Electric fan stuff

cleaning and oiling.

There are times that I would wake in the middle of the night just to check our electric fans. I have this nightmare of waking up with our house burning and being trapped and helpless while my wife and daughter shout for help. 

What's troubling is that this nightmare have happened a lot of times especially in Metro Manila. I have heard on the news that majority of fires during the summer season are caused by overheating electric fans.

I am not an expert on electric motors but many times when electric fans stopped its usually because their fuses gave in. Fuses or thermal protection devices are installed in electric motors to prevent damages caused by overheating through prolonged continuous use. Without this device, an overheating heating motor will continue to work until sparks fly out or until the fan's plastic coverings and wire insulation melted and caught fire. 

Electric fans are not designed for long continuous time of use. Experts advised about eight hours or less of continuous use and then give the fan a rest of about thirty minutes to an hour, enough time for it to cool off.

They don't make them like this anymore, built to last.
Now.it's all plastic and disposable.

Heat causes the motor's shaft to expand causing damage to the bushing. Usually a whining sound is emitted and then after that, the blade stops spinning. After cooling it will work again but it will now be prone to stuck ups and overheating.  

Taking your non-working electric fans to your neighborhood repairmen is a risk especially if the technicians are not trained and certified by institutes or the government. 

Some of the things I have encountered with repairmen:

1. One of the first things they do is to remove the fuse and most of the times they do not replace  it and they directly connect the motor to the power thus removing the overheating protection.

2. To save money and have better profit, they use cannibalized spare parts or non-standard parts.

3. They rewind the motor or sometimes they replace the motor with motor from other fans.

Many of our electric fans have been repaired but I usually use them only during the day. But when we are sleeping at night, I use new (or unrepaired) electric fans. At least, I know they still have their overheating protection devices.

Smoking Bus and a Bad Keannu Reeves Movie

With their units arriving and leaving at thirty minute interval,
I wonder how can they efficiently maintain the road worthiness
of their buses.

About two hours on the road aboard a Victory Liner bus from Baguio bound for Cubao, Quezon City, about nine o'clock in the evening,  in the middle of a crazy Keanu Reeves movie called "Man of Tai-chi", a man suddenly crossed the road and boarded our bus. 

"Your front wheels are smoking," said the man who judging from his uniform was a Victory Liner inspector.

The bus stopped.

When the bus opened it's door, thick, foul smelling smoke entered the air conditioned cabin. We were dumbstruck. We didn't know what to do. The driver who instead of telling us to abandon the bus or something, jumped out of the bus to check what was wrong. He was out there opening panels, looking, touching and checking stuffs, while the bus was being filled by black smoke smelling of burnt rubber. The passengers were at a lost and were about to suffocate, so, we, in near panic, decided to get off ourselves.

The driver left and came back with a pail of water and poured it inside the front wheels. We were on the shoulder of the road, in the dark and wondering what was going on, keeping our distance away from the bus which judging from the smoke coming out of it was about to explode.

After a few minutes, the driver climbed aboard, started the engine, and drove off. I shouted, 'What? No announcement?" Most of the passengers were also puzzled. He was up there driving the bus while his passengers didn't know what was going on. We had no choice but to follow the crawling bus.. After a few meters, the bus stopped at a small carenderia and the the driver borrowed a water hose and doused the smoking wheels. 

We were concerned about safety. I mean, a smoking bus is in no condition to continue on. Some of us men were telling the driver this..

I don't know what to think of this movie.
So bad it was good.

The inspector assured us that our bus was okay. It's just overheated brakes. It happened many times to their units and what needed to be done was to cool the brakes and then everything would be fine. He also assured us that we were off the steep incline and were now travelling on level road. Of course, many passengers were concerned. I mean, losing brakes was one hell of a scenario.

After a few minutes of dousing and lots of reassurances and the thought of transferring to full buses (they have no spare bus, the inspector told us), we boarded the smoke filled- foul smelling cabin. I thought I was going to have an asthma attack, but after a few minutes, it became tolerable and then everything was fine, again.

The driver, I think, fixed the problem.

The conductor turned on the TV and DVD player. He inserted the disc and pressed the play button. He did this thrice and I wondered why until I figured out that he was looking for the resume function. But he couldn't figure it out, so we all watched "Man of Tai-Chi" from the beginning, again

What the heck...at least we got home safe.

 Well, two words: Thank you Lord.

Duhat picking

I made a panungkit (gaff) with a plastic catch (or basket) for picking duhat or black plum in English, according to Google. 

Duhat is available only during summer. It is one of the fruits we used to enjoy only dring summer together with sampalok,siniguelas, aratiles, camachile etc.

Now, I see these local fruits rarely and they are replaced by imported fruits like apple, oranges, grapes,etc. fruits that are foreign to us back when I was young.

When I was small there were many vendors selling duhat at almost every street corner here in Estrella. We bought them by the cupcfuls and shook them in salt and ate them till our teeth turned black. Now I couldn't even find one.

Anyway, this panungkit  was too flimsy. I could not even hook a single duhat.

I made a new one and I made sure it's sturdy enough for the job.I used an aluminum wire that I used for wiring my bonsai trees. For the basket, I used a plastic pot.

This is better.

It's not only the eating that's enjoyable, it's also the picking.

Walis ting-ting

Boredom led me to cutting coconut leaves.

I had nothing to do yesterday. I was bored.

Boredom is my worst enemy. It has made me do the stupidest things like bathing inside a drum or cooking an extraordinary spaghetti or blogging awfully.  

If the Bible teaches us that the "love of money is the root of all evil", I believe boredom is right within the vicinity of this adage like, maybe: "boredom is the root of all the crazy things that people do."

Anyway, I asked a neighbor to help me cut down the coconut's leaves that were already trespassing into our neighbor's property. I was also worried that come rainy season, the palms could damage the electric cables running between them.

                                                                                  

Music,thinking about nothing, and cleaning the leaves, for
more than four hours until my fingers turned green.

It took a few minutes of hacking and pulling and about an hour of stories. Well, he was an old neighbor and this was the first time, for a long time, that we had had a talk, reminiscing and all that stuff. 

What should I do with the leaves?

How long has it been since I really sat down and did something boring?

I turned on the radio, as usual RJ FM, sat down and started making brooms out of the coconut leaf sticks.

All that hours and only this?

I started at nine in the morning; my wife left to do something with her sister. I stopped at twelve noon. I lost track of time listening to the music, cleaning the sticks and thinking about nothing until my stomach grumbled and the heat of the sun became unbearable.

I never thought it's possible to have fun by not thinking about things and at the same time doing something monotonous. But I did pass the time doing something productive without really being mindful of things and stuffs, How long has it been since I really had time to enjoy time? Well...

I ate, slept (I could even hear myself snore) and woke at three thirty and continued making the broom until five o'clock. My wife came home and was surprised to find that I was still doing what I was doing when she left. 

Anyway, don't complain about the price of walis ting-ting. It's tedious to make one.

Where's the ignition switch?

Clay pots vs.Plastic Pots

With time, it becomes dirty, faded and brittle.

A couple of months ago I bought two pieces of plastic pots for 40 pesos each from a store that sells Chinese goods here in Taytay, Rizal. 

I noticed that pots were oily and the color or dye was still wet. I am not a chemist but I believed, judging from the smell and the texture, this oily stuff was toxic. The fact that its from China was another indicator that it was most probably toxic chemical.

I planted an aloe vera in a new plastic pot and I noticed that it's growth was not as vigorous and it looked sickly compared to other plants planted in clay pots. So, I re-potted the aloe and as expected, it improved.

A living and breathing pot. It becomes one with
the plant and the earth.

So, for your plants health, I recommend you wash your newly bought plastic pots with soap and sand to remove this oily stuff, and let it dry. After drying, smell it; if the funny smell is still there, wash and dry again until the oily and smelly stuff is gone. This maybe a lot of effort, but remember this is for your plants' health.

Or better yet, start using clay pots.

Anyway...

Clay pots are better than plastic pots. For one, clay pots are cheaper (depends on style) than plastic pots. Of course,one disadvantage of clay pot is that it breaks easily but with care it can outlast plastic pots. Plastic pots on the other hand fades and becomes brittle when exposed to the sun.

But the best argument for using clay pots is that it is organic. Plastic pots are synthetic; they do not breathe. 

What I love about clay pots is that they become alive too. This is what plastic pots cannot be. After a few weeks of watering, clay pots start to turn green with algae growth. The algae traps and conserves moisture and it encourages the growth of grasses and mosses. I even have pots with ferns growing on it! 

   

I'm starting to use clay pots more and more and refraining from using plastic pots. I am not buying them anymore. Would you wear plastic clothes?

Propagating Mini Roses

This morning while watering the plants, I noticed that I have already accumulated mini roses, about 16 pots of them not counting the cuttings that are still developing. 

I have not thought about them  until I saw that the flowers attract a lot of butterflies and bumblebees which added color and movement to our small garden.

About a year ago, I bought four of them, one for each color: yellow, red, pink, and white.  As they grow and became bushy, I trimmed them and planted the cuttings indiscriminately in plastic pots. Some survived, which I transferred to terracotta pots, while many died. So, I realized that I need to have a system in doing this so that the probability of survival will improve.

Anyway, here are tips on how to propagate mini roses based from my own experience.  

In the pictures, the flowers are already drying up. According to my mother this is the best part for planting and this is true from experience. Also because the cutting is taken from the part that has already flowered, the established plant will flower early. 




The stem must also be mature enough. To know this, check the texture, feel it and bend it a little, if it's too  soft and fleshy, it's too young and may not develop, if it's resisting and woody, it's well suited for the purpose.

Another thing is that once the flower dries up, the pulpy part of the stem, about two inches,  from which it is attached also dries up. To make allowances,  cut the stem about five to six inches from the flower

Make a sharp cut about 45 degrees at the base of the cutting. 

I don't know if rooting hormones is available here, but I don't use one. I dip the tip in water before planting, that's what I do (and sometimes I don't but still it lives and grows).

Remove the leaves but retain the petiole. Petiole is the stalk that attaches the leaf to the stem. Do not cut this off because this is where the new leaves will sprout. 

The removal of the leaves will prevent transpiration or the loss of moisture by evaporation through the leaves.

These are some of the cuttings I planted about two weeks ago. Notice the dried flowers and the stem, remember what my mother told me about this being the best part for planting. This one is already sprouting leaves. This is why the petioles must not be removed. 

This is now a established plant and after a month or so, it will be ready for transfer to a proper pot.


Be careful when watering.

Direct pouring of water or sprinkling can cause movement in the soil or to the cuttings that may stress and kill them.  Spraying water is better.

Place the cuttings in a shaded area. I noticed that if placed with other plants, the chances of rooting and developing improved dramatically. There is nothing mysterious about it, it's the humidity. 

Propagation by cutting requires a lot of humidity. A simple method of providing the needed humidity is wrapping the cuttings in plastic bag until leaf buds develop. But in this case.this is not necessary.

By the way, there is no such a thing as a green thumb. The truth is its all about thinking like a plant (Remember Sensei Miyagi's words: Think Tree). By thinking like a plant, it becomes easy to understand their characteristics and their needs. Or better yet, research and read about the plants you are tending. There's Google, you know.

Truth to tell, I have killed many plants, but the important thing is to figure out how and why they died.

  

Sound Garden

Radio in the morning.

"Why is the radio playing outside?" our visitor asked.

"The plants are listening to the music," my wife replied. I did not look to catch the reaction on our visitor's face, but it's quite understandable if she was mystified or puzzled by what my wife said. She might even be thinking that we have lost our sanity, or, on the other hand,  she might understand. 

It has become a habit to listen to RJ 100 FM in the garden every morning because I love old songs.

Slow growth rate.

Anyway, the music is for the birds and bees too. Music is universal language and every living thing is listening and creating music in their own ways.This I believe because in reality everything is moving and dancing. 

Scientists have long discovered that all things create or emit vibrations, and what is music but vibrations. It's just that people, like the other creatures on the planet, have different means and methods of apprehending and comprehending it.

Anyway....This is a  ficus.  I have been growing and training this for almost a year now and because it is grown a rock, it grows very slow. 

I clipped the trunk and the other branches.

I cut the top and left this single branch that will eventually merge with the trunk. I am trying the clip and grow method used by the Lingnan penjing school.   Lingnan is a place in China where penjing (bonsai) artists have mastered this method. It uses no 

(or very little) wires because the 

branches are cut and then grown until the desired form is achieved.

Lingnan method produces the most exquisite, beautiful, and natural looking trees because the constant cutting and growing produce fine branches that twists and turns. 

Wired and twisted.

Usually the trees are defoliated for exhibition to show the beautiful branches--what they call the trees within the tree.

With the Japanese bonsai method a tree can be developed and trained to be presentable in as little as one year  while with the Lingnan (Chinese) penjing method it could take decades of cutting,growing,and training before a presentable tree could be achieved. 

Then...I clipped the trunk and cut off the other branches. I left two branches, one lower and the other higher. The lower branch will cascade while the higher branch will later develop as the main trunk. When this branch grows and heals with the trunk, the larger main trunk and the smaller branch will produce the desired tapering.  After cutting, I wired the branch and twisted it a little to simulate a tree that clings on  a rock or in a crevice.

Maybe a decade or two...

How to cook Spaghetti de la pobre con sardinas ala cham

I have here minced carrots, chopped garlic and onion, red bell pepper, and  sliced mushroom (it's a left over from Christmas but I'm sure it is not yet expired. I checked the date.).

No exact measurement, estimates will do. That's why its called a la cham, by the way.

Be sure the oil is very hot. Don't dip your finger or it will be seared and it could fall off. (I mean not instantly, it might get infected and become gangrenous etc.) , 

Test the oil by dropping a piece of garlic and if the oil reacts violently, that's hot enough. 

Put the carrots, garlic, mushroom, bell pepper into the frying pan. In no particular order, just throw them together and saute for about five minutes or so.

This is the sardines. Don't forget to open the tin can first or else you might end up cooking tin cans. Put the sardines in a bowl and then mash with a fork. Add ground pepper, laurel leaves and salt.

Mix well. The pepper is to add spice while the laurel is for aroma and the salt is for saltiness...what else...

Maybe chefs especially the doctors study these stuffs: the chemistry and alchemy of ingredients, the ergonomics of kitchen utensils, kitchen architecture, hygienics of pork and chicken surgery, botany and anatomy of plants and animals, Latin, ethics of food preparation, bacchanalian theology, herbology, food preservation, etc.

I believe cooking and education are the two builders of civilization: nourishment for the body and nourishment  for the mind...

I added some dried oregano for a weirder taste. If you have basil, add basil for a much weirder taste.

Before putting the pasta, add sugar. Here I put about half a cup of brown sugar. I like my spaghetti sweet and in this case, the sweetness needs a little exaggeration to cover up the fishy-metallic taste of canned sardines and to give it the jollibee-ishness.

My wife loves it. She says it tastes like  Jollibee sardines spaghetti.

For dessert, I prepared watermelon float.

By the way, a la cham is French for a la chamba.

Of course, I washed the dishes.

Walking blah, blah, blah...

Taken at highway 2000.We begin at 4:30am and usually
ends at 6:30. We cover about six or eight kilometers
 a day.

I don't know where my wife gets her energy. She's up at four in the morning, takes a bath, prepare instant coffee for us and then wakes me up for our morning walk. She still has the energy to do household chores. I do my part too but she's more energetic. 

We have been doing walking for years now. During school days, we do our walking in the afternoon, and since this is summer, we are taking advantage of the morning sun. It's nice to see the sun rising and feel the radiance... poetic. 

Watermelon season.

She's been trying to help me manage my weight and my high blood pressure. She controls my rice intake which sometimes work but most of the time it doesn't especially if the viand is is irresistible like talong and bagoong, sinigang sa miso, laing, etc..

She encourages me by telling me that I'm not really fat and that my only problem is my protruding belly other wise, especially looking from behind, she tells me that I looked normal. Good thing I married someone who knows my love language: words of affirmation. 

I love watermelons. I can eat one whole in ones sitting.
Of course that means being immobile for an hour or two.

Exercising is good whatever time of the day, but morning is the best time to do it because it jump starts the body and increases metabolism better than any other time of the day.

Diet must compliment exercise. I try my best to control my food intake. It is easier to regulate eating during regular meals, but what is difficult is to control the impulsive-compulsive urge to eat junk foods because most of the time it is done unconsciously or subconsciously. Because of the ads, my mind is already conditioned to respond to every hunger pangs with chips, candies, chocolates, softdrinks etc. I'm trying my best to kill hunger pangs with water, drown em!

She looks younger than me. It must be because she has a
good looking, loving, kind, husband. What other explanation
 is there? he...

I haven't counted the number of times I stood up from the computer chair to buy junk food and soft drink, then sit down again to continue whatever it is I'm doing., It must be a lot. What is troubling is that often this is done without even really thinking about it. I'm conscious of it of course, but there's something automatic
about it.

I think about our only daughter, how it will be better and more fun to have  her join us in our daily walks. My wife and I try our best to encourage her to join and she sometimes says yes, but when it comes to waking her up, it's like trying to revive a corpse.

We can't force her, she's still growing up.

Anyway, it's Wednesday, laundry day, I'm in charge of cooking lunch...

How to beat the heat with limited budget while promoting water conservation and at the same time providing nutrient to my plants.

Showing off my "muscles and abs."

I have been hearing warnings about the dimishing water level in Angat Dam and the possibility of water rationing if the current rate of depletion continues and if no rain comes to replenish the water.

The dam supplies 97 percent of the water here in Metro Manila and also provides irrigation to many provinces in Central Luzon. 

The dam management had reduced the water quota and I noticed that the water pressure in the faucet decreased considerably. The probability of rationing is high and it is only proper to be prepared. So, I took out our old drum and stored water in it just in case there's water disruption at least I saved enough water to wash my butt for a few days.

I thought of inviting my wife inside but with my
"muscles and abs", we would not fit in. 

But it was so hot this afternoon that I could not resist the temptation to baptize myself. I took out a chair snd used it as a ladder and then stepped into the drum.

It was so relaxing but I could not stay for long because I was thinking about the internet 24 hour unlimited prepaid load, time is running and its kind of waste to let go of those internet minutes.

Anyway, of course, I am aware of the government's call to save water. Unlike inflatable rubber pools, drums occupy little space and so it is not necessary throw away the water to deflate to recapture space. 









Afternoon, I watered our plants. I used the water in the drum.This is hitting two birds with one stone:

1.I had relief from the heat and enjoyed myself. 

2. This water contains most of the necessary nutrients for promoting plant growth. 


3. I saved more water by using manual water sprinkler than by hosing the plants.


Hmmmmm...what if the plants die due to water poisoning...

(Grammar is killing me!)

Medicinal plants and other healing stuffs blah, blah, blah, blah

This is sambong. I planted this in our garden about a year ago.
This is boiled and taken as tea. According
to studies sambong is used to treat kidney stones, rheumatism,
hypertension etc. It is  a natural diuretics so its good for
ridding the body of toxins, cholesterol, salt and other bad stuff.
drink a lot of water when taking sambong tea, double
the recommended 8 glasses. Lagundi is a DOH approved
endorsed  herbal medicine.

I am now in my early forties and have now started to feel little pains and aches, old age catching up. I had been unkind to my body during my younger years. I used to smoke and drink a lot, activities that do a lot of damage to the body.

I quit the bad habits when I was in my early 30's and like the preacher always tells us, there will be consequences to everything we do. This I do not think of when I was young (who does that). 

I am now more prone to asthma attacks and rheumatism. Truth to tell I get tired of doctors because most of the time they prescribe the same medicines (sometimes different brands) over and over again and there's also the issue of liver damage with painkillers. 

This is lagundi. Traditionally it is used to
treat coughs and asthma. This is also boiled
and taken as tea. Pharmaceuticals now
process and manufacture lagundi cough
syrups. But why buy when you can get it straight
from your garden.

Anyway, I am now into herbs and leaves. Of course before doing any of these stuffs, I asked the doctors opinion and she said "it's okay." It is important to seek the doctor's advice because herbs and leaves may contain substances that may work against some (maintenance) medicines. 


Doctors have different opinions about herbs and leaves.There are those who are okay with it and there are those who are not enthusiastic with the idea. Many may not know it,  there is a law sponsored by Barrio Doctor Senator Juan Flavier that promotes traditional and alternative medicine known as the alternative medicine act of 199. 

Each to his own, I say. 

The main reason why many Filipinos prefer traditional medicines is because MEDICAL SERVICES HERE IN THE PHILIPPINES IS EXPENSIVE AND THE GOVERNMENT HAS NO COHERENT HEALTH SERVICE PROGRAM FOR IT'S CITIZENS EXCEPT GIVING AWAY ONE-TIME-USE-HEALTH-CARDS THAT ARE PRINTED WITH PICTURES OF POLITICIANS...DAMN IT!

(Sigh) Anyway....  

There are many kinds traditional and alternative medicines and some of them can easily be identified and be dismissed as quacks because they are not scientific and are simply insane. It is easy to identify quacks: they rely on spirits, voodoo and magical incantations and they use supernatural hardwares like stones, booklets, talisman, relics etc. Some of them even call on God and sometimes they even wear priestly robes and expensive polo shirts and sing praise and worship songs and then asks for money and donations. Herbs and leaves or herbology on the other hand, though traditional and alternative, is different.

This is gynura precumbens.  It has many names
like longevity spinach, cholesterol spinach, asitaba in Filipino, etc.
Good for lowering cholesterol and blood pressure etc.

In the past, herbologists used intuition, and observation to identify medicinal plants. One way could be by observing animals.  And through the years, they have identified plants that cure specific illnesses and some have even mastered the art of mixing herbs, barks etc. to make formulas add to that the development of a system for dosages and dispensing of the formulas. They also collated testimonials for references and as the basis for the effectiveness of their medicines.

Though their methods are not as reliable as the modern scientific method, it cannot be denied that there is at least, in principle, a modicum of science in their art.  

Now we have institutes that study traditional medicines (especially herbology) and are now starting to implement programs that will make traditional and alternative medicines complimentary to modern medicine especially in poor like countries like the Philippines. 

Just keep in mind that though some plants may contain anti-cancer properties, herbal medicines cannot cure cancer or AIDS the way they are erroneously being advertised nor can they help in trauma cases like gunshot wounds in the head or being hit by a car. In trauma cases it is best to call 911-11-11 and you'll get a pizza. (Now, tell me what is wrong with this country he...)

This is crap...gotta find something more stimulating to do like...hmmmm...talking about going to the pool!