Friends have asked me why do the characters playing the role of ninjas in the anime series Naruto run with their upper bodies tilted forward and their arms trailing behind them .
My explanation is thermodynamics er, excuse me po! I mean aerodynamics. It uses the same principle as skiers do when skiing at high speeds. Smaller body profile means smaller air resistance and increased speed.
Our upper body is a big flat wall (even if you are as thin as the loved and revered Mahatma Gandhi during his protest). And like all big flat walls, it resists air flow -- can you feel your wide high rise buildings tremble during windy days?
But the principles of aerodynamics is not the only one that helps you run faster. Gravity has the same effect as well.
When running with your upper body tilted forward, your center of gravity moves to the area forward of your feet. This will place you off balance which naturally requires you to put a foot forward to regain you balance. Add to that the pushing effect of your trailing foot that once more places the center of gravity ahead of your leading-catch-the-balance foot. Repeating this cycle at an increased pace moves your body forward at an increasing speed.
And that my friends is the explanation to how Naruto and his friends reach impossible speeds using the upper-body-tilted-forward posture. :)
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Monday, August 27, 2007
Great outdoors - walking in the rain
Right now, the Philippines is experiencing rains... It is rainy season with moments of summer...
During college, a friend and I were contemplating on how we could cross from one building to next to attend our classes. He was deep in thought while I was busy observing the quality of female students when he said, "It will be much better for us to walk through the drizzle than run as fast as we can to the next building."
An then he continued on to explain that walking through the drizzle or even light rain means that our bodies will get in contact with fewer droplets than when we run.
Here is the "scientific" explanation to his concept:
You have 10 droplets lined up level with one another 1 foot apart in a straight line moving downward at the same speed. When you walk through them as they drop, you will only get hit by one or two of them. But if you run through them, you will hit about half of them before they hit the ground.
Similarly, you hit a few droplets walking through a rain than running across it.
In a heavy downpour, however, the volume of droplets is so large that running will be the most prudent course of action.
I therefore conclude that the speed at which a person should traverse an open are during the rain is directly proportional to the amount of downpour. As such, light rain will required slow speed and heavy rain requires racing speed.
:)
During college, a friend and I were contemplating on how we could cross from one building to next to attend our classes. He was deep in thought while I was busy observing the quality of female students when he said, "It will be much better for us to walk through the drizzle than run as fast as we can to the next building."
An then he continued on to explain that walking through the drizzle or even light rain means that our bodies will get in contact with fewer droplets than when we run.
Here is the "scientific" explanation to his concept:
You have 10 droplets lined up level with one another 1 foot apart in a straight line moving downward at the same speed. When you walk through them as they drop, you will only get hit by one or two of them. But if you run through them, you will hit about half of them before they hit the ground.
Similarly, you hit a few droplets walking through a rain than running across it.
In a heavy downpour, however, the volume of droplets is so large that running will be the most prudent course of action.
I therefore conclude that the speed at which a person should traverse an open are during the rain is directly proportional to the amount of downpour. As such, light rain will required slow speed and heavy rain requires racing speed.
:)
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Potty time - be sure to wake up early
How should someone ensure that he or she wakes up early?
1. The alarm clock. -if you have an alarm clock or an alarm on your mobile phone even, set it up to alert you at the time you want to wake up and voila! you are up! On the downside, one can get used to the sound and dismiss it as a dream and hold on to slumberland.
2. The television. -some televisions have wake-up functions. Simply set the time of the television to the time you currently have then set the television to turn on at the time you prefer. Some TV's allow users to indicate which channel the tv should tune in to when it turns on. I set mine to the MTV channel with volume at 30. It is a shattering waker-upper.
3. Sleep early. -our body clocks will wake us up after our usual sleeping period, say 6 hours. The bad thing is, sleeping at 8 might wake you up at 3. He he he.
4. Commit yourself to a blissful rest. -take a position, usually laid flat on your back, then concentrate to relax the whole part of your body. After all, sleep is the time when your body is in its resting mode. Unless you dream of something exciting, you will wake up to any alarm you set.
5. Make yourself uncomfortable. -this usually works during summers. This can be done in different ways: (1) Cool down your room to a comfortable temperature using your air conditioner. Just before you sleep, turn off the air conditioner and sleep. At around 4am, the room is warm enough to annoy you to wake up. (2) Turn on the electric fan but tilt it upwards to that the air only brushes you. Lie still until you get comfortable enough to sleep. At around 4am, you will get the same result as with the air conditioner... a sweaty annoying waker-upper. (3) Turn on the fan, this time allow the air to hit you directly. For analog timers, set the timer of your fan to shut down after the most number of hours, usually 2 hours. For digital timers, set the fan to turn off at least 1 hour before your planned waking time. All these will wake you up 100% annoyed, sweaty, and in bad temper. But hey, you are up and that is all that matters.
Have a nice day!
1. The alarm clock. -if you have an alarm clock or an alarm on your mobile phone even, set it up to alert you at the time you want to wake up and voila! you are up! On the downside, one can get used to the sound and dismiss it as a dream and hold on to slumberland.
2. The television. -some televisions have wake-up functions. Simply set the time of the television to the time you currently have then set the television to turn on at the time you prefer. Some TV's allow users to indicate which channel the tv should tune in to when it turns on. I set mine to the MTV channel with volume at 30. It is a shattering waker-upper.
3. Sleep early. -our body clocks will wake us up after our usual sleeping period, say 6 hours. The bad thing is, sleeping at 8 might wake you up at 3. He he he.
4. Commit yourself to a blissful rest. -take a position, usually laid flat on your back, then concentrate to relax the whole part of your body. After all, sleep is the time when your body is in its resting mode. Unless you dream of something exciting, you will wake up to any alarm you set.
5. Make yourself uncomfortable. -this usually works during summers. This can be done in different ways: (1) Cool down your room to a comfortable temperature using your air conditioner. Just before you sleep, turn off the air conditioner and sleep. At around 4am, the room is warm enough to annoy you to wake up. (2) Turn on the electric fan but tilt it upwards to that the air only brushes you. Lie still until you get comfortable enough to sleep. At around 4am, you will get the same result as with the air conditioner... a sweaty annoying waker-upper. (3) Turn on the fan, this time allow the air to hit you directly. For analog timers, set the timer of your fan to shut down after the most number of hours, usually 2 hours. For digital timers, set the fan to turn off at least 1 hour before your planned waking time. All these will wake you up 100% annoyed, sweaty, and in bad temper. But hey, you are up and that is all that matters.
Have a nice day!
Potty time - flying boats
Contemplating on a trip along Pasig River on an air conditioned ferry while sitting on the "throne," I got a wild idea!
Since the Philippines is made up of a cluster of islands where most major cities are located near large bodies of water, why not create a flying boat service? It may not be as large as the commercial vessels plying the sea routes at this time but large enough to present a good return on investment while keeping the overhead low.
These boats can dock in various ports or even river ways where they can serve a lot of the local and foreign passengers visiting the most-scenic-near-the-beach spots in the country.
Being an island nation, we have lots and lots of water for them to land on. With most cities sitting on beach fronts and most airports located near the boondocks, this service will offer the speed of air travel with the convenience of getting off inside the city.
Since the Philippines is made up of a cluster of islands where most major cities are located near large bodies of water, why not create a flying boat service? It may not be as large as the commercial vessels plying the sea routes at this time but large enough to present a good return on investment while keeping the overhead low.
These boats can dock in various ports or even river ways where they can serve a lot of the local and foreign passengers visiting the most-scenic-near-the-beach spots in the country.
Being an island nation, we have lots and lots of water for them to land on. With most cities sitting on beach fronts and most airports located near the boondocks, this service will offer the speed of air travel with the convenience of getting off inside the city.
Friday, August 24, 2007
Potty time - healthy waking
There are times that we wake up later than planned that we eventually jump off our beds and run around the house trying to be in the office or in school on time.
My teacher in high school once told me that one should wake up slow.
Jumping off from bed from a restful sleep is similar to taking your car into a screeching start early in the morning. Repeating this practice quite often will lead to an unscheduled overhaul of your car's engine.
The same thing happens to our hearts when we jump off our beds. From a peaceful pace, the heart is forced to beat faster in the blink of an eye when we jump off excitedly. Like the car engine, do this more often and you'll need an open heart surgery sooner that expected.
Have a healthy day!
My teacher in high school once told me that one should wake up slow.
Jumping off from bed from a restful sleep is similar to taking your car into a screeching start early in the morning. Repeating this practice quite often will lead to an unscheduled overhaul of your car's engine.
The same thing happens to our hearts when we jump off our beds. From a peaceful pace, the heart is forced to beat faster in the blink of an eye when we jump off excitedly. Like the car engine, do this more often and you'll need an open heart surgery sooner that expected.
Have a healthy day!
Mobile communications - sending SMS
During my college day it was the advent of SMS in our country.
Back then, SMS was free. Now, we are charged 1 peso per message. There are unlimited SMS transmissions that charge you at least 20 pesos per day for unlimited messaging to subscribers of the same network.
In the past, SMS signals were crowded that people came up with the following methods of sending SMS:
1. shake your phone.
2. invert your phone.
3. put the antenna of your phone next to the television or radio antenna. and
4. hold your phone upright and reach for the sky!
Back then, SMS was free. Now, we are charged 1 peso per message. There are unlimited SMS transmissions that charge you at least 20 pesos per day for unlimited messaging to subscribers of the same network.
In the past, SMS signals were crowded that people came up with the following methods of sending SMS:
1. shake your phone.
2. invert your phone.
3. put the antenna of your phone next to the television or radio antenna. and
4. hold your phone upright and reach for the sky!
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Bath time - thermodynamics
During my physics class in high school, we were taught that thermodynamics is the study of the movement of heat. It is said that heat moves from a warmer region to a colder region.
As such, warm air melts the ice, not the ice cooling the air.
Why is it still freezing in the North and South Poles? My guess is that the air in the region does not get heated up fast enough to counter the coolness of the region.
It is the same with your fridge. Why is it cold inside when the heat is up outside? Well, because its sealed, dummy!
Kidding aside, even if you open your fridge, ice cubes on your freezer doesn't melt because the warm air gets cooled while on its way to the ice cube. But try leaving your fridge open for a long time and you will see the ice slowly melt. And you will see the insides of the fridge collect water. And you will see the electric meter running faster than usual. And you will see your electric bill is now beyond your paying capacity.
Using the same concept, when you take a shower after an athletic activity -- ball game, jog, gym workout -- you are advised to take a warm shower. Why is that? -- Thermodynamics. After all those strenuous activities, your body parts have collected so much heat. Taking a bath in cold water will damage those parts in the same manner a hot glass (from a microwave oven) breaks when you pour in ice cold water.
Similarly, after a hard day's work, you are also advised to bathe in warm water.
But what if you do not have a heater and you feel icky and needed to take a shower?
What you do is expose your arms and legs to the shower spray first. Then drench your body slowly to cool it at a slower rate. And lastly, drench your head. Of course, don't stay too long under the shower.
This method will help you avoid headaches often caused by showering after a work out or a tiring day.
Keep it cool and stay healthy! -- did this make sense at all?
As such, warm air melts the ice, not the ice cooling the air.
Why is it still freezing in the North and South Poles? My guess is that the air in the region does not get heated up fast enough to counter the coolness of the region.
It is the same with your fridge. Why is it cold inside when the heat is up outside? Well, because its sealed, dummy!
Kidding aside, even if you open your fridge, ice cubes on your freezer doesn't melt because the warm air gets cooled while on its way to the ice cube. But try leaving your fridge open for a long time and you will see the ice slowly melt. And you will see the insides of the fridge collect water. And you will see the electric meter running faster than usual. And you will see your electric bill is now beyond your paying capacity.
Using the same concept, when you take a shower after an athletic activity -- ball game, jog, gym workout -- you are advised to take a warm shower. Why is that? -- Thermodynamics. After all those strenuous activities, your body parts have collected so much heat. Taking a bath in cold water will damage those parts in the same manner a hot glass (from a microwave oven) breaks when you pour in ice cold water.
Similarly, after a hard day's work, you are also advised to bathe in warm water.
But what if you do not have a heater and you feel icky and needed to take a shower?
What you do is expose your arms and legs to the shower spray first. Then drench your body slowly to cool it at a slower rate. And lastly, drench your head. Of course, don't stay too long under the shower.
This method will help you avoid headaches often caused by showering after a work out or a tiring day.
Keep it cool and stay healthy! -- did this make sense at all?
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Potty time - gender equality
The best times to think about wild, crazy ideas is when we are having alone time in the toilet. Unless you have a paper or a book to keep you relaxed, potty time is one of the most serene times in our lives when we can come up with big things or solutions to our problems.
One of the ideas that propped up my mind during potty time is the concept of gender equality.
It is said that a woman alone is as capable as a man by himself.
That may be true for others but not for most women.
Below is an ugly graph comparing what I refer to as the "security barrier" of a man and a woman.
man - ####################
woman - ############
Alone, a man has a large security barrier around him for protection. And alone, a woman only has around 60% security barrier compared to a man. Please note that the percentages are just speculative and not actually based on some bad-assed study.
Now, together, this is the result:
man - ################
woman - ################
A man walking or in the presence of a woman unconsciously shares his security barrier with the woman creating an equality of strengths. This may lessen the man's barrier but it also increases the woman's leading to the conclusion that there is no equality in gender when each is alone but one exists when both are together.
That was why marriage, or any form of union of two beings, is among the most coveted practices around the world. A woman does not need to prove she can live alone to be on equal footing with a man. All she's got to do is marry him or have a relationship with him.
So, girls, what are you waiting for? Steal of the men's "security barrier."
Promote love and bring in gender equality.
One of the ideas that propped up my mind during potty time is the concept of gender equality.
It is said that a woman alone is as capable as a man by himself.
That may be true for others but not for most women.
Below is an ugly graph comparing what I refer to as the "security barrier" of a man and a woman.
man - ####################
woman - ############
Alone, a man has a large security barrier around him for protection. And alone, a woman only has around 60% security barrier compared to a man. Please note that the percentages are just speculative and not actually based on some bad-assed study.
Now, together, this is the result:
man - ################
woman - ################
A man walking or in the presence of a woman unconsciously shares his security barrier with the woman creating an equality of strengths. This may lessen the man's barrier but it also increases the woman's leading to the conclusion that there is no equality in gender when each is alone but one exists when both are together.
That was why marriage, or any form of union of two beings, is among the most coveted practices around the world. A woman does not need to prove she can live alone to be on equal footing with a man. All she's got to do is marry him or have a relationship with him.
So, girls, what are you waiting for? Steal of the men's "security barrier."
Promote love and bring in gender equality.
Conceptual History of Cotabato City
A city in the Southern Philippine island of Mindanao is named Cotabato.
During the Spanish period, there is a stronghold in this area with walls, ramparts, and towers made of rock. The natives refer to it as Kuta Bato or stone fortress. The name stuck and was "modernized" substituting "K" with a "C" that lead to the birth of Cotabato.
Believe it?
During the Spanish period, there is a stronghold in this area with walls, ramparts, and towers made of rock. The natives refer to it as Kuta Bato or stone fortress. The name stuck and was "modernized" substituting "K" with a "C" that lead to the birth of Cotabato.
Believe it?
Monday, August 20, 2007
Movie sequel: Underworld, sequel to Van Helsing
Kate Beckinsale appeared in two movies.
In Van Helsing, she appeared as the descendant of an old family that have sworn to destroy Count Dracula. At the ending, she was killed by Helsing who has turned into a werewolf. But before that happened, she was already bitten by Dracula.
She was resurrected in Underworld as a vampire fighting against the Lycans or werewolves. This is her form of vengeance against the werewolves because of what Van Helsing did to her.
Have a nice day!
In Van Helsing, she appeared as the descendant of an old family that have sworn to destroy Count Dracula. At the ending, she was killed by Helsing who has turned into a werewolf. But before that happened, she was already bitten by Dracula.
She was resurrected in Underworld as a vampire fighting against the Lycans or werewolves. This is her form of vengeance against the werewolves because of what Van Helsing did to her.
Have a nice day!
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