Heartbeat

Soon after finding the largest black hole, NASA found another black hole, but it is the tiniest one and with a heart beat.

A NASA satellite has detected what astronomers said was a "heartbeat" of what could be the smallest known black hole.  A team of astronomers identified a specific X-ray pattern, nicknamed a "heartbeat", that indicates that a black hole is present in a binary system with the ordinary star. The "heartbeat" pattern is caused by the regular cycles of matter accumulated into the black hole from its neighbouring star. 

The system is located in the direction of the constellation Scorpius, but its distance is not well established. It could be as close as 16,000 light-years or more than 65,000 light-years away.

It is only fitting to remember the late Buddy Holly,   Written by Bob Montgomery and Norman Petty, “Heartbeat” was the last Buddy Holly single to be released during his lifetime.  He died in a plane crash on February 3, 1959, along with Ritchie Valens, and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson.

Heartbeat - why do you miss when my baby kisses me
heartbeat - why does a love kiss stay in my memory
Piddle dee pat - I know that new love thrills me
I know that true love will be
Heartbeat - why do you miss when my baby kisses me
Heartbeat - why do you skip when my baby's lips meet mine
heartbeat - why do you flip then give me a skip beat sign
Piddle dee pat - and sing to me love stories
and bring to me love’s glories
Heartbeat - why do you miss when my baby kisses me

A Bag of Goodies

A bag of goodies for Christmas would contain several items good for Noche Buena.  Traditionally it will include, a bottle of wine, whiskey or brandy, a loaf of fruitcake, a ball of queso de bola  and a leg of ham.  Other items like pasta, a can of fruit cocktail, and some candies are stuffed into the bag.

A bandejado of chinese ham and another of marca piña and hot tsokolate E is indeed very Filipino.  Levi Celerio captures the festive mood of  Filipino Christmas Eve. 

Kay sigla ng gabi
Ang lahat ay kay saya
Nagluto ang Ate ng manok na tinola
Sa bahay ng Kuya ay mayro'ng litsonan pa
Ang bawat tahanan may handang iba't iba

Tayo na giliw
Magsalo na tayo
Mayro'n na tayong
Tinapay at keso
Di ba Noche Buena
Sa gabing ito
At bukas ay araw ng Pasko*

PHOTO: That street Echague in Quiapo used to have several ham stores selling chinese ham.  My mother preferred Cuisia's Philippine Ham which is actually the same as chinese ham, but that shop is no longer there.  Only a few survive the competition.

 *NOCHE BUENA: Felipe de Leon - Levi Celerio

Love's Been Good To Me

I have been a rover
I have walked alone
Hiked a hundred highways
Never found a home
Still in all I'm happy
The reason is, you see
Once in a while along the way
Love's been good to me

Written by Rod McKuen and sang by Frank Sinatra, the rover "Curiosity" will be landing in Mars sometime August 2012. The Curiosity's mission is to  see whether cold, dry, barren Mars might have been or is still hospitable for microbial life. No way of detecting life is on board; rather, the instruments will hunt for organic compounds.

Wind Power

People have been harnessing the wind since over 7,000 years ago, when boats with sails carried people and goods along the Nile River. The first recorded uses of windmills to power mechanical engines were in 200 B.C. when Chinese windmills pumped water and Persian windmills milled grain.  Harnessing the power of the wind spread across the Middle East and Europe, where the Dutch in particular adopted and refined the basic design. Windmills followed the pilgrims across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas, where they were used for many purposes, from milling grains to cutting wood.With the industrial revolution, windmills disappeared  in many places, replaced by inexpensive electricity brought in by power lines.

Today massive wind farms consisting of scores of wind turbines use the energy in wind to create electricity that will power thousands of homes. Wind power is the fastest growing source of energy in the world, and offers a clean, renewable alternative to fossil fuels.

Wind power is a clean fuel, meaning that pollution is not created through fuel combustion. It is also completely renewable--as long as the sun heats the Earth's atmosphere, the wind will blow. And once turbines are built, producing electricity is relatively inexpensive.

Despite its advantages, wind power has some disadvantages that must be overcome. The wind does not blow equally all the time and everywhere, meaning that wind cannot be counted on to generate electricity 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Even though generating electricity is inexpensive once they are built, wind turbines can be expensive to build, and the best sites for wind power are not always close to where electricity is most needed. 

Wind turbines have also been criticized for their aesthetic impact on landscapes and for noise pollution, and there has been concern about bird kills by spinning blades.