Self-Administered Test on Reviving the “Handyman” or “Do-it-Yourself” Culture

Self-Administered Test on  Reviving the “Handyman” or “Do-it-Yourself” Culture
Lesson on 738 KHz AM DZRB, Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (School-on-Air)
Dr. Abe Rotor and Ms Melly Tenorio
October8, 2007

True or False

1. First, plan your work, then work your plan - not vice versa.

2. Standard voltage in the Philippines is 110V; in the USA, it is double – 220V. That is why US appliances need step down transformer when using it here.

3. Here is a simple declogging solvent for the drain which you can prepare: dissolve in a liter of water 2 tbsp water kerosene (gaas) + and 2 tbsp powdered soap.

4. The practical way to determine exact levels in construction is to use plumb bob for vertical level (patindig) and transparent hose filled with water for horizontal level (pahanay).

5. Riveted GI roofing is more reliable – stronger and last longer – than when nail is used.

6. Garden hose last longer if it is allowed to remain attached to the faucet, than to drain and coil it after use.

7. A crocodile jack is easier and safer to use than ordinary hydraulic jack. And be sure to have a supplemental jack as precaution to accident.

8. There are fixtures and assembly parts of appliances that can be replaced with new ones rather than to have them repaired - such as LPG regulator, Automatic Voltage Regulator, fire extinguisher, water filters, electric fans after guarantee period.

9. Buy only reliable brands of tools, and if your budget allows, invest in lifetime tools such as Rigid, Stanley, Makita, Black and Decker, Bosch, Coleman, Crossman, Dremel, Sandvik, El Toro, to name a few of the internationally known brands. Be sure these are not imitations.

10. Home for the Golden Years must be kept as simple as possible, orderly, clean and healthy, Remove things that may cause accidents.

11. It is easier to maintain a home with children than a typical home, especially if the children all go to school and you have all the time to fix everything from bedroom to sala to garden.

12. Inhaling fresh paint could be as harmful to health as inhaling exfoliating old paint.

13. Refurnish your kitchen with new utensils? Dispose old China with fading gold rims, don’t use plastic containers for vinegar and carbonated drinks, aluminum and Cadmium coated pots and pans for acidic food, and if possible avoid if you can using microwave oven. Ordinary oven is healthier, and food is tastier, too.

14. Coconut oil + kerosene (gaas) in equal proportion makes a good substitute for sewing oil, and lubricating oil for hinges, locks, screws and bolts.

15. Hammer is to the worker as scythe is to the farmer – two symbols representing the grassroots, which the old communist regime used as logo.

16. When installing an air-conditioning unit, be sure it is one or two feet from the floor for efficiency and power economy.

17. Experts select crosscut saw (ordinary saw) by making it sing, so to speak – it produces a clear echoing sound like a tuning fork. Hammer struck on stone likewise sends a brilliant tuning fork sound.

18. It is all right to dispose off catalogues and instructions of tools and machine after you have mastered in using them.

19. It is always good to work alone especially if you are handling dangerous machines and tools so as not to harm others – or you might get distracted in your work.

20. Use loose clothing, such as long sleeves, when operating machine to ward off dirt and as added protected – not to mention as part of good grooming.

21. Accurate measurements in construction are actually in the details of the work. The framework like posts and beams are usually set within certain approximation or range.

22 - 25. Name four safety and emergency equipment, tools and provisions in the work shop.


ANSWERS: 1t, 2f, 3f, 4t, 5,t, 6f, 7t, 8t, 9t, 10t 11f, 12t, 13t, 14t, 15t, 16f, 17t, 18f, 19f, 20f, 21f, 22-25 (In any order, choose 4 only; you can add to the list): first aid kit, fire extinguisher, insulated gloves and shoes, ear muff, face mask, proper working clothes, welding safety gear, exhaust fan, fume hood,and dust collector, tool box, etc.

RATING:
24 – 25 outstanding
20 – 23 very good
16 – 19 good
12 – 15 pass
Below 11 listen more to the radio program and do your homework.

Answers to Self-Administered Test on Great Men and Women

Dr Abe V Rotor
Lesson Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid DZRB 738 AM
Monday to Thursday, 9 to 10 Evening Class
Dr. Abe V. Rotor and Ms. Melly Tenorio,
October 2, 2007

Supply the missing word or words/keyword

1. Story telling is an art. Strive for the “state-of-the-art of story telling”

2. Rhett Butler played by Clark Gable had this famous line, “Frankly my dear I don’t give a damn.” What title of the movie is Gone with the Wind.

3. There is a famous statement that captures how powerful Rome was at its height.
“All roads lead to Rome.” "The glory that was Greece, the grandeur that was Rome."

4. England became the biggest empire in 18th century and had colonies all over the world – India, Australia, US, Canada, to name the most important. There is a famous statement which says, “The sun never sets on English soil.”

5. This is one element of a good anecdote that stimulates the intellect, sagacity, understanding. It shows cleverness. Wit. It often goes together with humor.

6. This is another element of good story that lifts the spirit, and brings man towards optimistic goals. Inspirational appeal.

7. Bato bati sa langit …. Doesn’t speak well of a good story. The refers to fatalism.

8. Avoid this aspect in story telling, promoting an idea, thing or person. Propagandism.

9. This is one aspect we should avoid in story telling: directly imposing a norm or moral obligation. Moralism

10. It took this man to convince four kings to support his plan to reach East if he goes strait West – thus he named the island on which he first landed as East Indies. Christopher Columbus.

11. If you are presented with a simple problem that has a simple solution - instead of wasting time and resources, they say, “Cut the Gordian Knot.” Who first showed it this way by cutting the complicated Gordian Knot with one slash of his sword. Alexander the Great



12.This flying insect circled the a lamp from which Rizal used it as symbol of martyrdom. Moth

12. He is known even to the present as the “man of the masses” who at one instance promoted a engineer on the spot. Ramon Magsaysay.

13. The most loved anecdote teller of all time. His anecdotes and anecdotes about him are known all over the world. Abraham Lincoln.

14. He took the crown from the hands of the Pope who was about to crown him, and crowned himself. Napoleon Bonaparte.

15. This is the Lady with a Lamp who made her rounds in the hospital with a tiny lamp. Florence Nightingale

16. Emperor, a city was named after him, whose mother was a Christian in disguise. He became liberal to Christians who were practicing their faith. Constantine, the Great

17. English admiral, ordered by his superior not to proceed in his mission because the enemy ships were waiting. He took the telescope and trained it on his right eye which is blind, and said, “I can’t see the enemy sir.” National British hero. Horatius Nelson.

18. He isolated himself in his room for days, eating but little, and when he emerged, his face lighted like that of a saint, and holding his masterpiece Hallelujah. Who is this composer. Handel

19. He attended a concert which played his masterpiece. At the end, the audience stood to pay respect to the composer. Someone had to signal him to acknowledge the audience. Ludwig van Beethoven

20. One of the most famous meetings in history. US newsman Stanley was sent to Africa to search for Dr. David Livingstone. What was Stanley’s greeting? "Dr. Living stone, I suppose?"

Light from the Old Arch, 2 AVRotor

I Found an Outdoor Friend

Abe V Rotor

In my room one day I wrote;
Clumsy, my pen dropped,
My own thoughts I fought,
Groped I alone in the dark.

My pen into a corner rolled,
Into a web of dust and web;
Into a story long untold,
No other but my own in ebb.

Vigor I lack, my eyesight poor,
Vegetables, fruits, all I detest,
Energy I’ve none to store,
That I dare not face any contest.

I swept the floor, opened the door,
Worked the garden, where a lost friend
I found again - Nature and more -
United we all are to the end.

x x x

Living with Nature, Volume 3. All Rights Reserved

Lightning doesn’t strike twice on the same place.

Skeleton of tree killed by lightning, Diliman, QC

Abe V Rotor

Yes, unless of course, if it is a lightning rod intended to protect high rise buildings and towers. Otherwise, lightning occurs but once on the same spot, but not necessarily the same area though. Lightning has no standard pattern, but we know when it occurs and strikes most, and the subjects and materials that attract it. Follow this guide during thunderstorm.

1. Don’t seek shelter under isolated trees.
2. Stop playing golf; the club may serve as lightning rod.
3. Keep away from transmission lines and electric posts.
4. Pull off the main switch to protect appliances.
5. Don’t walk in the rain or wade in water.
6. Keep away from large animals, especially the carabao.
7. Stay at home. Or stay inside the car if you are traveling.

Take precaution but don’t be alarmed. The chance of being harmed is very slight; if you compare the tiny number of people killed in a year with the fact that round the earth nearly two thousand thunderstorms are going on at every moment.

If you are a farmer, sheath your bolo and keep away from any metallic tool. If you are playing golf, pack up immediately at the sign of a coming thunderstorm. Metals are good conductors of electricity, and may serve as lightning rod - with you holding it.
x x x

Reference: Living With Folk Wisdom, AVR, UST Manila

Guava stem - first toothbrush, and substitute, too.

Abe V Rotor

Here’s a folkloric practice. Chew one end of a small fresh stem of guava, and use it as toothbrush and toothpick. Guava contains a natural antibiotic that prevents infection, and it is also an anti deodorant, which explains the popularity of this old practice – and also for the fact that this small tropical tree grows everywhere.

Chewing guava leaves to relieve gum inflammation is also a common old folk remedy. I witnessed a dentist in a remote village in Bolinao, Pangasinan, use guava leaves in his practice. Before extracting an impacted tooth, the patient was asked to chew three young leaves of guava into a pulp, shaped it into a ball, and after the tooth has been extracted, plugged it in its place, and closed his jaw.

“That will stop the bleeding,” he explained in Ilocano as he called for the next patient - eying at me.

x x x

Living with Folk Wisdom, AVR, UST Manila

Part 2: Sharing makes the world go round and around.

Abe V Rotor

A pair of African Daisy hybrids. St Paul of Chartres, Antipolo, Rizal.

________________________________________________________

On leaving our world down below and seeing it as a miniature: How small is our world. Rather how small we are.

- A.V. Rotor, Views from an Airplane, Travelogue Through Art, 1999

________________________________________________________


Sharing makes the world go round and around. How beautiful Reader's Digest puts it. To wit:

"Every human being on this earth faces a constant problem: how to make the most of life. There is no single solution, the art of living is the most difficult of all the arts. But fortunately for all of us, experience can be shared. Insights can be learned. Wisdom can be taught. Experiences, insights and wisdom of men and women - from teachers to clergymen, housewives to scientists, ordinary citizens to statesmen - who have lived deeply, thought profoundly and cared enormously about sharing with others what they learned have found some fragments of truth that cushion the harsh impact of reality or brightens the marvelous tapestry of living. From them we find some answers to the most fundamental of all questions: how to live with life."

This excerpt demonstrates human relationship on the highest plane. Simplicity as a common denominator for all those willing to live by it as a virtue breaks the wall separating today the haves and the have-nots, the whites and the colored, and the barriers of distance, belief, ideology and fame. But it is only when one takes the road less trodden that he can truly touch the lives of those who are poor and are living in poverty, not as a choice or virtue, but because they are inevitable, unwilling victims of it.

This is the road the Good Samaritan took. Here sharing takes a higher category, that of compassion. Compassion comes from a deep source, it springs from the hadal depth, not so much of reason but of love which reason cannot fully explain. From here flows the stream of openness and availability, that compassion becomes universal - in both time and space - respecting all mankind, and going back to ecological paradigm, respecting too, all living creature, big and small, and all the things that make this world a place of Paradise. It is only through deep prayer and faith that we can regain that place we lost. John Milton saw it only when he became blind and illumined its beauty with the power of the pen, while Helen Keller shared it to us on the Braile.

Are these enough to live by? No. Still there is a higher realm of human virtue, and this is the element of taking risk and sacrifice. "If you truly love and care", said Mother Teresa, "you are not afraid."

But it is more important to work with others. This is the element of collaboration. It is in collaboration that we do not only come up with collective strength but build interdependence with which we re-enforce the efforts of others in the magic of synergy. It cannot be explained why collective effort surpasses the sum of individual efforts, why spiritual love can not be equated with human love, why happiness when shared multiplies, why in quiet prayers comes a great resolve.

These are not difficult to understand in theory and in good times, when we are only witnesses, nay bystanders. If we are teachers and not disciples, critics and not doers, victors and not the vanquished.

It is easier to teach than to learn, to lecture than to share, to welcome than to accept, to accept than to forgive. It may be easier to treat a friend than a brother, receive awards than show recognition, walk up to the podium than stoop to lend a hand. How do we know endurance from sacrifice? Responsibility from accountability? To help from to care?

Wake up. It is springtime. ~

Reference: Light from the Old Arch, AVRotor, UST Publishing House, Manila.

The Case of the Goat that Ate Plastic

 The Case of the Goat that Ate Plastic

No digestive enzyme – not even gastric acid – is powerful to break down plastics, no matter how long the material is subjected to this natural solvent.

Dr Abe V Rotor

Living with Nature - School on Blog

The goat was pregnant for too long and was getting thin the owner sent for the butcher.

Guess what we discovered?  The bloated stomach was stuffed with plastics – pieces of containers, wrapping materials and grocery bags. One cannot imagine why the animal devoured plastics instead of grass other than due to hunger. After all, goats are not choosy when it comes to food.  Outside the wide range of plant species they can eat, since they are omnivorous, they yearn for almost anything sweet, salty, oily or spicy.

Curiously, an inventory was made from the animal’s stomach. Found in it there were cellophane used for sweets like bocayo, peanut butter, and candies, thin plastic bags for retailing bagoong alamang, patis, toyo, cooking oil, ice drop and the like. The largest are grocery convenient bags for meats, fish, soft drinks, fruit juices and cooked food. Some of these materials still bear traces of the product trade names, indicating recent ingestion. Plastics earlier ingested were discolored, but nonetheless are undissolved and intact. As the stomach twists and turns, the larger plastic materials envelop the smaller ones, forming a mass stuck up in the rumen (or large first compartment of the stomach) like clothes in a overloaded washing machine. 

The stomach of ruminants is designed to store large amounts of food. The food is consumed rapidly with a minimum of chewing, before it is swallowed. This reduces grazing time while it enhances large intake. Then when the animal is resting, the raw ingesta is brought out for re-mastication. At this time, digestive enzymes are mixed in with food before final digestion.

The stomach muscles incessantly contracting and squeezing, in a process called peristalsis (successive waves of involuntary contraction along the walls of the intestine, forcing the contents onward). Digestive enzymes dissolve solid materials into pulp (chyme), which is a thick soup material which later goes to the small intestine. Here, the nutrients are assimilated by tiny and numerous, tiny finger-like protrusions called villi.  The remaining contents then move to the large intestines, where they are retained for a while before being excreted as feces.

  

Why does the stomach retain the plastic materials?

We know that goats and other ruminant animals like sheep, cattle, zebra and gazelle, have very efficient digestive systems. This is needed for them to subsist on more than just high-fiber food such as grass and roughage. Their chambered stomachs retain food much longer than man can, or fowls, and pigs. This explains why the excreta of ruminants yields well digested fiber.  This is not the case with the excreta of animals with simple digestive systems such as pigs.  Birds and chicken although they break down shells and stones in their gizzards, cannot fully digest cellulose. Perhaps the only creature, superior to ruminants in cellulose digestion, is the termite.  Termites have living protozoa in their stomachs that break down wood cellulose even in its tough form, lignin. Without this symbiont, termites will certainly starve and die. There has been no known successful experiment, however, to determine whether termites can digest plastics.  

The implication is that no digestive enzyme, not even gastric acid, is powerful enough to break down the cellulose in plastics.  This is classical proof of the non-biodegradability of plastics.

The question is asked: Can’t ruminants eliminate unwanted materials in their digestive system either by regurgitation or excretion?  The answer is no. In the first place the movement of the stomach and its chambers (rumen, reticulum and omasum) are not governed by the central nervous system. The mechanism of rumination is involuntary. It is the coarseness of the feed that stimulates the walls of the rumen to contract so that the material is brought out for re-mastication. Animals, which feed on soft and non-fibrous diet like alfalfa, ruminate less than those that depend on roughage.

  

Plastics Camouflage Appetite

It is likely that the plastic materials line the surface of the rumen in a way that produces insufficient stimulation to expel the ingesta for re-mastication. Another effect is that the animal experiences false fullness, camouflaging true appetite. This means that because the animal is not hungry, it eats less, consequently, becoming malnourished. Thus, the goat that ate plastic was emaciated, yet had a bloated stomach.  Yet this does not discount the possibility of slow poisoning due to the slow disintegration of secondary metabolites.

       

The other reason why goats cannot eliminate the plastics through excretion is obvious. Unlike large livestock, their feces are dry and nodular (small and round-shaped), barely the size of coffee beans.

The first completely synthetic man-made plastic, Bakelite, does not burn, melt or dissolve under ordinary solvents. As an additive, it makes almost any material strong, durable and light.

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What is plastic?  How are plastics differentiated?

1. The first plastic was made by Alexander Parkes in 1862, after whom it was named: Parkesine.  Actually it was an organic material derived from cellulose. Once heated, it could be molded, retaining its shape when cooled. Because of its high cost of production it was shelved until the later part of the 19^th century when celluloid made a debut as replacement for ivory in making of billiard balls.  To prevent the explosion of the highly volatile celluloid, camphor was added leading to the development of thermoplastics.

2. Soon, the first completely synthetic man-made plastic was formulated by a New York chemist, Leo Baekeland, hence the name Bakelite. This material does not burn, boil, melt, or dissolve under any commonly available acid or solvent. It also retains its shape. Bakelite could be added to almost any material, making the new substance more durable, light, heat-resistant and shatterproof.  War machinery and automobile manufacturing made use of this new product to great advantage.

3. Other forms of plastics were then discovered.  These include rayon (man-made silk), and cellophane (the first glass-clear, flexible and waterproof plastic). These materials have many uses today.

4. By 1920, the “plastic craze” spread out. Du Pont, one of the leaders of the industry developed nylon, replacing animal hair in toothbrushes.  By 1940, the world saw the development of acrylic, polyethylene, and many more polymers, which replaced natural materials such as cotton, fiber, wood and steel.

5. DuPont later introduced Teflon, favored for lining cooking utensils for its acid and heat resistant while its non-stick properties make the utensils easy to clean.

6. Dow, another plastic manufacturer, on the other hand, came up with polyvinylidene chloride, better known as “Saran”, a perfect material for food packaging and storage.

7. Polyethylene, introduced in 1933,  is currently the largest volume plastic in the world for making soda and milk bottles, grocery bags, and plastic food storage containers. This is the kind of plastic the goat ate and which made her sick.

8. There is virtually no end to the discovery of other forms of plastics.  We have plastic putty developed by Velcro.  This material is similar to rubber, but has a 25 percent higher rebound power. Its property of not being able to maintain a constant shape is compensated by its high flexibility, stretching many times its length without tearing. Initially, it was used in the manufacture of toys, but now many potential uses are seen.

A World Without Plastics?

Today’s world is incomprehensible without plastics.  Plastics contribute to our health, safety and peace of mind.  They are part of our dwellings, cars, toys, appliances, even body parts such as heart valves and prosthetics. There are countless uses in all aspects of our lives.

On the other hand, the biggest dilemma with plastics is its proper disposal. It has become a major waste handling challenge all over the world. While we see its virtually endless uses, we are also witness to its accumulation exacerbated by its inability to biodegrade.  As a result, its rate of accumulation is alarmingly enhanced, creating an issue of concern to environmentalists, and citizens of the world.

 Plastic Garbage

In a recent field trip along the coast of Morong, Bataan, in the Philippines, students from the UST College of Pharmacy were surprised to see plastic material strewn by waves along the shore.  A cursory examination revealed the following materials:

1.     Plastic sack which has replaced the jute or gummy sack

2.     Nylon rope and filament, which have replaced Manila hemp and cotton threads. Filament is used for fish net.

3.     Plastic simulated leather used in shoes, canvas and bags. There are other kinds of artificial leather.

4.     Styropore for packing and containers, replacing banana leaves, straw and paper.

5.     Foam mattresses, slippers and furniture. Natural sponge is now a rare commodity. Foam has replaced coconut coir and kapok.

6.     Plastic bottles, jars and containers.  Glass is still the best material when it comes to food storage.

7.     Plastic sachets, bags and wrappers have largely taken over the use of paper and cardboard.

These plastic materials are familiar to us.  We see them at home and on store shelves. They are evidences of our modern, throw-away culture.

  

Trapped Fish Fry in Plastic

While gathering the garbage to help clean up the shore, the author’s students found trapped fish fry in plastic bags. Wanting to find out how this happened, we looked for clues.  The plastic bags, flushed down the river, or thrown by unscrupulous residents and promenaders became homes for young, marine species. Since these materials are not edible seaweeds or seagrass, they become entrapments to the fry. Causing their death through starvation and asphyxiation.

We have seen plastic materials stuck at the bottom of reefs preventing juvenile seaweeds from developing.  Plastics also trap the polyps of corals, and microscopic zooplankton eliminating a major food source for marine life.

That evening, along the shores of Morong, we asked ourselves what each can do to rid the shores of plastics. While we reflected in silence, the tranquil waves washed ashore a plastic bottle.

Here are things we can do with plastics.

1.     Re-use plastic bags and bottles at home.  Remember that plastics are durable. Be sure to clean them properly before using.

2.     Gather plastic bottles and unserviceable plastic wares for recycling. Arrange with cart pushers, or your nearest junk shop for their regular collection. Do not attempt to re-melt plastics.  The process is not as simple as you think.  Don’t burn to dispose them, either.  Burning plastics emits smoke and fumes deleterious to health.

3.     Do not use plastic if you can help it.  Use paper or glass containers. This is also advantageous to your health.  Do not use plastic containers for soft drinks, vinegar, salt, patis, toyo.  Strong solvents tend to chemically alter in the presence of plastics. Studies that show that some plastics that are carcinogenic.

4.     Keep plastic materials away from your bedroom.  As plastics age, they emit gaseous substances which may cause allergy, asthma and other ailments when inhaled. 

5.     Patronize products that use non-plastic containers, wrappers, bags and utensils.

6.     Be part of a community environmental project.  Attend seminars and workshops that talk about the environment.  Read about ecology; learn to be a leader in this area; know about re-cycling, values formation, and the like. Be an ecologist yourself.

    

 Nata Laminate – Potential Plastic Substitute

Now, this one is for the Guinness Book of Records.  Shoes now are made from nata de coco. At St. Paul College QC, Dr. Anselmo S. Cabigan and his advisee Amparo Arambulo developed shoes made from nata laminate.  The laminate is actually compressed nata de coco, dried and layered into ply, then subjected to the usual tanning procedure. It is cut and made into shoe soles, actually worn by students quality test. Nata laminate is stronger than leather. It gives a good finish and it looks like leather.

In another research, nata was made into surgical thread.  Since nata is a natural product (a capsule of the bacterium, Leuconostoc mesenteroides), it is soluble.  It may be a good substitute for expensive commercial absorbable surgical threads.

Nata laminate is also a potential substitute for special paper, such as sheepskin, and an exotic material in making wallets, bags and belts.  Unlike plastic, nata laminate is biodegradable. It also offers to save endangered animals from being butchered for skin.

The case of the goat that ate plastic, and fish fry trapped in a plastic bag can spur us to develop a second generation of biodegradable plastics. This is the essence of good stewardship of this planet, for our own good, as well as for those who will follow us.

x     x     x

Lesson on former Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid Dr Abe V Rotor and Ms Melly C Tenorio 738 DZRB AM, 8 to 9 evening class, Monday to Friday.