2011 in a nutshell

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As the year becomes part of history, here are a few news items that made 2011 a unique year (for me):
  • Final mission of Space Shuttle Atlantis marks the end of NASA's Space Shuttle Program.
  • Prince William weds commoner Kate Middleton.
  • Calamba City celebrates Jose P. Rizal's 150th birth anniversary.
  • My supervisor accepts a professorial post at the University of Queensland; our department prepares for leadership transition. 
  • People in the Middle East fight back against the ruling dictatorships.
  • Harry Potter finally defeats Voldemort (and now it can be said... the movie has been shown in cinemas).
  • It's been ten years since the terrorist attack in the USA on 9/11.
  • Typhoons wreak havoc in Manila (flooding and storm surges with Typhoon Nesat) and northern Luzon (the garbage landslide in Baguio with Typhoon Nanmadol).
  • Worldwide, the stock market is shaky. Financial institutions are put to the test. Economies gear for recession.
  • Steve Jobs passes.
  • The UPLB is outraged at the killing of a third-year BS Computer Science student, Given Grace Cebanico.
  • UPRHS alumni 2LT Jose Delfin Khe is killed along with 18 other soldiers in an encounter with the MILF in Basilan.
  • The world should have ended at least twice this year.
  • Long-time Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi is killed.
  • Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Ladin is killed.
  • A second Philippine president is brought under hospital arrest.
  • Thousands of people in Mindanao died because of rains brought by Tropical Storm Washi ('Sendong').

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