What will they think of next?

–

Not my students who gave me this wonderful and amusing gift, but gizmo wizards who think of such things like, what? A USB fridge?!

Apparently you’ll need something like this when you’re drinking a cold soda or beer while pounding away at the keys. The fridge attaches to a USB port on your desktop or laptop, and as it says on the box: “[it's] the only way to keep your drink cold while you’re at your computer.” The downside is it can only fit one soda can at a time. You’ll still have to stand up and go and get your next one from the kitchen ref.

Thanks, Gian and Doyle, for this amazing gift of a gadget. Now my drink will stay chilled as I read the theses of the next batch of graduating students.

Note: It looks like the ref my grandmother used to have — one that was powered by kerosene — before there was electricity in my hometown.

One hundred years of U.P.

Yesterday was the kick-off of the U.P. Centennial celebrations. Among the images I saw from the TV coverage were of this winking figure (pictures grabbed from Raffy Yllana’s flcker site):

I think this is how we should celebrate the centennial — with some degree of self-deprecating humor. We’ll really feel just that ancient if we take ourselves so seriously.

*wink wink*

Senators debate on TV

It’s election time in the Philippines — citizens will chose 12 senators, local representatives to the Lower House, and local officials for every town or city. I’ve been sort of keeping tabs on what’s happening on both the national and local scenes. It’s the senatorial elections that’s been hogging the campaign headlines. (Though recently, it has been the election-related killings on the local level that has been on the headlines.)

On national TV — meaning, Manila-oriented national networks — the senatorial race have intensified in terms of political ads. Candidates with money to spare have new ads running on primetime, while others are still using the ads they ran a few months back. With just about two weeks before election day, viewers can expect newer ads flooding their screens. And it’s not just individual ads of senatorial candidates. In fact, it’s the party ads that are throwing punches.