You Writing Manuscripts, Editing & Publishing, All-Digital Is Best – Frank A Hilario Is All-Digital!

In the world of manuscripts – theses, papers to present and/or submitted for publication, publishing a book, journal or report – all-digital is best. That is a sum of my actual manuscript experience in the last 48 years, since 1975, when the Forest Research Institute (FORI) hired me, and by the time I left FORI in 1980, I had become the creator and The Editor In Chief of 3 FORI publications: monthly newsletter Canopy, quarterly technical journal Sylvatrop, and quarterly color magazine Habitat. Those were typewriter days. I loved them! (Note: Past tense.)

A great many years later, I myself experienced the happy power of the digital world starting in 2007 when William Dar, Director General of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), based in India, hired me as a Writer From Home (WFH). I did that by writing for my dedicated ICRISAT-only blog, “iCRiSAT Watch.” I was WFH until 2014 when Mr Dar had to retire from ICRISAT. By that time, I had desktop-published 8 books and ICRISAT did publish 7 of them. The first book was “Team ICRISAT Champions The Poor,” my title. (Mr Dar was so good a DG and that is why ICRISAT honored him with 3 terms of 5 years each!)

Nota Bene: I was already all-digital in those years, 2007-2014 – I did all my writing, editing, blogging, desktop publishing with Microsoft Word, starting with Microsoft Word 2007, if I remember right. In the above image, it says, “Word 2016: Insert and Format Graphics.” I have always done that. And oh yes, I am using Word 2016 right now – I have been using the different versions of MS Word since 1988 (if I remember right), with all their shortcuts and stuff.
(“Word 2016” from youtube.com)

My actual field experiences:

Editor In Chief: 1975-1980, Forest Research Institute (FORI), 3 publications: newsletter technical journal, and color magazine.

Writer, Editor & Desktop Publisher (WFH): 2007-2014, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), 8 books

Editor In Chief: 2003-2008, Philippine Journal of Crop Science (PJCS) – from being late 3 years, FAH brought it to up-to-date in 3 years (2003-2006), and ISI (Web Of Knowledge) 2007.

Why have I not been using the dedicated desktop publishing (DTP) software like Adobe Acrobat and Microsoft Publisher? Because I found, already in 2007 (that’s 16 years ago) that MS Word had all the friendly features (and commands) I needed to write, edit, create & insert & format graphics etc that I needed to desktop-publish a whole issue of a magazine or a whole book.

How popular is Word 2016 anyway in the world? I just googled for “Word 2016” and Google said, “About 3,630,000 results (0.34 seconds).” That’s 3.63 million results. Word 2016 was released in 2015, and there had been many versions afterwards, but with Word 2016, I can work wonders!

What can I do for you with Word 2016?

(1)          Write/blog for you.

(2)          Edit your articles, publications, theses etc.

(3)          Publish your book.

Facebook chat me for my email.@517

A Magazine Of Kindness (AMoK), The Opposite Of Amok (“Crazed With Negative Intent”), AMoK is “Excited With Positive Intent”

You and I, yes we want to change the world, from Occasions of Hate to Occasions of Love, from Continuing Destruction to Continuing Construction, from Poverty to Prosperity – in Truth and in Time. With all that intense intent, we are being crazy, yes – yet the world is crazier!

Right now, I want to begin by coming out with a monthly publication, A Magazine Of Kindness (AMoK). As writers you and I, The Editor In Chief, with AMoK, we are going to revolutionize the whole wide world of journalism whether digital or print. With Kindness.
(“Kindness” from stock.adobe.com)

For the concept of Development, AMoK will be pursuing and proselytizing for “Regenerative Development” in contrast with “Sustainable Development,” and/or “Regenerative Capitalism” in contrast with “Sustainable Capitalism.”

If you don’t know anything about those species of Development and/or species of Capitalism, no problem. Just write about how to improve Philippine agriculture to solve the twin problems of Farmer Poverty and Climate Change.

If you don’t know about those 2 Goliaths either, you have to do some digital research yourself! (Alternatively, you can browse the many essays in this blog where you are reading this essay: The Editor In Chief (blogspot.com) – Ctrl+click that link to get there and/or return.

We are on the side of Love, not Hate. And Kindness is the cheapest and yet the most expensive form of Love. We can all be kind if we but try!

If you want to learn how to write better without paying for the services of a tutor, write your piece and submit to AMoK! If you submit today, your article, poem, or short story will appear in the maiden issue of AMoK – and you don’t have to pay me (I’ll accept a compliment).

In the meantime, I am looking for a kindhearted businessman, individual, family or group to finance the editorial & desktop production of the articles up to actual printing of copies of each issue of AMoK.

Why capitalize on Kindness?

Martin Luther King – “Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it. Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it. Hatred darkens life; love illuminates it.”

Harlan Coben – “You want people lined up, Will. You want the good guys on one side, the bad on the other. It doesn't work that way, does it? It is never that simple. Love, for example, leads to hate. I think that was what started it all. Primitive love.”

George William Russell – “Love and hate have a magical transforming power. They are the great soul changers. We grow through their exercise into the likeness of what we contemplate.”

Ella Wheeler Wilcox – “Love lights more fires than hate extinguishes.”

Charlotte Brontë – “Love me, then, or hate me, as you will," I said at last, "you have my full and free forgiveness: ask now for God's, and be at peace.”

Michael Bassey Johnson – “There is no reason to hate anybody, because we came into existence, not by hate-making, but through love-making.”

Kindness is free – and will set you free from Hate!@517

Digital Is My (Whole) World Now – I Pity Those Who Are Not Digital, So At Your Service!

Young at heart (and mind) if not in body, at 83 (Sept 17), I am very happy to announce to the world what keeps me going (aside from the grace of God), is that I know, as a fulfilled digital person, in self-advertisement I have a handful of abilities to offer the world: digital writing, editing & desktop publishing. I provide some details below. 
(“Digital man” from freepik.com)

Now then, here are “Frank's 5 Digital Talents For Hire” – what I have to offer the universe of information, journals, knowledge banks, media, publications, research reports and science books – these 5 personal computer-based expertises (close to genius):

(1) Digital Writer From Home (WFH)

I have been available as a digital writer from home, semi-officially, since the year 2007, when William Dar, Filipino agriculturist, was already on his 7^th year as Director General (DG) of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), appointed me as WFH for ICRISAT. I created and maintained the blog “iCRiSAT Watch” and at the end of 2014, when Mr Dar had to retire as DG after 3 terms, ICRISAT had published 7 books of mine based on the articles in my blog. (And oh yes, I am a self-taught digital writer from home.)

(2) The Editor In Chief (TEIC)

Born in 1940, and self-taught in digital works, I say age does not matter when talent is concerned, especially digital talents (plural). At 63 years of age, in 2003, I was hired as The Editor In Chief of the triannual Philippine Journal of Crop Science (PJCS), which was then 2 years late in its issues: 2001 and 2002. As a one-man digital band, with Teodoro C Mendoza as Chair of the International Board of Editors, I singlehandedly made the PJCS up-to-date in 2006, meaning I worked double time – and in 2007, made the PJCS included in the coveted elite international journal list called “ISI” (now “Web of Science”). All this should be in the Guinness Book Of World Records!

(3) Blogger

As you can see, I continue to blog today that which I began to do sometime in the year 2000 with the digital publication “The American Chronicle” (since extinct, sorry!). As of today, I have blogged at least 40,000 essays of different lengths, mostly on the wide subjects of Agriculture, Editing and Publishing.

(4) Apostle of Regenerative Agriculture (RA)

I Filipino am one of the world’s persistent pursuer of Regenerative Agriculture (RA), a component of Regenerative Capitalism (RC) (see my 16 Jan 2024 essay, “How Good Is ‘Sustainable Capitalism’ AKA ‘Creative Capitalism’ Vs ‘Regenerative Capitalism’?” Communication for Development of Vibrant Villages (ComDev2), blogspot.com).

(5) Persistence in “Communication for Development of Vibrant Villages (ComDev2)

To simplify, I now say: “If your agriculture does not bring about the continued cultivation of vibrant or vigorous villages, it’s capitalistic agriculture; it improves the lives of the capitalists while millions of farmers remain poor.”

Now then, how can I stop proselytizing for the tens of millions of poor Filipino farmers?@517

 

I’m Thinking About What’s On The Horizon For UPLB – “Science With A Farmer’s Smile”

 

I saw on Facebook Tuesday, 16 Jan 2024, the UP Los Baños post sharing with the digital world the 4^th quarter 2023 issue of the magazine “UPLB Horizon,” all of twenty (20) pages. The above image is from the cover – I can see that my alma mater is very much alive, that it is reaching for the stars! Indeed, Chancellor Jose V Camacho Jr writes about “Revisiting Our Vision Of Future-Proofing The University.” I understand “future-proofing” to mean “doing things to prevent UPLB from being simply a receiver, even a victim, of institutional future shocks.”

Mr Camacho Jr writes:

“Revisiting Our Vision Of Future-Proofing The University”

It is more than three years ago today when I decided that “future-proofing UPLB” as a battle cry would be apt for the times and should be placed front and center in my vision-mission statement as UPLB Chancellor.

Then and today, disruption is a specter that looms large over humanity, especially if it means sickness and death on a scale as large as the pandemic wrought on us, Climate Change and extreme weather disturbances, “tectonic shifts” in the way we do things, loss of jobs, and so on.

UPLB has begun preparing to future-proof itself from earth-shaking or otherwise institution-disrupting events in the history of the Philippines, not to mention that of the whole world.

The disruptions that we have experienced and are experiencing, such as Climate Change, Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), and the Covid-19 pandemic, are not going to be the last. We can expect more to come, and we need to be agile and be ahead of the curve for our own survival as a higher education institution (HEI) and as a people.

… Over three years ago, I shared a vision of a UPLB that will continue to be a bastion of innovation, knowledge generation, a center for lifelong learning and public initiatives. We are doing this by future-proofing our human resources, lifelong learning and instruction system, research and innovation system, commitment to public good and social welfare, and expanding global commitment. Here is a sample of these future-proofing initiatives. 

For UPLB, Mr Camacho’s Vision is not that simple! Since the University is in Agriculture, I am thinking of it borrowing from the Vision of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) based in India when Filipino William Dar was ICRISAT Director General: “Science with a human face.” UPLB’s Vision now could be: “Science with a Farmer’s Smile.”

“Science with a Farmer’s Smile” would then be the beautiful thought, simple/not-so-simple idea that inspires each and every UPLB institution and individual to pursue for the good of PH Agriculture in general. In and out of offices, in and out of classes, the singular thought would be, “Science with a Farmer’s Smile.”

Why should UPLB concentrate its science on making the Filipino farmer happy? Because we have about 11 million people employed in agriculture in the country (Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org). 11 million Filipinos smiling because of UP Los Baños would be heaven-sent!@517

2024, Happy New Year! “Enrich Your Life More With Enrich!” Mercury Drug’s Magazine Of 78 Years, Would You Believe!

I have not seen a more impressive and more informative and more inviting an issue of a magazine than Mercury Drug’s January 2024 issue of enrich – and I have been an editor of publications in science in the last 48 years! (I’m 83.) Note: I am connected neither with the publisher nor the publication but, now 78 years old, enrich is the most vibrant publication I have seen. Other Filipino magazines could learn a thing or two from enrich!
(“Enrich" from facebook.com; lower image, sorry can’t quite capture quality of original cover)

Remember: This magazine is being published by a drug company, Mercury Drug, somewhere in Metro Manila – and yet, enrich is full of “Healthy Lifestyle & Living” (as its slogan says so). In fact, the cover story, “The Importance Of Proper Garbage Disposal,” by Toni Reyes, p28-29, is very unusual but very much welcome!

The two other articles mentioned on the cover, clearly indicate to the would-be reader how wide the coverage is: from personal (“Sugar Levels”) to universal (“Climate Change”). Truly, enrich enriches the reader’s knowledge as widely as possible.

What else do you want to read on? On the cover, it says below:
health  * beauty  * home * recipes * family * education * travel * science

(Go and get your copy now! Available at all Mercury Drug stores nationwide.)

Here is a complete list of the contents of vol17, no1 issue, January 2024:

p08, “How To Create Healthy Habits This 2024”
p10, “The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time” (book review)
p11, “Juice & Health”
p12, “Sporting Icons: Robert Jaworski”
p14-15, “New Year, New Goals: Practicing Wellbeing In The Workplace”
p16-19, “Health Benefits Of Eco-Friendly Furniture”
p20-21, “Medic Apps: Motivation Daily Quotes”
p22-23, “New Finds: Tinted Sunscreen Haul”
p24-25, “Just Be: A New Year And New You: Embracing Self-Love”
p20, “Filipino Folklore: The Tiyanak”
p28-29, “The Importance Of Proper Garbage Disposal”
p30-33, “Navigating Pediatric Hepatitis Challenges And The Urgent Call For Awareness In The Philippines”
p34-39, “Love Your Body More”
p40-43, “Antibiotics May Be Hazardous To Your Child”
p44-47, “Manage Your Sugar Levels”
48-51, “A New Year, A New You?”
52-57, “The Power Of Positivity: How Optimism Impacts Your Life”
58-61, “Climate Change – The Biggest Threat To Human Health”
62-63, “Can I Do It This Year? 2024”
64-67, “Bringing To Light The Mystery Of Dreams”
68-73, “20XX, Year Of The Filipino Astronaut”
74-77, “What Does It Take To Be A Saint?”
78-79, “Memories Of January 9”
80-83, “A Family-Friendly Getaway In South Korea Modern Seoul, Part 2”
84-87, “Encountering The Many Tourist Hotspots On My First Trip To Bohol”
88-91, “Our Girls Got Game, Too! “
93-96, “Ravens Are Intelligent, Strategic And Playful Birds.”

Mercury is the smallest planet in the solar system, according to Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org); Now 78 years old, by its magazine “enrich,” PH’s Mercury is, according to me, the biggest planet in terms of radiating not only about our healthy lives but more so about a healthy world!@517

HI (Hilario’s Intelligence), Or AI (Artificial Intelligence)? I Prefer The Originality Of My Human Intelligence!

Artificial intelligence (AI) is popular nowadays, and so we have an AI-built “ChatGPT” now being used even in classrooms by students themselves to produce their individual “homework.” Those students dare get away from cheating by claiming those were original works, that they wrote those themselves. So! AI is cultivating dishonesty beginning in the classroom! 
(“AI vs” from linkedin.com)

Therefore: AI is not intelligent at all?

Here is “Artificial Intelligence Vs Real Intelligence,” 15 Jan 2024, Facebook sharing by “lighthearted & Funny Humor:”

Human 1: “Are you concerned about the increase in artificial intelligence?”
Human 2: “No, but I’m concerned about the decrease in real intelligence.”

So! Noam Hassenfeld says, “Even the scientists who build AI can’t tell you how it works” (15 Jul 2023,  “We Built It, We Trained It, But We Don’t Know What It’s Doing,” Vox, vox.com).

I say, if you don’t know how AI works, you also do not know where AI will lead!

Anna Tong & Sheila Dang say, “Rapid AI Proliferation Is A Threat To Democracy, Experts Say” (09 Nov 2023, Reuters, reuters.com). Since time immemorial, there have been other threats to democracy, so I’m not worried about that.

Human 2 says he is worried about the decrease in the use of human intelligence (HI). Actually, the use of HI has been decreasing since teaching was invented. And so, today, we know only one kind of human intelligence, that which we call genius. And so we have only one measure of intelligence, that which we call the “Intelligence Quotient (IQ) Test.” We measure human intelligence by IQ results.

A teacher, I protest! In high school, I took the IQ test on a page of the Reader’s Digest and the result showed I was a genius myself. But what kind of genius? The IQ test didn’t know.

Today, following the theory of “Multiple Intelligences” (MI) by Harvard professor Howard Gardner, I believe that there are nine (9) human intelligences (geniuses):

1. Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence (“Body Smart”)
2. Existential Intelligence (“Life Smart”)
3. Interpersonal Intelligence (“People Smart”)
4. Intrapersonal Intelligence (“Self Smart”)
5. Mathematical-Logical Intelligence (“Number/Reasoning Smart”)
6. Musical Intelligence (“Music Smart”)
7. Naturalist Intelligence (“Nature Smart”)
8. Spatial Intelligence (“Image Smart”)
9. Verbal-Linguistic Intelligence (“Word Smart”).

MI should be what the world is busy and happy about, not AI.

Each one of us can be smart one way or the other if one receives the proper smart training or guided experience. My children, Neenah Bonafe, Edwin Dante and Graciela Antonia all took their high school at the Cahbriba Alternative School in Los Baños, which was run by the couple Cielito & Pilar Habito using MI as the Cahbriba model of teaching.

As I can see in my children, MI discovers and nourishes the genius latent in each child, so that, “Walang bobo” (“Nobody is unintelligent”). Look at the above MI list again – Nobody is a fool; each one of us is smart one way or the other.

If you ask me, MI is a million times smarter than AI!@517

“Kindness, The Greatest Good For The Greatest Number!” – Frank A Hilario

Suddenly, my inner mind told me to investigate “kindness” and how kindness could save the world! So I went to my favorite magazine since high school in the mid-1950s, and now I quote from Marissa Laliberto’s “60 Powerful Kindness Quotes That Will Stay With You” (Reader’s Digest, rd.com). 
“be kind” from honeyfoundation.org), “warm smile” from brainyquote.com)

“You cannot do kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.” – The 14^th Dalai Lama

“A part of kindness consists in loving people more than they deserve” – Joseph Joubert

“Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you” – Princess Diana

“Remember, there is no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end” – Scott Adams

“Spread love wherever you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier” – Mother Teresa

“Love and kindness are never wasted. They always make a difference. They bless the one who receives them, and they bless you, the giver” – Barbara De Angelis

“What we all have in common is an appreciation of kindness and compassion; all the religions have this. Love. We all learn towards love” – Richard Gere

“Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt

“A kind gesture can reach a wound that only compassion can heal” – Steve Maraboli

“What wisdom can you find that is greater than kindness?” – Jean Jacques Rousseau

“Always be a little kinder than necessary” – James M Barrie

“Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together than overwhelm the world” – Desmond Tutu

“To err on the side of kindness is seldom an error” – Liz Armbruster

“Kindness is an electrical spark of life that runs through all kingdoms and has a reciprocal action when shown to others” – Joe Hayes

“Sometimes it takes only one act of kindness and caring to change a person’s life” – Jackie Chan

“Unexpected kindness is the most powerful, least costly, and most underrated agent of human change” – Bob Kerrey

“Because that’s what kindness is. It’s not doing something for someone else because they can’t, but because you can” – Andrew Iskander

“Kindness begins with the understanding that we all struggle” – Charles Glassman

“The words of kindness are more healing to a drooping heart than bam or honey” – Sarah Fielding

“You can accomplish by kindness what you cannot by force” – Publilius Syrus

“Kindness is the light that dissolves all walls between souls, families, and nations: - Paramahansa Yogananda

“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted” – Aesop

“Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see” – Mark Twain

“How do we change the world? One random act of kindness at a time” – Morgan Freeman.

Just remember this: “When you share kindness, the world will share kindness with you!”@517

2-in-1 USANA: Bright/Not So Bright Idea! “A Magazine For Customers, Or For Sales Agents? Asking As Friend!” – The Editor In Chief

Above, you are looking at the covers – plural, yes – of the exact same issue of the USANA Philippines magazine, “Volume 1 2021 Issue” – all of 68 pages; p1-35 for cover 1, p1-33 for cover 2. But what was the bright idea behind?

Whoever s/he was, the USANA book thinker/Manager:
Tried to think/produce USANA to please the staff of USANA Philippines.
Did not think/produce USANA to attract the customers of USANA. Sayang!

I am saying all that as The Editor In Chief with 38 years of experience in writing, editing, publishing newsletters, journals and magazines in and out of the campus of the world-class University of the Philippines College of Agriculture (UPCA, now UP Los Baños):

Non-digital 1975-1980: For the Forest Research Institute (FORI) (now Ecosystem Research & Development Bureau, ERDB), where I fathered the well-liked FORI 3: monthly newsletter Canopy, quarterly technical journal Sylvatrop, and quarterly color magazine Habitat.

Self-learning digital 1985: At Farming Systems & Soil Resources Institute (FSSRI) of UP Los Baños (UPLB) – Thanks, FSSRI!

Fully digital 2007-2014: Writer From Home (WFH) for International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) – for the WFH, thank you, ICRISAT Director General William Dar!

Astoundingly digital 2003-2008: For the Philippine Journal of Crop Science owned by the Crop Science Society of the Philippines, based in UP Los Baños. – as a one-man-band The Editor In Chief, I made the PJCS up-to-date in 3 years and in the next year included in the elite list called “ISI.”

With all those credentials, now I say about the USANA Philippines magazine:

“Better luck next time!”

USANA Philippines, The Editor In Chief is now telling your Editor/Non-Editor that among other things, the magazine should have right below the title your company slogan addressed to customers big or small – oh, you do not have a slogan! Pity. The Editor In Chief can help you come up with one, if you ask him.

Yes, why don’t you and I come up with a proper magazine for USANA customers of all kinds? All-digital, yes.

My credentials:

8 books authored for ICRISAT based in India;

5 books authored or edited and desktop published by me in the Philippines;

22 issues of the PJCS owned by the CSSP based at UPLB campus, with me as the one-man band rewriter, desktop publisher, and Editor In Chief. How good was I there? I made the PJCS up-to-date in 3 years from being late 3 years – and in the next year put it in the international elite list called “ISI,” now called “Web of Science” – meaning, it was now world-class. (Come to think of it: Should be included in the Guinness Book of World Record!)

What am I driving at now? Here’s my USANA Philippines offer – let you and I come up digitally with an USANA thick book featuring all kinds of products and all kinds of customers here and abroad. And/Or the USANA products that are likely fit for a tropical country like the Philippines.

USANA, o sana!@517

“The Mind Museum” Is Actually Realistic But It’s Name Is Not! I, A Creative Thinker, I Say That If Renamed “The Science Museum,” It Will Attract Thousands More Visitors

We are in Taguig, Rizal, the Philippines. Note the name: “The Mind Museum” – a project of the Bonifacio Art Foundation Inc. The above images are from the Facebook page of this museum (Tuesday, 09 Jan 2024), and they are, unfortunately, both (1) inaccurate and (2) unclear. Thus, “The Mind Museum” blows my mind!

Note 1: The upper image shows a dinosaur; while the next image is that of an imploding sun or something; these images do not match, as dinosaurs are not known to be thinking animals.

Note 2: The lower image, still from The Mind Museum: The original image of the blah-blah titled “Mind[-]Moving Studios” is as clear as you can see above – hard to read! This is not science at its “best” – it is not even science at its “good.”

Note 3: “Mind[-]Moving Studios x Makerspace present: Think, Tink and Build in partnership with Fluor Philippines. Build curiosity and construct towers of knowledge by exploring the world of STEM! (My observation: What’s “tink”?)

The Australian Department of Education says (“Shaping The Future,” education.wa.edu.au):

STEM is an approach to learning and development that integrates the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Through STEM, students develop key skills including:
problem solving
creativity
critical analysis.

Yes, “creativity” is part of science – you may come up with a theory by serendipity, off-the-cuff, sudden insight, just like Isaac Newton began to think out “The Laws Of Motion” when he witnessed an apple fall.

Science is Theory, Methods & Findings. Scientists will or will not appreciate your Theory until you prove it by experimentation. Theory is only a promise of the beginning of knowledge. So, how can The Mind Museum teach anyone how to think?

Angel Salvo Gomez explains “The Fourth Stop” at their visit to The Mind Museum (angelsalvogomez.blogspot.com/):

Then we looked into a gigantic exhibit of the human brain. A touchscreen monitor displays the basic functionality of the brain.

And look what I found, an explanation on how the brain functions when someone is in love. :))

The exhibit of the human brain is the section of the museum where thinking would have been shown and explained in all its wonders – so that “The Mind Museum” would merit its name – but they did not mind the mind!

I think that they could simply/not simply rename the whole setup:

From “The Mind Museum,” which is unrealistic, and in fact intimidates people

To “The Science Museum,” which it really is. Thereby, “Science” invites hundreds of thousands more people than “Mind.”

“What’s in a name?” in his play “Romeo And Juliet” William Shakespeare asks; “That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Shakespeare is referring only to the physical – “The Science Museum” is now talking about “Science,” that which it has been built for, rather than “Mind,” the workings of which “The Mind Museum” does not exhibit. We have to be realistic as well as imaginative!@517

Go Digital With Love! UP Los Baños, Wake Up – You Are Already At Least 28 Years Late Digitally!

Certainly, I know that even our journalists in PH media are hardly digital – and so are the males and females in the academe – schools, colleges & universities of the Philippines (SCUs) – with their BS, MS, PhD theses and their technical articles meant for publication in science journals. I know the Internet came to the Philippines 32 years ago, in 1991 – so why are not those in SCUs at least 50% digital? 
(Upper image from hbr.org)

So here I am, at the 8^th decade of my life (born Sept 17), Filipino, having taught myself my digital abilities starting Innocents Day in 1985 with WordStar v1, and have not stopped improving myself. Right now, I am thinking of starting a “Digital Love Revolution” in my country the Philippines. Oh yes, as ANN puts it, “Digital transformation is not about technology at all – it’s about people” (Author Not Named, undated, “Digital Transformation,” learntransformation.com, source of lower image).

I am an alumnus of the UP College of Agriculture, now UP Los Baños, and I find that this 115-year old institution, founded in 1908, is having difficult times dealing with desktop publishing (DTP) works for its own technical journals. So are the other institutions headquartered on UP Los Baños campus: Asean Centre for Biodiversity (ACB), Ecosystem Research & Development Bureau (ERDB), International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), and the nearby Philippine Council For Agriculture, Aquatic & Natural Resources Research And Development (PCAARRD).

ACB, ERDB, IRRI, SEARCA, PCAARRD – go digital!

I want to encourage the young ones in those offices to “Go Digital With Love!” Let each science worker learn to be digital by oneself; let each science publication hire people who are completely digital.

Why am I doing this? Here is an experience only I can share with you:

In 2003, I was hired as the one-man band digital Editor In Chief for the Philippine Journal of Crop Science (PJCS), the triannual (3-times-a-year) publication of the Crop Science Society of the Philippines (CSSP), which was based at UP Los Baños. This was the sad situation: The PJCS was already 3 years late in its issues – meaning the last issue was in 2000. And I was going to be a one-man band digital rewriter, editor, and desktop publisher.

Challenge accepted! I started in 2003. In 2005, after 3 years, I made the PJCS up-to-date in its issues, meaning I worked double time – I must emphasize, singlehandedly. And in 2007, I achieved what looked to be impossible: The PJCS was now included in the elite international list called “ISI” (now Web of Science).

ANN says, “Digital Transformation, It’s Not Just About Technology” (Author Not Named, 02 Nov 2023, “Digital4Business,” digital4business.eu):

Companies across all industries are rushing to adopt digital technologies to stay competitive, improve customer experiences, and streamline their operations.

The SCUs can learn from those private companies. To encourage you, look at me, a Filipino 83-year old blogger, as I “Go Digital With Love!”@517

PH “Frank's Edit” – Claudine Gay Resigns As President Of Harvard University! A Victim Of Plagiarism And/Or Inadequate Editing Of Her PhD Dissertation

Frank's Edit – How important is editing of a technical manuscript? Devastatingly important, I say as The Editor In Chief with 48-year experience. The proof this time is the resignation of Claudine Gay as President of Harvard University (Matt Egan, Samantha Delouya & Elisa Hammon, “Claudine Gay Resigns,” (02 Jan 2024, CNN Business, cnn.com)). This was amidst amid plagiarism allegations. Ms Gay is Harvard’s first black President in its nearly 400-year history. She assumed office only last July, or 5 months ago – such a short time! But plagiarism is plagiarism. 
(“Avoiding Plagiarism” from aijr.org)

There are other accusations, but I want to concentrate on plagiarism – because this is recorded stealing of other people’s intellectual properties. Not surprisingly, Collin Binkley & Moriah Balingit say, “Harvard President's Resignation Highlights New Conservative Weapon Against Colleges: Plagiarism” (03 Jan 2024, (nbcboston.com):

In a New York Times op-ed published Wednesday, Gay acknowledged making mistakes. She said her published work contained passages where “some material[s] duplicated other scholars' language, without proper attribution."

“Without proper attribution” – that happens all the time in technical papers. I am not accusing Ms Gay of plagiarism – I think I know exactly what happened. As The Editor In Chief 3 times in my career from 1975 to 2008, and having edited quite a number of BS, MS and PhD theses, I am aware that “citations” – name mentions of sources of statements – in technical papers are not strictly followed. Too many authors simply (1) write down the text exactly that they see in a published work but do not indicate the sentences or phrases with quotation marks, and/or (2) do not indicate whose exact statement/s they are borrowing. I now call that the Editor’s Sin (EdSin[FAH1] ) of technical papers.

Authors need good editors all the time!

Deliberately done or not, this EdSin is more properly called PLAGIARISM.

I do not subscribe to such “conservative attacks” because of plagiarism, but as Science Editor, I subscribe to the strict requirement for authors of technical papers to properly acknowledge sources of statements, at the very least using quotation marks.

ANN says categorically (undated, “Citing Sources: Overview,” MIT Libraries, libguides.mit.edu):

To be a responsible scholar by giving credit to other researchers and acknowledging their ideas.

What happened? The Harvard President resigned. Matt Egan, Samantha Delouya & Elise Hammond of CNN quote her (02 Jan 2024, CNN Business, edition.cnn.com):

It is with a heavy heart but a deep love for Harvard that I write to share that I will be stepping down as President.

The resignation was accepted, if grudgingly. The Harvard Corporation’s acceptance of Ms Gay’s resignation (it cannot be denied that she is black), was adding insult to injury (plagiarism), the one she caused on herself.

The Harvard President’s abrupt resignation should be a grave moral lesson for all writers (and editors) of science-based papers to properly acknowledge their sources of information, not the least “to put the exact words in quotation marks” like that. This is The Editor In Chief speaking!@517

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 [FAH1]

My 2024 Wish List Includes PH Pres BBM Paying Very Good Attention To William Dar’s Wish List For PH Agriculture

“Business as usual” is no longer the appropriate attitude for PH agriculture – says former Secretary of Agriculture William Dar in his Manila Times column: “My Wish List For 2024” (04 Jan 2023, manilatimes.net). “As the 2024 unfolds, let us be more conscious of the need to make the local and global food system more efficient, productive, and sustainable, especially with the three Cs still having an effect on agriculture.” 
(“Wish List” from depositphotos.com,

And the three C's are, according to Mr Dar: Covid-19, Climate Change, and geopolitical Conflicts. “If we still insist on that [“business as usual”] approach, we will surely see a drastic decline in food production in the near future, and more people driven to poverty, or worse, hunger.”

Mr Dar says:

And here is my wish list for the country’s agri-fishery industry for 2024 that is also comprised of solutions that will have an impact beyond this year: Regenerative farming practices become mainstream in Philippine agriculture; more farmers and agribusiness companies adopt digitalization; Philippine agricultural exports will recover and expand; more farm clustering including cooperatives development will be undertaken; rice self-sufficiency level will increase.

I emphasize this, from Mr Dar’s Wish List: “Regenerative farming practices become mainstream in Philippine agriculture; more farmers and agribusiness companies adopt digitalization; Philippine agricultural exports will recover and expand; more farm clustering including cooperatives development will be undertaken; rice self-sufficiency level will increase.”

For Mr Dar’s Wish List to become reality, I note as an agriculturist  – “Regenerative farming practices” – Regenerative Agriculture (RA). I myself cannot emphasize RA enough,

If you ask me, in short, Regenerative Agriculture will solve Farmer Poverty and help resolve Climate Change. The Filipino farmers’ current general practice is Chemical Agriculture (CA), with its (unacknowledged) double damage: (1) CA is uneconomic, as it requires high cost & high results with low returns; (2) CA generates greenhouse gases that in turn generate Climate Change! Thus, inadvertently, the farmers are their own worst double enemies!

Being regenerative, Mr Dar says, “We must start now!”

He says:

Regenerative agriculture’s main objective is to make growing crops more harmonized with nature and the ecosystem, and to lessen or eliminate its contribution to greenhouse gas emissions.

Why insist on regenerative farming? He says:

The possibilities can be endless for regenerative agriculture, and the overall objective is to make food production less harmful to the environment, sustainable and efficient over the long term.

I must not forget to mention Mr Dar’s wish for agricultural digitalization, as “this can be applied over numerous aspects of agriculture, from improving food production to marketing produce, which ultimately benefit consumers.”

My own digitalization wish list for my country’s agriculture is that for the creation of what I call a “Learning Bank” (LB) for agriculture, essentially based on what Mr Dar proposed 23 years ago: “Open Academy for Philippine Agriculture” (OpAPA). My version today is for an Internet-based Learning Bank that is open & understandable by even senior high school students. This LB will be science-based, naturally.@517