’71 Nissan Skyline 2000 GTX

When I was young, I probably had around two dozen scale models to play with. Most of them were the lead characters in stories I would play in my mind. My Matchbox Chevy Van was the A-Team van; my Matchbox Pontiac T-Roof was KITT. But I remember having one car that was so ordinary that it was always a background character. It was a metallic beige sedan, most likely a Matchbox Ford Cortina (Mark IV) from 1982. I don’t have it any more, but I think its front doors opened. I liked that it had metallic paint and that it was an ordinary car.

A few weeks ago, I found a Matchbox ’71 Nissan Skyline 2000 GTX that reminded me of my metallic sedan. I normally collect only weird-looking cars or, on rare occasions, muscle cars, but I felt that I had to buy this ordinary-looking car, perhaps to remind me of the times I actually played with my scale models.

Treasure Hunts

It’s been more than four months since I last blogged about Hot Wheels. Since then, I’ve been able to buy a few Hot Wheels, three of them Treasure Hunts.

The Dragon Blaster shown above was part of my shopping spree last January. Although the circle-flame logo on the vehicle can’t be seen in the picture, the image on the card shows that it is on the dragon’s forehead.

The circle-flame logo on the ‘Tooned ’69 Camaro Z28 shown above can be seen near the rear wheel on the right side of the vehicle (but not on the card).

At first sight, the Fandango shown above doesn’t seem to have a circle-flame logo either on the vehicle or on the card. But it’s a good thing they made it extra large on the vehicle’s roof.

ADNU mathematics summer 2017 seminar-workshops

The Department of Mathematics of the Ateneo de Naga University (ADNU) is organizing a series of seminar-workshops to be held on June 1, 2, and 3, 2017 at the Instructional Media Center of the ADNU main campus (at Bagumbayan Sur, Naga City). The resource speaker for all three seminar-workshops is Dr. Ian June L. Garces of Ateneo de Manila University.

The Seminar-Workshop on Formative Assessment and the Teaching of Math on June 1, 2017 (Thursday) has private and public high school (and possibly elementary) math teachers as the target audience.

The Coaches’ Training in Math Competitions on June 2, 2017 (Friday) has private and public high school math coaches as the target audience.

The Seminar-Workshop on Problem Solving and Mathematical Investigation on June 3, 2017 (Saturday) has high school and college math teachers and graduate students in math as the target audience.

Additional information about the seminar-workshops can be found here.

Miss Universe Pageant Philippines

Last April 5, 2017, I passed by the Philippine Postal Corporation in Manila and bought a few items for my “Philippine stamps about Philippine stamps” collection.

To celebrate the holding of the 2017 Miss Universe Pageant in the Philippines, three stamps (with denominations of 12, 17, and 55 pesos) and one souvenir sheet (with a denomination of 100 pesos) were issued on January 24, 2017. 103,500 of the stamps and 6,000 of the souvenir sheet were made.

I was able to buy a miniature sheet (with the designs in a se-tenant strip of three) (for 252 pesos), a souvenir sheet (for 100 pesos) and the first day covers (for 99 pesos and 115 pesos).

There were no ready-made first day covers for the three stamps, so the employee at the store sold me the stamps and the first day cover separately and told me to go upstairs to have them postmarked. From the stamps available for sale, I chose three with a bottom selvage. (I’m hoping mine is the only first day cover with selvage.)

70th Anniversary of the First Stamps of the Republic of the Philippines

Last April 5, 2017, I passed by the Philippine Postal Corporation in Manila and bought a few items for my “Philippine stamps about Philippine stamps” collection.

To celebrate the 2016 National Stamp Collecting Month, three stamps (each with a denomination of 12 pesos, with the designs in a se-tenant strip of three) and one souvenir sheet (with a denomination of 55 pesos) were issued on October 21, 2016. 81,000 of the stamps and 5,000 of the souvenir sheet were made.

I wasn’t able to buy any of the three stamps, but I was able to buy the souvenir sheet (for 55 pesos) and the first day covers (for 44.96 pesos and 63.96 pesos).

Second-generation training

(This post is an English translation of this one.)

I am a trainer in the “Second-Generation GE Faculty Training” described in Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Memorandum Order (CMO) number 8 series of 2017 titled “Implementing Guidelines for the Faculty Training for the New General Education Core Courses: Second-Generation Training.”

Ateneo de Naga University (ADNU) is a Delivering Higher Education Institution for this training. (See this letter from the CHED Office of Programs and Standards Development and this Memorandum from the Chairperson for Region V.) I am a trainer for the course “Matematika sa Makabagong Daigdig” (Mathematics in the Modern World). The training will be held in ADNU from April 24, 2017 to May 13, 2017.

It’s your watch

I had been planning to buy a digital watch for some time, something metal like the A158WA-1 or the A159WGEA-1EF. I really wanted to get an A159WGEA-4AEF but all I kept seeing in the stores were A159WGEA-9AEF.

But when I saw this Casio F-91W Gold, I bought it immediately. The black resin strap is quite thin, and with regular use, I expect it to last only a few years. From the back you can see that the body is made of metallic beige plastic and it seems that the front has a thin piece of gold-colored metal covering it. It seems that this model is also available with the metal colored silver.

Some time ago, Seiko had an advertising campaign that stated “You can tell more about a person by the watch they wear than anything else” and “It’s your watch that tells most about who you are.” This F-91W gold is simple and special, just like me.