US Astronaut Neil Armstrong Dies at 82

         

Neil Armstrong: A humble and iconic astronaut passes away with humility in his heart.

               "One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind." These were the words which we remember from Astronaut Neil Armstrong when he talks about that very first small yet great step of mankind on the moon. 

             August 25,Saturday -  Reuters released a news that this famous man who inspired several astronauts to risk the experience of traveling outside our  planet passed away  at 82. Sources indicate that two days after his birthday which is August 5, the said astronaut submitted himself to undergo a heart- bypass surgery due to his blocked coronary arteries condition.Other  news source also indicate that his death has been caused by the complications that were brought by his recent surgery. 

       As a trivia, Armstrong  was the designated commander of Apollo 11, a spacecraft that voyaged on the surface of the moon on July 20,1969. A year after this mission, he was appointed by NASA as The  Deputy Associate Administrator for Aeronautics in NASA's Office of Advanced Research and Technology.When he left NASA, he decided to settle down  in Cincinnati USA and worked as an Engineering Professor at the University of Cincinnati. Despite his fame as an iconic astronaut he decided to stay out of the public by means of  taking care of  his three -acre farm  near Lebanon.  In 1999, he married Carol Knight and lived in Indian Hill Cincinnati. 



photo credit: nasa.gov

Team Obama Raises Fund for Election through a Date with Basketball Superstars

Pres. Obama sharing a moment with his campaign team

Reuters - With the advent of the upcoming 2012 US Presidential Election, Outgoing President Barack Obama’s campaign team decided to attract benefactors to donate an amount of $3 for his campaign and the donors in return will get a chance to rub shoulders with famous basketball personalities like Alonzo Mourning, Patrick Ewing, Sheryl Swoopes, Carmelo Anthony, Kyrie Irvin and of course Michael Jordan himself.

Some sources say that campaign staffer Marlon Marshall, e-mailed prospective supporters indicating that if they spare an amount from their pockets for Obama’s campaign, they will not just see basketball superstars but they also get an opportunity to “hit the court” with Patrick Ewing and Melo plus they get to have the benefit of personally talking and meeting the president of US. He also added that being given a chance to know what it takes to rub shoulders with a politician and some basketball icons would make their children share and talk about this priceless opportunity.

This Dream Team Date Fund Raising Campaign is one among the vast million dollar ways which Obama’s Campaign Team organizes in order to raise fund for the outgoing President’s campaign. To name some of them, the team already conducted lottery invitations for those people who would want to party and have dinner with First Lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, former President Bill Clinton and famous Hollywood personalities like Sarah Jessica Parker and George Clooney who happen to be supporters of the Democratic Party.

As a backgrounder, Obama happens to be a fan of NBA’s Chicago Bull’s team and Michael Jordan was once a 5 time MVP of the said group. The former has also been a member of the “Dream Team” which has been known to be the earliest US Olympic Basketball Team that consisted NBA players. The said team was able to defeat their rivals with a difference of 44 points per game and this enabled them to grab the gold medal during the Barcelona Olympic Game in 1992. 

photo credit: conservativebyte.com

Sec Villanueva Visits TESDA_ Ilocos Norte Provincial Office and LSI classroom

" Study very well and make the TESDA Family feel proud of you"  were the inspiring words that Director General Joel Villanueva gave the to the TWSP ( Training For Work Scholarship Program) English Language Training Trainees of the Language Skills Institute TESDA- Ilocos Norte during his visit at TESDA Ilocos Norte Provincial Office today ( July 20, 2012)

     During this activity,  he was able to have some time to bond with the TESDA Officials and employees of Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur and La Union. Aside from that, Director Villanueva also had the chance to check on the Language Skills Institute - (LSI) classroom, ask on the total number of working units on the said classroom. and have photo opt with the trainer, trainees as well as the administrator. 

Language Skills Institute's English Language Trainees pose with TESDA's Director General Villanueva (middle), LSI Trainer Ms. Honeylynn Inocencio (right) and TESDA-MAIS Administrator Mr. Regino Sebastiam

    Right after his visit at the LSI classroom, the party was invited to have his lunch at the function hall but according to him, he already has eaten his meals before heading to the provincial office. What caught his attention then was the pitcher of freshly made buko juice that was on top of the table.Since Buko juice is his favorite,  he and his party  decided stayed for a while to share stories and bond with TESDA heads over a pitcher of cold and freshly gathered buko juice. 

        As a backgrounder, TESDA- Ilocos  Norte and Language Skills Institute Visit is a part of his 2 day stay at Laoag City,  Ilocos Norte to communicate and meet scholar trainees as well as  Provincial Office Staff, Training Institutution Heads and Government Officials of the different cities and municipality of Laoag City, Ilocos Norte. 

           Furthermore, TESDA's TWSP scholarship covers the provision of a free 100 hours  English Language Training Program in order to prepare trainees to be fully competent in terms of Language Skills Ability. The said LSI- English Language Training is being handled by its host school, TESDA-Marcos Agro Industrial School and Trainings are held at the  Language Skills Institute on the second floor of  TESDA- IN Provincial Office.