Creativity uses imagination rather than imitating something else. It is essen-tially a generation of new ideas, images and/or solutions.
This animation created by Alan Becker manages to achieve a principle of art that is concerned with the sense of stability of the visual elements in a consistent yet chaotic way.
The visual elements Becker deploys consist of two-dimensions: height and width. It is a space with a defined or implied boundary containing only two basic groups: geometric and organic. The visual element, the basic ingredients he uses to create works of art on the Web that includes line, shape, form, color, texture and space (in this case, the ‘stick man’), has been ingeniously transformed in space – an area between, around, above, below and within objects.
Becker’s technique, method and approach to working with materials when creating his works of art, is superb. It combines information, communication and technology in a neat visual package. It also manages to highlight another principle of art that is concerned with the sense of wholeness or completeness. In this case, it adheres to basic principles of design by organising the visual elements of art that include balance, emphasis, contrast, unity, movement, rhythm, proportion, scale, repetition, pattern, and variety while managing to entertain us as it delivers its message.
The message is simple as it is direct. It manages to transfer visual information from him to you in a two-way process characterised by an exchange and progression of thoughts, perceptions and ideas. That, in essence, is what communication is all about.
Click Image To Activate
Learn more about what the author of this blog does in the field of social media, information, communications and technology through Digital Summit.
“The greatest wisdom is to recognize one’s own ignorance”– Nicoleus Cusanus
THE PACE OF CHANGE
I have been involved in most aspects of ICT for a number of years and in a number of projects large and small. During that time, I’ve been fortunate enough to have met and inter-acted with a number of leading edge technology-related firms and groups of people who have made significant contributions to progress and knowledge we all often take for granted these days.
The pace of change over the last 100 hundred years is something mind-boggling, especially if you measure it against a specific point of time in the past.
The year is 1909. Here are just a few statistics I picked up randomly from an American Almanac for that year:
Sugar cost four cents a pound
Coffee was fifteen cents a pound
Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen
The average life expectancy was 47 years
There was no Mother’s Day or Father’s Day
Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub
Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone
Two out of every 10 adults couldn’t read or write
The average wage in 1909 was 22 cents per hour
The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph
More than 95 percent of all births took place at home
Ninety percent of all doctors had no college education
The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower
The average worker made between $200 and $400 per year
A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year
There were only 8,000 cars and only 144 miles of paved roads
Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and ice tea hadn’t been invented yet
Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were available in over-the-counter drugstores
Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used borax or egg yolks for shampoo
Nothing much progressed in the world during the first half of the 20th Century, not at least with the kind of pace we see it running today. Relatively few jobs had much to do with computers and computer-related technology.
AGE OF INFORMATION
But by the mid-1950s, researchers noticed that the number of people holding “white collar” jobs had just exceeded the number of people holding “blue collar” jobs. These researchers realised that this was an important shift. It was clear that the Industrial Age was coming to an end and as it ended, the newer times adopted the title of the “Information Age” Why that term, you ask?
Well, it’s largely because large frame computers, computerised machinery, fiber optics, communication satellites, the Internet, and other ICT tools became a significant part of the growing world economy.
Then, microcomputers were developed and many business and industries were greatly changed by ICT in essentially a form that transformed products made of atoms to products made of bits which can be produced very cheaply, make a copy of it quickly and ship it across the world instantly at very low cost.
Then of course, with the invention of the World Wide Web in 1989, is when the Internet truly became a global network. Today the Internet has become the ultimate platform for accelerating the flow of information and is, today, the fastest-growing form of media.
But with all this now available at the touch of our fingertips I sometimes wonder if any information acquired is actually being transformed into knowledge leading the more enlightened of us to gain some institutional wisdom that can perhaps be applied to improve humanity and the world it lives in.
Since ICT covers any product or service that leads to storing, retrieving, manipulating, transmitting or receiving information electronically in digital form, I decided to ask a more well-versed associate of mine who runs an ICT-based company called Digital Summit. It is a company that specialises in providing professional service that helps healthcare and educational institutions in New Zealand transform themselves into knowledge-based organisations.
DEFINING KNOWLEDGE
After a long and fruitful discussion, I learned something more about what knowledge is and how it can be organised intelligently using ICT approaches so that users of the information systems this company builds can actually get more bang for their buck, as the saying goes. He calls both the approach and methodology behind the flow of work they do the Trident Solution™.
First of all, I learned that there are actually two forms of knowledge:
1) tacit knowledge, which is possessed by people and not generally recorded; and,
2) explicit knowledge, which is recorded information and usually stored in form of databases.
Then, there are also three kinds of knowledge:
1) subject matter knowledge, which identifies the location of knowledge but requires a broad level ontology to evolve as knowledge is developed;
2) collaborative knowledge, which defines the best way to carry out activities within an organisation. It supports tasks in getting any related information, finds the best ways to get consensus and reach agreement; and,
3) organisational knowledge, which defines objectives of workspaces and tasks needed to achieve them. It also contains information of the location of any tacit knowledge.
By becoming a knowledge-based organisation using Digital Summit’s Trident Solutions™ approach, my associate explained, it then becomes possible to provide organisation members access to both tacit and explicit knowledge using client databases and computers in a Web environment.
I think Digital Summit is on sound ground and even on a more solid one if their incorporate social media using Web 2.0 into their service models. To that, my associate already hinted that it’s in the works and just to wait for their new website to be completed and published in due time.
POWER OF COMMUNICATIONS
In the meantime, I also invite you to view a fascinating video clip below of U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown as he delivers a talk on web-based technologies and about how we all can use today’s interconnectedness to develop a shared global ethic and work together to confront the challenges of poverty, security, climate change and the economy.
In this video, Brown suggests what modern technology is capable of – harnessing the power of our moral sense allied to the power of communications and our ability to organise as a community to fundamentally change the world.
If anything the pace of change has wrought over the last 100 years that we can now use for the good of our species, then perhaps it is what companies like Digital Summit and others like it around the world may be doing, in small part, to make that happen maybe a little sooner. May the force be with them.
Learn more about what the author of this blog does in the field of Social Media on Web 2.0
Symbols represent a concept and were first used by cavemen for recording events and some-times, their thoughts.
Cave paintings are the oldest known form of symbols and were originally very simple and easily understood. They slowly developed into depicting much more complex information and progressed from the walls of cave into carvings in rock and stone.
Pictographs were the next form of symbols to develop and they represented concepts, objects and activities by illustration. More advanced forms known as “hieroglyphs” refer to the characters made by graphical figures, be it animals or objects.
Sumerians invented picture-hieroglyphs that developed later into cuneiform, the earliest known pictographic writing system in the world adopted by other cultures.
Being able to decipher and read hieroglyphs provides fascinating insights into the land, lore and minds of an ancient people. Understanding their hiero-glyphs illuminates meaning and removes some of the mystery behind their ancient languages and inner thoughts.
In one such example, written across the wall of the cave somewhere along the steep banks of the Dead Sea, were the following symbols:
It was considered a unique find at the time. The writings were said to be at least 3,000 years old by some estimates.
The piece of stone where it was engraved on the cave wall was carved out and carefully removed, brought to the museum, and eminent archaeologists from all over the world came to study the ancient symbols months on end. They then held a huge meeting after several conferences had taken place to discuss the possible meaning of the markings.
An Esteemed Estimation?
In this meeting the President of the society pointed to the first drawing and said,
“Evidently, this is a woman. We can see these people held women in high esteem. You can also tell they were intelligent, as the next symbol is a donkey, so they were smart enough to have animals help them till the soil. The next drawing is a shovel, which means they had tools to help them.”
“Even further proof of their high intelligence is the fish which means that if a famine hit the Earth and food didn’t grow, they seek food from the sea. The last symbol clearly appears to be the Star of David which means they were evidently Hebrews.”
The audience applauded enthusiastically.
Bringing The House Down
As the applause died down, an old Jewish scholar in his 90’s stood up slowly in the back of the room and said,
“Idiots, Hebrew is read from right to left…… It says: ‘Holy Mackerel Dig the Ass on that Chick.’ “
Writing has come along way from its early scribbles on the wall of a cave. The purpose for writing though, probably remains the same as it was then – to record, pass and share information. But some things apparently, never change!
Since posting my blog entry ‘Typhoon Ketsana – Bigger Than Katrina’ yesterday morning I received nearly 300 emails, mostly for more information about and images detailing the human aspects of the natural disaster that struck the Philippines over the weekend.
The images you are about to view below are but just a small but graphic examples of what this very recent calamity has done to the lives of hundreds upon thousands of displaced people in the Philippines. But the worst is probably yet to come. After the massive flooding that hit this country health officials expect a rise in cholera, dengue and other water-borne diseases related to exposure from scattered debris, lack of protective dwelling places, and possible instances of starvation in the poorer areas of Luzon Island which suffered the brunt force of this catastrophic typhoon. Roads and bridges have been destroyed.
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Expressions of Hope
One of the many proactive comments that emerged from some of these emails is that disaster relief efforts are more effective if your giving (in cash or kind) is channeled directly through more established nonprofit organisations that have experience in these matters. This ensures that the goods and funds received from you go directly and quickly to affected victims and their families who need it most, rather than official government channels that are far less efficient in handling such matters of relief because of bureaucratic crawl and the consequent dissipation of valuable resources that result.
People in the Philippines are now exposed, hungry and homeless, dislocated and frightened not knowing what the next hour of their lives will bring. As a result, many lives are wrenched and disrupted. If you were in their place, what thoughts of despair would cross your mind? Give them hope.
In Their Hour Of Need
The last image you find above contains a link. If you hover and click it your action will transport you to the website of the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC). This site has a section containing some very helpful information about How You Can Donate regardless of where you are in this world. Donations in cash or credit card are accepted by the PNRC in US Dollars, Euro, Yen and Philippine Pesos. SWIFT codes are also included. SWIFT Codes are also included. PNRC’s National Headquarters’ Hotline Number is: +632 5270000 if you’re calling from overseas, or 143 if calling through a local line.
If your own circumstances do not allow you to donate, however, then at least pass this information to people you know who can. The SHARE button found below allows you to distribute the message to almost all the better known social networking websites around the world where you or your network of friends might have an account. Put it to good use.
In this day and age of the Internet on Web 2.0 and the inherent power it brings to your fingertips to communicate with blinding speed across vast distances, your acts and those of others you may know will surely mean something to many who are now in dire need of your valuable help.
In their hour of need, this is one case where haste does not waste.
The rainfall brought by Typhoon ONDOY (internationally, Tropical Storm KETSANA) to Metro Manila, Philippines and nearby areas in a span of 6 hours on Saturday, 26 September 2009 was the most devastating in recorded human history.
With winds of up to 100km/h, Typhoon ONDOY hit the Philippines early on Saturday, crossing the main northern Luzon island before heading out toward the South China Sea.
Hurricane Katrina poured over an inch of rainfall in Louisiana for 3 hours and another 0.5 inches per hour over the next 5 hours on 29 August 29, 2005.
Typhoon Ketsana/Ondoy’s devastation in the Philippines dumped an average of 2.24 inches per hour for 6 hours (equivalent to 900 ft. at sea level) or the equivalent 6 typhoons over the 3-week period of this September 2009 – in just 6 hours!
The country’s defence secretary, Sec. Gilbert Teodoro, has put the number of those displaced at 435,000, nearly double previous estimates and still counting.
IMAGES
Rescue efforts are intensifying as the weather continues to clear, but there are estimates that 80% of the capital is still under water. MANY are still in need of RESCUE and RELIEF.
VIDEO
For us who have been entrusted with much, spared and are safe, may we be grateful for this amazing grace by reaching out to those who are suffering from loss of property & loved ones … from homelessness and hunger now, and water-borne diseases and the sickness that will certainly come during the aftermath of this disaster.
Please share the information posted below to your network of friends over the Internet and ask them to also pass it along to their friends who may be able to help in one way or another.
RELIEF • SHELTER • DONATIONS
Red Cross donation through SMS: text RED<space>AMOUNT to 2899 (Globe) or 4483 (Smart)
Relief Goods can be sent to Caritas Manila Office (Philippines) at Jesus St., Pandacan Manila near Nagtahan Bridge (Tel No: +6395639298 | +6395639308).
Relief goods can also be brought Radio Veritas (Asia) at Veritas Tower West Ave. Corner EDSA (Tel No: +6399257931 to 40).
Roxas volunteers: donations for flood relief can be brought to Balay, Expo Centro, Edsa cor. Gen, MacArthur, Araneta Center, Cubao.
Victory Fort is opening its doors to those affected by the typhoon. Call 813-FORT
Posted below is a list of specific items needed and where to donate them:
Water, blankets, shoes, and clothes etc. are being accepted at the Hillsborough Village chapel for families whose houses were washed out in the nearby sitios.
Junior Chamber International Manila: is accepting donations at the Baypark Tent on Roxas Blvd. starting today (28 September 2009) to help the victims hit by Typhoon Ondoy. Volunteers are welcome to join the packing of goods.
Donations of any kind for Payatas communities affected by Ondoy accepted at ARANAZ stores in Rockwell & Greenbelt commercial centres in Makati City.
TeamManila stores in Trinoma, Mall of Asia, Jupiter Bel-Air and Rockwell are accepting relief goods (i.e., canned Goods, ready-to-drink milk, bottled water and clothes) for distribution by Veritas to displaced countrymen due to Typhoon Ondoy.
Caritas Manila Office and Radio Veritas (see above) are publicly appealing for the following goods: canned food, rice, used clothes especially for children, milk.
HOW TO DONATE FROM AMERICA:
Generous souls in the US who wish to help in the rescue and relief operations, you may donate through the American Red Cross. Call 1-800-435-7669.
HOW TO DONATE FROM NEW ZEALAND:
You may also send your donations to the ABS-CBN FOUNDATION via: 1-800-527-2820. Whatever you send will get to those that need it most.
ALABANG: Water, blankets, shoes, and clothes etc. are being accepted at the Hillsborough Village chapel for families whose houses were washed out in the nearby sitios.
MAKATI: Donations of any kind for Payatas communities affected by Ondoy accepted at ARANAZ stores in Rockwell & Greenbelt commercial centres.
LUCA Stores: Send your old clothes & donations (no cash please) to any LUCA store: Rockwell, Shangri-la or Eastwood.
TeamManila: Stores in Trinoma, Mall of Asia, Jupiter Bel-Air and Rockwell are accepting relief goods (canned goods, ready-to-drink milk, bottled water, clothes) for distribution by Veritas.
PANDACAN, MANILA: Relief Goods can be sent to Caritas Manila Office at Jesus St., Pandacan Manila near Nagtahan Bridge (Tel No: +6395639298 | +6395639308). Goods required are: canned food, rice, used clothes especially for children, and milk.
WEST AVE/EDSA: Relief goods can also be brought Radio Veritas at Veritas Tower West Ave. Corner EDSA (Tel No. +6399257931-40). Goods required are: canned food, rice, used clothes especially for children, milk.
CUBAO: NoyMar relief Operations: You may get in touch with Clare Amador at Mobile: 09285205508 re: the NoyMar relief efforts. You may also get in touch with Jana Vicente at Mobile: 09285205499. Drop off for relief donations is at Balay Expo Center across Farmers Market Cubao.
KATIPUNAN/LIBIS: From Kuya Ed Ramirez: The Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan Task Force Noah (SLBTFN), a disaster response arm is accepting donations. Please drop it off at the Ateneo Cervini Dorm. Then they will work with groups around the area to assess which evacuation centres needs help immediately.
Ateneo de Manila Business School is accepting donations for the victims of Typhoon Ondoy. Donations may be dropped at the MVP LOBBY.
CAMP AGUINALDO: For donations of relief goods, please deliver them to CRS Office, Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City or call Mobile: 0915-1162853. Food, medicine, clothes and other relief items are much needed.
ORTIGAS: The LUCA store in Shangrila.
FORT BONFACIO:
Drop your donations at the Philippine Army Gym
Aranaz Stores (for Payatas communities)
Rockwell Centre and Greenbelt will accept donations
Balay Expo Center across Farmers Market Cubao will accept relief donations
Team Manila Trinoma, Mall of Asia, Jupiter Bel-Air and Rockwell are accepting relief goods for distribution by Veritas.
TXTPower.org will forward donations to Red Cross Paypal Smart Money: 5577-5144-1866-7103
Other Options:
Call Clare Amador (+63928-520-5508) or Jana Vicente at +63928-520-5499). Drop off for relief donations is at Balay Expo Center across Farmers Market Cubao.
PLEASE SHARE AND PASS THIS INFORMATION ON TO YOUR ONLINE NETWORK OF FRIENDS ALL OVER THE WORLD AND DO KEEP THE FILIPINO PEOPLE IN YOUR THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS.
Everything we experience is actually a figment of our imagination.
Even if your sensations feel accurate and truthful, they do not necessarily reproduce the physical reality of the world outside of you.
Many of the things you experience during the course of your daily life reflect only the physical stimuli that enter the brain, with the gift of sight probably being the most ‘trickable’ of the five senses you might have.
What is even more remarkable is that the same neural ma-chinery that interprets actual sensory inputs is also respons-ible for our dreams, delusions and failings of memory. In other words, the real and the imagined share a physical source in your brain.
Over the course of human history, visual artists as well as illusionists have used visual illusions to develop deep insights into the inner workings of the human visual system with many having devised techniques to “trick” the brain into thinking that a flat canvas (such as the image you see above) is three-dimensional, or that a series of brushstrokes is actually a still life.
Visual illusions are defined by dissociation between the physical reality and the subjective perception of objects or an event. When you experience a visual illusion, one of three things can happen – 1) you see something that is not there; 2) fail to see something that is there; or, 3) see something different from what is there. As a result of this disconnect between perception and actual reality, visual illusions demonstrate ways by which your brain can fail to recreate the physical world. All is not what it seems.
Take for example the video clip you are about to view below. It is an illusion which tricks you to think you are watching a movie-like progression of 85 beautiful faces of women when actually – it is nothing really more than static photos cleverly stitched together and morphed seamlessly lasting a duration of 3 minutes and 6 seconds by use of software written code.
And here too, as an additional treat for you, is another video clip I think you might enjoy watching because it shows you exactly how one illusion is actually created.
Learn more about what the author of this blog does in the field of Social Media on Web 2.0
Do we live in a world of illusion? If we do, what would be one of the longest running one that deceives us into believing that all is still well in our world?
Consider, if you will, the cyclical nature of economies around the world in an environment of global-isation. The 2007 Financial Crisis, a severe economic downturn that is still with us today appears to promise, from its continued negative growth position, another long wait before the pain is eased for many. Even while hope springs eternal, no glimmer of recovery can yet be gleaned rising over the horizon with any certainty. And, if we benchmark the current economic miasma against three previous periods of economic decline – starting with the Crash of 1929, followed by the 1973-1974 Oil Crisis and the Tech Crash of 2000-2002 (see chart), it appears that it’s still going to be a bumpy ride on the way up.
What continues to cause these recurring relapses? Is it a case of pandemic financial mismanagement or some other human proclivity for mischief? Why is it that economic models measure the wealth and health of economies and their currencies not on their ability to save but rather, on their ability to spend? Is spending beyond one’s means a true measure of sound financial health and security? Obviously not.
Eyes Wide Shut Open
Is this just an illusion where the whole world has its eyes wide shut open? Let’s examine the definition of the word and then the current state of affairs to shed some light on this matter.
The word ‘Illusion’ can be defined in any of the following ways:
an erroneous mental representation
delusion: the act of deluding; deception by creating illusory ideas
magic trick: an illusory feat; considered magical by naive observers
something many people believe that is false; “they have the illusion that I am very wealthy”
Before I go on further with this, let’s first examine how countries measure their macro-economic affairs using one yardstick – their Current Account. The figures you’ll find on the list below identify each of 163 countries by name followed by its current account balance expressed in US$-millions, that is, 1 = 1-million. The list are chronologically arranged by the amount of their respective Current Account balances (positive in black, negative in red), starting with the highest positive number at the top and down to the highest negative figure at the end .
From the context of balance of payments, the Current Account of a country keeps track of its exports and imports. In very simplistic terms, we can alternately view this roughly as a measure of what it buys and sells, what it produces and consumes and what it saves and spends.
When exports exceed imports, economists say that there is a current account or trade surplus. When imports exceed exports, economists say that there is a current account or trade deficit. In other words, a positive figure means a country has managed to save from the sum of all its productive economic activities whereas a negative balance means the reverse and consequently causes it to borrow to keep its economy chugging along.
The countries listed below in black ink are, in a manner of speaking, those with ‘cash in their pockets’ – some with oodles of it, others with just a few wads. On the other hand, those characterised in red ink have holes in bowls. The bigger the number, the bigger the holes.
The Paradoxical Economy
At the beginning of the list, you’ll notice that the top performers are China, Japan, Germany, Russia and Saudi Arabia. The topnotchers’ position change from year to year and is therefore dynamic but traditionally, Japan has been consistently included in the Top 5 because it is a country that consistently save a lot. They also do not spend much and boast trade surpluses of over 100 billion annually. Yet surprisingly, the Japanese economy is considered weak, even collapsing.
At the bottom of the same list is the United States, a country well-known for saving little, spending much and borrowing heavily. It is a country who imports more than it exports and has an annual trade deficit of over $400 billion. Paradoxically, the American economy is considered strong and trusted to get even stronger.
America is a nation that cannot grow unless its people spend, not save. Worse still, not just spend, but borrow and spend.
It’s like a store owner providing financing credit to a customer so that the customer keeps buying from the store. If the customer will not buy, the store won’t have business, unless the stote owner continues to fund this customer. The US is the lucky customer. And the world is like the helpless store owner financier.
So why the illusion that the American economy is considered the most powerful one in the world? What is the delusion that drives this illusion?
How And Why The Illusion Works
The simple answer is – the rest of us. And the illusion that America is extremely wealthy lies in its spending, not saving. That the US spends is what makes it attractive to export to the US for most countries. The US has taken over $5 trillion from the rest of the world. The world saves just so that the US can spend freely.
Today, to keep US consumption going, that is – for the US economy to work, other countries have to remit over $180 billion every quarter, which is $2 billion a day, to the US!
The world is addicted to US consumption habits for its own growth. And because this growth is expressed more in GNP terms rather than its Current Account performance, the illusion continues. By its deepening culture of consumption, the US has habituated the world to feed on US consumption like a heroin addict. When the US needs money to finance its consumption, the world provides the money. Virtually others save for the US to spend.
Now here’s the best part of it all. Global savings are mostly invested in the US – in US dollars. America borrows heavily each day from such countries as, you guessed it, China, Japan, Germany, Russia, Saudi Arabia and even India. China has so far sunk over $160 billion in US debt-related securities. It has also invested in the US an amount more than double of what the US has invested in China.
Japan’s stakes in the same securities China invests in is even much larger, in trillions! That’s because Japan has been America’s financier longer than China has. But let’s not blame the Japanese. The rest of the world is much the same as the helpless store owner financier too. And since the US has hardly any incentive to save as it continues to borrow to import more than what it exports year after year it just keeps on adding more digits to its own ballooning Current Account deficit.
Do you think that is a bottomless pit? The rock has to hit ground at some point in time, doesn’t it?
Et Tu Brutus?
So, is America the only country that uses credit to spend their future income with abandon? Take another look at the list above. It is not alone. There are little America’s sprouting all over the world. Whatever sins America commits being a profligate spender and a poor saver is one that is also committed by a host of other countries to one degree or another. Just look at the deficits of OECD countries like New Zealand, Italy, France, Australia, the United Kingdom, Spain and so on.
The only difference is this: whether a country is a big spender or not, they are all linked at the hip chasing after the almighty American Dollar – which ironically and ultimately finds its way back to America one way or another.
And because more than half of all the nations of the world mimic the behavior of the US by not managing to save, they continue to be deceived with the illusion that a nation cannot grow unless its people spend, not save. And, oh? Not just spend, but borrow and spend! But the other half who manage to save are also just as equally guilty because they use their surplus to feed the humongous all-consuming appetite of America for borrowed funds instead of investing their surplus to develop and strengthen their own economic back yards. And guess who prints all those dollars?
That’s the American Dream we’ve bought folks and we have all of ourselves to blame for the nightmare it has become today (and will be again tomorrow) unless we break with this addictive habit.
Learn more about what the author of this blog does in the field of Social Media on Web 2.0
Symbols represent a concept and were first used by cavemen for recording events and some-times, their thoughts. 
The rainfall brought by Typhoon ONDOY (internationally, Tropical Storm KETSANA) to Metro Manila, Philippines and nearby areas in a span of 6 hours on Saturday, 26 September 2009 was the most devastating in recorded human history. 
What is even more remarkable is that the same neural ma-chinery that interprets actual sensory inputs is also respons-ible for our dreams, delusions and failings of memory. In other words, the real and the imagined share a physical source in your brain. 
Is All Still Well In Our World Today?
What continues to cause these recurring relapses? Is it a case of pandemic financial mismanagement or some other human proclivity for mischief? Why is it that economic models measure the wealth and health of economies and their currencies not on their ability to save but rather, on their ability to spend? Is spending beyond one’s means a true measure of sound financial health and security? Obviously not.
