All posts by Pol Pinoy

BATTLESHIP NEW JERSEY TO PROVIDE CHEAP ACCOMMODATIONS DURING POPE FRANCIS’ VISIT TO PHILADELPHIA

August 11, 2015 Pol Pinoy Leave a comment

CAMDEN, New Jersey (The Adobo Chronicles® ) – Pope Francis will visit the city of Philadelphia on September 26 and 27 as part of his U.S. itinerary. If you plan to go see the Pope and have not made your hotel reservations yet, you’re out of luck. Hotel and other accommodations are 100% booked.

But wait, there is some hope.

The Battleship New Jersey , America’s most decorated battleship, has some bunks available for pilgrims who need a place to lay their head during the papal visit to Philadelphia.

Battleship New Jersey, now a museum, is located in Camden and is just literally a stone’s throw away from Philadelphia.

“Guests can come on board, be served dinner and breakfast from the chow line, get a tour of the battleship, ride the flight simulator and, of course, sleep in the bunks used by the former crew of USS New Jersey — all for the bargain price of $69.99 per day,” said Jack Williard, senior vice president fo the Battleship New Jersey Museum and Memorial .

There must be a catch, right?

Yes, but just one minor catch: showers are not provided.

So go ahead and book your bunk. It’s first come, first served.

And pack enough deodorant and cologne, as a courtesy to the thousands of other pilgrims who will be part of the packed crowds you’ll be intimately hobnobbing with at the papal event.

Media, Religion, Science and Environment

AN ANGEL APPEARS IN THE SKY OVER CAMPBELL, CALIFORNIA

August 11, 2015 Pol Pinoy Leave a comment

CAMPBELL, California (The Adobo Chronicles®) – On Tuesday morning, KTVU Channel 2 in the San Francisco Bay Area received multiple photos from viewers of what they had described as an appearance of angel in the sky.

The photos were taken from different locations around the Bay Area, including Campbell. (Campbell is just a few blocks from the headquarters of The Adobo Chronicles.)

The sky was totally blue without a single cloud formation except for the rainbow-colored phenomenon.

Hundreds of residents who saw the “apparition” over Campbell, as well as many more who saw the photos on television and on KTVU’s web site, immediately gathered at St. Lucy’s Catholic Church on Winchester Boulevard.

“It’s a sign from heaven,” they cried out. ”

Meteorologist Steve Paulson, however, had a scientific explanation for the occurrence. He said it’s a sun dog (scientific name parhelion).

Sun dogs are a relatively common atmospheric optical phenomenon associated with the reflection/refraction of sunlight by the numerous small ice crystals that make up cirrus or cirrostratus clouds.

Regardless, the excitement of the the overflow crowd that gathered at St. Lucy’s could not be contained, not even after the church’s parish priest admonished the people to go home or go back to work.

Sun dog or angel, it was a spectacular sight to behold!

Food, Health & Medicine

GUACAMOLE SHORTAGE IN CALIFORNIA

August 11, 2015 Pol Pinoy Leave a comment

Photo credit: berkeleywellness.org — Photo credit: berkeleywellness.com

SAN FRANCISCO, California (The Adobo Chronicles® ) – From Safeway to Whole Foods to Trader Joe’s, avocados have disappeared from grocery shelves, and the situation has created a severe shortage of guacamole in California.

Taquerias have been serving salsa with their corn chips, minus the guacamole. The Chipotle restaurant chain has set a limit of one teaspoon of guacamole on the side for each of their popular menus. Subway has crossed out ‘avocado’ from their menu marquee.

So what’s happening?

Well, it turns out that the guacamole shortage began shortly after a new study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association concluded that contrary to popular belief, avocados help reduce cholesterol. Many people avoid avocados, thinking they’re too fattening and  that they raise blood  cholesterol.

Though avocados are high in calories for a fruit (110 to 180 per half, depending on the variety), that doesn’t mean you’ll necessarily gain weight if you eat them. And though it’s true that avocados have a lot of fat (10 to 15 grams per half), the fat—like that in olive and canola oils—is predominantly monounsaturated fat, which doesn’t raise blood cholesterol. In fact, avocados may actually help reduce cholesterol, according to the study.

As a result, heart-healthy Californians have been buying avocados in bulk from Costco, Safeway and other grocery stores.

Consequently, Walgreens, Rite-Aid and other pharmacies have noticed a significant decline in customers filling their prescriptions for lovastatin and othe cholesterol-lowering drugs.

Governor Jerry Brown has called for an emergency meeting in Sacramento this morning to address the guacamole shortage. Among the measures Brown is expected to announce is the plan to increase the state’s avocado imports from Mexico.

Expect Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump to oppose the importation. The last thing Trump would like to see are Mexican avocados crossing the border into California.