Driving (Slightly) Off-Course

When people say “driving songs”, it is always associated with heavy drum or smooth piano and bass rhythms. It often strikes the listeners as the songs fit you behind the wheels. Like the songs of the funk-rock band such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers or Diana Krall’s and Norah Jones’ slow jazz tunes.

One of my favorite bands of all time is the Irish sibling quartet, The Corrs. Their style is pop-rock sound with rhythmic beats. Their music is light rock sound, poppy and striking. The lyrics are easily relate-able. These characteristics of their music help propel their songs to the top.

The most important characteristics that also play an integral role in the music of the quartet is the band’s ethnic root. Celtic music was employed into their songwriting that is known to common Irish artists. Most of the Sharon’s violin solos are of celtic influence. That means giving a jig beat or a river dance feel to the song. Aside from this, Andrea, the lead vocalist has a hard Irish accent combined with equally prominent backup vocals by the other girls in the band.

Who will forget the sound that gave them the hits as “All the love in the world”, “Give me a reason” “What can I do”, to name a few. And also I will not forget in my list their debut song “Breathless” with a signature of their poppy and bouncy style of music. Lyrics of the songs of The Corrs reveal stories of different situations involving women or female figures. This can’t be hidden since the The Corrs is predominantly composed of women.

Their album “Borrowed Heaven” that was released in 2004 was an exception to the stereotypes.

Just like the song “Summer Sunshine” where it provides a beach party ambience. The steady measures and drumbeats provide a feeling of driving on a long highway. The song gives a relatively louder, heavier musical instruments effect and heavier distortion.

Their song, “Long Night” is one of the best examples of driving song that takes on a cruising. The song is all about a couple that recently broke up. It has a melancholic lyrics and a piano melody with sentimental feel. The song is a typical story of real life breakup where a woman is driving on a long highway as she leaves the man she loved. It is like in the movie, where the scene is supported by the heavy-hearted vibe that the violin of Sharon brings to the scene. It clearly depicts a woman who is heartbroken driving away.

For their song “Silver Strand” is a slight off-road veering along the same course. The lack of vocals of this song didn’t change the overall impact. This is with a perfect cruising-beat percussions.

Music of The Corrs are not for those maniacs on the road who driven off-road and crashed onto a big tree on the dirt. Their song is a perfect balance where on wheel is side off and the other one on the pave. This is for you who wish to travel far.

Merry Christmas and a Happy Cruising New Year to All!

National Biodiesel Board Applauds House Passage of Energy Bill

The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) applauds the U.S. House of Representatives’ passage of energy legislation with broad renewable fuel provisions. H.R. 6, the Energy Independence and Security Act, expands the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) in a manner that will encourage increased use of Biodiesel, and extends the federal Biodiesel tax incentive.

The Energy Bill, which passed by a vote of 235 to 181, will expand the existing RFS to 36 billion gallons by 2022. It would provide for a renewable requirement in diesel fuel, to be met by Biodiesel and other biomass-based diesel fuels. The legislation specifically requires that 500 million gallons of Biodiesel and biomass-based diesel fuel be blended into the diesel pool in 2009, gradually ramping up to one billion gallons by 2012. Additionally, the bill extends the Biodiesel tax incentive through Dec. 31, 2010, which helps make Biodiesel competitive with petroleum diesel fuel in the marketplace. (Source: The Washington Post).

Let us give credit to the efforts of Senator Maria Cantwell, a member of both the Senate Finance Committee and the Energy and Natural Resources Committee who promotes the production and use of Biodiesel. The bill surely protects the ability of American Biodiesel producers to compete in foreign markets. My concern is, will it compete in the marketplace, here in America? There should be a viable domestic market for biodiesel. To make the bill succeed, coordination and implementation shall be accordance with the state, suppliers, processors, fuel marketers, distributors and the would be end users as well.

Among the benefits of using Biodiesel are:

• Biodiesel reduces our dependence on foreign oil

• Biodiesel reduces emissions of Carbon Dioxide that cause a lot of problem for the environment. In other words, reduces the greenhouse gas emission

• Biodiesel is an efficient fuel. For each unit of energy consumed in the production of fuel, it creates 3.2 units of energy.

If you will use Biodiesel, there is no need to change your car or there is no need for engine modification. In addition to this, there are spare parts inventories that are readily available. You don’t need to hire a special mechanics for your car. Like any other vehicles hoses need to be checked after the first 6 months. Replacement of non-compatible hoses may be necessary, but is not usually expensive and hard to find.

I remember a friend of mine, Dustin Hall, a graduate of Reed College in Portland, Oregon, just years before the passage of the Bill, used his summer break back in his freshman year and established a Biodiesel Plant in the Philippines, a country in the South East Asian region. He chose to build the plant in the Philippines because the country is rich in coconut trees. And his father spent some time in the country when he was young. And because Dustin believed that coconut oil can be used as Biodiesel, he set-up the DH Coco Diesel in the Philippines. The plant produces 156 gallons of 100 percent coconut diesel in a day. The second largest producer of Biodiesel in that country.

According to Dustin, Biodiesel is a combination of diesel fuel and used or new vegetable oils or animal fats. For example, oil used for cooking French fries or donuts can be used to make a car run. This explains why some people say that cars that run on Biodiesel sometimes end up smelling like newly fried fries from McDonalds! hahaha. Merry Christmas!

Panasonic P903i Description: The Panasonic P903i is a WCDMA 3.2MP Camera Cellular Phone. The external 3.2MP camera is capable of capturing still images along with video and an internal VGA camera is used for video conferencing. The main display is a 2.4 inch TFT LCD with 262,144 colors and the external display is a 1.0 inch S`1`TN LCD that supports 4,096 colors. The P903i comes with a security FOB, the ANSHIN-Key, which disables the phone if the user strays too far away. Other features include GPS, MP3 playback, calculator, calendar, a MiniSD card slot for additional storage, and a common phrase dictionary.

With my Panasonic P903i — self-locking phone, thieves out there may become rare. Soon, they won’t be able to resell the phones that they get their hands on. And lost Mobile phones will be returned by finders to the local police stations. This is a best buy for a man on the go like me.

Security is the key function for P903i as it is loaded with sophisticated features. It comes with a movie-ticket sized black card used to wirelessly track how far I am from my mobile phone. This is a special IC-card key carried in my wallet that once my distance exceeds a predetermined amount, my phone automatically locks and prevents unauthorized use.

My P903i comes with a black card (security key) that makes the following security features possible for my mobile phone:

• Facial identification. You can have photos of yourself and save them on your mobile phone. If someone wants to turn on your phone, it will ask to take a photo and check if it matches your stored picture.
• 4 letter password. If your twin brother will use his face to have access to the system, he must know the password too. Clever! hahaha
• Distance setup. Locks the phone if you get too far away from it. Pick from 26, 66 or 130 feet as the secure distance.
• GPS system. If someone steals your cell phone you will be able to trace it and know where your mobile phone by using a Web browser.
• Mobile commerce capabilities. Your mobile phone can be used like a credit card or prepaid cash card

With advanced anti-theft features, your P903i will be strike out in the list of thieves and robbers. But a friendly reminder, don’t forget to carry both phone and card close together and your mobile phone gets locked unwittingly. Hahaha

Every once in a while, we come across books that leave a lasting impression. The most recent one for me is Tuesday with Morrie, a true story written by Mitch Albom (a sports columnist) of his warm relationship with his former professor , Morrie Schwartz who was dying of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). It is a touching, inspiring, funny and sad story. It’s a story about love, life and death.

The part that I found most unforgettable was when Mitch asked Morrie how anyone can ever be prepared to die and Morrie replied “Do what the Buddhist do. Every day, have a little bird on your shoulder that asks, ‘Is this the day? Am I ready? Am I doing all I need to do? Am I being the person I want to be?’ Morrie said “To know you’re going to die, and to be prepared for it any time. That’s better. That way you can actually be more involved in your life while you’re living.”

After reading the book, I also had this reflection in my life. What if this happen to me? Although still alive… while my soul, perfectly awake, is imprisoned inside a limp husk, perhaps able to blink, like something from a science fiction movie, the man frozen inside his own flesh.

I am a sports enthusiast, car racer and once a varsity player in my college days. An athlete that is full of energy, full of inspirations and full of dreams and most of all… blind to failures. This is life!