Paalam, Tita Cory

I’m watching the live coverage of ABS-CBN on the funeral procession of our beloved former President Cory C. Aquino.  It’s a sad day today in the Philippines and I’m sure that all filipinos either have their eyes glued on the tv or went to the streets to show support. The Cory Magic is what they call it – it inspires you and it makes you want to stand up and go to the streets.

While watching this, I wondered who else has this massive effect on the hearts of the Filipinos.  Then I thought about our current president GMA (Gloria Macapagal Arroyo), will people hit the streets for her?  I wonder.  How about Erap – maybe right? Anyway, think about it.

She’s a Marian devotee and the sisters predicted that she will die on a first Saturday which exactly what happened because this is the day of  the week for Mama Mary.  It is also said that the gates of heaven are open from 1am to 4am – so it just goes to show that our beloved Tita Cory is now in the presence of our maker.  I can imagine her now with Ninoy.  Finally, together again.

Tita Cory, I’m sure you are in a better place now.  Thanks! Paalam po.

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Oh by the way, if you’re wondering who’s number one in viewing videos online – last I checked, it was Brazil.  Interesting ey?

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Ako Mismo Dog Tag Day!

Finally the dog tags are here!  Based on the details posted on Ako Mismo website – the official Ako Mismo dog tags will be selling at Php40 only.  The dog tag will also be your free pass to the concert and its all happening tomorrow!! Woohooo!!!

Check out the bands on the poster:  Pupil, Bamboo, Kjwan, The Dawn, Kamikazee and Up Dharma Down – yehey!

Gates will open at 2pm.  You can buy dog tags from your supported charities.  I likey the setup.  See you guys tomorrow! Sana di umulan.

JUNE 12, 2009!!!

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e-tricycles

I personally haven’t tried riding on one but I do have plans to try them out soon.  I hope Makati follows soon and also the rest of the country.

In an article posted on philstar.com, Mayor Tinga said that the its like 20 pesos worth of electricity vs 200 pesos for gas.  Incredible savings – just 10% if that were true.  I think it is.

I found this company online after a bit of researching.  http://www.evsolutionsinc.com/abouts.php

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Amidst the excitement and fuss of the Pacquiao and Hatton fight, a moving yet puzzling tv commercial showed up.  2 days after, it caught my attention when it rocketed to over 50,000 commitments, a sea of blog posts, endless thread of reactions, comments and speculations.

I kept my mouth shut.  I waited for seasoned writers to speak (the ones I really believe in, not those who are quick to jump in on the action).  Nothing… silence…

I was left with no other option but to start reading the blogs and emails that I have been receiving.  I agree with most.  I will stay neutral but I have to admit – I did sign up and post a commitment.  I even helped spread the movement by submitting it to digg and posting on my social networks.  I even forwarded the first email I received to yahoogroups where I belong.  It was my initial reaction.  I followed my instinct.  The message made sense.. so I acted on it.

I’ve seen some really inspiring reviews and “analysis” of what the site is all about and some creative speculations.  I’ve also seen a number of negative posts that spread through the internet like wild fire.  Apparently, from one reliable person – I also received that email forwarded to me.  Again, I agree… the points raised were legitimate and I also did my own background check and read the terms and conditions plus the privacy policy – if you ask me, pretty standard BUT and that’s a big but (hehehe) what the site included in their t&c / privacy policy are reminiscent of a social networking site or a forum… I wonder… then I saw the big “BETA” on the wall of commitments.  Its easily missed but for the web-savvy crowd, its a clear sign that this site is still in testing mode.. maybe that’s why they are not yet reacting.

Another simple point that puts a frown on my face is the influx of the negative press online.  Its clearly a sign of how our society has evolved to constantly being in a defensive position.  We’re so used to people trying to take advantage of us that we’re always quick to assume that this is political or even a database building scheme.   Why am I taking this position? Simply because I have not given up on the fact that men are fundamentally good.  I still believe in the good bayani pinoy in us.  I went to Batanes twice just to clear my self of the negative aura of today’s society.  Anyway, going back… I will support this… I do not care if they use the database for commercial reasons – the most they can do is bug me which doesn’t bother me because I know for a fact that I can easily report to NTC if that ever happens.  I don’t care if they monitor behavior or do some marketing analysis of the data they get… that’s acceptable to me… if they know me better.. maybe it’ll improve their services… come to think of it, as I write this.. maybe that’s what the goverment needs… a proven, systematic approach to address the needs of the people. hmm.. good job brain.  Bottomline is, I will not judge Ely Buendia, Fr Matt de Jesus, Maxene, or Efren… I will trust that they’re involvment in this is genuine and that this movement, advocacy, or whatever they want to call it is true.

I have the freedom to take whatever it is that this site has given me… the tv commercial inspired me and this site washed away my fear of being alone in my quest to better myself.  Ako Mismo will not ask for more… except that damn dog tag – me likey!

My next point… let me overthink this a bit.  Could it be that the the silence of the site was intentional to stimulate the desired effect – Ako Mismo.. I, myself…  Why do we need an organization to tell us what the next step is… maybe, just maybe this is part of it.  I can see their faces now, tough love.. holding back.. refusing to respond to any attacks just to get a point accross.  Its like a well crafted film by an eccentric director.  Its an innovative approach if you ask me.. we’ll see.

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After what felt like over 20 minutes, this is what we saw:

Gas hoarding at its finest but who can blame them – this weekend gas prices went down a buck or 2 (I think). I’m not sure if its even legal but it sure gives a new meaning to “full tank.” Fill’er up!

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Image from http://boxedsoap.blogspot.com/2007/05/hypermiling-how-im-fighting-fuel-war.html

I just wanted to note down a few behavioral changes that I noticed when gassing up.

Yesterday, I was waiting in line to fill up with gas at the Shell station near makati cinema square and I noticed a few odd behaviors by customers.

Most of the drivers went down

Normally, when you gas up here in the Philippines you just stay in your car and wait for the gas attendant to let you know when everything is done. But now, almost all drivers went down to check the meter. I even went down. I’m not kidding, its like some of them were playing slot machines – staring at the numbers as they roll and you can see in their eyes that glimmer of hope that their 500 bucks will reach at least 9 liters.

Gas Continainer

I saw at least 2 cars (Camry and Nissan Cefiro) pull out a gas container just like the picture on the right and also fill it up with gas. I guess its a sign that we really need to load up because gas price hikes happen almost weekly if not daily! Its not a good sign and it really got me worried. I’m even thinking about it. Thing is, I’m afraid storing some gas in the trunk of my car.

Check up

Here you can request the gas attendant to check your oil, water, etc. Almost all of the vehicles, especially the ones with drivers opened the hood and asked the attendant to check. It does make sense to me – keep your car in tip top shape and hopefully the efficiency of your cars performance will help decrease gas consumption.

I think that’s about it for now. You can tell from my observations that I had a long wait in the gas station. Ha ha ha. Its one of those habits that you can easily pick up during a crisis. What’s next?

Oh and have you heard about the rumor that its better to gas up at night because you get more? I saw in the news that the big companies immediately released a statement that this is not true. Rumors like this spread quick nowadays and I think it did affect their business. Interesting right?

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A worker waits for a truck, with imported rice to be unloaded at a government warehouse, in Quezon City, Metro Manila. (Photo: Reuters)

Rumors about rice shortage is spreading across the nation. I’m not an expert and never really followed the news on this one. All I know is that this rumor started after the typhoon hit the Bicol region and NFA started to pull out the government supplied rice – which was cheap. I guess the people got used to the affordable prices and started speculations when they pulled it out. The thing is, the rice supplied falls under relief goods and obviously only goes out when there is a crisis. Crisis (typhoon) OUT equals Relief goods (cheap rice) OUT – simple.

I think they all started to panic and called it a shortage after they were forced to buy rice at retail price. How do we define shortage? If I go to the grocery and decide to buy rice – I have a good selection to choose from. I’m not seeing a shortage – but based on the new information being presented in the media – I guess I’m expecting a shortage (but not now). And we go through this every year, every time a calamity hits – affects our fields we speculate.

Prices? – law of supply and demand? if supply is low, demand is high – price goes up. True but there are other factors like petroleum prices.

So let’s think about this before we panic:

• No rice shortage yet – agreed?
• Yes, prices went up – but if gas prices go up, almost everything else goes up with it
• This is a call to improve our rice production – invest in technology
• Hoarders – kill em’ all

It might be worthwhile to look into investing in rice farms – I think improving technology can help turn this back into an attractive industry to invest in.

Extra rice please!

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