ON LEADERSHIP...

My late Mom always told me when I was young that there are people who are naturally born leaders... "It's in their blood to lead", she said. When I grew older, I read just the opposite. Vince Lombardi, for instance, said that  "Leaders are made, they are not born. They are made by hard effort, which is the price which all of us must pay to achieve any goal that is worthwhile."

Reflecting on these two opposing views, I came to a conclusion that both views were correct. - leaders are both born and made... To be a leader means that the charisma which makes people follow you and believe in you is already there. But, leadership must be well directed. Like in the making of a clay pot, it must be molded and crafted to achieve the fine features of good leadership. 


Leadership is not something to be abused. I have seen so many leaders (politicians are one) who have gone and terribly done wrong. These are the kind of leaders who try to play God. We all know that such abusive type of  leadership always collapses. I have also seen and read about very good leaders. What do they have in common? First, they belong...second, they listen. and third, they judge with wisdom. Therefore, for me, effective leadership must be in the blood... be made... and  be filled.

Why you should have a complicated password...

The Story of An Accidental Discovery...Why you should have a complicated password

Are you a member of any social networking site (SNWS) like Facebook, Multiply, Friendster, etc.? Has your account been accessed or hacked? 

My friend and I was browsing thru her social networking site account and when we checked her list of friends, we noted a name (no picture) that suddenly showed up...a name of a common friend. Hmmmnnn, her friendship was accepted by this person. That was unlikely as the person concerned had said that he has not joined that networking site. How could that be? Or, perhaps, he was not using it. My friend and I got excited, so I thought that I'll have him as a friend, as well. I clicked on the wall to post something, but since I'm not a friend yet...that I can not do, then. To cut the story short, everything in the SNWS of this man suddenly became public. We got the shock of our life to discover his deepest secrets... His "girlfriend" posted their pictures in this site perhaps with the thought that the folder containing their pictures were privately locked for her eyes only...silly woman. So, we are sorry for him. Other friends in his circle could have seen the same.

Moral lessons from this: Change password from time to time to the level of difficulty. Don't make anybody create an account for you, even if he/she is your lover, a member of the family, etc. Don't make your password a give away. Don't keep your secrets in any social networking site. Well, it may not be you who post, but another person could. 

Rehabilitation of an ex-tin mine area...

Rehabilitation of an ex-tin mine area...

Last July 3-5, 2012, I presented a paper on the phytoremediation of an abandoned copper mined-out dump site during the International Symposium on Reclamation, Restoration and Rehabilitation Towards a Greener Asia in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Here, I mentioned about the efforts we have undertaken in Mogpog, Marinduque. The last day of the symposium, July 5, was a tour to a rehabilitated ex-tin mine area managed by the Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM). According to Dr. Ang, 15 years ago, this area was bare. At present, it boasts to be the most vegetated and diverse (i.e most number of species planted) in the world....impressive indeed. Dr. Ang has been doing a lot of efforts in the afforestation of the area.