We could die outdoor

“O, wind, if winter comes, can spring be far behind?”

—Percy Bysshe Shelley

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

FILIPINOS with relatives and friends in the East Coast, particularly in New York City, are probably aware right now we have been experiencing here the coldest winter in two decades.

Alas, the “city that never sleeps” was again colder than parts of Antarctica on Sunday (February 8) after brutal, life-threatening winds swept across much of the Northeast and New England over the weekend.

For the first time since 2015, I stopped and ran fast to hide inside a laundry shop after being zapped by wind chills that hit 40-below while walking on my way to a bakeshop.

My reaction was instant; I actually didn’t know what hit me. I immediately felt excruciating pain and numbness as powerful wind chills blasted the exposed skin on my face.

The last time I experienced the apparent symptoms of hypothermia or frostbite while walking outdoor was in February 2010 in Chicago, known as the “windy city.”

Being exposed to severe winter cold outdoor isn’t a joke. We can’t underestimate it. We could die. That’s why authorities have been warning us to stay indoor as much as possible.

When exposed to the cold, the body can lose heat faster than it's produced. Over time, the body uses up its stored energy and body temperature begins to drop. Long-term exposure to the cold —especially if the body's core temperature falls below 95 degrees Fahrenheit—can lead to hypothermia, frostbite and other problems.

 

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Hypothermia occurs when the body’s core temperature drops below 95°F. Symptoms include uncontrollable shivering, fumbling hands, slurred speech, and mental confusion.

Frostbite can cause freezing of skin and tissues, most commonly on fingers, toes, nose, and ears. Symptoms include numbness, stinging sensations, and skin that feels waxy or looks yellowish gray. Severe cases can result in amputation.

People with asthma, chronic lung disease, or other respiratory conditions or illnesses are at higher risk when temperatures drop because cold, dry air irritates the airways, said Dr. Haitham Khraishah, a preventive cardiologist at University Hospitals Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute and an assistant professor of medicine at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.

sThis leads to greater inflammation and causes muscles around the airways to constrict, which can lead to wheezing, coughing, shortness of breath or a burning feeling in the chest, especially during exertion.

Too much exposure to winter cold causes the body to lose heat faster than it can produce it, leading to life-threatening conditions like hypothermia (dangerously low body temperature) and frostbite (frozen skin/tissue).

It can cause confusion, exhaustion, slurred speech, skin numbness, and damage to extremities.

 

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Temperatures hit 3 degrees in the New York City on Sunday, with bitter wind chills dragging the real feel temperatures to 14 degrees below zero. Parts of the northeast also reported wind chills that hit 40-below.

Temperatures are expected to increase every day this week, forecasters said.

The high Monday (February 9) was expected to be 31 degrees, with a low of 19 — higher than Sunday’s (February 8) high temp.

The rest of the week will be a veritable heat wave, according to Accuweather — with a week of highs above freezing starting Tuesday (February 10).

By Wednesday (February 11), the high temp will hit a tropical 41 degrees in NYC.

Rare Extreme Cold Warnings have been issued for more than 43 million people, including major metro areas such as New York and Philadelphia, through Sunday evening by the National Weather Service.

“The last time (New York City) had a warning issued similar to what we have this morning was in 2004,” FOX Weather Meteorologist Stephen Morgan said Friday (February 6).

 

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Antarctica, by contrast, was a balmy 21 degrees at McMurdo Station—18 degrees warmer than the frozen Big Apple.

New Yorkers can thank a blast of Arctic air that is heading south from the frozen tundra north of Hudson Bay, Canada, for the latest round of winter misery.

“In many parts of the Northeast away from the coast, this prolonged stretch of cold is the most extreme in at least the last decade and, in some areas, the last two decades,” AccuWeather Senior Director of Forecasting Operations Dan DePodwin said.

Many locations will end up with a streak of days below freezing that falls into the top 10 longest such streaks on record,” he added.

This weekend is set to be the coldest day in what has already been a record cold snap, the worst in over two decades.

“The deep freeze is returning to the northeastern United States this weekend,” AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jon Porter said.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor-in-chief of two leading daily newspapers in Iloilo, Philippines.—Ed)

 

Never outshine the master

“Always mistrust a subordinate who never finds fault with his superior.”

—William Collins

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

WE won’t be surprised if one of these days or weeks—or even months—the wings of Junvic Remulla will be unceremoniously clipped.

The flamboyant secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) has been blatantly and openly “violating” The 48 Laws of Power’s Law 1 that says, “Never Outshine the Master."

Remulla has been “outshining” every major dude in the country’s political cinerama—including the master himself, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.

Even in smallest items or unfussy subject matter, Remulla wanted to be always in the front seat; he has been excited to always run the show, so to speak, even if his presence and oration weren’t sought and needed.

He goes solo and is ahead of almost everything from announcing the number of people to be jailed in the Payatas jail made exclusively for flood control project criminals, to the whereabouts of suspected billionaire scammer Zaldy Co, the timetable for Harry Roque’s arrest, the possible hideouts of missing sabungero suspected mastermind Atong Ang and his protectors in the NBI, to the announcement of the motive in the twin murders of a lady cop and her son, etcetera.

 

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In all these publicity stunts, Remulla’s presence in the press conferences and media interview monologues weren’t really necessary. But he loved them. He enjoyed doing them. The guy’s so loquacious and already hackneyed.

When it comes to the game of “epal,” Remulla, 58, is neck and neck with Cristina Frasco, 44, the 18th secretary of the Department of Tourism, under the Marcos Jr. administration, who is also a publicity freak.

"Epal" is a Pinoy slang term derived from "mapapel" (one who wants a role), referring to a person or politician who is an attention-grabber, a scene-stealer, or someone who butts into situations where their presence is not needed or welcomed.

It is often used to describe someone meddling or craving attention, often in a negative or annoying way like what Remulla and Frasco have been doing.

Remulla should be told to read Robert Greene's very popular book, which we serialized in our newspaper column in 1998, the year it was published, if he doesn’t want his presidential ambitions to vanish in thin air.

 

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He must learn from Alcibiades’ horrific experience.

The brilliant but incredibly vain Athenian statesman and general (c. 450-404), who thrived on publicity and popularity, was known for his extreme extravagance, immense vanity, and talent for self-promotion.

His ambitious, often erratic, and self-serving actions—including switching allegiances between Athens and Sparta—led to him being ostracized and eventually murdered in exile.

And who can forget Narcissus, known for his excessive self-love and for rejecting the advances of others?

The famous figure from Greek mythology renowned for his extreme beauty and intense arrogance, son of the river god Cephissus and nymph Liriope, was cursed by the gods to fall in love with his own reflection and eventually perished from his vanity?

And Bellerophon, a hero who, after slaying the Chimera, became arrogant and tried to fly Pegasus to Mount Olympus to join the gods? Zeus sent a gadfly to sting Pegasus, causing Bellerophon to fall to the earth, where he lived out his days as a blind, broken wanderer.

In Law 1 of Greene’s book, he—or anybody in Remulla’s position for that matter—must see to it to make his superiors feel superior, not threatened.

 

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By making them seem more brilliant and taking a backseat to their talents, you gain favor, while showing off your own skills can trigger their insecurities, leading to resentment and potential downfall, according to Nathan Glass and Shortform Books.

“You should attribute ideas to them, ask for their help, and generally deflect attention from your own brilliance to secure your position,” says Readingraphics and the official Robert Greene TikTok.

People in power need to feel smart and deserving; your brilliance can threaten that, notes Shortform Books.

Let them take credit for your good ideas; ask for their advice and act as if their guidance led to your success, say Nathan Glass and the official Robert Greene TikTok.

Don't show off or point out others' mistakes, as this makes them look bad and breeds resentment, writes Medium.

Make your boss seem more brilliant than they are; this secures their favor and helps you climb, according to Reddit users.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor-in-chief of two leading daily newspapers in Iloilo, Philippines.—Ed)

 

Fake money

“Too many people spend money they haven't earned to buy things they don't want to impress people they don't like."

--Will Rogers

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

A SLIGHT commotion occurred inside a Chinese establishment in Flushing, New York where I purchased Mapo Tofu after noontime February 4 when a customer was caught paying fake money.

Prior to the incident, we have been warned anew to be on the lookout for fake money after an uptick in reports about counterfeit cash across the United States.

Fake money, or counterfeit, activity included a surge in arrests involving fake $100 and $20 bills, particularly in the Buffalo and Westchester areas.

Multiple, often young, suspects were reportedly arrested for passing counterfeit currency at local businesses. Additionally, scams involving artificial, fake "inflation relief" checks are on the rise in our state of New York.

Also in Maine, state police reported to have experienced an increase in reports of counterfeit U.S. currency in recent weeks. Reports about fake money have come in from other states as well.

 

While recent incidents have involved $100 and $20 bills, police said it’s important to remember that all denominations of bills should be carefully inspected before being accepted or deposited.

 

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Many of the counterfeit bills identified reportedly included $100 bills marked “For Motion Picture Purposes” and $20 bills marked “Copy.”

We were told these markings can be easily missed during busy transactions, so careful inspection is important.

Police have offered tips to protect ourselves:

-Inspect all cash before accepting or depositing it

-Train employees to recognize counterfeit indicators

-Use counterfeit detection tools if available

-Contact local law enforcement if you suspect counterfeit currency

Fake money or its circulation is a problem anywhere.

And it has been in circulation even during normal seasons.

Anyone can be a victim: students, professionals, vendors, businessmen, government workers, and even those dealing with currency transaction.

Fraud fighter Sean Trundy has been exhorting us to learn to know how to spot fake money, for it is a skill that every cash handler should know.

Anywhere in the world today, creating counterfeit money is becoming easier and easier-and thus, more accessible to a larger number of people willing to risk jail for a few pesos or dollars now that we have advances in desktop publishing and laser printer technology.

 

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It was learned that the most common amateur counterfeits are usually 20s and 100s.

Trundy has warned that while "professional" counterfeiters use sophisticated counterfeiting techniques that can fool the naked eye upon examination, the majority of counterfeits we might encounter in circulation can be spotted if we know what to look for and are willing to make a close examination.

For dollar bills, here are some of the ways that money handlers should watch out, based on Trundy's tips:

There's the color shifting Ink. Modern bills are imprinted with overt (or visible) security features that help identify counterfeit money.

The most prominent is reportedly the color shifting ink used on bills produced after 2006.

To identify the color shifting ink, Trundy suggests that we look at the lower-right hand corner of the bill's face.

Notice the printed numeral and tilt the bill back and forth. Depending on the angle at which you view the bill the color will shift from grey to green and back again. This is the first step in identifying fake money, he added.

Color shifting ink, Trundy said, is very difficult to replicate and usually cannot be done on a laser printer.

 

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Another thing is Intaglio Printing. This type of printing reportedly uses intricately carved plates and extremely heavy printing presses to "imprint" the currency. Imprinting means to physically alter the surface of the paper the money is printed on.

This creates a distinctive raised or ruff feeling to the currency that you won’t find on currency printed without intaglio printing. Look at the image of Benjamin Franklin on the $100 dollar bill.

The very fine detail along his eye and face as well as around the oval surrounding his face are nearly impossible for a laser printer to replicate.

"Of course, that is a good spot to rub your finger or thumb along the bill to feel the "raised ridges" that result from intaglio printing," said Trundy.

Let be wary of the counterfeit pen sold cheaply to many store owners.

This pen reportedly serves only one purpose and that is to determine the type of paper used to create the fake money. U.S. currency is printed on cotton based paper. Paper typically milled for use in copiers and laser printers and such is made from wood pulp.

The counterfeit pen is reportedly filled with iodine. The iodine reacts with the wood pulp and turns from brown to black.

If the pen does not turn brown the paper is made of cotton.

This pen will only tell us if the paper is not made from wood pulp. It will not tell us if the bill, printed on non-wood pulp paper, is fake.

Also the watermarks. Every modern U.S. currency reportedly contains a water mark security feature. By holding the bill up to the light we should be able to see a water mark next to the portrait of the president on the bill.

And the security thread. Look for a woven thread running from the top to the bottom of the bill. This thread is not printed "onto" the paper, rather it is woven into and part of the underlying paper the bill is printed on.

Trundy said this is very difficult for counterfeiters to replicate in fake money.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor-in-chief of two leading daily newspapers in Iloilo, Philippines.—Ed)