Who said 'Out, out blog spot!' A parody from William Shakespeare's Macbeth. Lady Macbeth was an accomplish in her husband's, the King's death. She was being bothered by her conscience, as she should be. Once she was dreaming and she saw a blood spot on her hand, and she said, 'Out damned spot! Out I say!' My 'out' is the exact opposite of her 'out' - Shakespeare was known for his wordplay himself.

Pat Evangelista A beautiful find, a rara aves.

What is war and peace?Peace is not a fight. It’s more a flight: from violence, from revenge, from human justice, from condemnation, from blaming others but not oneself, from harsh words. That is why in this turbulent world, peace is deadlier than war, as in war you are one of two belligerents and you can kill and survive and be declared a hero; in peace, you are not a belligerent and you can be killed just like that, a martyr to your cause. War is the easy way out of a situation.

What is creativity? Creativity is looking for relationships where you know there are none.

The flash drive, the MP3 and the digitaker. I bought my first flash drive, a Twin Mos 128 MB, for 1,900 pesos last year, 2004. Then the office (that of the Philippine Journal of Crop Science) bought a 512 MB flash drive, a PQi. Then my son Jomar bought me a Next Base 128 MB all-around – a flash drive, an MP3 player, an FM radio, and what I call a digitaker, which is both a sound recorder and player. The other week, I bought a new model of a Twin Mos 128 MB flash drive – this one had a tilt cover to ensure you don’t leave the cover when you travel.

Now, why my preoccupation with flash drives? I’ll give you several reasons. (1) They’re called flash drives because they are fast, very fast – they are lightning quick when you copy files to them or from them. (2) They are instantly readable by every other computer – as long as you’re using Windows XP or higher as your operating system. No need to install them by software. (3) They have a huge storage area (up to 1GB). (4) They are tiny and easy to carry. (5) They are easy to use. (6) They keep you company when you don’t have any: you can play the sound or the music; the MP3 sound is fantastic. (7) They make an attractive accessory to the clothing one is wearing. And what do I see? The flash drive is the end of the tape recorder & player, the Sony Walkman and Discman, and the beginning of a new information technology (IT) revolution. IT is only right.

What is a refill station? Refill station, also refilling station. A phenomenon all over the Philippines whereby they will refill your empty printer’s ink tank for a quarter of the cost of the original ink. Is the refill ink inferior to the original? Looks like. Does using refill ink damage your printer? Maybe. Will I go to the refill station again? Yes. I have been going back there for the last year or so, and I have been using several brands and several kinds of printers to advantage: Canon S200SPx, HP840C, Epson C60, Epson C45, HP 1020 Laser. (I have a new one at home, a Xerox 3116 Laser; it’s a long way to a refill, but it will definitely go that way.)

Friends’ fry. 2005 August 21, I’m on a bus going to Santa Cruz , Laguna and coming from Cubao, Quezon City. Behind the row of seat across the aisle to my left sit two girls, good-looking. I saw the face of one and instantly I knew this applies: ‘Tell me your friend’s face and I’ll tell you who you are.’ Still, that’s not my story.

I happened to glance in that direction, very briefly, and I saw the girl on the right, nearer to me, bring a French fry to the lips of the girl next to the window and whose face I saw, the one in a hugging red T-shirt, and I saw her more-than-a-Mona-Lisa smile: She was at peace and enjoying the whole thing. I wondered why. Was she disabled? Was she a little sick perhaps?

I had to look again and find out. Surreptitiously, I glanced in that direction again and I saw why, or how. The girl in red was holding on her left hand a plastic cup of drink (probably tea) with the straw sticking out of the middle of the cup’s cover, and on her right hand a tiny plastic cup of white dip on the left hip of the other girl, both in blue jeans of course. You get the picture? One girl dips the fry on the cup and the fry goes to the open lips of the next girl. What do I call that? Friends’ fry.