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Starting today, Globe Telecom will be unveiling it's 3G, no, make that 3.5G mobile services to all its subscribers, prepaid and postpaid alike.

While Smart Communications may have beaten Globe to the 3G punch (see previous post here), clearly Globe isn't down and out, and is now coming up with a high bandwidth salvo of it's own.

What's the difference between 3G and 3.5G? While 3G has a maximum bandwidth of 384 Kbps while having a usable peak speed of up to 250 Kbps, 3.5G tops out at a whopping 1.8 Mbps with an actual usage peak of up to 1.4 Mbps. That's almost four times as fast as 384 Kbps DSL.

Globe's 3.5G service, otherwise known as Globe Mobile Broadband 3G with HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) is slated to be available today, in selected coverage areas around the country. Check with Globe's 3.5G site for details.

And don't fret. From what I've read, the rates are affordable, that is to say, they have a virtually identical pricing scheme as with regular voice calls (except for the promos) and packet data transmission. Let's just hope it stays that way. Who knows? Prices may even be lowered in the future.

So maybe it about time to move up to a 3G handset, eh?

My only problem now is, who should I make a video call to? I've hardly even used my PC's webcam. :-)

If there's a game which can surely bring all but the most powerful PCs down to their knees, it has to be F.E.A.R. (see my review of this game in this earlier post).

Like Doom 3, F.E.A.R. also has a benchmarking function built inside the game itself. All you have to do is go to the options menu, then click on performance, then test settings. That's all there is to it.

Here are the results I got on my PC:



Using medium computer and graphics settings as automatically set by the game, as determined by my hardware setup (no tweaking whatsoever):

800x600: minimum 21, maximum 76, average 35 FPS
1,024x768: minimum 13, maximum 54, average 23 FPS
1,280X960: minimum 9, maximum 34, average 16 FPS

Clearly, you have to have some serious muscle in your rig if you want to run this game at high quality and at high resolutions. Even with my current setup, I'm getting an average of only 23 FPS at 1,024x768. If your current PC's specifications are less than stellar, you may have to turn the settings down to get some playable framerates.

This game is also apparently a memory hog. My older Athlon XP 2400+ with 1.5 GB of RAM seems to be getting better numbers than my current Athlon 64 3000+ with 1 GB of RAM using the same video card.

If you want the best gaming experience, you may want to consider having a gig of RAM as a minimum, along with a 3 GHz class processor and a 256 MB video card, along with some judicious tweaking of the graphics settings. The bare minimum requirements as stated in the box (1.7 GHz class processor, 64 MB video card and 512 MB RAM) simply won't cut it, unless you turn most of the settings down and run the game at lower resolutions. But if you do, you'll be missing out on a lot.

That's about it for the benchmarks. I'm off to something new.

Test setup:

MSI K8N Neo v2.0, Athlon 64 3000+ @ 2.1 GHz (Socket 754 version), 256 MB Inno3D GeForce 6800LE @ 375/1,000 MHz (core/memory), 2 x PQI 512 MB DDR 400 DIMM, Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP2, ForceWare v84.21, nForce3 v5.11, F.E.A.R. 1.0.

Related Posts:

Benchmarks....

Caller : Hello, can I speak to Annie Wan?

Operator: Yes, you can speak to me.

Caller: No, I want to speak to Annie Wan!

Operator: You are talking to someone! Who is this?

Caller: I'm Sum Wan. And I need to talk to Annie Wan! It's urgent.

Operator: I know you are someone and you want to talk to anyone! But what's this urgent matter about?

Caller: Well just tell my sister Annie Wan that our brother, Noe Wan was involved in an accident. Noe Wan got injured and now Noe Wan is being sent to the hospital. Right now, Avery Wan is on his way to the hospital.

Operator: Look if no one was injured and no one was sent to the hospital from the accident that isn't an urgent matter! You may find this hilarious but I don't have time for this!

Caller: You are so rude! Who are you?

Operator: I'm Saw Lee.

Caller: Yes! You should be sorry. Now give me your name!

From my inbox. :-)

In the process of burning in and testing my PC's new components (see earlier post here), I ran a number of benchmarks to give me an idea of it's relative performance, particularly when running 3D games.

Here are the results I got. If you're into this type of thing, perhaps you could run the benchmarks yourself and compare your results. :-)



Futuremark benchmarks:

3DMark 2001 SE: 15,212 3DMarks
3DMark03: 4,891 3DMarks
3DMark05: 2,245 3DMarks
3DMark06: 779 3DMarks

Note: All 3DMark tests were run using default settings. Download free versions of the benchmarks above by clicking on their respective links.



Doom 3 benchmarks:

High Quality, 800x600: 72.9 FPS
High Quality, 1,024x768: 72.9 FPS
Hiqh Quality, 1,280x1,024: 60.6 FPS

Note: Testing done using Doom 3's built-in "demo1". You can do this yourself by bringing down the console and entering the command: "timedemo demo1". If you don't know how to access the console read this guide. Read my review of the game itself here.

Test setup:

MSI K8N Neo v2.0, Athlon 64 3000+ @ 2.1 GHz (Socket 754 version), 256 MB Inno3D GeForce 6800LE @ 375/1,000 MHz (core/memory), 2 x PQI 512 MB DDR 400 DIMM, Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP2, ForceWare v84.21, nForce3 v5.11, 3DMark2001 SE Build 3.3.0, 3DMark03 Build 3.6.0, 3DMark05 Build 1.2.0, 3DMark06 Build 1.0.2, Doom 3 1.3.

I have to say I'm pretty pleased. This is definitely not the fastest setup out there, not by a long shot. But for all intents and purposes, it's probably fast enough. At the very least, for the next year or so.

Of course, if I had the money, I can easily build a rig that will run rings around this one. Can you say dual-core and SLI?

Spare some change? :-)

A few months ago, I wrote a post about the mice problems that we have been having in our house. We finally decided to tackle the problem head on and engage the services of an elite force that we hope would finally decimate that rodent population in our household.

Meet the members of that elite force:

Introducing Ebony and Jerry. Standing guard (or sleeping on the job, take your pick) at the foot of the refrigerator.

Trouble is, these cats aren't that much bigger than the mice their supposed to catch.

They're so small that we have to refrain from using the sticky paper traps for fear that they would be the ones caught in them.

Surprisingly, the effect of just having cats, even kittens as young as these, can be quite dramatic. While before I would often see mice scurrying to and fro, for some reason they seem to be in hiding. No doubt they have already realized that the law is back in town.

Hopefully this would solve our mouse woes once and for all.

Now if I can only get used to the constant meowing...

For some strange reason I had this urge to photograph the innards of my PC while I was performing surgery on it (see previous post here). I guess its both the blogger and techie in me that made me do so.

I really tend to appreciate the technical details behind these ubiquitous and highly useful machines.

Here are some more pictures of my recently completed project. Not that I'm showing off of course. I just love the technology. :-)

Two sticks of 512 MB DDR 400 RAM. I was hoping to get more than a gig, but I couldn't find any 1 GB modules.


A four disk RAID array. Not for the faint of heart. This setup can get pretty toasty, that's why it's cooled by two 80 mm fans at the front of the case.


Pixel processing courtesy of an 8-pipe 256 MB Inno3D GeForce 6800 LE. I wrote about how I chose this card in this earlier post. Beside it is a Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy.


If you want upgrade your PC with all sorts of stuff, make sure your power supply is up to snuff. The ones that come free with cheap cases just won't cut it. This one is a 350 watt Enermax EG365P-VE with two cooling fans.

I guess that about does it. With any luck I can get all these tech out of my system in time for my next post. Hopefully, it'll be about something more mundane. :-)

Well, after several hours of shoehorning a new motherboard and CPU combo into my PC and reinstalling Windows XP and virtually all of my software, I can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

The deed is done.

I replaced the ECS K7VTA3 v3.1 motherboard and Athlon XP 2400+ processor with a MSI K8N Neo v2.0 and an Athlon 64 3000+.

The K8N Neo v2.0 is a fully loaded Socket 754 motherboard with an NVIDIA nForce3 250 chipset. It features an 800 MHz HyperTransport interface, support for DDR 400, ATA 133 and SATA 150, ATA and SATA RAID, USB 2.0, built-in 5.1 sound and network capabilities, and expandability via one AGP 8x/4x and five PCI slots. It also features dynamic overclocking.

The Athlon 64 3000+ is a 64-bit processor based on AMD's 0.09 micron Venice core. It has a transistor count of 76 million, or more than double the 37.6 million transistors of my old Thoroughbred-B Athlon XP. It runs at 2.0 GHz, and has 512 KB of L2 cache. Here are some before and after pictures:

This was the inside of my PC before the transplant. What a mess.


Athlon 64 installed in its socket.


Finished installation. Cooling the processor is a Thermaltake Silent Boost K8, an all copper heatsink with an 80 mm fan. I wasn't really satisfied with the stock boxed aluminum cooler, so I installed this one instead.

I'll let you know how the updated rig performs after I put it through it's paces. :-)

My PC acted up last Sunday, necessitating an unscheduled motherboard replacement. And we all know how complicated and troublesome replacing a motherboard can be, from both a hardware and software perspective.

Finally got it working and online today, but there are still quite a lot of details left to work out. I'll get back to you people when I'm done. :-)

Suffering from blogger's block...again. There seems to be a set pattern. Every few weeks or so, I just can't seem to think of anything to write.

Oh well. Maybe something will come to me soon...

One of my favorite songs, which used to be a part of my regular lineup when I was still a frontman in a band a few years back. Ah, the memories...


As Long As It Matters
Gin Blossoms

How can I find something
That two can take
Without stumbling as we
Walk into our future's wake
I'm like a broken record
That you can play
Repeating as if it matters
Everything I want to say
I'll be all right
As long as it matters
As long as you're here with me now
Forget that time
It's nothing we touch and see
All this is fine
Even as it crashes down on me
I'm looking around
There's nothing that I could want
More than to tell you
There's no more than we've already got
I'll be all right
As long as it matters
As long as you're here with me now...
Forget that our time is almost up I'll be all right...

For Ane. I hope you find what you're looking for. :-)

Put about 100 bricks in some particular order in a closed room with an open window.

Then send 2 or 3 candidates in the room and close the door.

Leave them alone and come back after 6 hours and then analyze the situation.

If they are counting the bricks...

Put them in the accounts department.

If they are recounting them...

Put them in auditing.

If they have messed up the whole place with the bricks...

Put them in engineering.

If they are arranging the bricks in some strange order...

Put them in planning.

If they are throwing the bricks at each other...

Put them in operations.

If they are sleeping...

Put them in security.

If they have broken the bricks into pieces...

Put them in information technology.

If they are sitting idle...

Put them in human resources.

If they say they have tried different combinations, yet not a brick has been moved...

Put them in sales.

If they have already left for the day...

Put them in marketing.

If they are staring out of the window...

Put them on strategic planning.

And then last but not least.

If they are talking to each other and not a single brick has been moved...

Congratulate them and put them in top management.

Thanks to Annie for this one. :-)

A man and his wife were having some problems at home and were giving each other the silent treatment. Suddenly, the man realized that the next day, he would need his wife to wake him at 5:00 AM for an early morning business flight. Not wanting to be the first to break the silence (and LOSE), he wrote on a piece of paper, "Please wake me at 5:00 AM." He left it where he knew she would find it. The next morning, the man woke up, only to discover it was 9:00 AM and he had missed his flight. Furious, he was about to go and see why his wife hadn't wakened him, when he noticed a piece of paper by the bed. The paper said, "It is 5:00 AM. Wake up."

I'm not the type of person who gloats, but I couldn't resist...

SC partly voids EO 464

Told you so!

Now about that Proclamation No. 1017...

Shouldn't someone's head roll because of this Supreme Court ruling?

Only a few months ago, I made a post about how I upgraded my main phone from a Nokia 6600 to a new Nokia 6680. Well, six months later, I upgraded again, after selling the Nokia 6600 and relegating the Nokia 6680 to backup status on my secondary line.

Leave it to Nokia for having such short product cycles.

So what's my main phone now? It's a Nokia N70, and it's actually not that much different from the Nokia 6680.

Why bother upgrading in the first place if it not really a dramatic improvement over the older model? It wasn't actually planned really. Someone offered a good price for my 6600 which I promptly sold, and needing a new phone for my other line, I spotted a brand new N70 in Greenhills being offered at a price even lower than that I paid for my 6680. Add to that my curiosity with all the hype surrounding Nokia's N series, and the desire to make all my phones 3G compatible, it wasn't a hard choice to make. And so I bit.

It's virtually identical to the 6680, and superficially they even look somewhat alike. The N70 looks classier though, with it's brushed stainless steel face, which is a lot better than the 6680's use of chrome finished stainless steel highlights, which for the most part, act as scratch collectors. The N70, like the 6680 is a tri-band GSM handset based on the Symbian Series 60 platform. It has full 3G (UMTS) and EDGE network capabilities, a front mounted secondary VGA (0.3 megapixel), the same 220 MHz processor, 262K color display, expandable memory using dual-voltage RS-MMCs, Pop-Port interface, and the improved standby screen.

What makes the N70 different? First and foremost, the camera. Its rear camera is a 2 megapixel unit with a 20x digital zoom, compared to the 6680's 1.3 megapixel unit with 6x zoom. Of course, like all digital zooms, you'll be giving up some resolution the closer you zoom in on your subject. It comes complete with a built-in LED flash and lens protector, as well as a dedicated shutter button on the right side of the unit. The N70 also has 22 MB of internal memory versus the 6680's 10 MB, and while both have built-in MP3 players, the N70 boasts a built-in FM radio.

Which is the better phone? Technically speaking, it's no contest, the N70 wins hands down. Overall, the victory isn't that overwhelming, as the N70 makes a few design compromises. The N70 is a little bit lighter and smaller, but it feels less sturdy than the 6680 which feels quite solid in comparison. The buttons on the N70 are smaller, and are harder to press (especially if you have fat fingers), though the layout is significantly better than that of the 6680.

Still, the N70 is a step up, if only for the camera. The quality of pictures taken with the N70 rival those of dedicated digital cameras, and in fact is even better than entry level digital cameras of a few years ago. If you're into photography, the N70 certainly makes a good backup camera in a snap, and for those occasions that you don't have your digital camera with you, the N70 should perform pretty admirably as one.

It isn't revolutionary, but it does represent an evolution of the Nokia's Series 60 platform. If you're looking for a full featured smartphone, you'll be hard pressed to do better than an N70. If you already have a 6680, should you move up? If you're into photography, by all means get one. If not, you're better off keeping your 6680.

Me? I think it's a keeper, and I'm pretty confident that I'll be sticking with my N70 for the foreseeable future.

Here are a few pictures:

Nokia N70.


A Nokia 6680 and a Nokia N70.


2 megapixel camera.


Front VGA camera.


Improved keypad layout, but with smaller buttons.

Links:

Nokia N70 review - infoSync World

I almost fell out my chair my reading the Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI) over breakfast.

What flabbergasted me was a statement given by Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales regarding his thoughts during the preliminary investigation of the three American servicemen accused of raping a Filipina inside a van during a lull in the joint Philippine and United States military exercises held late last year.

He said, and I quote: "I almost exonerated them (three of the four accused). But I didn't, if only to satisfy the mob."

What was that all about? The above statement is something I would expect to hear from a tambay (loiterer) or an uneducated bum. But from the Secretary of Justice of the Republic? Saints help us.

During a preliminary investigation, what is of paramount importance is the determination of the existence of probable cause. In any potential criminal case, there is either probable cause, or there isn't. If there is, the case should proceed to court. If not, the case should be dismissed. Taking the legal role of a preliminary investigation into consideration, I find it difficult to reconcile this with the statement of the Justice Secretary.

Secretary Raul Gonzales is fond of claiming that his statements are often misquoted or taken out of context, so let us try to analyze the abovequoted statement in detail.

"I almost exonerated them. But I didn't, if only to satisfy the mob."

Was there a determination of probable cause? If his objective was simply to satisfy the people's cry for blood in the rape case, then apparently there wasn't. Otherwise, what would be the logic in making such a qualificatory statement? If there was indeed prima facie evidence of the culpability of American servicemen in question, it would have been his sworn duty as Secretary of Justice to ensure that the case does go to trial, and there would have been no need to qualify his statement with an apparent capitulation to mob rule.

If he let the case proceed to court even in the absence of probable cause, he is no different from Pontius Pilate, the Roman prefect of Judea who gave in to public clamor and ordered the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

I find this statement of his very disappointing, especially coming from the head of a line agency tasked with the administration of justice. The supreme irony is that we have a Secretary of Justice seemingly without an inate sense of justice.

Then again, this won't be the first time that I have been appalled by one of his statements.

I am not siding with the accused, nor am I siding with the alleged victim. That's a different subject altogether. For me, to be tried in the court of public opinion, or to be tried by publicity, simply has no place in our criminal justice system. If Secretary Raul Gonzales gave in to public clamor instead of applying blind justice devoid of any external influences or subjectivity, then he clearly does not deserve to occupy the position of Secretary of Justice.

It would be an injustice in itself.

Links:

Gonzalez: I almost exonerated them

CHINESE SICK LEAVE - "I NO COME WORK TODAY!!!"

Hung Chow calls into work and says, "Hey, boss I no come work today, I really sick. Got headache, stomach ache and legs hurt, I no come work."

The boss says, "You know something, Hung Chow, I really need you today. When I feel like this, I go to my wife and tell her to give me sex. That makes everything better and I go to work. You try that."

Two hours later Hung Chow calls again. "Boss, I do what you say and I feel great. I be at work soon.............You got nice house!"

From my inbox. With apologies to all the Chinese out there. :-)

In a strange twist of fate, I found myself in attendance to iBlog2, the 2nd Philippine Blogging Summit held at the University of the Philippines (UP) College of Law in Diliman, Quezon City.

Actually I was supposed to be attending the first day of review classes at the neighboring UP Law Center, but since I hadn't been issued my ID yet, and that the prospect of meeting some of the more famous bloggers in the Pinoy blogging community seemed too good to pass up, I decided to see for myself how it is to be in the presence of all the people behind the blogs I get to visit.

I wasn't disappointed.

I got to meet in person reknowned bloggers Atty. Punzi, Manuel "Manolo" L. Quezon III, Jove, J. Angelo Racoma, Abe "Yuga" Olandres, Dean Bocobo, Atty. Marvin, and Ajay, among others.

I also got to pick up a few things from the various speakers who covered a variety of topics ranging from political blogging to blogging as a career. Add to that virtually all of the iced tea I could drink, the summit turned out to be a real sweet deal. :-) Here are a few photos from the event:

That's Dr. Ronald Meinardus of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation in the distance, talking about the significance of blogging and podcasting as tools in political education.


Manuel "Manolo" L. Quezon III talking about blogs and the battle for ideas.


Marc Hil Macalua, J. Angelo Racoma, Charo Nuguid, and Abe "Yuga" Olandres talking about blogging as a profession. No kidding. You can actually make money from blogging.

I guess blogging is turning out to be a real force to reckon with in Philippine society, with its power to inform, educate and influence, as well as its advocacy of free and unrestrained expression of ideas. Blogging has come a long way in a relatively short time, though it still has some ways to go. Like many other bloggers out there, I fully intend to keep up with this activity for the long haul.

Go Pinoy bloggers! :-)

Almost two months ago I wrote a post about how my Canon PowerShot A300 digital camera was acting up on account of a defective CCD which gave me nothing but blank pictures.

The camera was promptly brought to Canon's service center in Pasong Tamo (which I only recently learned has been renamed to Don Chino Roces Ave.), Makati. It was confirmed that the problem was with indeed with the CCD. As it turned out, a particular batch of A300s had a defect with the CCD right out of the factory, resulting in the symptoms that I had experienced. It took somewhere in the area of two years before the problem would come to rear its ugly head with my particular unit. Now that it has, I turned it over to Canon for repair.

As it was a factory defect, I had been informed that I would not be charged a peso for the repair, though I may have to wait two to three months before I got the camera back.

Punzi came across that post of mine, and by sheer coincidence, also happened to own an A300 with a defective CCD. He turned in his camera for repair last December, and by the end of March he was informed by Canon that they would be replacing his defective A300 with a brand new PowerShot A410.

Boy, was he lucky. :-)

Last week before the Holy Week holidays, I received a call from Canon that my camera was now ready for pickup. They fixed it.

Oh well. Lady luck can't weave her magic on everyone all the time. :-)

They gave a three month warranty on the repair work done. I put the camera through it's paces, and it works fine. It works absolutely fine. While I'm a bit disappointed by the fact that I didn't get a new camera, I suppose it's no biggie. I actually already own an A410, so if they gave me a new one I would have had two of this model. And I should be thankful. They repaired my camera for absolutely free and now it works flawlessly, just like the day I bought it.

I guess there's just something magical about cracking open a box for a new tech gadget. It can be quite addictive if you're a techie. :-)

So it's back to the original plan. I'm going to use the fixed A300 as a backup and a training camera for my son, whom I plan to teach basic photography to. And I'll keep saving for a nice "prosumer" class digital camera, probably still a Canon. Punzi, that 7.1 megapixel PowerShot A620 is looking mighty attractive. Canon also introduced a newer PowerShot, a 6 megapixel A700 with a humongous LCD (albeit fixed) last February. Maybe I can afford one of those babies by the holidays. Perhaps if I get lucky. :-)

Photo from the Sari-Sari story, © 2002 by Jim Richter.

While standing in line in a large chain supermarket near my house a couple of days ago, I quietly observed dozens of carts overflowing with various dry grocery items, like various canned goods, instant noodles, snacks, juices, soaps and toiletries, etc.

Here I was, trying to buy a loaf of bread, a bottle of ketchup, a bottle of seasoning, and some other stuff, surrounded my these massive shopping carts filled with what looked like tons of grocery items. It's obvious that these copious amounts of groceries aren't for personal use. Rather, it's more than likely that these items will be sold in one of the probably thousands of sari-sari stores dotting the Philippine suburban landscape.

Sari-sari is a Filipino term which means "variety". Hence, a sari-sari store can be translated as simply a "variety store". Sari-sari stores are a staple of Philippine life. They're literally everywhere, offering various goods for sale from virtually every street corner and everywhere else in between.

In suburban residential areas, much like the one I reside in, you can hardly walk a few meters without coming across one of these stores. In some places, these stores stand shoulder to shoulder with other similar stores, offering similar goods, and often at similar prices.

Which brings me back to my predicament. I'm stuck in this slow moving checkout line, all because of these sari-sari store proprietors, who are stocking up on goods to sell. I scan the various other checkout counters in the distance. Virtually all of them are lined up with full shopping carts containing similar items.

You know what? I think the typical Filipino is a poor entrepreneur. There. I said it. I just hope I don't get flamed for having a negative opinion of the average Pinoy's business acumen, but hear me out first. The reason I came to this conclusion is the fact that the majority of Filipinos, instead of offering some unique product or service to the community, invariably fall prey to the "me too" style of entrepreneurship. For convenience, let's call this phenomenon the sari-sari mentality.

The sari-sari mentality is a style of entrepreneurship wherein a person, either because of the lack of ingenuity or creativity required to come up with a totally unique business model, or at the very least the refusal to take the financial risk of putting up a unique venture, invests in exactly the same type of business other people have invested in. The side effect? A marketplace awash in similar businesses. Don't bother looking up this definition in some business book. I just made it up.

The sari-sari store is a perfect example, hence the name. What's the point in setting up a variety retail store when there's virtually one almost everywhere? And yet, more and more are sprouting up. The vast majority of these stores probably aren't even licensed to do business by their respective local governments, much less pay taxes.

With so many of them around, do any of them actually make money? Surprisingly yes, though I would imagine the profit margin for such ventures can't at all be that large. The profit in the retail industry can be attributed to volume, and not markup. And small stores probably don't have the capability to deal in huge volumes.

Filipinos, traditionally, seem to be really susceptible to the sari-sari mentality. If you think about it, it isn't really surprising why most successful Filipino businessmen and industrialists are more often than not of foreign descent. They're more likely to make aggressive business decisions, which often pay off in the end. Pure blood Pinoys on the other hand, when it comes to business, typically just play it safe.

We've seen this mentality rear its ugly head before, lots of times. The story typically goes like this: a new and unique business opportunity sprouts up, everyone else gets in the action, there is a saturation of the market, and inevitably the market crashes altogether.

I can think of a lot of businesses which went this way. During the 80s there was the litsong manok (roast chicken) craze. Everyone wanted in on it, leading to an overabundance of businesses wanting to fill the demand. Eventually the craze collapsed in on itself, everyone got tired of eating roast chicken, and today the litson manok industry has consolidated itself into a handful of large chains and a few independent businesses, and outlets aren't even that common anymore.

A few years ago there was the tapioca balls "pearl shake" craze (internationally it's known as "bubble tea"). Same story, everyone wanted in as well, leading to market saturation. Only Zagu seemed to have survived the pearl shake wars, with perhaps Orbitz a distant second. I have no idea what happened to the rest. I guess most of them went under.

And in recent memory there was also the internet café/network gaming fad. These businesses sprouted up like mushrooms after a stormy night, filling a perceived demand for people wanting to surf the net, or virtually kill each other in Counter-Strike and other video games. Yes, the demand was there, but competition became so tough that prices dropped way below the threshold of profitability. Nowadays the large franchises (like Netopia) have dominated the market, while some independent establishments have continued to make their businesses thrive, particularly in niche areas.

I've read somewhere that 99% of businesses fail within the first five years of operation. I'm not really surprised, given the lack of originality in the commercial scene. I too was a victim of that statistic at one point in my life. What can I say? I'm not that hot of an entrepreneur myself. Or maybe I was just associated with the wrong people. Or both.

Let's face it, the "me too" attitude is a very safe and reassuring way of starting up a business, hence its prevalence. The perception is: "Well, if he's making money, I should too." Sadly, it doesn't always end up that way. The market is strewn with the decaying ruins of businesses that wanted to sell what everyone else was selling and not much else.

I just hope that we Filipinos start to be more creative in coming up with commercial ventures. In the same vein, I think we should learn to take more risks in business. Only if we do so can we have any hope of being successful in the market. Sigurista lang kasi talaga tayong mga Pinoy.

And I'm not just talking about the local market. With globalization starting to rear its ugly head, if we don't shape up, we're all going to be eaten alive in the global marketplace. And that won't help our economy at all.

The sari-sari mentality can only take us so far. It's about time we do something different and unique for a change.

Perfect for those hot, lazy, summer days...


Lazy Days
Enya

Lazy old day
Rolling away
Dreaming the day away
Don't want to go
Now that I'm in the flow
Crazy amazing day

One red balloon
Floats to the moon
Just let it fly away
I only know
That I'm longing to go
Back to my lazy day

And how it sings and how it sighs
And how it never stays
And how it rings and how it cries
And how it sails away... away... away....

Strozzi's The Incredulity of St. Thomas

Jesus said to him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen, and have believed." - John 20:29

A blessed and meaningful Easter Sunday to everyone!

An American businessman was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.

The Mexican replied, "Only a little while, Señor."

The American then asked, "Why didn't you stay out longer and catch more fish?"

The Mexican said he had enough to support his family's immediate needs.

The American then asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"

The Mexican fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life, Señor."

The American scoffed, "I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats, eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually NYC where you will run your expanding enterprise."

The Mexican fisherman asked, "But Señor, how long will this all take?"

To which the American replied, "15-20 years."

"But what then, Senor?"

The American laughed and said, "That's the best part. When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions."

"Millions, Señor? Then what?"

The American said, "Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos."

"You mean being a Harvard MBA, you have to go through all that to finally get to where I already am, Señor?"

Something to think about. Thanks to Tessa for this one.

St. Peter's Parish.


Only during Holy Week do streets get deserted as this.


For those who may have forgotten...

Seven years ago, I saw a movie entitled Stigmata. It was about a woman, an atheist, who, without physical cause, spontaneously suffered the same wounds endured by Jesus Christ during his crucifixion. This phenomena was subsequently investigated by the Vatican, which led to the uncovering of hidden gospels which turned out to be inimical to the interests of the Church.

That movie was perhaps my first exposure to the so-called "missing gospels" through popular media. I have heard and even read about some of these gospels before, but I never really realized the impact they possessed, especially when some of the ideas they advance run counter to the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.

Of course, the events depicted in the movie are fictional, but the gospels referred to in it are based on a real document, the Gospel of Thomas, a collection of sayings attributed to Jesus Christ found completely preserved in 1945 in Nag Hammadi, Egypt.

This gospel, consisting of 114 verses, together with the gospels of Philip, Mary Magdalene, the recently discovered lost Gospel of Judas, as well as several others, form part of the so-called "gnostic texts" and are not part of the Bible and even considered by the Church as heretical.

Despite the non-canonical status of the gospel, it makes for a fascinating read, particularly in those passages which seemingly run counter to current Church wisdom.

Here are a few verses which I personally find interesting. I'm not a theologian, so my amateurish attempt at interpreting them are only from a layman's point of view, and in no way claimed to be their definitive meaning. I am posting this only as a mental exercise, and not in any way an attempt to extoll, nor dismiss the significance of these verses. An open mind is strongly recommended when readings texts such as these. If you have a better way of interpreting them please feel free to leave a comment.

2. Jesus said, "Those who seek should not stop seeking until they find. When they find, they will be disturbed. When they are disturbed, they will marvel, and will reign over all. [And after they have reigned they will rest.]"

Here's a typically gnostic verse if I ever saw one. While the Church has been extolling the virtues of blind faith (John 20:29 comes to mind), here is a line attributed to Jesus Christ which tells us to strive for absolute knowledge. Not only that, but those who have come into the possession of such knowledge will occupy a higher status in society than those who have not. Does it point towards absolute knowledge as the key towards salvation? I can't say.

15. Jesus said, "When you see one who was not born of woman, fall on your faces and worship. That one is your Father."

I can't help but relate this verse with all the advancements in science, specifically in the field of genetic engineering. It won't be far long, if we're not there already, that a human being can be totally conceived and developed as a human being without being "born of woman". It can easily be attributed to the understanding of God the Father as being a supreme being without beginning or end, hence God was never brought into existence, since He always was. Nonetheless, such a statement does boggle the imagination. Who would have thought that technology would develop to a point that such a feat can be medically possible?

37. His disciples said, "When will you appear to us, and when will we see you?"

Jesus said, "When you strip without being ashamed, and you take your clothes and put them under your feet like little children and trample then, then [you] will see the son of the living one and you will not be afraid."

Can we take this literally? Probably not. Nowadays a lot of people are capable of shedding their clothes without being ashamed, a case in point would be the proliferation of various nudist organizations and facilities. Perhaps it refers to man's return to innocence, the innocence lost when Adam and Eve gave in to temptation and ate the fruit of the forbidden tree in the Garden of Eden. Afterwards, they realized their nakedness and hid themselves out of shame (Genesis 3:10). But how do you suppose we can still regain our innocence?

77. Jesus said, "I am the light that is over all things. I am all: from me all came forth, and to me all attained.

Split a piece of wood; I am there.

Lift up the stone, and you will find me there."

This verse has been paraphrased in the movie Stigmata as: The Kingdom of God is inside you and all about you, not in mansions of wood and stone. Split a piece of wood and I am there; lift a stone and you will find me. The implication in the movie version is that it questions the role of the Church in salvation. In the movie, the road to salvation is direct to God and not through any structures, or institutions created by man. Of course, this is the fictional version. But what of the real version? To my mind it speaks of God's omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence, and the road to salvation is solely through Him. By implication, it may seem that an intermediary (a person, or an institution, like the Church) isn't really necessary in order to reach out to God.

114. Simon Peter said to them, "Make Mary leave us, for females don't deserve life."

Jesus said, "Look, I will guide her to make her male, so that she too may become a living spirit resembling you males. For every female who makes herself male will enter the kingdom of Heaven."

Is this an endorsement of lesbianism? Probably not. At first glance it does seem to connote sexism in a general sense, considering that women were deemed unworthy of spiritual teachings during those times. But is it really? I don't think so. Sexism as we understand it today simply did not exist back then, so we must look into this passage without referring to the modern concept of sexism. So how do we look at it then? It is surmised by some that this verse refers to the view as espoused by Platonist teachings that "becoming a male" is described as rising to a higher spiritual plane, an ascent to flawlessness or faultlessness that can only be achieved through a balance of both male and female. I'd explain it more, but I probably have to take a refresher on my knowledge of Platonist views first. It is fascinating to note that the Gospel of Thomas makes mention of female disciples, when the canonical gospels only make mention of men disciples.

So what have I learned from this reading? Quite a lot, actually. Have I read anything capable of shaking my faith as a Catholic? No, my faith remains as it was before. Of course, from an intellectual point of view, alternate views of Christianity can be really be absorbing, as you can see how these relate to established canon. The Gospel of Thomas is probably more philosophical than any of the canonical gospels, which tend to be more narrative in style. It is in this regard that the Gospel of Thomas is more susceptible to varied interpretations, making it unsuitable as a teaching tool during the early days of Christianity. This is probably one of the reasons for its non-inclusion into canon. Does it really go against established Christian teachings? Maybe. Maybe not. It's all a matter of interpretation. I leave you to make your own conclusions regarding this subject.

If you're interested in reading the English translation of the Gospel of Thomas in its entirety, click here. As mentioned before, an open mind is strongly encouraged when dealing texts such as these. If you wish to share your views on this topic, please feel free to leave your comments.

A blessed Good Friday to you all.

The past several years have seen a resurgence and renewal of interest in ideas which go against the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. The rise in popularity of these ideas have reached a fever pitch the past few years or so, culminating with the controversy surrounding the Dan Brown bestseller The Da Vinci Code, and now in recent days with the discovery, authentication and translation of the lost Gospel of Judas.

How significant are the ideas espoused in these works?

They have been described using a variety of terms ranging from heretical, non-canonical, apocryphal, esoteric, and my personal favorite, gnostic. The adjective gnostic is a favorite of mine because it is based on the Greek word gnosis, which means knowledge. And knowledge, is indeed something that I have strived for since my younger years, and it is even the underlying theme of this blog which is rooted in the search for the truth.

But what is the truth anyway? That's an even harder question to answer.

I'm also a Christian, a Catholic to be specific. Is my faith truly incompatible with such ideas as those espoused in the Gospel of Judas, or for that matter The Da Vinci Code or the Gospels of Thomas, Philip, or even Mary Magdalene?

It would appear so.

Or is it really?

The Church is quick to undermine the integrity of these so-called "gnostic texts" as they contain ideas which violate established canon. To concede to their validity would be tantamount to undermining the primacy of the Roman Catholic Church when it comes to the teachings of Jesus Christ.

It is interesting to note that only four gospels have made their way into the New Testament. Those of Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John. But what most people probably don't know is that during the early days of Christianity, there were at least thirty, probably even more. It was through the efforts of Irenaeus, a French bishop [Actually, he wasn't really "French" as we understand it today. See this post's comments for details.], a known advocate against gnosticism during the second century, and a staunch critic of the Gospel of Judas that the "official" Christian gospels have been reduced to the four we now know. As one of the higher ranking officials of the early Christian Church, he realized the importance of standardizing the teachings of Christ. And what happened to the rest of the gospels? Most have been branded as heresy and/or lost in the annals of time. The few that survive to the present day are denounced by the Church as apocrypha, considered non-canonical, even banned and burned.

This Holy Week, I've taken it upon myself to explore some of these texts and their significance, or lack thereof. Along the way, perhaps I can reevaluate my own faith and beliefs.

Watch this space to see what I have learned along the way.

Related Posts:

The Bible is wrong! (duh....)

Overheard at Watson's the other day:

"Miss, pabili nga ng pampurga."

"Ano po, Combantrin o Antiox?"

"Ano ba yung one-dose?"

"Antiox po."

"Sige, pabili ng dalawa."

Am I the only one who finds this exchange amusing?

If you don't understand, don't worry about it. It's probably a culture thing.

Erase Negative Programming

Do away with all the old, negative messages you were given about yourself. If someone has told you that you are worthless, undeserving, dense or unattractive, that is their problem. No one has a right to judge you or belittle you. We are all struggling to get by in this world, and no one else has all the answers. Honor your own truth. In your own heart, you know who you are...don't let another take that power away from you. Love yourself.

Everything in Life Happens for a Reason

Life is full of peaks and valleys. Even though they are more difficult, you learn more during the valleys or the challenging times. When you are in a valley, you might not see the value of it; but later, when you look back, you will realize that you have learned a great deal. Know that nothing you experience is an accident. Everything you experience and everyone you meet teaches you something or holds a lesson for you.

Know That When One Door Closes, Another Opens

Change is good. This is how you grow. Eventually you will see that sometimes you have to lose something to gain something else. Even illness, death, and financial loss have a purpose. Did a tragedy bring you closer to your family and friends? Did the community reach out to you? Were you forced to switch gears? Faith is knowing that everything is okay and works out. You will grow stronger from all that you experience.

Trust Your Instincts

All your life, you have been taught to invalidate your feelings. This is wrong. Your subconscious mind continually picks up and processes cues from your environment and from other people. This is valuable information that you should not disregard. Don't let people talk you into doing something that doesn't feel right to you. Trust your gut. If something doesn't feel right to you, then it probably isn't. And you don't have to justify how you feel. Just say, "No thank you," or "I'd rather not," or "I'm busy." Everyone else does not know more than you.

Being Alive Is Enough

Just ask people who almost lost their lives and they will tell you that most of the stuff we fret over isn't that important. Being alive is a great gift. Don't define yourself in such narrow terms as your work, your body, your house, your kids, or your relationships. Learn to see what is precious around you each day. Do not take your good fortune for granted. Be thankful and humble. You do not have to justify your life with a big list of accomplishments. Try to experience just being alive.

Love Your Body

It houses your spirit; it gets you what you need. Appreciate what your body can do and stop focusing on what it can't. No one else's body would be better for you. (Being thinner or better looking is not more valuable.) If you are not the most stunning person in town, then perhaps this makes you more approachable to others. Even if you have a physical disability, there is a reason for this. It is not to cause you suffering, rather it is an opportunity for you to grow or to understand or appreciate something in life. Perhaps this will be the vehicle through which you meet a kindred spirit or discover some hidden talent within you. Be at peace and trust that your soul is beautiful and so are you.

Enjoy the Beautiful Day

What is the weather like? Is it hot? Rainy? Windy? Enjoy getting where you are going. Are you walking, driving, riding a bus? Are people talking, music playing, birds singing? Take notice of the colors, smells, textures, buildings, sounds, people...everything around you. Take pleasure in the freedom you have to go from place to place. Stop and smell the rose s. This day will not happen again. Experience it. Take pleasure in the moment. It's great to be alive.

Enjoy Feeling Fine

Remember when you had a toothache, the flu, or a migraine. Remember the relief you felt when you first started to feel better? Until we are sick, we rarely appreciate how good it feels to feel well. Be glad you are well.

Lighten Up and Put Things in Perspective

Having a mini-crisis? Is the world crashing down around you? Hey, relax. First of all, panicking never solved anything. Second, most things are not that bad in hindsight. You're tougher than you think. You'll get through this, and you'll probably learn something valuable
in the process. You'll be okay!

Let Yourself Be Happy. Count Your Blessings Every Day

There is always someone else worse off than you. Look around you: your life is full of blessings. Make a list of things you are thankful for: your sight, health, family, food, shelter, a pet, your kids, friends, a good book. If you could even get out of bed this morning, then you are blessed. Do not take all this good fortune for granted. Be thankful for all these blessings.

Use Positive Language. Think Positive Thoughts

Try not to use negative words too much like hate, disgusting, sick, ugly, etc." Notice how things have improved in the world, in your town, in your life. Look for beauty. Try not to be sarcastic. Sarcasm is a "put-down" of something or someone. The way you act in the world is basically a habit. You can retrain your behavior and your thinking, and you will benefit by doing so. Being considerate, kind, and positive is contagious and worth the investment.

Notice the Positive Side of Life

Even though we are surrounded with love and positive things every day, the negative side of life seems to get a lot more publicity. Too many negative images sap us of our optimism. So don't make a constant diet of negative people, newscasts, angry music, violent movies, and conflict. (Kids do not benefit from watching too many news shows). You are not alone in your hour of need. Open your heart and be observant. You may hear a radio show, find a book, or meet a person who has your same illness. Just as you cannot see the whole flower until it opens, it is all there waiting to be revealed. So are the answers to your problems.

When Mother Theresa received her Nobel Prize she was asked, 'What can we do to promote world peace?' She replied "Go home and love your family"

Thanks to Rain for this one.

A few minutes ago I was talking with a PLDT customer service representive regarding a concern I have with my PLDT myDSL account. What she told me gave me fits that I couldn't help but raise my voice at the poor girl.

In a nutshell: You have to pay a fee of P5,000.00 if you want to downgrade your account. Needless to say, that has got to be one of the most idiotic policies I've ever heard of.

The thing is, I have been a PLDT myDSL subscriber for more than a year now, and my lockout period has already expired. I'm currently paying P1,995.00 a month for broadband access supposedly up to 768 Kbps. When I first got on broadband more than a year ago, P1,995.00 per month was the lowest plan available, and it offered up to 384 Kbps of bandwidth. A few months after my subscription was locked in, they came up with a cheaper plan, only P999.00 a month for 256 Kbps internet access. Now, they have upgraded their cheapest plan by offering up to 384 Kbps for the same amount.

I figured since I really didn't need all that bandwidth (up to 768 Kbps under my current plan, though I usually only see bandwidth in the area of 512 Kbps or so), I would just wait until my lock up period has expired, than I would request that my account be downgraded to the P999.00 plan with 384 Kbps, which was actually what I started out a year ago. No biggie. Or so I thought.

The girl at the other end of the line told me that I would have to pay P5,000.00 if I wanted my account downgraded. SAY WHAT?!? P5,000.00? What kind of idiotic policy is that? They suckered me into paying P1,995.00 for a year when they would be offering a cheaper package down the road, and now that I want my account downgraded after dutifully complying with the conditions of my lock up, they want to fleece P5,000.00 of my hard earned money just to downgrade my account?

I certainly gave the poor girl an earful. She wanted me to write a letter requesting that the downgrade fee be waived and have the letter endorsed through their business centers. I refused, saying that I don't want the inconvenience of making a letter, having it received at one of their offices, and be following up with some anonymous person/s for weeks with hardly any result.

She was nice enough to give in to my demand though, and she made a request on my behalf through their system.

The fact remains, I still think that policy is totally idiotic. There's no lock up period to speak of anymore, so why should they charge me such an unreasonable amount just for downgrading my account? On a whim, I asked how much do I have to pay as penalty if I wanted to cancel my account during the lock up period. I was told that I would have to pay an amount equivalent to three months' service fees. At my P1,995.00 plan, that would amount to P5,985.00. Comparing the P5,985.00 penalty and the downgrade fee of P5,000.00, it seems that PLDT doesn't really discriminate between those who cancel their accounts within the lock up periods and those who just want to downgrade their accounts. They're an equal opportunity fleecer, even when one subscriber has complied with the terms of the subscription, and the other hasn't.

From this experience, I can only conclude that PLDT is nothing but a money-hungry glutton which is more concerned over making money than building up goodwill with their subscribers.

Those who subscribed a year or so ago would probably remember the free printer promo they offered with a new DSL subscription. The problem was, the printer was supposedly free, but you were required to buy ink cartridges from them. And we all know the cost of ink for inkjet printers is just about equivalent to the cost of new printer nowadays. Shame on them for coming up with idiotic policies. Shame on them for treating their subscribers like idiots.

I'm making this post so that everyone will know.

While caught in traffic late last week, I snapped a couple of photos which, in a nutshell, describe the state of the electrical distribution system in dense, residential areas in the Philippines:

Because of the prevalence of electricity pilferage (meter tampering, among others), these meters are placed about ten meters above street level. Question is, how do you get to read them?


I know Fire Prevention Month was last March, but with electrical connections as haphazard as this, it's a wonder that we haven't had as many electrical fires as we could have. The scary part is, electrical connections in highly congested residential areas are all virtually like this. Perhaps this is something the authorities better look into.

From my inbox: various quotes reflecting Filipinos' unique view on life and reality.

Better late than pregnant.
Pag may tyaga.. goodluck.
Ang sakit ng kalingkingan, kailangan ng alaxan.
Behind the clouds are the other clouds.
Aanhin pa ang damo.. kung bato na ang uso!
Its better to cheat than to repeat!
Do unto others... then run!!!
Pag di ukol, di bubukol...siya ay baog!
Kung may isinuksok, may mabubuntis!
Kapag puno na ang salop, kumuha na ng ibang salop.
Magbiro ka na sa lasing, Magbiro ka na sa bagong gising, 'wag lang sa lasing na bagong gising.
When all else fails, follow instructions.
Ang hindi marunong magmahal sa sariling wika, lumaki sa ibang bansa.
To err is human, to errs is humans.
Ang taong nagigipit...sa bumbay kumakapit
Pag may usok...may nag-iihaw.
Dont judge the book by its cover...if u are not a judge or else you will cover the book!
Ang taong naglalakad nang matulin...may utang.
No guts, no glory...no ID, no entry.
Birds of the same feather that prays together...stays together.
Kapag may sinuksok at walang madukot, may nandukot.
Walang matigas na tinapay sa gutom na tao.
Ang taong di marunong lumingon sa kanyang pinanggalingan...ay may stiff neck.
Birds of the same feather make a good feather duster.
Kapag may tiyaga, may nilaga. Kapag may taga, may tahi.
Huli man daw at magaling, undertime pa rin.
Ang naglalakad ng matulin, late na sa appointment.
Matalino man ang matsing, matsing pa rin.
Better late than later...
Aanhin ang palasyo kung ang nakatira ay kuwago, mabuti pa ang bahay kubo, sa paligid puno ng linga.
Kapag maikli ang kumot, tumangkad ka na!
No man is an island because time is gold.
Hindi lahat ng kumikinang ay ginto...muta lang yan.
Kapag ang puno mabunga...mataba ang lupa!
When it rains...it floods.
Pagkahaba haba man ng prusisyon...mauubusan din ng kandila.
Ang buhay ay parang gulong, minsan nasa ibabaw minsan nasa... vulcanizing shop.
Pag may isinuksok, may ipuputok.
Pag may isinuksok, isuksok mo pa, harder!
Batu-bato sa langit, ang tamaan...sapul.
Try and try until you succeed...or else try another.
Ako ang nagsaing... iba ang kumain. Diet ako eh.
Huwag magbilang ng manok kung alaga mo ay itik.
Kapag maiksi na ang kumot, bumili ka na ng bago.
If you can't beat them, shoot them.
An apple a day...is too expensive.
An apple a day, makes seven apples a week.
An apple a day cannot be an orange a week.

I guess the aforementioned article (in the preceding blog post) isn't the only thing The New York Times has to say about the current state of Philippine affairs.

This editorial from the April 5 edition of the same publication paints a less than rosy picture of the current administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who is portrayed to be a Ferdinand Marcos in the making.

What do you think?

Dark Days for Philippine Democracy
Editorial, The New York Times, April 5, 2006

Filipinos thought they had put an end to electoral chicanery and governmental intimidation when they overthrew the Marcos dictatorship two decades ago. Unfortunately, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has completely lost touch with the ideals that inspired that 1986 "people power" movement.

Mrs. Arroyo is no Ferdinand Marcos, at least not yet. But this onetime reformer is reviving bad memories of crony corruption, presidential vote-rigging and intimidation of critical journalists. Unless the Philippine Congress and courts find ways to rein in her increasingly authoritarian tendencies, democracy itself may be in danger.

This was not the outcome people expected five years ago when Mrs. Arroyo, then the vice president, was swept into power on a wave of popular discontent with her discredited predecessor, Joseph Estrada. In those days, Mrs. Arroyo, a professional economist, was seen as an earnest reformer. She won further credit by pledging not to run for a new six-year term in 2004.

But then she changed her mind, and her style of government as well. Her narrow re-election victory became tainted after a tape revealed her discussing her vote totals with an election commissioner while ballots were still being counted. She survived an impeachment attempt over that incident. But she was forced to send her husband into exile over charges that he took bribes from gambling syndicates.

Earlier this year she briefly declared a state of emergency in response to allegations of a coup threat that others disputed. Since then she has been intensifying pressure on a wide range of political critics and especially on the press. Government officials have warned news outlets that they will be held to restrictive new guidelines, the justice secretary talks darkly about a journalistic watch list, and the staff members of a well-known center for investigative journalism have been threatened with sedition charges. No Philippine government has made such efforts to muzzle the press since the Marcos era.

President Bush has repeatedly hailed Mrs. Arroyo as an important ally against international terrorism. He now needs to warn her that by undermining a hard-won democracy, she is making her country far more vulnerable to terrorist pressures.

This article in the April 3, 2006 edition of The New York Times tackles the Philippine government's attempts in suppressing press freedoms, comparable to the loss of similar freedoms under 20 years of the Marcos dictatorship.

Now even the international community is starting to take notice.

Are we truly going back to the way it was before?

The Philippines Wages a Campaign of Intimidation Against Journalists
By Seth Mydans, The New York Times, April 3, 2006

MANILA, the Philippines — The Philippine news media, among the most exuberant and freewheeling in Asia, are coming under serious government pressure for the first time since the rule of Ferdinand Marcos more than 20 years ago.

Along with hints that the government may restrict public assembly, the campaign against the press strikes at the heart of the freedoms won in 1986 when Mr. Marcos was driven from the presidency by a popular uprising.

The pressure involves warnings, watch lists, surveillance, court cases, harassment lawsuits and threats of arrest on charges of sedition. No members of the press have been arrested, although three journalists have been charged with rebellion. No news outlets have been shut down, although troops surrounded several television stations for more than a week recently.

Journalists say the situation is particularly unnerving because of the uncertainty of what is happening or may happen to them.

"I have a number of people on my list," Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said in a recent television interview. "We are studying them."

This aggressive posture follows a one-week state of emergency imposed on Feb. 24 by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in response to what she said was a coup attempt involving an array of enemies who have been calling for her resignation.

Since then, the police have broken up several gatherings that were seen as critical of the president and have briefly detained some participants.

The gatherings included an annual celebration of International Women's Day on March 8, in which a congresswoman who opposes Mrs. Arroyo was detained, in the words of the police, "to get her out of harm's way."

They included a mock beauty pageant in which each contestant was to be made up with a mole on her face in imitation of Mrs. Arroyo.

They also included something that at first seemed like a joke — small weekly protests at which participants did nothing more than buy a cup of coffee at Starbucks. The protesters got away with that one, but on March 19, the same group was dispersed by the police while walking through a park wearing T-shirts reading "Out Now," an evident reference to the president.

Officials have spoken of intelligence they received about planned gatherings in the same manner they have talked about monitoring reporters — vaguely, seemingly counting on the uncertainty to be more intimidating.

The director of the National Police, Gen. Arturo Lomibao, has told news outlets that they must conform to certain unspecified standards, which it will be up to the government to interpret on a case-by-case basis.

He referred to a new catchall regulation that bans "actions that hurt the Philippine State by obstructing governance including hindering the growth of the economy and sabotaging the people's confidence in government and their faith in the future of this country."

Apparently, the goal of all this is to promote self-censorship, said Maria Ressa, senior vice president for news and public affairs at the ABS-CBN Broadcasting Network, the nation's largest.

"It's crazy," she said. "You don't know what's happening but you feel they can move on you at any time."

Ms. Ressa has been a leader in demanding clarification of the government's policies toward the press and in filing a class-action lawsuit to bar prior restraint.

"There is definitely fear and uncertainty," she said. "When government officials say, 'We have the power to shut you down, we have the power to look at your content,' it's intimidation."

Editors and news directors say they have prepared for possible searches or arrests by backing up computer files, setting aside bail money and instructing their staff members on their legal rights if the police enter their offices.

The government has singled out in its threatening statements the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, a small, aggressive group of journalists led by Sheila S. Coronel, a prominent journalist.

The center's exposés of corruption, presented during congressional impeachment hearings, helped bring down Mrs. Arroyo's predecessor, Joseph Estrada.

Government officials have said they may charge Ms. Coronel and members of her staff with sedition, but they are imprecise about who may be charged and on what evidence.

"It's very insidious," Ms. Coronel said. "They say they are studying filing sedition charges. They say they have lists, but they don't say who is on them. This is not how the game should be played. We know our rights, and we should not be harassed by psychological pressure."

Ms. Coronel was one of a group of young women who were reporters and became well known for defying Mr. Marcos in the early 1980's, a time when journalists were being harassed and arrested.

"People went to prison, people died for this freedom," Ms. Coronel said, "and if you give it up it is a betrayal of all the sacrifices that people have made in the past, people I know personally. It really makes me mad."

There was a little boy visiting his grandparents on their farm. He was given a slingshot to play with out in the woods. He practiced in the woods, but he could never hit the target. Getting a little discouraged, he headed back for dinner.

As he was walking back he saw Grandma's pet duck. Just out of impulse, he let the slingshot fly, hit the duck square in the head, and killed it.

He was shocked and grieved. In a panic, he hid the dead duck in the wood pile, only to see his sister watching! Sally had seen it all, but she said nothing.

After lunch the next day Grandma said, "Sally, let's wash the dishes." But Sally said, "Grandma, Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen." Then she whispered to him, "Remember the duck?" So Johnny did the dishes.

Later that day, Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing and Grandma said, "I'm sorry but I need Sally to help make supper." Sally just smiled and said," Well that's all right because Johnny told me he wanted to help." She whispered again, "Remember the duck?" So Sally went fishing and Johnny stayed to help.

After several days of Johnny doing both his chores and Sally's he finally couldn't stand it any longer. He came to Grandma and confessed that he had killed the duck.

Grandma knelt down, gave him hug, and said, "Sweetheart, I know. You see, I was standing at the window and I saw the whole thing. But because I love you, I forgave you. I was just wondering how long you would let Sally make a slave of you."

Thought for the day and every day thereafter:

Whatever is in your past, whatever you have done -- and the devil keeps throwing it up in your face (lying, doubt, fear, hatred, anger, unforgiveness, bitterness, etc.) Whatever it is, you need to know that God was standing at the window and He saw the whole thing; He has seen your whole life. He wants you to know that He loves you and that you are forgiven. He's just wondering how long you will let the devil make a slave of you.

The great thing about God is that when you ask for forgiveness, He not only forgives you, but He forgets - It is by God's Grace and Mercy that we are forgiven.

Go ahead and make the difference in someone's life today.

Share this with a friend and always remember... God is at the window!

Thanks to Rain for this one.

My son thinks highly of me. Really.

A man and his wife were having an argument about who should brew the coffee each morning. The wife said, "You should do it, because you get up first, and then we don't have to wait as long to get our coffee." The husband said, "You are in charge of cooking around here and you should do it, because that is your job, and I can just wait for my coffee." Wife replies, "No, you should do it, and besides, it is in the Bible that the man should do the coffee." Husband replies, "I can't believe that, show me." So she fetched the Bible, and opened the New Testament and showed him at the top of several pages that it indeed says.......... "HEBREWS"

Might as well get it out of the way. F.E.A.R. is the best first-person shooter I have played since Half-Life 2. And you know what? It may just even be better.

Developed by Monolith Productions, who also developed other well known first-person shooters such as the Blood series, Shogo: Mobile Armored Division, and TRON 2.0, F.E.A.R., which stands for First Encounter Assault Recon, boasts state-of-the-art graphics and sound, astounding gameplay, a compelling storyline, and the right amount of thrills and scares.

In it you play an unnamed F.E.A.R. operative given the mission of hunting down a telepathic commander by the name of Paxton Fettel who has escaped custody. Under his control are a battalion of clone soldiers determined to stop you at all cost. But if you think this game is nothing but your run-of-the-mill run and gun shooter, you are sadly mistaken.

What makes this game unique among other first-person shooters is the use of certain elements from movies such as The Ring or The Grudge which lends the story a touch of the paranormal and provides moments of sheer terror that would literally make you jump back with fright. Truth be told, such elements have become staples in the movie world, but among first-person shooters, this is the first game to make use of such plot devices. In F.E.A.R., you will encounter visions of a mysterious little girl throughout the duration of the game. The connection between the apparitions/hallucinations and the story will be revealed by the end of the game, and the desire to learn how the story turns out can be a very powerful inducement to complete the game. The twist at the end can be compared to something perhaps written by M. Night Shyamalan. Of course, I'm not telling you what it is. You have to find out for yourself.

As far as gameplay is concerned, it plays pretty much like any standard first-person shooter, though there are certain differences which set this game apart from others in the same genre. One is the use of SlowMo in which the entire game world slows down in order to simulate the main characters' enhanced reflexes. It is somewhat similar to the bullet time trick used in the Max Payne series, only rendered in the first-person point of view. Second is an enhanced melee mode. While other first-person shooters allow you to use your drawn weapon to bash enemies, F.E.A.R. goes one further by also allowing you to holster your drawn weapon, and by pressing a combination of buttons to make intricate martial arts moves.

F.E.A.R. also features what is perhaps the most sophisticated AI in a first person shooter. Enemy movements are highly coordinated, truly simulating the efficiency of highly trained soldiers. They seek cover when under fire, use grenades, and talk to each other via radio (which you can hear). A single enemy soldier spotting you (or even the glare of your flashlight) can alert other enemy soldiers of your presence. If you stand still they will flank you, and if you wipe out the majority of members in a squad you will hear remaining members call out for reinforcements. Suffice it to say that the enemy AI is one of the best I've ever seen.

As far as eye candy is concerned, F.E.A.R. uses the Lithtech: Jupiter EX graphics engine and provides some of the best game visuals in recent memory, easily a match for such other notable games such as Doom 3 (using the graphics engine of the same name) and Half-Life 2 (which uses the Source engine). Indeed, the Lithtech: Jupiter EX engine seems to combine the best traits of the Doom 3 and Source engines, the lighting and shadowing prowess of the former and the enhanced real world physics of the latter. The results are incredibly realistic surface texturing, particularly on walls, lighting and shadowing, which strongly mimic how light actually behaves, and physics which dramatically portray interactivity with various real world objects. Of course, you'll need a fairly new computer to generate all this, at least a 1.7 GHz CPU, 512 MB of RAM, and a GeForce 4 Ti or Radeon 9000. I got through the game pretty well (very good framerates) with a somewhat antiquated Athlon XP 2400+ with a GeForce 6800LE and 1.5 GB of RAM.

And then there's the sound. I've had a Sound Blaster Audigy (an original Audigy 1, the inexpensive Digital Entertainment Special Edition variant) in my computer hooked up to 5.1 speakers for at least three years now, and this is the first game that I've played that actually makes the most of my audio setup without any issues whatsoever. It exploits my sound card's ability to run the EAX Advanced HD standard, which provides awesome sound effects and highly realistic 3D positioning. EAX support on other games isn't as transparent as it is in this game, case in point is the very annoying stuttering in Half-Life 2 or the significant performance hit or the occassional freeze (at least in my case) when enabling EAX in Battlefield 2. In F.E.A.R., the sound is so good that you feel totally immersed in the environment you're in. The sound is just that realistic. And I'm just using a plain vanilla Audigy sound card. I wonder how much better the game would sound if I were using a Sound Blaster X-Fi, which is the recommended sound card for F.E.A.R..

I guess by now you have gotten that point. F.E.A.R. is just that good. If you're into first-person shooters, you can't let this game slip by.

It was rated "Editor's Choice" by reknowned gaming web sites and publications such as GameSpy, GameSpot, and PC Gamer. It was also awarded "Best Story" in GameSpy's 2005 Game of the Year awards, and "Best Graphics" and "Best Technology" at the 2006 Imagina Game Awards. And it deserves each and every one of those accolades. You just have to play it to believe it.

And when you do play it, you're in for the scare of your life. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Last week I finally decided to get rid of almost twenty year-old air conditioner installed in my study. That air conditioner was virtually useless and was left there just to plug up the hole in the wall. It sounds and vibrates like a badly maintained diesel engine when turned on, and it hasn't blown a gust of cool air in more than four years. In addition, it was being used as a passage of sorts by rodents, judging by the amount of mouse droppings in the immediate area.

The problem was that the area surrounding the air conditioner was surrounded by tons of books, magazines, documents, boxes, and all sorts of knick knacks. There was even a tall shelf blocking access to unit, that I had to manhandle just to get out of the way.

Of course, moving stuff won't just do. I had to clean up the area as well, leading to the disposal of tons of refuse and old stuff that was just eating up space. With a rag in hand (and fear of leptospirosis at the back of my mind) I had to wipe down virtually all of the shelf spaces and flat areas which were just filthy with mouse poo and pee. It took about two days, but I got the job done.

After using a number of nails, some 1" x 2" x 8' and 2" x 3" by 8' lumber, and some kitchen sponges cut into strips, the new air conditioner, a 1 HP Samsung AW09P1HBA (the cheapest 1 HP air conditioner that I could find) was finally installed and working. Sometimes I wonder why it took so long before I decided to get a new air conditioner. I bought a lot of internal fans for my computer just to get the CPU temperature to hover at around 48-49 degrees. With an air conditioner, the CPU temperature hovers at around 41. Should have saved myself the trouble and put the computer in an air conditioned room to begin with.

In the aftermath of the cleanup and installation, I have an aching body from moving and lifting stuff, not to mention the air conditioner itself, and an assortment of various small wounds on my hands and fingers, and even my fingertips are feeling a bit raw.

All in all, it seems worth it. My study was never as comfortable as it is now. It used to be extremely hot in that room, especially at noon and in the afternoon. The temperature can reach up to the mid 30s or so (Celsius). Now I get temperatures in the low twenties. All with the unit set on low cool and the thermostat only a third of the way. Amazing.

The story ain't over yet. Yesterday, when grocery shopping, the cashier asked me for an ID to validate my credit card with. It was then that I noticed that my driver's license wasn't in my wallet where it was supposed to be. I ended up scouring my room and my car for my driver's license, only to realize that I may have left it at the appliance store where I bought the air conditioner five days earlier. I called them up, and yes, they still had my license.

Well, I drove there and picked up my license, but not without first giving the sales staff a piece of my mind. Imagine, they had my license for five days, had all my personal details on account of my purchase of the air conditioner, and not one of them had the common sense to call me and inform me about my license. Had I not called, they probably wouldn't have told me. And that kinda sucks. They're so quick when it comes to sales, but when it comes to common sense these people are pretty slow. *sigh* I guess I may be getting old myself. I've been driving for five days without even realizing that my license was missing. Found it again though, and that's what's important I guess.

And what happened to the old air conditioner?

It was sold for scrap for about P1,200.00. Not bad for a now useless piece of junk that probably came out of the factory during the Aquino administration.