lauder in TED

image by Gary Lauder, cc by-nc-nd.

There is power in them, words.

Sticks and stones may break my bones but words…….

can break my heart or soothe my soul. Words can affect a child for better or for worse depending on which words are used.

In like manner, the words you say to others  and the words you say to yourself affect your life greatly. You just don’t realize it.

Take a look at the words that you often use. Do you use four-letter words often? I mean, love, hope, care, give and best? Or are they filled with the bad ones?

If your vocabulary is more positive and uplifting and encouraging, you are more likely to be happier and less stressed. It may also be that you are healthier and are optimistic.

You are more angry if you use demeaning, cursing, abusive and hate-filled words. I bet you will be more depressed and pessimistic.

Words  are expressions of your inner self. Conversely, the words you use affect what you feel.

This means that if you choose your words well, you have the ability to affect how you feel, how you see life and how you live.

Words carry power. Use them wisely.

If Efren Penaflorida was running for president now, he will get my vote. Even if he didn’t win the award, he would still get my vote.

Efren Penaflorida, CNN Hero of the Year 2009

But win it, he did! Read the CNN post here.

Congratulations to efren and his team and to the many kids whom he helped.

The mere fact that he tried to do something awesome makes him a champion and a true hero, in every sense of the word.

For me, a hero is someone who thinks of others beside himself and does something, or merely wishing or dreaming. Whether he succeeds in his endeavor or not, the mere attempt is very laudable.

What is more laudable is how he sees heroism.

Their program, K4 which stands for Kariton Klasrum, Klinik & Kantin (pushcart school, clinic and canteen), takes it where it would really be felt most: To where the kids are. Without fanfare, without the glitz, cameras and photo-ops we usually associate with one-time-then-forget-it missions. It’s plain old drive and compassion that propels each cart, each volunteer.

You are a hero, Efren. May more of us emulate your example.

A quote from the hero in their group’s website, Dynamic Teen Company:

“When people regard me as a hero, I always tell them that they should look inside them too because I believe that there’s a hero inside every one of us and all we have to is just to open our eyes wide and feel what’s going on, then let our hearts be willing to accommodate the needy, the desperate and the hopeless simply by extending our hand to them, and there you will unfold the hero that is in you.” - Efren G. Peñaflorida, Jr.

You make us proud Efren. Continue to push your carts and make the change. Thank you for being a hero and believing that there is one in each of us.

photo from CNN

Press Release

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

WHAT IS THE MILLION HECTARE WALK?

The Million Hectare Walk 2009 (MHW-2009) aims to raise awareness and resources for the Rainforestation Organizations and Advocates to 2020 (ROAD to 2020), an environmental conservation movement to restore one million hectares of our rainforests using native tree species by year 2020.  Now on its third year, the MHW-2009 is a non-competitive pledge walk that will be held on Sunday, November 22, 2009 from 6:00 am to 11:00 am at the Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife Nature Center in Quezon City.  There will be two routes, the 300-meter path and the 1.5-km path.

The Million Hectare Walk in November 2007 and November 2008 helped us reach out to more than 1,000 individuals to raise awareness on biodiversity and forest protection through lectures, discussions and presentations. We were able to network with various sectors that enabled us to plant more than 10,000 native trees to address habitat loss and climate change.

WHO ARE ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE?

Haribon members, volunteers, friends and supporters can participate and sign up as a walker.  Non-walkers can still participate by pledging at least Seventy-Five Pesos (P75.00) per lap for a registered walker or by being a volunteer during the event.  Even as a volunteer you can still raise pledges.  The key is participation! Corporate supporters can also become event partners.

HOW MUCH CAN BE RAISED?

The potentials are tremendous.  A pledge by one person can be as high as Twenty Thousand Pesos (P25,000.00).  Last year, we had a total of 334 walkers and raised P311, 014.96, thus each walker was able to raise an average amount of about P930.00.

HOW MANY WALKERS DO WE NEED?
We want to have at least 500 registered walkers this year. The more walkers, the more pledges, the more money we will be able to raise.

WHAT IF WE ARE NOT AVAILABLE ON THE DAY OF THE WALK?
No problem … you can still participate by supporting walkers as you donate, pledge and collect pledges for your chosen walker(s).

HOW DO I REGISTER AND PARTICIPATE?

1. 1. Complete the Registration Form (Annex A), submit by fax (434-4696) or email to membership@haribon.org.ph or act@haribon.org.ph
2. Recruit walkers if you want to form your own team so you can walk together as a group, and ask them to everyone in the team to register as walkers
3. Collect pledges from family, friends, neighbors, schoolmates, workmates or church-mates, etc.  Use Pledge Form (Annex B) and complete the needed information.
4. 4. Collect Registration Fees from each walker.  Fees for adults and kids are P250.00 (current Haribon Members and children up to 12 years old) and P300.00 (expired Haribon members and non-Haribon members).
5. Payment of Registration Fee and pledges can be made by doing any of the following:
   1. Cash Deposit:  You may deposit the amount via inter-branch deposit to Haribon Foundation’s BPI Kalayaan Branch – Peso SA 1993-0767-47.  We request that you fax to +632-434-4696 (attn: MHW 2009) or scan and email to membership@haribon.org.ph the deposit slip. Don’t forget to include your name, branch where payment was deposited, date and time of deposit and amount; or
   2. Cheque via Post/Pick-up: Please make cheques payable to Haribon Foundation.  You can mail or send it to our office:  2F Santos and Sons Bldg, #973 Aurora Blvd, Cubao, Quezon City 1109.   If you are in the Metro Manila area, we can also schedule for your registration fee to be picked up by our messenger during regular office hours; or
   3. c. Visit us: Haribon Office at 2F Santos and Sons Bldg., # 973 Aurora Blvd., Cubao, Quezon City from Monday to Friday from 9AM-5PM.
6. All validated and verified deposits will be issued official receipts by Haribon Foundation.
7. After paying for the registration fee, you may claim your MHW Kit at the Haribon Office (starting Wednesday, November 4, 2009). You may also have a representative pick it up on your behalf together with a valid ID and Letter of Authorization.

ARE THERE ANY FEES?

We have kept the walker registration fee low – P250.00 (current Haribon Members and children up to 12 years old) and P300.00 (expired Haribon members and non-Haribon members) to ensure the widest possible participation. There are no required pledge commitments in order to participate.

WHAT IS THE REGISTRATION FEE USED FOR?

The registration fees are used to help fund the costs of the event, which include among others, t-shirts, sling bags, advertisements, communication and coordination, overhead, programs, announcements and banners.

WILL THERE BE PLEDGE FORMS?

Yes, pledge forms are also available on Haribon’s website: www.haribon.org.ph. You can print them and distribute them to your friends and recruited walkers.

HOW DO WE RECRUIT PLEDGES?
The suggested minimum pledge is Seventy Five Pesos (P75.00) and this is equivalent to a native tree to be planted in a critical watershed area. There are no total pledge or goal minimums.

1.       No amount is too small – it is the nature of pledge walks that lots of small donations combine to become a big contribution.

2.       You can recruit pledges from family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, church-mates, classmates, etc.  If you have ever sponsored someone in another walk, it’s time for them to return the favor.

3.       It is easier to collect the donation when people make the pledge.  There may be difficulty on collecting after the Walk.

4.       We encourage the formation of informal teams for more participation.

5.       If payments by walkers are in cheque, please remind them that the check be payable to Haribon Foundation.

WHAT HAPPENS TO THE PLEDGES?
All walkers are requested to collect the pledges and turn these over to Haribon Foundation or deposit these to Haribon’s BPI account.   All pledges must be turned over to Haribon on or before December 15, 2009.

ARE DONATIONS TAX-DEDUCTIBLE?
Only corporate donations to Haribon Foundation are tax deductible.

WHERE IS THE WALK ROUTE?

The Million Hectare Walk 2009 will be held at the Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife Nature Center in Quezon City. We will meet inside the park near the Mindanao Avenue entrance (Gate 2).  The walk will follow the perimeter of the tree lined open space of the park (without crossing any major roads).  The walk is a short 300 meters and an optional path of 1.5 km around the mini lake which is a popular picnic ground, to make it accessible for children, seniors and everyone in between.

WILL THERE BE PARKING?

There is ample parking space at Gate 2 – North Avenue entrance.  A minimal parking fee of P15 per vehicle and entrance fees of P8/person (Adult) and P5/child will be settled upon entry to the park. We will have volunteers at the park to meet you and direct you to the Registration Area.    This gate is also accessible via public transportation.  This is a short jeepney ride from McDonald’s Mindanao Avenue (fronting Trinoma).  Get off before reaching Quezon Memorial Circle.

For those commuting and coming from Quezon Avenue, the Quezon Avenue gate of the park is also accessible via public transportation.  This is a short jeepney ride from the EDSA MRT station (alight before the Quezon Memorial Circle).

WILL THERE BE MARKETING MATERIALS?

Yes, marketing and reference materials are posted on the web site. You can print them and distribute them to your supporters and recruited walkers.

DID YOU FIND THE ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION?

If not, please send your question to membership@haribon.org.ph or act@haribon.org.ph or call 421-1213, 421-1209 or 911-6088 (Lyn or Yolli) or text/call 0922-815-1942 (Maribeth).

With the recent typhoons and flooding, we have seen the effects of climate change.  It is not too late to take action. No matter how little effect our efforts will make in the short term, we would have done a great service to earth and the future citizens of the world.

Let one of the legacies our generation be caring for the environment to counter the effects of climate change.

Blog Action Day: Climate Change

My vote goes to:  MAKE EDUCATIONAL CONTENT ONLINE AVAILABLE FOR FREE.

Whether it wins or not, I know that this is already happening, but on a limited and clustered scale. My dream is that a concerted effort that produces quality content that is offered by a self-sustaining, free state/country certified school recognized in all countries. The content themselves have to be dynamic, easily update-able and open for improvement, remixing (CC  BY-NC-SA 3.0 licensed) and can be localized when needed. It should run on most platforms and be packaged with its own open-source learning management system like Moodle.

Then it should be download-able and can be used without an internet connection, fitting in a standard USB drive.

Wouldn’t that be a truly revolution in education?

Project 10 to the 100 is a Google.com initiative that crowdsources ideas that would be implemented with Google funding.

Join me and vote for:  MAKE EDUCATIONAL CONTENT ONLINE AVAILABLE FOR FREE.

I believe that blogging is here to stay and that we Filipinos are very good at it. All niches across all topics and walks of life, we have them.

The Philippine Blog Awards 2009 aims to recognize the best blogs and promote blogs as a good means of communication – and this year – as a unifying factor of the three islands to make ONE BLOGGING NATION.

Suppport it, join in and be one with us.

Philippine Blog Awards 2009

This made me smile.

And I think he is right, too.