A Bad April Fool's Day Joke

How bad can an April Fool’s day joke go? When it threats your computer online security, it is very bad. This is what I’ve read at a CNN report about a virus that is set to wreck havoc on April 1. As of the moment a cat and mouse chase is ongoing on net, with experts trying to track down a worm called Conficker C and prevent it from damaging millions of computers on April Fool’s Day.

These computer experts turned bounty hunters are not just after the bounty money offered by Microsoft to the tune of $250,000, but the satisfaction and fulfillment of tracking down of what seems to be the biggest online chase thus far.

Alvin Estevez, CEO of Enigma Software Group, which is one of the many companies trying to crack Conficker said “we love catching bad guys. We’re like former hackers who like to catch other hackers. To us, we get almost a feather in our cap to be able to knock out that worm. We slap each other five when we’re killing those infections.”

Presently, it is thought that the worm have already infected 5 to 10 million computers worldwide. Although it hasn’t manifested any symptoms yet, it is expected that on April 1, a master computer will gaining control of these infected computers and turn them into zombie machines that would follow every order of the master computer. That is how Don DeBolt, director of threat research for CA, a New York-based IT and software company, reports it.

In reality though, nobody can still guess what will happen on April Fool’s day. Lots of theories surfaced – deleting all files on a person’s computer, shut down web sites, monitor a person’s keyboard strokes to collect private information, or a DeBolt said, it may try to get computer users to buy fake software or spend money on other phony products.

Of course, some refer to the April Fool’s day virus as a, well… April Fool’s day joke – a hoax. But DeBolt said, they have already found recently a piece of code in Conficker C that says the worm will become active on April 1. Previous versions of the malicious software launched on specific dates noted in the program code, so the April Fool’s day launch date is not likely to be a trick, he said.

“The best minds in the industry are working on this to protect customers,” he said. “We’re trying to reduce the impact of the April 1 date as best we can. But we know … this malware will continue to evolve.”

More Filipinas hold executive positions

Is it true that more and more Filipinas hold executive positions in the country and even abroad? The answer is a resounding YES. If this is any indication about the state of women empowerment in the country, then I am personally happy about it. I am a self-proclaimed advocate for women empowerment, you know. In fact, my post-graduate thesis is a study about Muslim women's participation in organizational decision-making which ventured to look into the factors that enable such a situation for women to be accorded the highest honor of 'calling the shots' so-to-speak.

March is the Women’s Month, and what a better way to emphasize this celebration than with the result of the research study conducted by Grant Thornton International, because in the report, Filipinas are showing the world that what men can do they can do also, and in some ways better.

The Grant Thornton research showed that women hold 47 percent of senior management positions in the Philippines, comparing the statistics worldwide, they are leading by as much as 23 percentage points. “Women in the Philippines have really broken the proverbial glass ceiling, not only in the corporate world but also in the government,” said Lily Linsangan, Punongbayan & Araullo audit partner and business risk services group head.

From the data gathered from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), women have steadily taken over their male counterpart in the executive positions in the past several years. The year 2002 saw the ratio at 1.86 million females to 1.4 million males in the supervisory and executive positions. In 2006, this ratio has grown to 2.257 million women to 1.629 million men. This even grew to 2.281 million females to 1.677 million males in 2007.

Indeed, women are really making a big contribution in the corporate world as they occupy more managerial and executive positions.

Unfortunately, the rest of the world is not enjoying the opportunities that Filipino women are getting. There is still a large part of the world where women are having a difficult time climbing the corporate ladder. There are about a third or 34 percent of privately held businesses worldwide who do not have any women in senior management.

Some of the countries that are still not open to the idea of providing equal opportunities to women, much more give them senior management positions included Japan, Belgium, Denmark, India, and Netherlands.

Our country too, despite the data presented above, still have some sectors where discrimination among women is still prevalent. That’s why we take off our hats to those who have reached such positions because they succeeded in spite of the existence of discrimination, whether implied or expressed.

Go, go Filipina. You can. You are trailblazers soon.

Some Facts About Friday the 13th

Today is Friday, the 13th. If Friday the 13th is unlucky, then 2009 is an unusually unlucky year. This week's Friday the 13th is one of three to endure this year. The first came last month. The next is in November. Such a rare triple-threat occurs only once every 11 years.

The origin of the link between bad luck and Friday the 13th is murky. The whole thing might date to Biblical times (the 13th guest at the Last Supper betrayed Jesus). By the Middle Ages, both Friday and 13 were considered bearers of bad fortune. In modern times, the superstition permeates society and still lingers on.

But how did these superstitions about Friday the 13th came about? Here are some facts about it:

1. Fear of Friday the 13th - one of the most popular myths in science - is called paraskavedekatriaphobia as well as friggatriskaidekaphobia. Triskaidekaphobia is fear of the number 13.

2. Many hospitals have no room 13, while some tall buildings skip the 13th floor and some airline terminals omit Gate 13.

3. President Franklin D. Roosevelt would not travel on the 13th day of any month and would never host 13 guests at a meal. Napoleon and President Herbert Hoover were also triskaidekaphobic, with an abnormal fear of the number 13.

4. Mark Twain once was the 13th guest at a dinner party. A friend warned him not to go. "It was bad luck," Twain later told the friend. "They only had food for 12." Superstitious diners in Paris can hire a quatorzieme, or professional 14th guest.

5. The number 13 suffers from its position after 12, according to numerologists who consider the latter to be a complete number - 12 months in a year, 12 signs of the zodiac, 12 gods of Olympus, 12 labors of Hercules, 12 tribes of Israel, 12 apostles of Jesus, 12 days of Christmas and 12 eggs in a dozen.

Pythagorean legacy

Meanwhile the belief that numbers are connected to life and physical things - called numerology - has a long history.


This can be traced all the way from the followers of Pythagoras, whose maxim to describe the universe was 'all is number("The Equation That Couldn't Be Solved"; Simon & Schuster, 2005). Thinkers who studied under the famous Greek mathematician combined numbers in different ways to explain everything about the universe..

In modern times, numerology has become a type of para-science, much like the meaningless predictions of astrology.

"People are subconsciously drawn towards specific numbers because they know that they need the experiences, attributes or lessons associated with them, that are contained within their potential," says professional numerologist Sonia Ducie. "Numerology can 'make sense' of an individual's life (health, career, relationships, situations and issues) by recognizing which number cycle they are in, and by giving them clarity."

However, mathematicians dismiss numerology because it lacks any scientific merit.