Traffic Enforcers Cause Traffic

Couldn’t think of a wittier title but that pretty much sums it up.

I was taking JP Rizal on the way to work this morning.  Traffic was moderately slow, as it usually is, owing to the large number of jeepneys who don’t really care where they park their old rustbuckets. They must all be blind on the right eye because they can’t stick to one lane and don’t seem to be able to stop their jeeps near the curb without blocking at least two lanes, yet they are able to forcefully swerve and cut onto the left, even against oncoming traffic, with relative ease.  I don’t know what it is with that road but taxis and private cars also seem to like taking their sweet time driving along it.  Anyway, there was no police officer or traffic enforcer in sight which is not surprising given that they have a habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time and never being where you need them to be.  I guess they realised that JP Rizal was a lost cause.

After significant frustration and horn-honking, I was able to make my way to South Avenue which, unfortunately, wasn’t any better.  Traffic was backed-up almost all the way to JP Rizal, and the only reason was that the cars on South Avenue couldn’t cross Kalayaan Avenue because the jeepneys, this time traversing Kalayaan, would not give way.  It would have been good to have some sort of law enforcement in that area but, like I said, it seems like they are repelled by the distinct possibility of contributing to society.

Obviously, I was able to make my way across Kalayaan through to the end of South Avenue where it meets with the inexplicable intersection of Ayala, Kamagong, Jupiter and Zobel Roxas.  It’s that intersection where they were supposed to put up some ambulatory care center but a BPI sprung up instead.  How dubious is that?  It’s that intersection where Kamagong becomes Ayala, Jupiter becomes Zobel Roxas, Ayala becomes South Avenue. Anyway, at that intersection, I had to turn right into Zobel Roxas, drive straight past the Total station and make a left on Sacred Heart and make another immediate left on Kamagong to get to Ayala Avenue.  This pretty much where all hell broke lose and, guess what, there were no less than six Mapsa officers in the area with four of them just bumbling around, not to mention that the Makati police station is just around the corner.

Anyway, the intersection of doom was in a virtual grid-lock and the boys in yellow pretty much couldn’t figure it out.  I mean, it’s tough enough for them to manage your standard two-street intersection, but it must’ve been such a stretch for them to handle that situation that not even six heads could comprehend it.  There was this officer on the Kamagong-Bagtikan intersection who was waving cars on both streets to go.  The four bumbling idiots I previously mentioned were just on the other side of the street, with one of them making the "hurry up" sign - a lot of help in that situation.  To complicate things even further, there was a police car trying to cross from Ayala to South Avenue, even when a car was halfway to making a left from South Avenue to Jupiter, had to force his way through thus causing that particular intersection to jam and hence more traffic ensued.

I happened to live near that area not too long ago and I distinctly remember that intersection was fairly manageable without them.  Despite the undisciplined driving habits of Filipino drivers, they seem to be able to sort things out naturally in traffic.  Only when traffic authorities decide that there’s a traffic problem does a traffic problem actually start to occur.  Only in very specific circumstances is the presence of a traffic officer actually really required.

Philippines to Phase Out Incandescent Bulbs

I can’t believe I’m saying it but kudos to the government for being one of the first countries in the world, and the first in Asia, to take this seemingly big step towards a more environmentally-friendly society.  The incandescent bulb, while having literally changed the world, could arguably be one of the household’s most inefficient appliances (?).  Much like the internal combustion engine, it loses much of the energy it consumes through heat which literally just dissipates into nothingness.

The incandescent bulb is being replaced by the compact fluorescent lamp, a variation of those long glass fluorescent lamp.  They are know to consume less energy for the same amount of light produced as well as last longer than the ordinary incandescent bulb.  Although they are more expensive, it could be argued that the savings from the decrease in energy consumption as well as the longer usable life of the lamps can more than compensate for the cost.  As a side not, many Filipinos believe that Agapito Flores is the true inventor of the fluorescnet lamp, however, there is still a bit of a controversy because several scientists before him had either published or patented the same or similar technology.  It seems to be true however that he received a French patent for the fluorescent lamp which he later on sold to General Electric, which earned millions from the resulting product.  Regardless of who the real or first inventor was, what is important is that we have a more efficient way of generating light.

The government’s move has several advantages on both the short and long term.  In the short term, househoulds will benefit from a general reduction in electricity costs and the strain caused by energy demand will also be impacted positively.  On the long term, the government will be able to reduce the countries greenhouse gas emissions significantly as a result of the lower energy usage.

So, is this goodbye to the light bulb which has changed little since the time of Thomas Edison?  Yes, but not yet.  The phase out is scheduled to be completed in 2010, but until then you can bet that the ordinary light bulb will remain to be one of the most ubiquitous household items.

Read more about it at Big News Network.

System Solutions will not Address Personnel Problems

unless, of course, if it totally replaces the people

amen

Working for a Lemming

Do you ever get that feeling that you’re working for a lemming peeking over a cliff, looking at a plunge into the inevitable?

Dra Josette Biyo - Modern Day Filipina Hero

While some people are straining to get glimpses of the ASF dancers or the EB Babes and others watch with much indifference the daily political comedy that has gripped this society, stories such as that of Dra Josette Biyo fail to get the media mileage they richly deserve.  While the country’s largest networks are spending millions of pesos on their petty bickering and more money is spent on advertising the latest weight-reduction racket, probably much less than the daily allowance a typical La Salle or Ateneo student was spent on the coverage and publication of her proud achievement.

Dra Josette Biyo is the first Asian to have ever won the Intel Excellence in Teaching Award.  More suprisingly, because of this feat, the Massachusetts Institue of Technology named a minor planet after her.  A pebble by cosmic standards, Planet Biyo is only 9 kilometers in diameter and floats in space along the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.  This could very well be a juxstaposition of her identity in the whole of Philippine society, just another pebble amongst many pebbles.

Hailing from Ilo-Ilo, she is a science teacher at their local Philippine Science High School, earning just around 15,000 pesos a month even with her Ph. D in Biology.  Her humble roots belies her achievements, and were it not for displaying her accomplishment at their school’s bulleting board, then her story would have just passed and waned without the credit and attention it truly deserves from the nation.

You can read more about her here.

Choices

If given the choice, where would you rather live and work? Dubai, Hongkong or Singapore?

All three cities are similar in that they are well-developed, cosmopolitan and highly-westernized urban areas which have very high numbers of expatriates and foreign nationals.  Dubai is said to be composed of 90% foreign nationals, 3% of which are Filipinos.  While not nearly as large as that of Dubai, Hongkong and Singapore also have very large expatriate communities.

Off-hand, Hongkong and Singapore appear to be very similar as they are both Southeast Asian megacities with predominantly Chinese heritage.  Hongkong, however, strikes me as a little darker, stressful and maybe even a little dirtier.  I guess the tight streets and heavy crowds lend much to this outlook.  Singapore, on the other hand, seems cleaner and lighter, more carefree.  As workplaces, both cities are known for workaholics, where success and money are the ultimate priorities.  But, I guess, the same could be said for most, if not all, places in the world, at least when it comes to our highest priorities. 

Both Hongkong and Singapore are already mature markets with economies whose size do not accurately reflect that of the cities that generate it.  These cities do not sleep, and literally the only difference between day and night is the sun.

Dubai, in comparison, has the advantage of being a one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.  In that, it is an exciting place to be at this time.  It has come a long way from its dependence on oil.  It is now a leading tourist destination with some of the planet's most daring and unusual construction projects.  I would go so far as saying that Dubai is a resort-city.  Having no taxes makes Dubai an instantly attractive destination.  It is also known to have a very relaxed and carefree attitude towards work, but that's just word-of-mouth.

A Belated Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year

goodness

great, they just shut down the entire building.  first it was the exit to the walkway, then the ayala entrance and then paseo and, now finally, the whole building is closed. goodness..

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck

So, it's another fucking coup in the making.  How the fuck was Trillanes able to walk out of that courtoom without being shot, or at the very least molested by the guards.  Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.  We all know who gets affected by these utterly stupid and moronic political rackets - the middle-class, the fucking working people who make this fucking country actually fucking work.  All this politicking and war-mongering makes me sick.  It's not as if the poor really care about these things, they have nothing invested in this country.  They were the ones who voted for this convict anyway.  And the rich and powerful together with these schmucks holed up in that hotel, they all have vested interests and are all very capable of making more money out of this situation.  So, there goes the holidays. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.  I am so leaving this country.

Going Ape

If I descended from any ape, it would most likely have been a bonobo.

For Sale: olympus e500 DSLR

Olympus e500 DSLR
- 8 mega pixels
- 1 GB compact flash
- direct connect to PC using USB, no installation required
- 12 - 24 wide angle lens, great for all around shots
- 40 - 150 zoom lens
- one year old but with one year warranty left
- great ergonomic feel, compact, lightweight
- comes with the box and manual
- no damages, scratches, molds, near brand-new condition
- just scroll down to see the sample shots
- great kit for starters and newbies
- i love this camera but i want to upgrade

asking:  52K negotiable

Access Denied

Shit, access to blogspot, facebook and even multiply has been restricted.  I guess I have to go back to blogging.

The Sith Emperor vs Pope Benedict

  Why is it that whenever I hear or read anything about Pope Benedict, it always seems to be negative?  First it was that time when he made a speech quoting from old Byzantine text which basically referred to Islam as violent and evil.  He said it was taken out of context and misinterpreted but it was a mistake a pope should never make.  Doesn't he have ghost writers or something to tell him what to say?  Then there was that buzz about him wearing red Prada loafers and Gucci glasses, which coincidentally happened during the time when The Devil Wears Prada was released.  Anyway, I don't think there's any Catholic priest out there who actually takes their vow of poverty seriously.  Next he condemns Harry Potter, which we all know is a FICTIONAL CHILDREN'S BOOK.  He should ban the reading of Shakespeare while he's at it, there're a lot of nasty demonic creatures there.  And now, he wants pop and rock to be banned from Church and to return to the Gregorian Chants and old-school choirs - when in fact it was that same boring sh*t that people tried to avoid in the first place.

I honestly don't think he's going to get any street cred for being so damn conservative.  (That right now sound like an oxymoron - a conservative priest wearing Prada?)  I can't help but imagine him being the Sith Emperor in Star Wars, they kind of look the same anyway.

Some things traffic is good for

If it weren't for the daily gut-wrenching traffic on Paseo de Roxas, then I wouldn't have been able to take these pictures.

Oh wow, Christmas is a-coming.

I don’t see how this can be an inconvenience.

LOL

Are they serious?

26

I celebrated my 26th birthday two Tuesdays ago without as much as a hoot.  Twenty-Six is just about the perfect time for someone to say something borne of his realisation of maturity so utterly profound and philosophical, something so deeply existential that it’s beyond his years.  Unfortunately, I don’t have that.  If I did, I would write a book.

If I live to be a hundred years old, then it's the beginning of a new quarter century but if I live only to be fifty, then it's the beginning of a new semester.  Either way, I should be getting some sort of marks for academics and deportment both of which I have not been exceptionally good at, based on my experience with school.  I have only ever been good at things that I really liked, and even then I quite normally get bored easily. 

Personally, I think I should be getting somewhere around B or B+, or around 86 to 92%.  Well, at least in the “academics” part of my life, if we could call it that.  I have a good job that pays well, it’s not the type of job I’ve always wanted but I’ve always said that if you can’t get the job that you like you might as well get a job that pays well enough so that you can do the things that you like.  And it’s done just that.

I’ve travelled a lot, to places that I never even dreamed of going.  My first out of country excursion was to Denmark back in 2002.  Travelling has always been a very satisfying yet surreal experience, whenever I land in unfamiliar territory I always ask myself, “What the hell am I doing here?”  From there I went on to China, Hongkong, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, London and, most recently, Brunei.  I have travelled to more places outside the Philippines than inside.  I have friends that go to Boracay every summer while I fly out twice a year on average.  I would consider myself well-travelled.

I’m pretty much physically fit, or at least above average.  Of all the activities I enjoy, I don’t think I enjoy anything more than sports.  I don’t think there’s any sport I wouldn’t try.  Quite unfortunately, however, there isn’t as much time for it as there used to.  Back in college, I would have Tae Kwon Do training at least twice a week, and on the other days I would play basketball.  Now, all I have is badminton no more than twice a week and intermittent boxing sessions.  I would rather play basketball but all of my friends and those other people I used to play with are always busy or tired.  There’s always no more time.  I think as we grow older, more and more time is spent on work rather than on those things that actually make life meaningful.  And we wonder why people are so miserable.

I hardly consider myself good with people.  For the most part, I think I’m just one of those people that rubs other people the wrong way, one of those people you either just like or don’t like, and you have to be pretty darn tough to like me.  It doesn’t help that I have a fairly straightforward and self-righteous attitude towards meeting people, and I make no real effort at winning anyone’s cockles through wit or charm.  Nevertheless, I should have at least a C+ simply because of the friends I keep. 

Truly, the only real friends I have I met in college, except for maybe one or two I’ve made since then.  Otherwise, I am largely unsatisfied with the type of people I’ve been meeting.  People are mostly either pretentious or base, and the only other people that get along with those are also pretentious or base.  It’s so easy to throw the word “friend” around that it really doesn’t mean anything unless it’s backed up by some real effort.  Even then, most friends only last as long as it’s convenient and practical such as officemates and co-workers whose relationships last only as long their tenure with the company. 

The other truly decent people either have no time for making new friends, just as they might have no time for playing sports, or already have all the friends they need.  Also, they succumb just as well to the lack of convenience and practicality.  At this point, I’m not sure if it’s harder to make friends or to keep them.  It seems that each has its own challenges and pitfalls.  But frankly, I think I spend too little time with my real friends and too much with those who have nothing more to offer than entertainment and company.

There’s no wondering about what more life has to offer in the future.  I suppose one just has to prepare to live it, and maybe write about it again in a few years or at least when there’s something interesting to say about it.

And here are pictures of our inuman at Sidebar.  Good friends, good times.

Arthroscopic Partial Meniscusectomy

I underwent Arthroscopic Partial Meniscusectomy on the lateral meniscus of my right knee last Thursday due to a tear in the cartilage due to an injury I sustained during a game of badminton back in October 2006. 

Menisci are crescent shaped cartilages between the tibia and femur that serve to absorb weight in the knee and provide stability.  The end of the femur basically glides across the menisci whenever the knee is bent forward or backwards.  The tear causes an impediment to this gliding motion, sometimes wedging causing the knee to click or even lock.  Damage to the meniscus does not normally heal as such it is necessary to remove the damaged area, otherwise it may cause additional damage to the cartilage or to the bone in contact.

This illustration shows the different parts of the knee

No damage was obvious at the time of my injury even with an x-ray image, which really only shows that there were no broken bones but fails to show the condition of other tissues, but I had to endure at least a month of significant pain.  I was able to return to my normal activities approximately after two months but it was apparent that my knee was less than it was before.  It became necessary to wear a brace to provide additional stability during sports as I often felt that my knee was “loose”, however there were still instances where I would feel some pain especially during extreme lateral movements.  I would also often feel the knee clicking while walking and when doing stretching exercises, I could not bend it as fully as I could before. 

I first visited Dr Jaime Tamayo in July for my initial check up.  He ordered an MRI, quite an expensive operation, which allowed him to see the damage more precisely.  The MRI results showed that I had a radial tear on the lateral meniscus.

This illustration shows a horizontal cross-section of the knee

This illustration shows the same cross section with two types of tears.  This accurately depicts my injury, a radial tear on the lateral meniscus.

The procedure involved inserting an arthroscope, basically a small camera connected to a tube which can be inserted into a joint through a small incision.  Through a second incision, the doctor inserts another tool to remove and repair the tear.  I have no recollection of the operation because I was sedated during the entire procedure.  I understand an epidural was administered to anesthetize the lower half of my body.  Recovery from the anesthesia was brief was agonizing, due to the uncomfortable feeling of numbness.  As for the knee itself, I felt no significant pain except those caused by the stitches.  I was able to walk as early as 8 hours after the operations.

More information at www.orthspec.com.

I’m scheduled for a follow visit with the doctor in a couple of days but thus far I’ve been able to move the knee with sufficient freedom.

This photo was taken two days after the operation, the sutures can be seen.

Please, no more taxes!!

According to an Article by Iris C Gonzales of ABS-CBN news, "the government is losing P65 billion a year due to the non-issuance of OR".  While "taxes uncollected from self-employed professionals and individuals, meanwhile, amount to about P25.5 billion a year."  What it doesn't specify is whether this or how much of it is a result of poor tax collections procedures and enforcement, corruption and government inefficiency. 

Value Added Tax is an unusual thing because it "penalises" a person for purchasing a product or a service, an activity which is the most basic element of consumption and a driver of the economy.  It's a pass-on tax.  Manufacturers and service providers basically do not pay VAT because any products or services they sell would already have been priced with respect whatever costs, inclusive of VAT, they incurred in their entire operations.  Even the cost of the water their employees drink would have been taken into consideration.  VAT is only paid by consumers, by people who have most likely already also paid income taxes.

It's pretty obvious why people evade taxes by not issuing Official Receipts.  They want to purchase certain products, they need certain services but they are forced to pay more to get it.  A good example are doctor's consultations.  It's a basic medical service which everyone needs, but not everybody can afford.  If you go to get yourself checked, you'll probably get some sort of prescription for medicine.  So, imagine the doctor tells you that you're dying and he hands you a bill for P500 and you only have P550.  You ask for the receipt and he tells you he has to charge additional P50 due to tax and you know that the medicine that will save your life is that exact same amount.  What in heaven's name would you do?  You'd probably not pay the tax.

Where does the government get the gall to expect people to issue everyone receipts when they themselves CANNOT issue appropriate receipt, or even pay on time for services rendered to them.  The government is known, nay, infamous for being a late payer.  My car was once towed in Makati.  When I came to get it, I was issued a photocopy of what was supposed to be a receipt for P1000.  I say, F them.

Income Taxes I have no issue with, because it's sort of a social duty.  It's a way of giving back to society by supporting the government that runs the state.  Income is something tangible that you actually derive from society, thereby tax becomes repayment to society for allowing you to benefit from it.  That is the same reason I support tiering because if you benefit more from the society you live in, you should pay more.  It's sort of like rent, or societal rent, if you occupy more space, then you have to pay more rent.

Department of Finance Margarito Teves aptly said that “we have to continue improving our tax collection" in order to obtain the improvements we wish to see in infrastructure, social services, etc.  Even President GMA was warned NOT to increase taxes just to meet her goals, but to improve collections.  There is no question that improving collections is the key, there's also no question that the economy already has the throughput necessary to generate the necessary taxes to bring this country to and beyond a First World state of development.

The Philippine government is like an internal combustion engine, firstly because it runs the country, but also because it is inefficient.  A regular car engine is just about 25% efficient, releasing the most of rest of the energy in the form of heat and vibrations.  The engine just is not able to completely transfer all of the energy into turning the wheels.  There's just too many mechanical joints, screws, bolts, etc and the energy just goes off in all sorts of directions. 

Our government is just full of it.  I mean inefficiency.  Together with lots of corrupt money-grabbing politicians and other so-called public servants, lack of transparency, nepotism, inappropriate spending, etc, etc, etc - I'd say 25% efficient sounds about just right.  That means, for every P100 you pay in taxes, only P25 will actually be used on society.  I say, F them again.

People have every Goddamn reason not to pay taxes.  We're paying taxes for things that should not be taxed, and even for things that should be taxed, we don't know where it's going.  In fact, just adding taxes will just mean more people will evade.  The worst thing is, the people who actually pay the most taxes, the middle class, will be hit the most.  They're the ones who actually consume those products that have VAT, they're the ones whose incomes get taxed and they're the ones actually running this country. 

I'm really sensitive to taxes because I happen to pay a lot of it, only to be duped and disappointed by the government here and there.  I'm not saying there aren't good people in the government, willing to pull their own weight because even with all its inefficiencies and misdeeds, it's still running - like the inefficient internal combustion engine that it is.  It's just that there aren't enough good people, and there's so much room for improvement.

Slogan Shenanigans

Is it just me or did BPI make some major booboo in their recent ad campaign?

It's funny that one of their most-aired commercials is set on the MRT, about a bunch of people on their way to work dreaming about their futures.  If you didn't know better , you'd think the slogan was for the transportation company who owned the trains.

It seems like such a big budget campaign that it's stupefying how they could've missed that.  Ok, I'm sure somebody's going to say that they did that I'm purpose, but if they did that would make whoever came up with that slogan even more stupid.  It's "further", damn it!

Anyway, it looks like they just decided to own up to their little mistake.  I bet that's only because they'd already spent some major money on it.  OR MAYBE, they still haven't noticed it!! Anyway, I'm pretty sure most people wouldn't even notice.  It's just too bad because I actually liked the concept.