The 101 Issues

Valentine’s Day History

There are varying opinions as to the origin of Valentine’s Day. Some experts state that it originated from St. Valentine, a Roman who was martyred for refusing to give up Christianity. He died on February 14, 269 A.D., the same day that had been devoted to love lotteries. Legend also says that St. Valentine left a farewell note for the jailer’s daughter, who had become his friend, and signed it "From Your Valentine". Other aspects of the story say that Saint Valentine served as a priest at the temple during the reign of Emperor Claudius. Claudius then had Valentine jailed for defying him. In 496 A.D. Pope Gelasius set aside February 14 to honour St. Valentine. Gradually, February 14 became the date for exchanging love messages and St. Valentine became the patron saint of lovers. The date was marked by sending poems and simple gifts such as flowers. There was often a social gathering or a ball. In the United States, Miss Esther Howland is given credit for sending the first valentine cards. Commercial valentines were introduced in the 1800’s and now the date is very commercialised. The town of Loveland, Colorado, does a large post office business around February 14. The spirit of good continues as valentines are sent out with sentimental verses and children exchange valentine cards at school.

The History of Saint Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day started in the time of the Roman Empire. In ancient Rome, February 14th was a holiday to honour Juno. Juno was the Queen of the Roman Gods and Goddesses. The Romans also knew her as the Goddess of women and marriage. The following day, February 15th, began the Feast of Lupercalia. The lives of young boys and girls were strictly separate. However, one of the customs of the young people was name drawing. On the eve of the festival of Lupercalia the names of Roman girls were written on slips of paper and placed into jars. Each young man would draw a girl’s name from the jar and would then be partners for the duration of the festival with the girl whom he chose. Sometimes the pairing of the children lasted an entire year, and often, they would fall in love and would later marry. Under the rule of Emperor Claudius II Rome was involved in many bloody and unpopular campaigns. Claudius the Cruel was having a difficult time getting soldiers to join his military leagues. He believed that the reason was that roman men did not want to leave their loves or families. As a result, Claudius cancelled all marriages and engagements in Rome. The good Saint Valentine was a priest at Rome in the days of Claudius II. He and Saint Marius aided the Christian martyrs and secretly married couples, and for this kind deed Saint Valentine was apprehended and dragged before the Prefect of Rome, who condemned him to be beaten to death with clubs and to have his head cut off. He suffered martyrdom on the 14th day of February, about the year 270. At that time it was the custom in Rome, a very ancient custom, indeed, to celebrate in the month of February the Lupercalia, feasts in honour of a heathen god. On these occasions, amidst a variety of pagan ceremonies, the names of young women were placed in a box, from which they were drawn by the men as chance directed. The pastors of the early Christian Church in Rome endeavoured to do away with the pagan element in these feasts by substituting the names of saints for those of maidens. And as the Lupercalia began about the middle of February, the pastors appear to have chosen Saint Valentine’s Day for the celebration of this new feaSt. So it seems that the custom of young men choosing maidens for valentines, or saints as patrons for the coming year, arose in this way.

St. Valentine’s Story

Let me introduce myself. My name is Valentine. I lived in Rome during the third century. That was long, long ago! At that time, Rome was ruled by an emperor named Claudius. I didn’t like Emperor Claudius, and I wasn’t the only one! A lot of people shared my feelings. Claudius wanted to have a big army. He expected men to volunteer to join. Many men just did not want to fight in wars. They did not want to leave their wives and families. As you might have guessed, not many men signed up. This made Claudius furious. So what happened? He had a crazy idea. He thought that if men were not married, they would not mind joining the army. So Claudius decided not to allow any more marriages. Young people thought his new law was cruel. I thought it was preposterous! I certainly wasn’t going to support that law! Did I mention that I was a priest? One of my favourite activities was to marry couples. Even after Emperor Claudius passed his law, I kept on performing marriage ceremonies — secretly, of course. It was really quite exciting. Imagine a small candlelit room with only the bride and groom and myself. We would whisper the words of the ceremony, listening all the while for the steps of soldiers. One night, we did hear footsteps. It was scary! Thank goodness the couple I was marrying escaped in time. I was caught. (Not quite as light on my feet as I used to be, I guess.) I was thrown in jail and told that my punishment was death. I tried to stay cheerful. And do you know what? Wonderful things happened. Many young people came to the jail to visit me. They threw flowers and notes up to my window. They wanted me to know that they, too, believed in love. One of these young people was the daughter of the prison guard. Her father allowed her to visit me in the cell. Sometimes we would sit and talk for hours. She helped me to keep my spirits up. She agreed that I did the right thing by ignoring the Emperor and going ahead with the secret marriages. On the day I was to die, I left my friend a little note thanking her for her friendship and loyalty. I signed it, "Love from your Valentine." I believe that note started the custom of exchanging love messages on Valentine’s Day. It was written on the day I died, February 14, 269 A.D. Now, every year on this day, people remember. But most importantly, they think about love and friendship. And when they think of Emperor Claudius, they remember how he tried to stand in the way of love, and they laugh — because they know that love can’t be beaten! Valentine Traditions Hundreds of years ago in England, many children dressed up as adults on Valentine’s Day. They went singing from home to home. One verse they sang was: Good morning to you, valentine; Curl your locks as I do mine — Two before and three behind. Good morning to you, valentine. In Wales wooden love spoons were carved and given as gifts on February 14th. Hearts, keys and keyholes were favourite decorations on the spoons. The decoration meant, "You unlock my heart!" In the Middle Ages, young men and women drew names from a bowl to see who their valentines would be. They would wear these names on their sleeves for one week. To wear your heart on your sleeve now means that it is easy for other people to know how you are feeling. In some countries, a young woman may receive a gift of clothing from a young man. If she keeps the gift, it means she will marry him. Some people used to believe that if a woman saw a robin flying overhead on Valentine’s Day, it meant she would marry a sailor. If she saw a sparrow, she would marry a poor man and be very happy. If she saw a goldfinch, she would marry a millionaire. A love seat is a wide chair. It was first made to seat one woman and her wide dress. Later, the love seat or courting seat had two sections, often in an S-shape. In this way, a couple could sit together — but not too closely! Think of five or six names of boys or girls you might marry, As you twist the stem of an apple, recite the names until the stem comes off. You will marry the person whose name you were saying when the stem fell off. Pick a dandelion that has gone to seed. Take a deep breath and blow the seeds into the wind. Count the seeds that remain on the stem. That is the number of children you will have. If you cut an apple in half and count how many seeds are inside, you will also know how many children you will have.

11th PSITE National Convention
Zanorte Convention Center, Gen. Luna St., Dipolog City
February 26-28, 2009
THEME: Emerging Trends in ICT Education

February 26, 2009 (AM) O.D. Ruby Rose Barrientos
07:30 – 09:00 Registration
09:00 – 10:00 Opening Ceremony
Entry of Colors
Invocation and National Anthem …………….…….. DMC Foundation
Roll Call of Participants……………………………… Randy S. Gamboa
PSITE VP-Mindanao/Convention Chair
Welcome Remarks (Dipolog Mayor) ……………….
Opening Message/Rationale/Call to Order ….…… Jaime D.L. Caro
PSITE National President
Introduction of the Guest Speaker ………………… Grace F. Tyler
Keynote Message ………….……………………….
Intermission …………………………………………. DMC Foundation
10:00 – 10:15 Coffee and Networking Break / Raffle Draw
10:15 – 11:45 Panel Discussion 1- Information and Communication Technology Directions in the Philippines
Resource Speaker:
Reactors:
Facilitator: Fe N. Ferriols
11:45 – 12:00 SPONSOR TIME
12:00 – 01:00 LUNCH BREAK

February 26, 2009 (PM) O.D. Elmer T. Haro
01:00 – 02:30 Panel Discussion 2- Addressing ICT Education Gap Through Partnership
Resource Speaker: Jaime D.L. Caro - PSITE National President
Reactors:
Facilitator: Alexander Ybasco
02:30 – 02:45 Coffee and Networking Break / Raffle Draw
02:45 – 04:15 Panel Discussion 6 – Changing the Mindset: Employee to Employer
Resource Speaker:
Reactors:
Facilitator: John Peter Abraham Q. Ruero
04:15 – 04:30 SPONSOR TIME
04:30 – 05:00 Election Guidelines / Nomination of PSITE National Board
Facilitator: Grace F. Tyler
06:00 – 11:30 SPONSOR TIME

February 27, 2009 (AM) O.D. Bartolome T. Tanguilig
08:00 – 08:15 – Recap of Day 1 / Presentation of Nominees
08:15 – 09:15 Presentation – ITE Best Practices: Instruction
School 1: University of the Codilleras
School 2: University of San Jose Recoletos
School 3: University of the Philippines-Mindanao Campus
Facilitator: Allan A. Sioson
09:15 – 10:15 Presentation – ITE Best Practices: Research and Development
School 1: Cebu Institute of Technology
School 2: Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology
School 3: Ateneo de Naga University
Facilitator: Gregg Victor D. Gabison
10:15 – 10:30 Coffee and Networking Break / Raffle Draw
10:30 – 11: 30 Presentation – ITE Best Practices: Extension and Linkages
School 1: Ateneo de Davao University
School 2: Asia Pacific College
School 3: University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos
Facilitator: Cherry Lyn C. Sta. Romana
11:30 – 12:00 SPONSOR TIME
12:00 – 01:00 LUNCH BREAK

February 27, 2009 (PM) O.D. Reynald Jay F. Hidalgo
01:00 – 03:30 Organizational Matters – 1: Chapter Report (10-15mins per chapter)
Facilitator: Randy S. Gamboa
03:30 – 03:45 Coffee and Networking Break / Raffle Draw/ / End of Election of PSITE National Board
03:45 – 05:00 Organizational Matters – 2: Nat’l President’s Report/Treasurer’s Report / CBL Amendments
Facilitator: Farley L. Abrigo
06:00 – 07:00 Travel to Dakak Park Beach Resort (Overnight)
07:00 – 11:30 JEDI PARTY NIGHT

February 28, 2009 (AM) O.D. Elizabeth Ramos
Dakak Park Beach Resort
08:00 – 08:15 – Recap of Day 2
08:15 – 11:00 CHED-TPITE Public Hearing
Facilitator: Gary Cepe CHED-CO
11:15 – 11:30 Closing Ceremony/ Awarding/Raffle Draw/Distribution of Certificates
Anthony Harvey B. Dalmacio
11:30 – 01:00 Lunch (Dakak Beach Resort)
01:00 Home Sweet Home

Convention Fees:
Live-in Participants P 5,500.00
(includes convention materials, hotel accommodation (Camilla Hotel/Dakak Hotel), and lunch & snacks for 2 days)

Live-out Participants P 4,000.00
(includes convention materials and lunch & snacks for 2 days)

Discount: P300.00 for payments made on or before January 16, 2009

You may deposit early payments to any Allied Bank branch. Accomplish the deposit slip in triplicate credited to PSITE using the following details:
Account Name: PSITE
Account Number: 3131-02238-4
Branch: Allied Bank - Recto Branch, Manila

Please email a scanned copy of the validated deposit slip and/or confirm your attendance and early reservations to Randy S. Gamboa, Ph.D. at rsgamboa@yahoo.com; you may visit his site at http://www.rsgamboa.com/. Alternatively, you may present the deposit slip to the convention secretariat on February 26, 2009. Official receipts will be issued during the convention.

For the other details such as Transportation, Commission on HIgher Education (CHED) Endorsement, and National Organizing Committee, please click here.

10th PSITE National Convention was held at the National Capital Region particularly in Heritage Hotel along Roxas Boulevard. I was able to attend the said national convention. This time, I am hoping that I could attend the convention since it is being held here in Mindanao to cater to the wish of Mindanao ICT educators and organizations just to lessen the fare and lodging expenses. FYI, about 10 or 11 were the attendees of the last convention from Region 11. We were noted as one, if not the best PSITE Chapter in the Philippines because of its undying activities in the academe, industries, and community involvements, not just solely for Region 11 but affecting the Mindanao island . Actually, the said dates of the convention were the same with our decided dates for ITE Foundation Days. Until now, I am contemplating of either to register and attend or not. I gave myself a deadline to decide until Monday, February 2, 2009. It’s very difficult to decide since I was assigned to spearhead the Foundation days.

Side trip to the convention, not to mention the famous Dakak Beack Resort, the Boracay Haven of Mindanao is part of the convention and it will be promoted in the convention. Not just Dakak, this will promote as well Mindanao as haven of tourist spots and sights. To recall, Dakak was one of the preliminary swinsuit competition venues of the 1994 Miss Universe Beauty Pageant.

See you there!

From Yahoo.com
Tue Apr 29, 2008 5:06PM EDT

Flowers, chocolates, a greeting card? Sure… but tech-minded kids may want something a little more with the ’00s to give to mom this year. Here are some hot ideas for computer savvy sons and daughters to consider as gifts for Mother’s Day. (Reminder: It’s May 11th!)

Kodak ESP3 All-in-One Printer
What does mom do with all the pictures you send her? She prints them out on a lousy old inkjet and waits for them to shrivel up and fade. Get her a real printer that can make her kids and grandkids look good: Kodak’s ESP3 uses far less ink than other printers and those cartridges are cheap (at $10, for B&W, or $15, for color). Better still: It includes a blemish reduction mode to automatically smooth out wrinkles and other imperfections as it prints, no graphical tinkering required.

Thirsty Lights
If mom’s got a green thumb, you can’t go wrong with these cool gadgets, which I reviewed a few month’s back. Thirsty Lights sit in mom’s potted plants and flash when the greens need water. These things have the bonus feature of being completely non-technologically-threatening, so if mom can open up the package, she should be fine with them even if she’s a total Luddite. We swear by them now at Null HQ.

Digital Keychain
These pocket-sized digital frames used to be bulky, ugly, and have virtually invisible screens. New models are better, and they’re dirt cheap. Digital Foci’s Pocket Album has a 1.5-inch screen, nine hours of battery life, and holds over 70 pictures. Oh, and it looks pretty good, too, even when it’s off!

HALO Ultraviolet Vacuum
Not for every mom (lots of mothers don’t appreciate gifts that imply they’re slobs, after all), but if she’s the kind that’s always wrestling with her old vacuum and complaining about the filthy house, the HALO is a cool way to indulge both your neatnik side and your techie side at once. It’s not just a light and a powerful vacuum, it also features a strong ultraviolet light underneath that kills any viruses and germs the light happens to hit. Even flea eggs get killed by the thing.

A Book of Mom’s Own
If you’re willing to put a little work into, a printed photo album is a very thoughtful and personal gift that any mother will break into tears over. Lulu lets you upload photos and create photo books (in hardcover or paperback) with a minimum of fuss. The real effort is in wittling down your gargantuan photo collection into something more manageable. Hardcover books run a mere $26 for the first 20 pages.

iWaveCube Tiny Microwave
It’s the world’s smallest microwave oven, about one cubic foot in size. Perfect for the spare room or mom’s office if she’s a microwave popcorn junkie or is always looking for a quick reheat on her coffee or tea.

Happy Mother’s Day to all!

Mon Apr 14, 2008 5:28PM EDT

Microsoft originally announced over a year ago that Windows XP would be going off the market in January 2008. XP was later given a brief stay of execution, to June 30, 2008. That deadline is fast approaching, which has led to much panicking from people who aren’t quite sure what XP’s "going off market" means, exactly.

People are still as confused as ever. So let’s take a stab at clarifying, once again, what’s going to happen by answering some frequently asked questions about XP’s imminent disappearance.

Will Windows XP really no longer be on sale after June 30? Sorry for the double negative, but no. All this means is that Microsoft will stop selling the OS. Finding a computer with XP preinstalled will likely be very difficult, as well. However, you’ll still be able to find copies for the foreseeable future, and likely the unforeseeable one, too. See for yourself: You can find copies of just about any Microsoft product, including ancient versions of Windows and even MS-DOS, by simply searching online. But hang on to your current copy of Windows XP. You may need it down the road if you don’t want to move to Vista.

Will I be forced to upgrade to Vista soon? No. But it will get harder and harder not to, especially since new software and peripherals are likely to stop working with XP. That could take years.

Will my XP machine stop working in June? No, but Microsoft will stop releasing non-security software updates to the masses on April 14, 2009. But let’s be clear: XP will continue to "work" even after this point.

Will Microsoft shut off product activation for XP after June? No, that would be crazy. While no one has said this will happen, it’s conceivable that Windows could shut down product activation for XP at some point. But that would only happen after XP reaches its end-of-support term (when all support plans expire). The good news for you: That happens on April 8, 2014, which should be plenty of time to get the kinks worked out of Vista-or switch to a Mac, Linux, or anything else. Bottom line: Your copy of XP will work, totally legally, for at least six more years.

What about this exception for Windows XP Home Edition I hear about? Doesn’t apply to you. Microsoft will continue to sell XP to makers of ultra-cheap laptops like the Asus Eee PC until 2010 because they just can’t run Vista. But it is not going to make XP Home Edition available as installable software to end-users. What about after 2014? Well, that’s unclear. But it’s possible XP will stop being installable at that point. Microsoft’s official policy is that these dates have "no affect [sic] on how long you can use a product," which may imply product activation will work forever. However, two things come to mind: 1) Even the most die-hard XP enthusiast will probably be ready to upgrade at that point (as XP will be nearly 15 years old, and your PC will be dead by then, I’m sure). 2) Even if Microsoft shuts off product activation, the hacker community will certainly make dozens of tools to let you continue using XP with abandon. Fret not.

Can I install XP on a PC that has Vista already on it? Yes. You can delete any partition with any OS on it (and reformat it) during the installation of XP. If you’re feeling brave, you can even run both OSes at the same time by setting up a dual-boot machine.

March 24, 2008 at UIC Auditorium in Bajada Campus marked the 2008 Graduation Day for College Department. It was quite different compared to previous graduation rites from the past years. This time around was started with a baccalaureate thanksgiving mass presided by the Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Davao. The mass went smoothly. The homily was impacted and significant in the daily lives of the people present at that time, not just for the graduating students but as well as to the parents, faculty, administrators, friends and visitors and others. After the mass, it was followed directly by the Graduation ceremony. Traditionally, it was started with the marching of colors and bringing of the University maze and was carried by the University Registrar.

Totally, the ceremony went smoothly still and compared to previous graduation rites, it ended up earlier as it was expected. Not to mentioned, there were fewer graduates this academic year compared to last years. Other changes were, the honor graduates were infront or frontlining their batch. Each of the honor graduates was coveted as well their other instituional awards once their name was called infront.

In the ITE program, we had 3 Magna Cum Laudes and 1 Cum Laude. For the 3 Magna Cum Laudes, they were Katherine Dacanay of the BSIT, a recipient as well of the The Collegiate Immaculate Award, Service Award, Gold Medallion for Loyalty, program Outstanding Student Award, and Literary Award, another is Mary Grace Ignacio of the BSIT, recipient of program Performing Arts and Literary Awards, and proponent for the Best IT Project of 2008, and Yvonnie Marimon of the BSIT is another Magna Cum Laude and recipient of Program Performing Arts Award. The Cum Laude was awarded to Marie Chris Cadenas of the BSIT and recipient of Program Performing Arts Award.

We had as well the Outstanding IT Student for Region XI sponsored by PSITE XI and the award was given to Raphael Gregor Banta of the BSIT. He also recieved the Service and Program Outstanding Student Awards, Leadership Award, Special Talent Award, Literary Award, and proponent for the Best IT Project of 2008.

I would like to acknowledge as well the excellent performance of the two BSCS graduates of 2008. Michael Angelo Tarongoy, for Program Academic Excellence and a proponent for the Best CS Thesis of 2008 and another citation was given to Mechelle Dimas, for Program Academic Excellence and a proponent for the Best CS Thesis of 2008. Mechelle received as well the Program Performing Arts Award and Special Talent Award.

See, that’s how our ITE program now! We are not just excelling in sports but as well in the academic arena.

Congratulations guys!You made us proud of you!

Happy Easter Guys!

Let’s acknowledge Jesus as he won the battle over sins on the cross. Please support me with this blog of mine. This will discuss everything about life from personal issues to world issues. This blog presents everything except for movies and music reviews.

Expect that this blog has its full functionalities and relevant entries sooner.

God bless us all! 

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