tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54858462011-04-22T09:03:39.781+12:00Mga kulokabildo ubos sa nasudnong kahoy sa Talisay, Cebu.Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comBlogger631100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1160826014733024152006-10-15T00:19:00.000+13:002006-10-15T00:48:59.663+13:00

Finally we have DSL at home. The PLDT calls it Plan 888 because subscribers pay P888 per month for the service. The cost of the dsl modem is tacked onto the monthly charges for one year so one pays P999 something per month.I still envy my neighbors (siblings of my wife) who are enjoying Globe broadband at a fixed and promo cost of P999 for one year. They've got a full 512kbps connection. Ours is

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1156159351894733762006-08-21T23:22:00.000+12:002006-08-21T23:22:31.900+12:00

I just downloaded the beta of Live Writer. Let's see if this gets through. I tried a long time ago Blog-It. I can't remember now how it works. At Gaisano Tabunok Netopia this afternoon I downloaded videos from Youtube using the services of Keepvid.com. Nice way to download videos. That video by the sons of Bobby Tabibima demonstrating the unarmed version of their arnis is excellent.

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1153535623224795492006-07-22T21:43:00.000+12:002006-08-18T15:10:19.723+12:00

Not all printers are created equal. And in a particular brand, one model may be better than others.But when you are an office worker, you do not have the power of choice. You get what the procurement unit sends you. Or in our case we have to make do with what our central procurement office sends us.Ours is a government office. Procurement of anything is straitjacketed by the procurement law. One

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1146888327209125262006-05-06T15:58:00.000+12:002006-05-06T16:05:27.216+12:00

We have dial-up connection to the Internet at home. Can't afford a DSL :-( The children would shout with joy if they get lucky enough to connect at speed higher than 30kbps if at all. It seems all PLDT subscribers have taken advantage of the unlimited internet access by upgrading one's subcription to PLDT saver. So the scramble to get a connection is the first problem. Next would to get a faster

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1146632129382547482006-05-03T16:37:00.001+12:002006-05-03T16:55:29.456+12:00

Wow, it has been quite sometime since my last post. My son got sick and my mind became unfocused for a while. He is still on medication but he is doing well. He plays basketball with a neighborhood team. OK, they lost their first two games. But nobody expected them to win since they can only meet as a team during competition nights. Most of them have to earn a living during the day. A few are

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1129470607260171772005-10-16T23:36:00.000+13:002005-10-20T18:47:08.766+13:00

My family and I watched Y Speak tonight. The missus has been asking about it tonight ever since she watched the two back-to-back episodes featuring Ryan with Judy Ann and Bianca with Direk. Cayetano.I missed last week's program and therefore missed again Manolo's appearance. Tonight there was Rep. Remulla. Gilbert is a young politician who is worth watching like Rep. Escudero. And I don't mean

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1124027974342842352005-08-15T01:49:00.000+12:002005-08-17T03:46:41.733+12:00

Been very busy lately dogfooding so much so that my blog has been out of date for sometime. But I made it a point to check Manolo's blog everyday to make sure I am up-to-date on the political scene. The Philipine blog scene is still mostly about gloriagate. And Manolo still lists me in his blog. For that alone, I think I need to make an entry periodically. But this dogfooding thing is leaving me

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1122092060865337712005-07-23T16:06:00.000+12:002005-07-24T14:47:29.583+12:00

I was meaning to ask MLQ3 about what books he have read which would at least make me understand why he could write such penetrating articles in the Inquirer, that Arab paper, and of course his blog.I never got to it because the next time I read his blog he was writing about books he owned, read or has been reading. Six hundred books or so on his present bookshelf. I ate my heart out! I

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1121087117602795212005-07-12T00:42:00.000+12:002005-07-12T01:13:19.716+12:00

Well, OK, I've been very busy reading and following Manolo's (MLQ3) blog about gloriagate I've forgotten my own. Anyway I think there are enough arguments about this issue, so I'll just clam up on it. I'll talk instead about the terrible traffic between my community and Cebu City.But first just a few words on Manolo's blog. As usual he is very well informed and analytic in his dissection of the

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1118584477494904752005-06-13T01:47:00.000+12:002005-06-13T02:10:07.826+12:00

Independence day parade? "Correct", to imitate Kris Aquino.This afternoon I joined our office contingent at the Independence Day parade in Cebu City. All national agencies with offices in the city sent, or were expected to send, a contingent. Even the provincial government sent a group because the capitol is located in the city.The Independence Day parade, as usual, was spearheaded by the City

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1116945085663184932005-05-25T02:22:00.000+12:002005-05-25T02:31:25.670+12:00

I put off voicing my thoughts on this matter because I thought wise minds will prevail. But the Provincial Board of Cebu has just passed a resolution in favor of the bills now in Congress to divide Cebu into three provinces. A favorable resolution by a Provincial Board is usually what Congress awaits before it acts on any bill affecting a certain province. The bills filed separately by three

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1116063880531650792005-05-14T16:37:00.000+12:002005-05-17T00:58:19.930+12:00

There were two very effective resource persons at the VOW seminar I attended. They have surely mastered the art of keeping each session alive. There was no time to get out a yawn as they interspersed every session with several activities that get everyone off their chairs. Motivation was the name of their game. The seminar was mainly about motivating us government employees onward to greater

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1114605132289391122005-04-28T00:27:00.000+12:002005-04-28T00:32:12.293+12:00

This is kind of late. The Schiavo affair is no longer news but her story reminds me of my mother.Mother developed goiter while young. When she retired from teaching her goiter was already worse. She had other ailments bothering her. But it was her goiter that finally caused her death.The goiter became cancerous. After some time her breathing became difficult because the lump in her throat was

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1113106510118636892005-04-10T11:05:00.000+12:002005-04-10T16:20:01.580+12:00

I came out of a five-day Values Orientation Workshop last week. VOW is mandated for all government employees. But it is also conducted for private firms by various individuals and groups. Seminars and training have become a flourishing business for many seasoned speakers and facilitators.In our case, our national office, through its in-house training unit, has contracted the services of outside

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1111320366844696022005-03-20T20:15:00.000+12:002005-03-21T00:06:06.846+12:00

I never got to see how Pacquiao was beaten black and blue by Morales. I was watching the undercard over Channel 9 because we do not have cable TV. I knew that being a free TV, Ch 9 had to broadcasts later than cable to accommodate its many advertisers. So when after the undercard the ads seemed to be interminable I begun to suspect that the fight did not go Pacquiao’s way. When I

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1110099541740860032005-03-06T17:39:00.000+13:002005-03-06T22:10:43.756+13:00

I have a small box camera with the brandname Inextron. It is fully manual, if you get what I mean. It does not use any battery. You have to be under a very strong sunlight to shoot with it because it does not have a flash. It has a button that you turn to advance the film one frame. There is nothing to adjust because it has one simple lens.My sister-in-law says she's got two of the same model.

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1108866231734842922005-02-20T15:15:00.000+13:002005-02-20T15:29:41.596+13:00

At 9:30AM today we went to the Talisay City Sports Comples. That's where the Talisay Malayan Academy was holding the culminating activities of the PEHM classes. It was also TMA Day. Since Dodon is in the last year of high school, their CTS performed the opening number: a pass in review.We were late in getting inside the gymnasium. So we were only able to see the final moments of their review.

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1107261044274385372005-02-05T21:24:00.000+13:002005-02-02T01:30:44.273+13:00

Not a cure surely is this vigilante phenomenon now sweeping Cebu City. Dozens of petty hoodlums have been gunned down since December 2004 in many places in the city. One was shot in the dead of the night at his own home while pleading for his life. His toddler child who was sleeping beside him in his small house was also hit by a stray bullet; although not fatally. This is the main problem

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1107260639093078302005-02-01T21:21:00.000+13:002005-02-06T00:33:27.286+13:00

I know this was going to happen. That's why I never got an educational plan for my children. One is now in college. Imagine my heartaches had I obtained a CAP plan for her. When my eldest was born in 1987 I was immediately approached by well-meaning friends, who were moonlighting as CAP counsellors, to get a plan for her. But my mind was already made up then that I would have nothing to do with

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1106916371802164292005-01-29T01:40:00.000+13:002005-02-02T01:21:15.033+13:00

Finally, I got my eCard this morning. Wow, was there a long, thick line at the entrance to SM City at 9AM. I went there together with Alex and Reeza to get our eCards. The crowd at the entrance was getting edgy, all eager to get inside first to have their cards processed. And the eCard staff was already shouting at the people. But we were there only to get our cards which were processed days

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1105965818648682822005-01-18T20:37:00.000+13:002005-01-18T01:43:38.646+13:00

Finally they've cleaned the sidewalk of Tabunok. Gone are the vendors whose merchandise occupy not only the sidewalk but also the side of the streets. But will this continue? I learned this is a project of Vice-Mayor Belleza. Usually a politician has a "soft" heart for sidewalk vendors. He fears the loss of their votes. But this VM has the guts. He won at the last election as an independent. So

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1105251155297277202005-01-09T14:03:00.000+13:002005-01-09T19:12:35.296+13:00

The first week of January is always the busiest in the office what with all those reports. In addition to the monthly, quarterly, and semestral reports there is the annual report to consider. And the annual report is more detailed. These are needed in the Manila office by the 15th of the month. There is also the overtime claims that needed to be encoded. It must reach reach Manila on the 10th.

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1103900131335493862004-12-25T03:42:00.000+13:002004-12-27T18:35:09.793+13:00

The local government has put up signboards in many places on the center island of new and spanking highway that cuts through Talisay City. The signs list down the vehicles prohibited from using the highway: tricycles, bicycles, push carts, animal-drawn carriages. But I counted many of them while taking a hike from the start of the highway near Minglanilla up to the corner in Uldog where I turn

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1103110957160162652004-12-16T20:42:00.000+13:002004-12-16T00:47:12.080+13:00

Tabunok, Talisay City, Cebu. They are constructing a new drainage canal on the left side (as you go towards Cebu City) of the national road across from the Gaisano Tabunok Fiesta Mall. The canal stretches from VECO to the portion across the street from PNB. Over the canal they have placed welded strips of angular bars. Perhaps it was designed to allow rainwater to fall into the canal. My wife

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1102595993157446212004-12-10T22:37:00.000+13:002004-12-10T01:39:53.156+13:00

Some years ago someone was sent by head office to conduct a seminar on 5S. It was then the peak of the 5S mania. Head office spent a big bang to contract an outside company to send their experts not only in Manila but to the branches. The lecturer at our branch happens to be from Lapulapu City but was already based in Manila. One of my co-worker knew the man. He told me he visited the lecturer

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1102432977074457512004-12-08T04:11:00.000+13:002004-12-08T04:31:14.650+13:00

In his blogpost of December 5, 2004 Wretchard talked about the mudslides and flashflood that devastated the eastern coast of Luzon. I posted a comment (mine was the fourth). When I checked back there was a flurry of back-and-forth comments mostly from a handful of posters. Judging from the time lag between comments, that particular posting of Wretchard became almost a live chat room. Since I

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1102249288469064502004-12-06T19:19:00.000+13:002004-12-06T01:24:49.120+13:00

November was unusually busy. I was working on the revised ports location plan for the office as required by head office, during the first week of November. They want a sketch showing the places where a PC port would be installed in the various units of the office for connecting workstations to the network. But some guys, and their department head who outranks the head of the office requiring the

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1098796054893642962004-10-27T21:57:00.001+13:002004-10-29T13:24:09.750+13:00

Imagine there's no heaven . . . and no religion, too. Snippets from my favorite song by John Lennon. Yes, imagine a world with no religion. Then there would be no religious wars. No discrimination and intolerance because of faith or the lack of it. People living as one in a world without borders. Imagine a Palestine with no religion. There would be no Jewish people nor Arabs. Just Palestinians

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1098332871854132252004-10-20T20:20:00.000+13:002004-10-21T17:27:51.853+13:00

Hogging the headlines lately are stories of how military generals amassed wealth while in office and lived happily ever after. Many are asking how generals with a salary of just over 30T can build houses and send their children abroad to study. My question is why on earth is a general receiving only that salary with all the responsibilities that he has. The unit chiefs of the GOCCs receive more

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1097927180792942592004-10-17T20:39:00.000+13:002004-10-22T13:18:55.456+13:00

Finally got to finish reading Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs & Steel. It was a gift from a nephew who returned from a training in the US. Great book. Feels like an update on the Ascent of Man by Jacob Bronowski. Now if I could only get my hands on Richard Dawkin's The Selfish Gene, I'll be very satisfied for the rest of the year. I wish they'll have eBay soon in the Pinas. And we can order books

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1096896216990392932004-10-05T20:14:00.000+13:002004-10-17T00:50:46.760+13:00

Local government executives, mayors especially, seem to push for projects that are highly visible and easy to execute. So we have mayors who would rather built skywalks instread of bridges. Or new city halls. I think a good mayor is one who can build an efficient drainage system or a safe garbage dump. But these are not high profile projects. People rarely visit a dumpsite so most voters won't

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1094879570445020302004-09-10T20:56:00.000+12:002004-09-12T18:34:13.653+12:00

First off, hindi kami sabit diyan. In our office only the officers (above salary grade 19) are exempted from the salary standardization law. So how big their salaries are is of no moment to us except as a source of continuous envy and despair. :-( The usual reason given when some government entities are exempted from the salary standardization law is to make their salaries competitive with the

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1094274759241342002004-09-04T17:54:00.000+12:002004-09-04T17:16:35.926+12:00

Dean Jorge has vanished into the ethernet. And Steven Den Beste looks like he's parking his journalistic pen. Only Sassy is still prolific. But then she said it's what she does for a living. Me, I am just to busy. I am only halfway through Guns, Germs and Steel. I know, I know I should have read this long ago. But I am not rich so I was waiting for the Book Sale or RSO (another second book

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1092490880399156162004-08-15T13:34:00.000+12:002004-08-17T21:53:04.146+12:00

When it rains our village road turns muddy. The road connects the community we call Gardenan to the main road where the PUJs pass. On dry days I can walk to the main road. But when it's a mud day I have to ride on a trisikad (a bike with a side-car for 2 passengers). Or I can walk as long as I use rubber shoes. (I have a spare leather shoes at the office. Nice, uh!) Most of the time I do this

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1092051872843182092004-08-09T19:42:00.000+12:002004-08-09T23:44:32.843+12:00

Whenever I hear those demonstrators call for scrapping the oil deregulation law I can only shake my head. I think they are only mouthing those lines without really understanding them. To scrap the oil deregulation law means to give back to government the power to set the oil prices. There is only one answer to those who clamor for government control over oil price or on any price: it will

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1090727732791091242004-07-25T15:52:00.000+12:002004-08-15T01:54:53.186+12:00

The main benefit from the pull-out of our troops from Iraq is that the Philippines will learn to chart its destiny independent of the USA. That is if our leaders will hew a straight course from hereon. We already started on that way when the Americans pulled out their bases. I have always believed that we should celebrate our independence day from the time the Phil. Senate voted against the Phil

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1090035260349825312004-07-17T15:08:00.000+12:002004-07-18T14:07:58.276+12:00

There is no doubt that the government should do everything in order to save Angelo dela Cruz from his kidnappers. In fact it should be doing everything to protect any of our OCWs. But capitulating to the demand of the kidnappers should not have been an option. From the start I was opposed to the US invasion because it was premised on the presence of WMD. The US government brazenly lied just to

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1089332634012040262004-07-09T20:11:00.000+12:002004-07-09T12:23:54.013+12:00

This morning I was about to cross the street corner that was next to our office. It was already about 3 minutes before my punch-in time. I was not usually this late, but the jeepney I rode in had a minor accident. I was on the left side of the intersection and the traffic was on a left turn. Therefore the pedestrian light was red. People just the same were crossing while dodging vehicles on a

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1089179747044610642004-07-06T17:52:00.000+12:002004-08-15T01:56:55.506+12:00

This essay was inspired by Sassy's blog post which elicited some very heated comments. Basically she said that it is wrong to "bask in the reflective glory" of one's nationality or country of birth or origin. It seems that some are arrogant just because they were born in a rich country or happened to be light of skin. This is my take on the subject. Every May 28 I hang a big Philippine flag

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1088822377382081702004-07-03T14:33:00.000+12:002004-08-15T01:58:22.133+12:00

CEBU CITY - - They are called dispatser from the English word dispatcher. You know those people who bark the destination of a passenger jeepney or buses. Formerly they are found only where jeepneys or buses are parked while waiting for the seats to be filled up. They collect a variable amount from each jeepney that starts on its way, depending on the number of people who took the ride while he

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1088305455366724342004-06-27T14:50:00.000+12:002004-07-08T19:44:20.133+12:00

The overused alibi when government executives fail the lifestyle check is that they inherited a fortune from their parents. No problem with that. What's interesting is when their parents also used to work with the government! How did the parents get to amass a fortune? That is the problem. It is patriotic when heirs of rich families render service to the nation by working in the government where

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1088061628939103332004-06-24T20:28:00.000+12:002004-06-24T19:38:34.946+12:00

I think it is much like "damning with faint praise" when simple acts of honesty makes it to the news. Today in my favorite newspaper is a photo of a government bureaucrat getting awarded for returning something that did not belong to him/her. If the award was done by an independent organization, say my favorite newspaper, it would have been a commentary that being honest is spectacular in our

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1087025234102756672004-06-12T19:14:00.001+12:002004-06-13T17:08:22.106+12:00

Our office recently made it an official policy to use Arial in all documents in the office. Personally, I have always preferred Times New Roman or its equivalent in printed document. As a compulsiv reader and, once upon a time, an in-house newsletter executive editor I am inclined towards the serif fonts for the body of my documents. Sans-serif would be appropriate for titles and subheads.

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1086654186198998422004-06-07T20:17:00.000+12:002004-06-10T12:04:04.776+12:00

Many often compare the pace of our election count to that of India. Theirs was done in a week's time. This is one more reason for a parliamentary form of government. Without counting the votes for the President, our elections have long been over. We already have in place our senators, congressmen and local government officials. So let's get cracking towards the parliamentary form. Although,

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1086237304037228532004-06-02T20:29:00.000+12:002004-06-04T15:47:06.820+12:00

Conrado de Quiros, my favorite PDI columnist (beside Manolo Quezon and, prior to his banishment to blogosphere, Dean Jorge Bocobo) writes again today about our professionals abandoning our beloved country for the American Dream and other greener pastures. He says that Singapore's, Malaysia's and Thailand's doctors and engineers do not ask what work they can find in the West. They ask what

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1086135270126574052004-05-27T12:02:00.000+12:002004-06-03T16:29:36.756+12:00

Passed around in the Internet like a chain-letter is the commencement speech of Mr. Gokongwei. It is interesting not only because Mr. Gokongwei is a fellow Cebuano but because he suggests that we ought to be enterpreneurs like him. His speech make it seems easy to be one. But reality hurts. The government looks bent on placing all barriers for anyone who wishes to set up his own business.

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1085098688383536102004-05-21T20:07:00.000+12:002004-05-22T00:39:44.270+12:00

My sister who is the OIC of the school district of our town served on the Board of Canvassers as Chairman (I may be wrong here about the terminologies). Before the election both rival groups accused her of favoring the other side. The incumbent Mayor of the town was my classmate in the grade school and a friend. But since I now lived in the city, I couldn't vote for her. Which I think is a good

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1083234874852425022004-04-29T19:32:00.000+12:002004-05-04T12:21:49.186+12:00

Election Fraud Onli in da Pilipins? Read This!! My grandfather was the Vice-Mayor of our town in Northern Cebu ever since I could remember. He was a personal friend of the acknowledged political warlord that time, and therefore was with him even as the warlord jumped from one party to the other. Now, everyone knows how political warlords in the 60's and 70's clung to their power. They used the

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1080974708117889102004-03-16T19:42:00.000+13:002004-05-22T00:40:35.653+12:00

Why is a college education and civil service eligibility required for appointment to most government offices and none is required of a President or of other elective positions? The question is usually a loaded one. Most of the time the person asking means, "Hey, I got this MBM or PhD from [fill in the name of a university here]. I am better equipped to be Mayor, Governor or President than this

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1076547848195062892004-02-12T13:55:00.000+13:002004-06-10T12:09:39.996+12:00

Our elites are at it again. They are spewing venomous criticism against the poor, the uneducated, the unwashed masses. If you identify yourself with FPJ you're an idiot. We need someone with a PhD, an LlB, etc. But where is the track record of those with letters after their names? And they spout about the need for a strong leader in the country; the likes of Lee Kuan Yew, Mahathir, etc.

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1076470552441082042004-02-11T16:14:00.000+13:002004-02-12T13:56:47.763+13:00

Early lunches: one sign of non-competitive states Ralph Peters in his article "Spotting Losers: Seven Signs of Non-Competitive States" said: "If you are seeking a worthy ally or business opportunity, go to a mid-level government office in Country X an hour before the local lunchtime. If everyboy is busy with legitimate work, you've hit a winner. If there are many idle hands, get out." Sounds

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1074817432918250692004-01-23T13:18:00.000+13:002004-06-10T12:07:55.770+12:00

How many times does one hear from people who have just became new grandparents about how dearer a grandchild is compared to their own children? I used to think that way. I grew up with my grandparents. When my children were toddlers I used to remind them not to destroy the comics I bought for them since I was really saving them up for their children. Now I think otherwise. And I know why

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1073264777282449772004-01-05T13:50:00.000+13:002006-10-15T00:18:09.736+13:00

Parliamentary is best option for the PhilippinesProponents of the parliamentary system in the Philippine setting would claim the following:1. There is no more gridlock in the passage of bills.2. There is continuity in government programs. In the presidential system once there is a new sitting president, all projects started in the previous administration grounds to a halt.3. The system is suited

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1071297038987358102003-12-13T19:14:00.000+13:002004-02-23T18:30:26.560+13:00

Eat Your Hearts Out HO people One time, a mid-level executive from Manila HO visited our Cebu office. He was quite impressed by the way he was treated by my office mate. He told the secretary of our boss in so many words, "Itong si . . . parang aral-Maynila." He might be from the big city. But he was exhibiting a gigantic proportion of provincialism. My officemate happens to be from Dumaguete;

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1069985903518785612003-11-28T15:14:00.000+13:002003-11-28T22:16:28.310+13:00

Politician vs. Bureaucrat People are always complaining about dirty politics and greedy politicians. Well, here is their chance to have a non-politician President. You know who I meant. So what if he is only a high school dropout? We chose a housewife to kick out a tyrant. The greatest-ever president we had was only a mechanic. We elected a movie actor but the "bright" among us couldn't abide

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1064380660155323882003-09-24T16:42:00.000+12:002003-09-25T14:57:43.236+12:00

Absentee-voting and dual citizenship laws: failure from conception In their hope to earn some "pogi" points among Filipinos working or living abroad, our legislators enacted two laws. One law would give overseas Filipinos the right to vote. The other one would allow them to reacquire their Filipino citizenship. Hopefully, those "pogi" points would also translate into votes for those who

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1062732659842480182003-09-05T15:30:00.000+12:002003-09-05T15:33:29.776+12:00

Why is our country in such a mess? I am always sad when I hear even decent people say "Mao gyod tang mga Pinoy" when discussing the poverty of our country. A long time ago, some journalist by the name of Fallows stirred a hornet's nest among the Philippine leadership when he concluded that the underdevelopment of the country is due to its damaged culture. But what about the success of

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1058954730473647332003-07-23T22:05:00.000+12:002006-04-21T00:36:01.780+12:00

The fish lapulapu, as it is known in Luzon, is called pugapo in Cebu. In the olden times, however, it was known as kugtong when it matured into a size big enough to swallow a man. So how did it become the namesake of our hero? Thereby hangs a tale.When the Spanish expedition commanded by the Portuguese Magellan came to Sugbo (now Cebu; from Sugbo to Cebu will be another story), he befriended

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1057732491303555472003-07-09T18:34:00.000+12:002003-07-09T20:28:49.370+12:00

Seminar, training, workshop Our office spends a lot sending office workers to Head Office for seminars and training; most of the time in MS Office. I bought a book on WordPerfect decades ago and mastered word processing in no time at all. Thanks to Que publishing. I also bought a book on Multimate Advantage because it was being installed in the office computers. But multimate was soon set

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1057019669444611182003-07-01T12:34:00.000+12:002004-07-04T01:35:04.753+12:00

Every working day, at around 8 o'clock AM I can see my co-workers in my department gathering in front of a religious icon and loudly praying. It usually takes them 15 minutes to finish. In another department, prayer starts at 8:30. So they get to start working when it is almost 9. The Boss says these prayers ought to be done before or after office hours. But it seems he could not say it aloud

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1056602939180961652003-06-26T16:48:00.000+12:002004-07-04T01:36:03.733+12:00

I remember my earlier days living in a place not far from the downtown area. I have to stand on something in order to look over the fence and see people or vehicles passing by the street. When the aphalt road would be full of potholes, some private engineering contractor would be paid by the city to lay another layer of asphalt. After ten years of these process, the street level has gone up so

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1056430689275845892003-06-24T21:58:00.000+12:002004-07-04T01:37:26.830+12:00

Based on personal experience, the paperless office is a non-reality. When computers started to arrive at our office in 1993 (I know, I know we were too late. More on that later.) Many thought it would mean a decrease in paper consumption. The opposite held true. I now have more than double the amount of waste paper stacked in the shelves of my old typing table. Only one side has been used. So

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5485846.post-1055814347150820512003-06-17T13:45:00.000+12:002004-07-04T01:43:45.996+12:00

Testing. Testing. Corny, isn't it? I've been on the web since 1995 but something new pops up from nowhere every now and then. Like this blog thing. Let's see if an old man is ready to learn something new. Note: I am on sick leave today. And I stumbled on this blog thing through the blog of Dean J.

Rank Meridanoreply@blogger.com