Web Connectivity

While reviewing my set of pictures from the Minneapolis trip I chanced upon this picture again. I have used this photo before in my MBA widget as symbolic way of showing the connectivity through the internet. Just like my feedjit at the side bar. I can see where from the world do my visitors come from.

The internet has truly flattened the world. The only thing limiting us from connecting real time is the particular time zones we are in. Well, we could actually drop at each others sites and exchange comments in a matter of minutes. But if we are located on the opposite side of the globe, either one of us would definitely be having a big set of eye bags in the morning. lol!

My other blog, MBA On-Line was intended to be a learning platform about the blogosphere and about leadership development. Although it has taken me almost a month already in preparing the blog's outline. It is intended to be a step by step blog development from the basic frameworks to hopefully become even a web hosting tutorial site in the future. For almost the whole of August, I had been doing research and collecting tutorial materials and web hosting articles for the blog. I even bought a book about multimedia for the web which I intend to use as resource material.

Preparation phase is done. Now comes the implementation. I just wish that the blog earns its ratings and reviews well by contributing to the betterment of our being. As we connect with each other around the world, it increases our awareness and understanding how we all can make a difference and help change this world for the better.

Wordless Wednesday: Percussion

This entry is for the Tuesday and Wednesday Editions of:

wordless wednesday

Summer in September

September is just around the corner. At this time of the year the weather is just great in the mid-west, nearing the end of summer. In Minneapolis, our company holds the President's forum annually around this months, where the representatives from 27 countries across the globe are invited to fly over to be recognized for their achievements and contribution to their respective business units.

Last September 2006, I was fortunate to be one of the Philippine delegation to attend the forum. We had the chance to meet not only the senior leadership team but also our counterparts from other locations. A fruitful venue to exchange ideas and learn from their experiences. That year, it was Vietnam who got the Business of the Year Award.

It was a full 3 day event that was very well organized and executed. There were spectacular presentations and trade show exhibits. All the different brand segments have their own booths, custom made for the occasion. The booths were lined inside the perimeter of the wide trade hall. Brochures, books and souvenir items were a plentiful table top display. There were even games and raffle draws. Really incredible!

The trade hall was also delightfully colorful,dressed with the different flags of the represented countries. Then at the center were coffee shop tables complete with table covers where colleagues lounge after touring the show.

They say your stay in Minneapolis wouldn't be complete if you haven't tasted the Famous Dave's baby-back ribs. So after the convention, our team decided to share a couple of beers while savoring the sumptuous meal...and mind you, their servings were really big.

Then before we all flew back home, we dropped by the highly acclaimed Mall of America to check-out the items on sale. Funny, but we ended up buying items at Victoria's Secret.



That September in 2006 was a very memorable & humbling experience indeed. Knowing that you are only part of a very big whole. A speck in the universe of diversity yet your contribution is celebrated by everybody.

Of Anxiety, Expectation & Faith

With my wife expecting the arrival of our new son in the next few weeks, I can not help but to pray that they both surpass the ordeal safely. Hoping that our second child will also be born normal.

As the full term is nearing, both excitement and anxiety fills every gap of our conscious mind. It is somewhat stressful. Last night, I succumbed to tonsillitis. A combined effect of stress and erratic weather. It came quite a surprise though, since I haven't been bothered by tonsillitis for sometime now. It just bothered me since I had a history of rheumatic fever in my childhood due to frequent battles with tonsillitis, and this has led me to wonder on the possibilities whether my expected son could inherit such predisposition.

So I did some web searching. One of the most striking relationships I found that could have a congenital effect on newborn was about mitral valve defects.

The mitral valve , a.k.a. bicuspid valve, is a dual flap tissue inside the heart. It lies between the left atrium and the left ventricle which functions as a regulatory measure preventing the back-flow of blood from the ventricle to the atrium. In the normal cardiac cycle, once the oxygen filled blood from the lungs enters the atrium, the mitral valve relaxes allowing it to pass through the left ventricle for distribution to the other parts of the body via the aorta. At the same time that the ventricles contract, the valve shuts close preventing any back flow. However, if the mitral valve is defective, a portion of the oxygenated blood enters back to the atrium, reducing the amount of blood that will be distributed to the entire body. It produces a murmur sound that can be heard by auscultation.

Several factors can cause such malfunction and one reason can be associated to rheumatic heart disease. If left unchecked, the condition can be fatal. Good thing, modern medicine has come up with ways to do mitral valve repair. Several institutions have specialized in treating the condition with high percentage of safety and success. They can either do mitral valve surgery or altogether do mitral valve replacement.

Knowing this, it comes as source of relief. Plus of course, staying in faith that my expected son would be free any congenital anomaly. At least, if ever he would be contracting tonsillitis later on, it would be easier to prevent and treat.

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* Illustration courtesy of http://www.mhhe.com

Making a Better Place for the Next Generation

We have a new member of the family expected to arrive in the next two weeks. So far, preparations are underway. We have upgraded the bedroom. Now the next challenge will be the nursery and the living room.

We were thinking of letting go of old items and look for Modern Furniture which could be more ergonomic. But the idea of holding a garage sale to dispose the old ones is not very appealing. I guess, we have to do a lot of rearranging and furniture donations to make for room.

As I said, ergonomics is the name of the game. A simple Modern Furniture that could be stylish yet space saving fits very well in a small living room. A few chairs would have to go to give room for the collapsable crib.

For the nursery, ideally it should be another room by itself. But having only two bedrooms in the house, it would have to fit in also with the Master's Bed room. A combination of Old and Modern Furniture will have to work together to give the suitable ambiance.

It is really great how our creativity can work when we are expecting a new life coming on our way. Besides, I believe that it lies on our responsibility to create a better world for the future of our next generation.

Wordless Wednesday: Merry-Go-Round

wordless wednesday