Why couldn't it have been a whole number?

Today is leap year day. Here's a simplified explanation of why and when we have it.

• The Earth orbits the sun every 365.2425 days.

• To make up for that .2425 day, one day is added to our calendar every 4 years.

• But one-fourth of a day does not equal .2425.

• Therefore, years which are divisible by 100 are not leap years, unless they are also divisible by 400, in which case they are leap years.

• 1600 and 2000 were leap years, but 1700, 1800 and 1900 were not.

• 2100, 2200, 2300, 2500, 2600, 2700, 2900, and 3000 will not be leap years, but 2400 and 2800 will be.

Image from the Creation Museum

Urban Pac

Last Sunday afternoon, my husband decided to go shopping for a new backpack to replace the one that got stolen the day before. I'm no shopaholic, but I do enjoy purposeful shopping, so I tagged along. Good thing I did, because when he got to the Sumdex store, he couldn't decide which of these two he wanted:



The one on the left is a sporty-looking jacquard and suede backpack and the one on the right is a water-repellent nylon twill bag you can carry three ways. Here's what they look like at the back:



I was iffy about the curved straps of the bag on the left. So I asked him to put it on. And sure enough, it just wasn't him. The curved straps made it look like he was going on a trek—all it lacked was the strap you buckle around your waist. Didn't quite fit his dapper English professor look. The straight straps of the bag on the right, and it's more urban shape and material, fit him better. Plus, it can be used as a tote, a messenger bag (notice the ring to the left of the zipper—that's for the shoulder strap it comes with), and a backpack (the backpack's straps tuck into that zippered compartment at the back when you're not using them).

But the clincher was this:



Look at all those pockets! It's an OC's dream bag. Three large compartments, one of which is padded with a securing strap for a laptop, and the other two each with a gazillion pockets. Every item in it's own place. Plus there's a zippered compartment in front and if you're using it as a backpack, there's that extra compartment at the back where the straps would have been.

Needless to say, my husband's very happy with his Urban Pac (the name of the bag). Now if Sumdex can just make a smaller, more feminine version for me…

Google Image Search

http://images.google.com/

Here's another very useful, specialized search tool from Google—this time for images. It's been there forever, and most of you probably know about it already, so this post is for those who have not heard of it or used it yet. I don't think I need to explain what it's for.

1986

Handog ng Pilipino sa Mundo
The video that captured the mood of the 1986 People Power Revolution




A video created by Edward Fatal using the song "Ten Thousand Fists" by Disturbed




Learn more about the 1986 People Power Revolution from these websites:

• The 1986 EDSA Revolution Website
• EDSA: The Original People Power Revolution by Angela Stuart Santiago
• EDSA: The 1986 People Power Revolution of the Philippines

Pin me!

On the wall in front of my desk at home is a 2 ft by 3 ft corkboard where I pin anything and everything I (1) want to keep in front of me all the time, (2) don't have a proper place for, or (3) have a place for but don't want to bother with immediately.

Anyway, I was staring at it earlier, thinking that I really have to clean it up—transfer the telephone numbers and email addresses, get a folder for the newspaper clippings—you get what I mean. And also that I really have to get some prettier pushpins and replace the yicky cheap plastic ones I currently have there. Who says utilitarian has to be boring, right?

So I went surfing and looked for some unique and whimsical pushpins. Here's what I found:

People-shaped aluminum pushpins
CB2 from Crate and Barrel


Etched nickel silver
ByJacob's


Pewter
Jim Clift Design


Colorful pushpins designed for children
Cottage Classics Design


Japanese-inspired wooden toadstools
Loloko

Glam Exchange

www.glamexchange.com


I've never been much for browsing fashion blogs or sites (or fashion magazines, for that matter). When I was younger, yes. But now, they just don't talk to me anymore, and they make me feel old, fat, ugly and poor.

Then a girl friend put up Glam Exchange (the source of yesterday's silver bath recipe), and now I'm hooked again. Aside from the fact that she's a very good writer and that she chooses the most luscious images, Glam Exchange's choice of topics is as quirky as the woman behind it. Take those high-fashion designers for example. Instead of just showcasing the new season's designs, she greets you during the Chinese New Year with Marc Jacobs' whiskered shoes, shows you the beautiful Prada video "Trembled Blossoms" and only mentions the bag and shoes in passing, and features the New York fashion show "FutureFashion" because many of the designers in the show made extensive use of the Philippine fabric piña.

All fashion is Glam Exchange's purview. Accessories, of course. Jewelry, yes, including a piece about how you can have yourself made into a diamond after cremation. Even bling for gadgets—laptops, cellphones, iPods and their ilk—because they are now part of our over-all look after all.

Have I started surfing fashion sites and buying fashion magazines again because of Glam Exchange? Have I become a shopaholic? No. My fashionable girl friend is probably despairing of me…

Give your silver a bath

I got this recipe for removing tarnish from silver from Glam Exchange, which says it was concocted by Anne Marie Helmenstine, who has a Ph.D. in Chemistry. She calls it a "non-toxic electrochemical dip."

Since Glam Exchange is a fashion blog, it was presented as a way of caring for silver jewelry. But if it works for silver in general, it should be great for silverware too. Also silver teapots, serving trays, chafing dishes, whatever. Of course, you just might have to use your bath tub, rather than just a pan or the sink.

Ingredients:

• Sink or glass pan
• Hot water
• Baking soda
• Salt
• Aluminum foil
• Tarnished silver

Directions:

1. Line the bottom of the sink or a glass baking dish with a sheet of aluminum foil.
2. Fill the foil-lined container with steaming hot water.
3. Add salt (sodium chloride) and baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) to the water. Some recipes call for 2 tsp baking soda and 1 tsp salt, whereas others call for 2 tablespoons each of baking soda and salt. Personally, I wouldn't measure the amounts… just add a bit of each substance.
4. Drop the silver items into the container so that they are touching each other and resting on the foil. You will be able to watch the tarnish disappear.
5. Leave heavily tarnished items in the solution for as long as 5 minutes. Otherwise, remove the silver when it appears clean.
6. Rinse the silver with water and gently buff it dry with a soft towel.

Silverware by Oneida