Showing posts with label invention. Show all posts

MY OWN BOLD PREDICTIONS OF THINGS THAT WILL HAPPEN IN THE FUTURE

 By Apolinario Villalobos

Never Underestimate a Photo

By Apolinario Villalobos

A photo should never be underestimated. Such printed record could send a person to jail, cause a breakup of once a strong relationship, destroy a person’s life, or worse, cause someone’s death. Psychologists use photos to test the soundness of their patients’ mind.  Due to the varying impression on particular images that people make, some view a certain photo with malice while others are nonchalant about what they perceive.

In the Philippines today, due to the scandals that are rocking the government system and its officials, even a lone photograph may be considered very important evidence. This is what’s meant by the line in a song that says, “…a picture could paint a thousand words”….words that are needed to establish a case or develop a story of a committed crime.

In this regard, the Vice-President Lenny Robredo posing with the Catholic bishops in a photo could mean a lot because the latter are detractors of President Duterte, while the former is viewed as being used as a tool by the opposition, as well as, the bishops themselves. Senator de Lima shaking hands with the purported drug lords can create so many stories about her link with them. And, President Duterte being kissed on a check by a beautiful admirer could send media people to their laptop and desktop computer to type a scoop.

The “photographic” memory of our ancestors enabled them to sketch animals and their daily activities on cave walls and ceilings that helped us understand our past. Though how crudely executed these records may be, without them, we may never have had a glimpse of what transpired in the past.

Photographs can also hide and reveal true events and situations, as well as, characters of people. To make any situation convincing before they are photographed, it is enhanced with props. On the other hand, happiness can be temporarily etched on a face – all for the sake of visual recordings that have distinct objectives. While some are used for deception, others have noble intent….the so-called visual “white lie”. And, this is how the “motion picture” or movie was conceived.

Today’s world of high technology is being made alive or perked up by photos. People practically want to record what they do, a manifestation of their ego which is the center of the “self”. That is why, inventors are not stopping from conceiving gadgets that would incorporate a photographic lens, such that wireless phones did not end as just an audio gadget, but later developed further to have a camera.  This resulted to some watches having camera, as well as, pens, buttons and many others.

Finally, that is how the “inventor” of the facebook raked in billions of dollars….open a site that would accommodate photos of events and frames of quotes. So, next time you open your facebook and post a photo on its wall, remember that you are making someone richer.

And, the next time you open your old albums of photos, cherish those faded records of the past. By the way, even old photos of Nora Aunor could command today a price of not less than 200pesos!

The Commercial and Destructive Aspects of Inventions

By Apolinario Villalobos

It is all for the comfort and money that man has created “wants” in this world, hence, the various inventions. The “wants” are not necessarily the “needs”, as there are things that we can forego as they are not necessary. But, before the onset of what the modern man views as “civilization”, our ancestors were a satisfied lot. During the time, it was enough for a community of five families, for instance, to share a felled beast using spears, throwing sticks, and rocks. Our ancestors’ feet were also enough to bring them to where they wanted.

In time, however, the wizards among our ancestors thought of making mobility more comfortable and due to the growth of communities, competition for survival ensued. The need for security was conceived giving rise to more lethal, though, primitive tools. Instead of the simple tree barks to cover their private parts, they thought of using the skin of their prey. Wheels were invented and used not only to transport heavy goods but also in destructive chariots and later, in armored cars, etc., but most especially, for the comfortable mobility.

While the legendary Icarus thought of flying with the use of feathers, the Wright Brothers went further by using metals and woods assembled to harness the power of the wind to keep their contrived apparatus to glide and take on speed. The “standards” in quality of the contraption improved the invention until it went further, such as its other uses were conceived….based on what the time required in transporting people and goods, and later, totally become tools of destruction because of greed!

Telephone units before, had to have a component that must be cranked before it could be used while connected to each other with miles of long copper wire. Today, wireless telephones are inter-connected by satellites that hover above the earth. But, since people want more sophistications in such instrument, other features are added – camera, voice recorder, music player….and later on, used by evil-minded to set off bombs! On the other hand, who would have ever thought that drugs that were originally conceived to prolong life could become deadly, the same as with the chemicals that are supposed to preserve food?

Thousands of inventions have been initially intended for man’s comfort, convenience and survival, but his shrewdness and selfishness made him conceive their lethal uses…that at the end practically led him to his self-destruction! 

Trivia:  Inventions and their Inventors

By Apolinario Villalobos

Since I was in elementary, I had been fascinated by inventions and archaeology….and, anything about nature. I recalled having a collection of small rocks, and pretended that they were precious stones. I was also fond of making things out of found objects such as sardine cans, lead seal of postal bags that I collected from the dump at the back of the municipal building, copper wires, etc. I also recalled staying out of our house till late, gazing at the stars much to the consternation of my elder sister.

As I grew older, I developed a habit of saving the information that I encountered in my readings. What I would like to share in this blog is a list of inventions and their respective inventor, including the year they did it. Currently, with the onset of high technology, new and amazing inventions continuously flood the market, but which I purposely did not include due to their voluminous number. The following are just the common items that we are familiar with, some of which are even part of our daily life:

Adding Machine          -1642, by Blaise Pascal; but the commercial type was by William

  Burroughs in 1885

Automobile                  -steam-fueled, in 1769 by Nicolas Cugnot; gasoline-fueled, in 1855 by Karl

 Benz; earliest internal combustion, 1862 by Jean Joseph Etienne Lenoir;  

 first powered hand-cart with internal combustion engine, in 1864 by

 Siegfried Marcus

Ballpoint pen               -1888, by John Loud

Barbed wire                 -1873, by Joseph Glidden

Cash Register              -1879, by James Ritty

Cellophane                  -1900, by J. E. Brandenberger

Cement                        -1824, by Joseph Aspdin

Clock (mechanical)     -728, by I-Hsing and Liang Ling-Tsan

Clock (pendulum)        -1657, by Christian Huygens

Diesel engine              -1895, by Rudolf Diesel

Electric flat iron          -1882, by H. W. Seeley

Electric lamp               -1879, by Thomas Alva Edison

Electric Motor             -1873, by Zenobe Gramme

Electronic Computer   -1942, by J.G. Brainerd, J.P. Eckert, and J.W. Mauchly

Elevator                       -1852, by Elisha G. Otis

Film (musical)             -1923, by Dr. Lee de Forest

Film (talking)               -1926, by Wagner Bros.

Fountain pen               -1884, by Lewis E. Waterman

Generator                    -1860, Piccinoti

Loudspeaker                -1924, by Rice-Kellogg

Machine Gun               -1861, by Richard Gatling

Microphone                 -1876, by Alexander Graham Bell

Microscope                 -1590, by Zacharias Jannsen

Motorcycle                  -1884, by Edward Butler

Motor scooter             -1919, by Greville Bradshaw

Nylon                           -1937, by Dr. Wallace G. Carothers

Parachute                    -1797, by Andre-Jacques Garnerin

Phonograph                 -1878, by Thomas Alva Edison

Photography                -(on metal) 1826, by Nicephone Niepce

Photography                -(on paper) 1835, by W.H. Fox Talbot

Photography                -(on film) 1888, by John Carbutt; Kodak, August 1888, by George Eastman

Printing                        -(hand printing) 868, in India; (press type) 1455, by Johan zu Gutenberg;

 (rotary type) 1846, by Richard Hoe

Radar                           -1922, by Dr. Albert H. Taylor and Leo C. Young

Razor (electric)            -1931, by Sir Joseph Schick

Razor (safety)              -1895, by King C. Gillette

Record (long playing)  -1948, by Dr. Peter Goldmark

Refrigerator                 -1851, by James Harrison

Revolver                      -1835, by Samuel Colt

Safety pin                    -1849, by William Hunt

Sewing machine          -1851, by Isaac M. Singer

Stethoscope                -1837, by Dr. William Stokes

Submarine                   -1776, by David Bushnell

Telegraph                    -1837, by Sir William Cooke, C. Wheatstone, and Eustone Camden Town

Telegraph Code           -1837, by Samuel F. B. Morse

Telephone                   -(scientific toy) 1861, by M. Philip Reis

Telephone                   -(practical use) 1876, by Alexander Graham Bell

Telescope                    -1608, by Hans Lippershey

Television                    -1926, by John Logie Baird

Watch                          -(self-winding) 1791, by Abraham-Louise Breguet

X-ray                            -1895, by Wilhelm von Rontgen

How I wish, somebody could compress into one capsule the complete nutritious food that one needs for the whole week...or for a start, even just for one day!...better than the kind which the space explorers take when they undertake a long voyage.

Fearless Predictions for a Comfortable Life

By Apolinario Villalobos

I know that I will be exposing myself to ridicule with the ideas that I will share in this dissertation, as viewers will perceive me as a trying hard Nostradamus. But I don’t mind because I espouse freedom of expression. I am emboldened with the questions such as, was not TV used to be called “idiot box” before it was finally accepted? …and was not the cellular phone just a crazy idea, far from being realized because there was no connecting cable involved?

When I was young, during which the only cordless communication gadget that I knew was the walkie-talkie radio units, I was already imagining about phones not connected with cords and wires. I had my first glimpse of a phone from the pages of the National Geographic when I was in high school. Later, I saw pictures of phones installed in cars. Later, the pager came, and finally, the cellular phones that are being manufactured today with different shapes. There was a time when I imagined a typewriter that could store typed words; small flashlights and radios that can fit pockets; pencils that double as ballpoint pens.

Today, I do not tire of imagining things to come as a result of never-ending quest of man for things that will satisfy his whims and comfort. Although there is a popular view is that, newly-invented gadgets are nothing but ridiculous contraptions until their use have become widely accepted.

Along this line, I imagine the day when a slim duplicating machine will become an integral part of laptops. A few stack of copying paper, brought along in the laptop bag, can be fed to it one at a time. Bulky? No!...because the design I imagine shall revolve around the principles of slimness and lightness. On the other hand, the prototype of a laptop that can be rolled and which I have been imagining for many years has already come out in the internet.

I also imagine, a set of 3 ball pen-sized contraptions that beam laser images of computer keyboard on a table, screen on the wall, with the third serving as modem that stores beamed images and texts, and with the contraptions operating on a very compact battery.

Other innovations that I am imagining are:

-          Cellphones, laptops, i-pads, and other gadgets that run on motion-charged batteries (this concept is already used in automatic writswatches, but not yet on big gadgets)

-           “Perpetual” vibrating  cellphone restpad/charger for units with motion-charged battery; the restpad/charger shall also be self-charging from its motion, with the initial charge from few minutes of shakes given to it

-          Cellphone units that can convert received verbally transmitted messages into text, as well as, vocalize received text messages for the benefit of the deaf and blind

-          Cellphone units that automatically prevent electrical transmission of chargers when batteries are already full to prevent overcharging

-          Batteries for laptop and cellphone that can last for one week despite regular daily use

-          Cellphones that can be unfolded four times into a mini-pad

-          Intelligent cars installed with application readers, to enable them to read applications, for instance, on geographical make up of a town, city,  province, and direction to tourist destinations, so that a tourist can just go to a car rental agency, choose an application depending on the number of destination wanted, and let the car do the rest – without even being driven; the intelligent cars shall also read applications on reminders about the fuel status of the car, spare parts that need to be replaced, etc.

-          Cars that can reverse magnetic attraction to a certain level, so that they can be driven over flooded surface

-          Airport cars that are remote- controlled so that after bringing clients to destinations, they can be electronically guided back to the airport garage

-          Wheelchairs that can float and be driven, with battery powered by motion

-          Edible food container as replacement for styros

-          A chemical that can disinfect and convert human waste into an odorless consistency free from germs, and can be molded into hardy boards and roofing sheets that can be used for low-cost housing

-          A chemical that can convert waste from the kitchen into liquid fertilizer

-          Hybrids of fruits such as seedless jackfruit and durian with smooth skin, kiwi fruit with edible skin, seedless avocado with edible skin, round banana with edible skin, seedless mango with edible skin, grapes that can grow into the size of pomelo

-           Hybrids of vegetables such as seedless gourds, seedless tomato, seedless cucumber, seedless squash, elongated cabbage that can grow like vine

-          Hybrids of flowers such as roses that can bear flowers as big as cabbage and can last for at least one year, and when cut, for at least three months

-          A glowing paint with pigments that can illuminate walls and ceilings, with the degree of illumination depending on the color of the paint, to drastically reduce, if not eliminate the use of light bulbs in some areas of the house or building

-          Gadgets that can capture electricity from a source at least fifty kilometers away so that electric cables shall no longer be necessary to transport the power to the homes and other structures; the principle to be used here will be similar to the one used in the cordless mouse of computers and cordless chargers of cellphones

-          A gadget that can be plugged into a socket and can send power to an equipment such as copying machine, refrigerator, TV, radio, and music station, while another gadget  shall be attached to the equipment to receive the power; this way the clutter of cables and wires is eliminated and the equipment can be moved anywhere in the house or building but within the range of the relaying and receiving gadgets

-          Umbrellas with extra thin extension that can be unrolled into a tarp and can accommodate 4 more people

-          CCTV cameras that are programmed to detect harmful actions of captured images so that an alert can be received by the monitor and which shall send out a signal;  this way the CCTV can maximize its use even if the monitor is not watched 24/7

The modern world thrives on some crazy ideas and I would like to contribute some of my own. I am asking the indulgence of viewers in this effort. This is better than thinking of ways on how to evade a CCTV while robbing a bank, kill someone with a deadly look, break eardrums with horrid songs, or concoct herbal preparations that can induce conception of quadruplets or quintuplets.

Philippine Center for the Arts and Sciences

…a suggestion

By Apolinario Villalobos

Being a third world country, the Philippines’ only other resources aside from the natural endowments such minerals, wildlife, forests, marine life, and rich agricultural land, that it can be proud of, are the people – the talented Filipinos. It is a shame that the human resources are treated only as some kind of an exportable “commodity” in the form of labor. There is dignity in labor, but there are more that the Filipinos can do other than work in hospitals, hotels, construction sites and homes in foreign countries. The Filipinos are oozing with talents, but unfortunately, are not supported by the government.

Filipino talents in the fields of invention, literary and music are relegated on the sidelines. Singing contests in village fiestas, TV programs and those organized by private entities bring out world-class singers, but after the announcement of their winning and limited appearance in TV shows, nothing is heard about them. The popular adage is about the need for the Filipino singers to go to other countries to be able to earn recognition that they deserve.

There is the so-called National Institute of Science of Technology (NIST), the government agency that is supposed to be charged with responsibilities on Filipino inventions. It seems that even in the issuance of patent, the agency is lagging. The Filipinos know of inventions only through the media, when resourceful researchers of TV programs are able to scour the countryside for low-profile inventors. Most often, these inventors confess that they have gone to the NIST but outright, they get the feeling of being inadequate due to so many requirements. The standard alibi of the NIST is that they need to check the inventions’ authenticity before they can be recognized, but how long will it take them to do it? Additionally, they also mention the lack of budget!

Also, the inventions are brought to the attention of the consumers only during exhibits which charge high entrance fees to the interested public, and exorbitant charges for inventors who would like to participate. And, to think that these exhibits and shows are supposed to be “sponsored” by the mentioned government agency in cooperation with the inventors’ organization. The NIST should sustain the expenses, as the event is held only once a year. It will not cost the NIST millions of pesos to shoulder the rent for a venue.

The local market is flooded with gadgets from other countries, especially, China, and these are gadgets that can be manufactured locally. So many times, the media expose local inventions that are supposed to curb expenses on electricity, as well as, fuel consumption, even nature-friendly insecticides, and many more. Unfortunately, these inventions are just showcased, waiting for the government support! And, sadly, some of them end up in other countries for mass-production to be brought back to the Philippines as finished products bearing foreign sounding brand names.

Filipino literary artists also suffer from government neglect and utter lack of support. While colleges and universities offer mass communication courses, the graduates are left to fend for themselves after graduation, with most talented writers ending up as clerks in offices. I once talked to the former Director of the National Library of the Philippines, Ms. Nani Cruz, who confided that the institution, for long, has been in dire need of Filipino-authored books. That was more than five years ago. Today, not only is the National Library of the Philippines STILL wanting for the said kind of books but even the bookstores are showing their lack of concern by preferring imported books – best sellers in countries where they come from! These book outlets gladly and proudly announce arrival of foreign authors for book signing!

My suggestion is for the government to expand the scope of NIST’s responsibilities by adding the aspect of permanent showcasing of inventions, be they with issued or pended patent. This can be done by moving the said agency to a big facility complete with equipment for testing and a showroom- a one-stop shop of sort, located in an area accessible to the consumers and patent buyers/manufacturers. The facility should also accommodate those that concern literary and music. It should be a complex that aspiring artists can visit, not only for copyrighting of their works but also for marketing purposes. It should also include audio-video recording facilities. The Copyright office should be based in this center. It should also provide office spaces for organizations that cater to the development of artistic talents of Filipinos. It is suggested that this complex be called “The Philippine Center for the Arts and Sciences”.

If the former President Ferdinand Marcos turned dictator,  was able to build hospitals and research institutes for the heart, kidney and the lungs, additional building complex for the Philippine General Hospital, a vast complex that includes Cultural Center of the Philippines, Folk Arts Theater, Philippine International Convention Center, Coconut Palace, and Philippine Trade and Exhibition Center, why can’t the current government build what is being suggested – the Philippine Center for the Arts and Sciences?

If Pnoy Aquino would really want to be remembered, this, he should do. He should stop warbling about “reforms” for there is nothing that needed to be reformed. He has done NOTHING YET! What he meant could be the “eradication” of corruption which has just gone from worse to worst!  He even refuses to acknowledge the fact that some of his trusted guys are not “clean”…hinging his support to them on the premise that unless they are proven guilty in court, they are innocent of any guilt. How can they be investigated when he, himself, is insinuating that they are innocent? He should stop talking about reforms because the inadequacies of his administration just add up to neck-deep atrocities already committed by past administrations. If he wants to leave a legacy, it should be tangible enough to be seen and remembered…and this is it, the Philippine Center for the Arts and Sciences.