Kate Middleton's Coat of Arms as the New Princess

Kate Middleton now has her own coat of arms(left). Supposedly, Kate has the right to apply herself a crest to the College of Arms which deals with coat of arms matters. But her father wanted the whole family to be able to use the crest. That's why Michael Middleton was the one who petitioned for the coat of arms which reportedly costs 4,400 pounds. This means that
his other children, Pippa and James, and his wife Carole Middleton can also use the crest. So technically, Kate Middleton's family is the ones who has the new coat of arms.



The new coat of arms is pretty simple in design compared to the prince's. The three acorns represents the three children including Kate. The two thin white chevron symbolizes snowy mountains which represents the family's love for skiing and outdoors. The gold chevron in the middle represents the mother, Carole. It was colored gold because Carole's maiden name was Goldsmith. The Colors red and blue in the background represents the Union flag of UK and matches the recently revised Prince William's coat of arms. 


For more information about Kate Middleton's coat of arms visit this link.


Source: www.dailymail.co.uk  

Royal Wedding Invitation of Prince William and Kate Middleton

With the upcoming royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, many are wondering what does a royal wedding invitation looks like. The picture above is said to be the "royal invitation". It's a 10 inch by 6 inch white card with gold lettering and at the very top is Queen Elizabeth's emblem. Over 1,900 invitations were sent with the card reading:

"The Lord Chamberlain has 
been commanded by the Queen to invite" the guest to the marriage at Westminster Abbey at 11 a.m. on April 29."

Source: www.eonline.com

Camp John Hay, Baguio Plane Crash Kills 2 and 4 Injured

A small place crashed in a mountain resort in Baguio, Philippines on Sunday. 2 were killed and 4 are said to be injured. The twin engine RPC 5140 Piper Aztec Plane took off from Baguio City's Loakan airport at 2:48P.M. and crashed in a horse riding trail in Camp John Hay. It was suppose to go to Plaridel, Bulacan. The control tower said that two minutes after taking off the place lost signal. 

All the victims were rushed to the Baguio General Hospital. Among those who was determined dead on site of the plane crash was Jose George. While the second fatality was said to be Grace Alvarez who died at Baguio General Hospital at around 6:30P.M. Other victims that were injured was pilot Col. Reynaldo Garcia, Jose Miranda, Ness Guerrero and Basil Matthew. 



As you can see on the image the plane was totally destroyed and burnt. Surrounding trees was said to have turned to "uling" or coal. Some witnesses claimed that there was even an explosion. Luckily there were no victims or injured on the ground. 




Source: www.miamiherald.com ; www.abs-cbnnews.com ; www.gmanews.tv

New Shanghai Disneyland Resort Breaks Ground in China

The New Shanghai Disney Resort is on the works! Walt Disney Company broke ground on Friday at Shanghai Disneyland. The Chinese central government in Beijing approved of the resort and is expected to be finished and operational in five years. It will have two themed hotels, large retail, dining and entertainment venues and recreational facilities. There will also be a lake in the middle of the resort. The total estimate costs of the construction is more than four billion dollars, which will be shouldered by Walt Disney Company and its China partners.

Robert A. Iger, president and CEO of The Walt Disney Company said that they are "Working with our Chinese partners, the Shanghai Disney Resort will be both authentically Disney and distinctly Chinese."

The groundbreaking ceremony was like any other traditional ceremonies. There was lots of performances including a children's choir with Mickey Mouse dressed in a traditional Chinese attire.

Source: edition.cnn.com ; www.dailymail.co.uk

Official Website of the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton

St. James’s Palace launched an official website for the coming royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. It seems like the world is very interested on the most highly anticipated event of the year. Its just appropriate that the palace announces an official website so that people around the world can be updated about the wedding of the year.

On the "royal website", people can be informed on what's the latest news updates, pictures and videos on the preparations to the upcoming royal wedding. It will even have

details about Kate Middleton's wedding dress. It has yet to be announced if it will stream live broadcast of the royal wedding itself. 

Who built or developed the royal website for Prince William and Kate? No, not St. James Palace, Clarence House nor Prince William's staff. The website was built by Accenture and hosted by Google. Why Google? because they can handle huge web traffic, which we can assume the website will have on the wedding day.

Here is the Royal Website:

http://www.officialroyalwedding2011.org/

You can also follow the latest updates on the upcoming royal wedding on other social media sites with the following links:

Twitter

http://twitter.com/clarencehouse

YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/theroyalchannel

Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/TheBritishMonarchy

Flicker

http://www.flickr.com/photos/BritishMonarchy

 

Source: mashable.com

Updated MMDA Color/Number Coding and Window Hours 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

MMDA The Unified Vehicular Volume Reduction Program (UVVRP) or Color/Number Coding Scheme Guidelines Updated December 20, 2010

UVVRP General Rule:
   - Private and Public Utility Vehicles cannot roam the streets on weekdays from 7:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M.
   - Window Hours for Private Vehicles are observed from 10:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M.
   - Number coding is not implemented weekends and holidays.
   - Plate ending 1 and 2      Monday
   - Plate ending 3 and 4     Tuesday
   - Plate ending 5 and 6     Wednesday
   - Plate ending 7 and 8     Thursday
   - Plate ending 9 and 0     Friday

UVVRP Guidelines and Conditions:

-Only Makati City and Las Piñas City are the only cities that implements the7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. color/number coding scheme without the window hours.

-Marikina City, Muntinlupa City, and Parañaque City do not implement the number coding. 

-Taguig City also does not implement the Number Coding scheme, but the number coding is enforced on the National Roads within the city. Examples are C5, East Service Road and Manuel L. Quezon.

-Pasig City implements the7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. color/number coding scheme but observes window hours from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

-Pasay City implements the number coding but with exceptions with the following roads: Ninoy Aquino Avenue, MIA Road, Domestic Road, Airport Road, Sales Road, and portions of Buendia.

-The number coding scheme is in effect in the following cities: Caloocan City, Mandaluyong City, Manila City, Malabon City, Navotas City, Pateros City, Parts of Pasay City, Quezon City, San Juan City, and Valenzuela City. The window hours of 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. is observed.

-The following Roads implements the Number Coding but observes window hours of 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m regardless of the city: Epifanio Delos Santos Avenue (EDSA), Circumferential Road 5 (C5), Diosdado Macapagal Avenue, and Roxas Boulevard

All Public Utility Buses (City and Provincial) are now covered under the Number Coding Scheme, with no Window Hours. 

Motorcycles are exempted from the number coding scheme.

Penalty: Confiscation of driver's license or given a ticket with a fine of P300.00. The penalty will depend on what city you are in.

For more information regarding this matter please call MMDA Metrobase at 882-4151 to 77 local 213 and 255 or the MMDA hotline 136.

Source: mmda.gov.ph

Japan has Lost the Battle in Containing Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Reactors

Japan has lost the battle in containing the radiation in the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant reactors. It is to be closed permanently. How it will be turned off or closed is still unknown but officials stated that they will be abandoning attempts to keep the nuclear reactors cool. They have planned to entombed the nuclear powerplant with tonnes of concrete to seal the reactors and its nuclear fuel rods.

Chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata of Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) announced that the four reactors in the  Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant are out of control and they have no choice but to
close or decommission the plant. Katsumata apologizes to live television for failing to contain the radiation in the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. While TEPCO President Masataka Shimizu was rushed to the hospital because of stress and fatigue. 

TEPCO is Asia's largest utility and will be facing its worst problems after the disaster. Its share price has fallen 80% since March 11 earthquake and tsunami. It is said to have a massive compensation bill of $12billion because of this incident. Japan law requires the company to compensate for people's losses and damage caused by the radiation leaks.

Here is the summary of facts with the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant crisis  from www.dailymail.co.uk

    Radioactivity levels in the ocean 4,385 times above regulatory limit

    Fisherman warned not to operate within 12 miles of plant

    Compensation claims could top $12bn

    Power firm's shares lose 80% of value - may need government bailout

    President still recovering in hospital recovering from 'fatigue and stress'

    U.S. sends specialist Marine unit to assist in decontamination

    Traces of radioactive particles found in U.S. milk

Source: www.dailymail.co.uk

Chinese Owner Destroys His Lamborghini Gallardo

A man in Qingdao, Eastern China hired people to use sledgehammers and destroy his newly bought $200,000 Lamborghini Gallardo. The Chinese owner was so angry after his Lamborghini broke down. He made it into a public protest for World Consumer Rights Day and destroyed it publicly with lots of onlooking crowd.

The Lamborghini Gallardo was bought six months ago and encountered
mechanical problems on Nov 29, 2010. He then sent the car to a Lamborghini dealer's maintenance service in Qingdao. But the problem was not solved and that made him furious.

This is a Youtube video from Carbuzz and explanation why the chinese businessman destroyed his Lamborghini.

    The engine problem wasn't solved, but instead the bumper and chassis were damaged by the transport. The owner complained by the dealer but they refused to take responsibility in this matter, so the angry owner contacted Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann, the brand's China headquarters, its after-sales service manager for Asia-Pacific region, and the brand's owner Volkswagen Group, but the problem was not solved.

    Angry about the service, the owner felt his consumer rights were ignored. So he decided that the best way to gain attention was to destroy his car on the 15th of March, which is also World Consumer Rights Day. Apparently, he hired people to publicly destroy his car with hammers and make his statement. This protest was made to provoke public support and goad the manufacturer to respect his consumer rights.

Source: www.topgear.com ; www.usatoday.com

United Nations Security Council Approves No-fly Zone in Libya

Finally the U.N. Security Council voted Thursday evening and approved to implement the no-fly zone and take all measures to protect Libya's civilians. With the 15 member council, the resolution was approved with 10-0-5 votes. Among those who approved are the United States and the United Kingdom. There were no opposing votes but hina, Russia, Germany, India and Brazil abstained. The no-fly zone prohibits Libya's air forces from entering certain zones within the country.

Army Forces of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi is getting closer to the rebel stronghold in Benghazi. The opposition said that the no-fly zone is crucial for them to have any chance of winning against Gadhafi's assault on Benghazi.

Source: www.cnn.com

Satellite Images of Parts of Japan Affected by the Tsunami and Earthquake

Kesennuma Miyagi prefecture satellite image

After seeing the images and videos on international news network I still can't grasp how big is the damage in eastern Japan. These new satellite images will help you realize the extent of the damages caused by the massive tsunami and maginitude 9.0 earthquake that happened on Friday. 

Natori satellite images. Notice the smoke even taking these pictures days after the tsunami.

The satellite images from Google, NASA, German Aerospace Center and Taiwan's National Space Organization shows how far inland the sea water traveled and the destruction it caused. You will notice the green fields becoming black and buildings being wiped from the map.  

Nasa satellite images of Eastern Japan. Notice the coastline and how far inland the water went.

NASA’s Terra satellite's images of northeastern Japan. The right image was taken March 12, 2011 about 10:30a.m. and the  left images was taken on February 26, 2011. 

More images below. You can see buildings and even towns being wiped out by the tsunami.

Source: www.dailymail.co.uk ; www.nasa.gov

Radiation Effects in the Philippines from Japan's Nuclear Powerplant

 

 

Many Filipinos are following the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Powerplant situation and there have been numerous text messages saying that people in the Philippines should avoid the rain and stay indoors. The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) chief Mario Montejo cleared this issue and said that the level of radiation in the Philippines is still normal and that the chances of the radiation hitting the

Philippines is very remote. But even if the possibility is very remote, the DOST is still closely monitoring the situation with

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). 

The country's weather bureau further eases fears and said that the radiation will be carried away by the northeast monsoon (amihan) away from the country.

Should the radiation reach the Philippines, the law states that we can avail assistance from IAEA and the other states. You can follow the latest updates on the situation in Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Powerplant on BBC's website   

Update: ABS-CBN news network said that the text messages regarding the radiation from Japan's nuclear powerplant will reach the Philippines is a hoax. Some text even stated that the announcement was from BBC. BBC did not issue any announcements regarding the radiation hitting the Philippines. People should rely on TV and radio only and avoid forwarding such malicious messages.

Source: www.philstar.com ; www.bbc.co.uk

Countries Affected by Radiation Caused by Japan's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Powerplant

A US-NRC map circulating on the Internet is showing a very disturbing images on what countries will be affected by the radiation from Japan's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Powerplant. It shows forecasts of a nuclear fallout and spreading the radiation to the west coast of United States (USA) within 48 hours or two days. 

The validity of this map is still uncertain. Some say it's a hoax and is most likely is.

People staying in the possible affected areas should watch the news and take necessary precautions in the coming days.

Radiation Effects in the Philippines from Japan's Nuclear Powerplant

Update: This US-NRC map is a hoax. Please make sure to watch the news or listen to the radio for announcements on radiation dangers in your area. As of now, there is still no eminent danger.


Update March 31, 2011: Japan has Lost the Battle in Containing Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Reactors and is planning to entombed the nuclear powerplant with tonnes of concrete to seal the reactors and its nuclear fuel rods.

Source: Image Source is unknown

Japan is Hit by Massive Tsunami and Strong Earthquakes

A powerful 8.8 magnitude earthquake has hit the northeast of Japan causing a huge tsunami. Japan's Public broadcaster NHK showed live images of the tsunami. It showed cars, ships and even small buildings being dragged by 6m (20ft) high tsunami waves in Fukushima prefecture.

The U.S. Geological Survey said that the earthquake had a magnitude of 8.8 at a depth of 15.1 miles and located the quake 130 kilometers east of Sendai, Honshu; 178 km east of Yamagata, Honshu; 178 km east-northeast of Fukushima, Honshu; or 373 km northeast of Tokyo.

Shown in the image is the countries that are most likely to be affected by the tsunami predicted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Philippine authorities has issued a warning to coastal areas in the northern part of the Philippines. These areas includes the following: Batanes Island, Cagayan, Ilocos Norte, Isabela, Quezon, Aurora, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Albay, Catanduanes, Sorsogon, Northern Samar, Eastern Samar, Leyte, Northern Leyte, Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur, Davao Oriental, Davao del Sur.

Source: www.gmanews.tv, www.bbc.co.uk

Subway Beats McDonald's as the World's Largest Restaurant Chain

We all know that McDonald's is the largest food chain in the world right? NOT ANY MORE!  Subway just passed McDonald's as the world's largest restaurant chain. 

According to the Wall Street Journal, the sandwich food chain beats McDonald's as the largest food chain in terms of number of locations. Subway had 33,749 restaurants open worldwide at the end of 2010, while McDonald's had 32,737 locations opened.

I'm sure McDonald's will be on top again. The question is that if they could do it this year?

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Wordpress Cyber Attack Caused Massive DDoS

Wordpress went though a massive distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack last Thursday. Wordpress' founding developer Matt Mullenweg called the attack "the largest and most sustained attack we've seen in our six year history." They suspected it to be politically motivated because of its non-English blogs but still has no evidence to support the claims.

Wordpress is one of the largest blog hosting sites and hosts 18 million sites and has an average of 600 million pageviews. Distributed denial of service or DDoS attacks are simple but

very hard to defend. Basically the attacks works by directing giant traffic to its target website and overwhelming the site's servers resulting to legitimate users not being able to access the website.

Source: money.cnn.com

Oscars 2011: The Academy Awards List of Nominees

The Academy Awards will be aired live in the U.S. 8 p.m. EST. (10:00a.m. in the Philippines)

Oscar 2011 Nominations

BEST PICTURE 
Black Swan 
The Fighter
Inception 
The Kids Are All Right 
The King's Speech 
127 Hours 
The Social Network 
Toy Story 3 
True Grit 
Winter's Bone 

BEST ACTOR 

Javier Bardem, Biutiful 
Jeff Bridges, True Grit
Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
Colin Firth, The King's Speech
James Franco, 127 Hours

BEST ACTRESS 
Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone 
Natalie Portman, Black Swan  
Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine

BEST DIRECTOR 
Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan 
David O. Russell, The Fighter
Tom Hooper, The King's Speech 
David Fincher, The Social Network 
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, True Grit

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR 
Christian Bale, The Fighter 
John Hawkes, Winter's Bone 
Jeremy Renner, The Town 
Mark Ruffalo, The Kids Are All Right
Geoffrey Rush, The King's Speech

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams, The Fighter 
Helena Bonham Carter, The King's Speech 
Melissa Leo, The Fighter 
Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit 
Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom 

ANIMATED FILM
How to Train Your Dragon
The Illusionist
Toy Story 3 

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Mike Leigh, Another Year 
Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson (screenplay);
Keith Dorrington, Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson (story) The Fighter
Christopher Nolan, Inception
Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg, The Kids Are All Right 
David Seidler, The King's Speech 

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY 
Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy, 127 Hours 
Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network 
Michael Arndt (screenplay); John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich (story), Toy Story 3
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, True Grit 
Debra Granik and Anne Rosellini, Winter's Bone 

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE 
Banksy and Jaimie D'Cruz, Exit through the Gift Shop 
Josh Fox and Trish Adlesic, Gasland 
Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs, Inside Job 
Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger, Restrepo 
Lucy Walker and Angus Aynsley, Waste Land 

CINEMATOGRAPHY 
Matthew Libatique, Black Swan 
Wally Pfister, Inception
Danny Cohen, The King's Speech 
Jeff Cronenweth, The Social Network 
Roger Deakins, True Grit 

COSTUME DESIGN 
Colleen Atwood, Alice in Wonderland 
Antonella Cannarozzi, I Am Love 
Jenny Beavan, The King's Speech 
Sandy Powell, The Tempest 
Mary Zophres, True Grit 

VISUAL EFFECTS 
Ken Ralston, David Schaub, Carey Villegas and Sean Phillips, Alice in Wonderland 
Tim Burke, John Richardson, Christian Manz and Nicolas Aithadi, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 
Michael Owens, Bryan Grill, Stephan Trojanski and Joe Farrell, Hereafter 

Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley and Peter Bebb, Inception 
Janek Sirrs, Ben Snow, Ged Wright and Daniel Sudick, Iron Man 2 

ART DIRECTION 
Robert Stromberg (production design) and Karen O'Hara (set decoration), Alice in Wonderland 
Stuart Craig (production design) and Stephenie McMillan (set decoration), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
Guy Hendrix Dyas (production design) and Larry Dias and Doug Mowat (set decoration), Inception 
Eve Stewart (production design) and Judy Farr (set decoration), The King's Speech  
Jess Gonchor (production design) and Nancy Haigh (set decoration), True Grit

FOREIGN FILM 
Biutiful (Mexico)
Dogtooth (Greece) 
In a Better World (Denmark)
Incendies (Canada) 
Outside the Law (Hors-la-loi) (Algeria) 

New Zealand Latest Earthquake Causes Destruction and Death

A 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck Christchurch , New Zealand Tuesday afternoon around  1:00p.m (7:00 p.m. Monday ET) toppling buildings and leaving many people trapped or dead. 

At least 75 people have been reported dead,  55 of which has been identified. But Prime Minister John Key said on Wednesday that hundreds more are missing. Among the missing are 10 Japanese students of King's Education College. Rescue teams in Christchurch are still searching for more survivors.

PPG building and CTV building, two downtown buildings suffered major collapse and has large numbers of trapped, missing or dead people.  

The 6.3 magnitude quake that struck Christchurch on New Zealand's South Island was actually an aftershock of the 7.1 magnitude earthquake that struck the same area in September last year. This aftershock is so large that it is likely to have an aftershock of its own said Dr. Bill Fry of GNS Science. They calculated that there was only a 35% chance of a 5.0 magnitude aftershock hitting the region in the near future, but only a 4% chance of a 6.0 or above aftershock.

UPDATE (Sunday): Death toll from the 6.3-magnitude earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand has climbed to 147 and more is expected. More than Seventy people have been rescued alive but more than 200 people still missing and are feared dead. 


Dramatic footage in Christchurch after the earthquake:

Source: articles.cnn.com

Another Filipino YouTube Sensation Singing Lady Gaga's Born This Way

Another young Filipina becomes a YouTube sensation. 10-year-old Maria Aragon lives in Winnipeg, Canada becomes an overnight hit when his brother uploaded her rendition ng "Born This Way" by Lady Gaga. Lady Gaga herself saw the video and tweeted the video on her Twitter account with 8 million followers, saying "she is the future".

Maria had been uploading her renditions on YouTube for 3 years now and dreams of being a guest on the talk show, Ellen Degeneres in the US. 

(view full article for the video)

Source: www.abs-cbnnews.com ; www.youtube.com

LRT Train Accidental Collision in Quezon City

Two coaches of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 1 have collided Friday Morning. The accident happened near Roosevelt Station on the new extension of the LRT in EDSA, Quezon City near SM City Annex. The collision caused the Monumento-bound train to be derailed. LRT Authority Spokesperson Hernando Cabrera said on its twitter account that both trains had no passengers at that time and that

"the incident happened on the reversing track."

Initial investigation showed that one of the train coaches was going in reverse to change tracks when it collided with the second train. LRT officials are investigating whether the incident was due to driver's error or technical malfunction. LRT Authority said it may take more than a week before the Roosevelt Station will resume its operations and will likely cause P300,000 in lost revenue.

Source: www.abs-cbnnews.com ; www.spot.ph

Commemorative medal for William and Kate’s Royal Wedding

200 year old Birmingham Mint released a commemorative medal for Prince William and Kate's royal wedding. But it seems that Birmingham Mint has been too generous on the Prince's hair. William did inherit his father's receding hairline. It's unlikely that the 28 year old prince will have a full head of hair that he does on the medal designed to commemorate his marriage.

The medals will carry the words "Celebrating the wedding of HRH Prince William & Catherine Middleton." Birmingham Mint even said that the artist made a 'very accurate' image of the prince. There was a problem with the initials which spelled "WC" but was later reversed.

The first 1.5in medal will be sold for £5 on Wednesday and hopes to sell 100,000 pieces.

Source: www.dailymail.co.uk