Quaere Verum

Pinoy Watch Fan

2015-12-24T07:06:00.000+08:00

Decided to create a new blog to reflect my new hobby of sorts, which is collecting wristwatches. The new blog is called Pinoy Watch Fan and it features photos and articles of the various watches which find themselves in...or out of my collection.

If you're into wristwatches, please do drop by and let me know what you think. It's still a work and progress though, but I think it's going along nicely.

You can also follow @pinoywatchfan on Twitter.

Cleaning house....

2014-12-20T23:09:00.001+08:00

It's been almost a year since I last posted anything here. Thought I'd clean up this blog a bit, get rid of all the dead links, unprofitable advertising, annoying pop-ups, and what not.

Kinda weird actually.

Hardly no one ever goes here anymore...makes you wonder if it's even worth the effort cleaning this blog up.

Looks a bit dated too...but I really don't foresee myself going back to blogging the way I used to, so there's no point with a redesign.

Things have changed...a lot I guess.

Older, wiser. Still me for the most part...but somewhere down the line I must have turned a corner. I don't exactly know where...but well...here I am. Still me, but not the old me.

Being here makes me sad. Not sure why...maybe I'm reminded of the things that I went through before...or how things are so different now from what they used to be.

Ties lost...changed relationships...former pastimes that are no longer there.

Don't get me wrong...moved up a lot in many ways. I guess it's just reality sinking in...that we can never really bring everything...or everyone...along with us as we go through life.

Some things are meant to be left behind...whether we like it or not.

Only five days to go before Christmas. Must be the holiday blues.

TOP Gear PH's 2013 Car of the Year

2014-01-04T10:48:00.000+08:00

An open letter to Top Gear Philippines:

As a long, long time reader of your magazine, I read with interest the article “2013 Car of the Year” in the latest issue. While the myriad views of the 15 man panel were both fascinating and enlightening (and whole of a lot more refreshing than simple fan voting which can be rigged) I must respectfully disagree with the final outcome.

Of course, I don’t get to test drive various makes and models of cars, much less write reviews about them, so in the grand scheme of things, I don’t really know much about cars, except for the precious few that I own or get to drive, and from what I read from various motoring publications and websites, so my opinion is just that, an opinion from an average Juan, albeit, perhaps, a well-read one.

To cut to the chase, if it were up to me, the distinction of 2013 Car of the Year ought to belong to the Hyundai Accent Hatchback CRDi. Simply put, out of all the cars which came out this year, the Accent Hatchback CRDi is the only one which gives the best balance of affordability, utility, style, safety, features, economy and performance, and in fact leads the class with the latter two considerations. Starting at P768K for the manual version, you get a turbocharged, intercooled, common rail direct injection diesel engine that outguns anything in its segment, and most of the variants of the segment above it. You’d be hard-pressed to find another brand-new car with more performance for the economy for less than P1M, and the entire package is backed-up with a 5 year/100,000 km warranty.

As for the other cars your article has mentioned, while I agree that all of them are indeed splendid cars in their own right, dubbing any of them “Car of the Year” might be a tad too generous for the following reasons:

The Toyota Vios – other than the outstanding new styling inside and out for the new model, there isn’t really much going for it, with the mechanicals virtually the same as the old model. What it has going for it is the fact that it’s the jack-of-all-trades, master of none player in the local car market, plus the perceived plus value and reliability of the Toyota brand. It’s a model that revels in being completely average, hence its suitability for the masses. This will, without a doubt, mean that this will sell the most units, but volume alone shouldn’t make it worthy of the title. Being average means the Vios is a good, perfectly adequate, satisfactory, and sufficient car. But not an excellent car. Certainly not “Car of the Year”;

The Lexus IS350 – This without a doubt is an awesome car, if perhaps for no other reason than it’s a Lexus. It has all the appropriate checkboxes ticked: 3.5L V6, 306hp and 376Nm, 8-speed AT, and “aggressive elegance”. But with a price ranging from P2.548-P3.058M, it’s too expensive to sell in significant quantities, making all its fancy toys such as TFT instrumentation and touch-sensitive electrostatic switches just novelties accessible to the wealthy. Lexus as an upscale brand deals with exclusivity and luxury, things that hardly mean much to the average working Juan, much less the masses. One can conclude that this is the anti-thesis of the best-selling Toyota Vios with its (the IS350’s) limited audience. It for sure “raises the bar” but it hardly “changes the game”;

The Honda CR-Z – A sporty hybrid that is neither “sporty” nor fuel efficient. Its only claim to fame is the Honda lineage (Type R anyone?) and its to-die-for styling, even though it’s retrofitted on a Jazz/Fit platform, including the mundane drive and suspension design - FWD with MacPherson struts on the front and torsion beam at the rear. Its 1.5L engine with IMA Hybrid Assist System churns out 133hp and 172Nm which barely tops the Ford Fiesta Ecoboost’s 125hp and 170Nm (which costs less than half as much) not to mention the Hyundai Accent Hatchback CRDi’s 126hp and 260Nm (which is even cheaper than the Ford Fiesta Ecoboost). The asking price is P1.95M, and for that you can get a Toyota GT86, a Hyundai Genesis Coupe, or a Subaru BRZ if you’re into performance, or for a little more a Toyota Prius if you’re into economy…or even the aforementioned Ford Fiesta Ecoboost or Hyundai Accent Hatchback CRDi, if you want similar horsepower and comparable fuel economy but not willing to break the bank;

Mazda 6 – Again, another awesome car. I certainly don’t question this car’s credentials for getting into the top five. Skyactiv 2.5L engine with direct injection producing 185hp and 250nm, 6-speed AT, impeccable exterior and interior styling, a price that is within the realm of possibility for a middle class Juan if he works hard and saves up (P1.705M). To expect it to dominate this segment may be too much though, though, as it goes up against the comparable Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, and even the Hyundai Sonata. Reviving this segment is probably all the more too much to ask, considering that if I had a 1.7M budget, I’d probably be looking at a SUV, and methinks most people would be too. This would be my first runner up.

So to conclude, I’m with your Off-Road Editor, Robby Consunji on this one. My top contender for 2013 Car of the Year is also the Hyundai Accent Hatchback CRDi. Great article nonetheless.

Disclosure: I just bought a Hyundai Accent Hatchback CRDi AT, and I’ll be paying for it for the next few years, so I guess I’m putting my money where my mouth is.

Happy New Year!

2012-12-31T21:53:00.002+08:00

In a couple of hours it'll be 2013.

Here's wishing everyone a meaningful New Year's eve, and a happy and prosperous 2013.

Looking back at the year that was....

2012-12-26T20:14:00.001+08:00

About a year ago I was hoping that 2012 would turn out to be a better year that 2011. With five days left, well, was it really better?

I suppose it was, though it was not the home run I had been wishing for.

Embroiled in a lot of work though, and got to travel more than I usually do, which to be honest, seemed rather meaningless in the grand scheme of things.

I did a lot...but it really didn't seem as if I accomplished a lot if you know what I mean.

Like a hamster in a hamster wheel.

Life has apparently made me insensitive to the simple things...simple things that once, I guess, brought me uncomplicated joy, but now are simply set aside as an eventuality of life.

People come, people go.

The days pass into weeks, which passes into months, which passes into a year.

And a year doesn't seem that long anymore.

Holidays come and pass...Christmas and New Year's eve rolls over again.

The Mayan calendar has ended, without much as whimper from the world which is supposedly near the end of its days.

Material possessions hardly matter as much as they once before, yet I still pursue them, if only for lack of anything else to do.

There is still the abstract pursuit of truth, the abstract pursuit of trying to do the right thing. But it doesn't seem to matter.

Perhaps inconsequentiality is our fate.

We can aspire for the highest things, the greatest good, and we can delay the onset of futility, but only for so long. Then we find ourselves existing, but forgetting how to live.

The fundamental truths that I thought I knew haven't turned out to be so true after all.

Bad things happen to good people.

Good deeds are not always rewarded.

Bad deeds have as much chance to reap rewards as much as good deeds apparently.

And the truth? No one apparently really seems to care about it all that much, content to exist within the illusory veils surrounding their own lives.

Am I depressed? Perhaps. Maybe just a case of holiday blues. But I meant everything I typed in this post.

That doesn't mean I'm giving up on life...on the things I believe in...if only because they have been so ingrained in my existence I can't shed them even if I wanted to.

Going back...2012, how was it?

It's okay...and I'm thankful for that.

I am grateful to the Creator for giving me all the blessings that I have received, and for watching over those who are close...and perhaps not so close to me.

I pray that my obsession with futility will not determine the choices that I make.

That I still stick to the right thing, no matter how seemingly inconsequential the right thing may appear to be.

Life is a continuous pursuit of...pursuits...which we decide to undertake for ourselves, for others, or for some surreal goal that perhaps is only understood by ourselves.

So here's to continuing the pursuit, because as I am so fond of saying, life's a trip, not a destination.

In 2013, we soldier on, as we have always done.

Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year to all of you.

Commonwealth Ave. lot for Lease

2012-08-02T15:07:00.000+08:00

For lease, 261 sqm commercial lot near east-bound lane (going to Fairview) of Commonwealth Ave. Quezon City, between Tandang Sora and Ever Gotesco, directly opposite PNB. Accessible via 50m access road. No improvements on said property. For inquiries call 09228692272 or email ronallandottk@yahoo.com

Tips for protecting yourself, your information, and your identity in the mobile age

2012-06-12T20:27:00.000+08:00

Set up and turn on the PIN option on your SIM card. It's a measure of defense to ensure your phone bill doesn't rack up charges if it's stolen and later turned off, or someone uses it in another phone, and it will buy you time to call your network and have the SIM deactivated;
Set up the security code of your phone. Yes, with the right tools it could be defeated, but why make it easy for thieves to use or sell your phone?
Look around before using your phone or tablet in public places. Some places are safer than others;
Set up the PIN or pattern lock of your phone or tablet. If you use your phone for Facebook, Twitter, email, etc., your account information is stored on your phone. Anyone who comes into possession of your phone and unlocks it can potentially masquerade online as you. They can also have access to your photos, messages, email, etc.;
Don't leave your phone or tablet unattended. You could be a victim of casual theft;
If your phone or tablet uses Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) and up, you have the option of encrypting your entire device. Consider full encryption if your device stores valuable information;
Secure your PC or notebook with a password, and lock it whenever you leave it unattended to discourage potential snoops;
If practicable, secure your notebook if unattended with a Kensington-type lock. It's a deterrent against casual theft;
When setting up a wireless network or a portable hotspot, secure it using WPA2 or WPA. Don't use WEP. WEP can easily be cracked with downloadable tools;
When looking for a wifi hotspot, be wary of free, unsecured hotspots. These could be baited hotspots which could potentially steal information from your notebook or mobile device;
Whether you use a PC, tablet or mobile phone, install an antivirus/antimalware program and keep it updated. There are lots of good free antivirus/antimalware programs on the web so, you don't have to spend to protect your devices. Some malware can potentially steal your personal information;
Don't open email attachments from people you don't know;
Don't open email attachments even from people you know if the email doesn't seem like one the person you know will send;
If you receive an SMS telling you you won something, it's a scam;
If you receive an SMS from someone pretending to be a relative abroad and the number used is his/her new roaming number, it's a scam;
If you receive an email telling you you won something, it's a scam;
If you receive an email telling you inherited something, it's a scam;
Pretty much consider any email you receive from someone you don't know a scam, especially if it seems to good to be true;
When entering login information to any site, check the address bar to make sure that site is really the site you're logging in. Otherwise you could be a victim of "phising";
When using a public computer (such as in an internet cafe) or a shared office computer, never forget to log off from any social networking site, email account, etc. you've logged on. The next person using the computer could tamper with your account.

I'll add to this list when I think of more tips.

Methinks blogging has lost its charm....

2012-03-10T15:58:00.006+08:00

It's been more than two months since I last posted a blog entry. For some reason I just couldn't be bothered anymore.

I've been blogging for almost eight years now. It used to be a lot of fun. Now, It just seems like a lot of work, when I can easily express myself with a few keystrokes on Facebook or Twitter.

I don't get as much visitors as I used too. No surprise there though...seems like everyone is into social networking sites.

Perhaps...for me at least, blogging has lost it's charm.

It's not that I don't have anything to blog about, quite the contrary.

I've been reassigned at work to something with a little more ooomph. Though it still remains to be seen if I went from the frying pan to the fire.

I've been out of the country a few weeks ago.

I just moved up to a Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus.

And those are not the only things.

I've given up on online gaming, particularly an old favorite of mine, Cabal Online. After my account was hacked several months ago, I couldn't in good conscience give any more of my hard earned money to e-Games who botched up my perfectly good account. I still have a pending complaint with them and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), no results yet though.

In the middle of playing The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. It's a fabulous game, but I haven't been playing it much lately. I must be getting old, or at least the gamer in me is.

My son moved out several months ago. It's just as well, it wasn't working out for several reasons.

The point is, my life hasn't been static the way this blog is, and yet, I'm not driven enough to blog about this stuff anymore.

I don't see myself quitting though. But I don't really see myself going back to how I was during the early days, posting almost every day.

I guess I've changed. Maybe a lot. Some things still remain the same though. I still have a lot of frustrations. I still hate summers. And I'm still stuck in my mid-life crisis.

Well, maybe the charm will find itself back to me.

Second last day of the year....

2011-12-30T19:54:00.002+08:00

It's the second last day of the year.

It's been more or less a good year I suppose...still had my fair share of hard knocks. Perhaps even more than years past. I guess things are looking up now...though my losses are still pretty apparent.

I hope 2012 turns out to be a better year than 2011.

Hacked Cabal PH accounts: an inside job?

2011-11-03T13:30:00.005+08:00

I cannot recommend any of their (e-Games') online games to any online gamer who values security and the integrity of their accounts.

Last November 1, around 4:00 PM, I was logged in on Cabal Online PH, a Korean MMORPG published locally by E-Games using my PC at home. With my character just idly standing in the vicinity of Bloody Ice (one of the first three towns of the game) and while I was tending to other things, all of a sudden the account logged off. Thinking it was only a network problem, I tried logging on again, only to be given the message that my account was already active. I logged on, only to be disconnected again, with the message that someone else was logging in my account. I tried logging on again, got disconnected, and tried logging again several times in succession. After several minutes I finally got my account logged on. When I selected the character I was online with only a few moments ago, it was stripped naked. Checking the inventory and personal storage, my worst fears have been confirmed. My account has been hacked, and the valuable items were stolen.

As a matter of course I filed a help ticket with Cabal Online PH's support desk, then I called up my girlfriend who's also into playing Cabal Online. Her account was also hacked...only within a half hour or so of my account being hacked. Like mine, her character lost its armor and a number of valuable items. All in all, the lost items represent quite a huge fortune if expressed in in-game currency, and possibly a small one if we're talking real money.

I guess if you've been playing Cabal Online PH yourself, no doubt you've heard of horror stories of other accounts being hacked. Maybe your account has been hacked before. Me? My account has never been hacked before. My girlfriend's account as well. I've been playing Cabal Online PH for more than three years on and off, and the same account and character of mine that was hacked was the same one I've been using during Cabal Online PH's open beta testing three years ago. My girlfriend has been playing it for slightly more than a year.

The clincher is, I don't think either of us fall within the norm for your standard hacking case.

Both of us are in our 30s, degree holders, gainfully employed, and play Cabal Online as a diversion from our daily routines. We play only on our own PCs and own internet connections. I play on my home PC or on my laptop, connecting either through PLDT DSL or through Sun's wireless broadband service. My girlfriend only plays on her laptop, also through Sun Wireless Broadband. We have never played in an internet café, on a public computer, or on any other computers other than the ones we own.

Both of us have IT backgrounds, so we know the importance of regularly scanning our PCs for viruses and malware. Before and after the hacking incident, we have scanned our computers with reputable and up-to-date anti-malware and anti-virus utilities and determined them to be free from any such malicious software.

We have never used any third-party programs, cheats, or hacks. We play the game as it was meant to be played, and enjoy the game that way.

We've never let anyone else use our accounts. Other than ourselves, no one knows our login names, much less our passwords. And our passwords aren't easy to guess for that matter.

We are aware of phishing and scam sites and have never logged on any of them, and we have never entered our login names and passwords on any other site except the official e-Games portal.

We also as a matter of course keep our inventories and storage areas locked and secured.

Yet, despite all these precautions, our accounts were compromised, and our characters' expensive items stolen.

Perhaps worth noting, is that our accounts only got hacked a couple of weeks after our characters started donning Mithril armor (the most expensive armor in the game) and the fact that our characters belong to the same guild...information, that it isn't farfetched to surmise, which can easily be gleaned from a character database using an appropriate search query.

To be honest, I've been racking my brain if there was something else I could have done differently...something I could have done to further secure my account. I can't think of anything else.

Based on this, we've arrived at the hypothesis that our accounts could have only been hacked by those with inside access, meaning either an e-Games employee, or someone with access to login information obtained through an e-Games employee.

There is simply no other explanation.

Check the audit trails...check the backup data...check the logins of your personnel, and the IP addresses for consistency. It is so easy for an authorized employee to get the relevant login information from its database, forward it to an outside accomplice who can then log in the account and steal the valuable items, only to sell it later for real money.

While e-Games maintains the policy, and this we agree with, that it is the player's responsibility to secure the confidentiality of his/her account password, we strongly disagree with the premise that e-Games itself is entirely free from any liability, given that the security of its internal account database and system are its responsibility and not the responsibility of the players themselves. There are only two possible avenues to a security breach, one is through the client side, and the other through the server side. e-Games cannot claim absence of responsibility on its part of maintaining the security and integrity of its server-side data.

In fact, the Game Policies of e-Games itself bear out this inconsistency:

xxx...E-Games does not guarantee that its portal and corresponding game websites are free of any harmful software, and that the same is hack-proof. Account Security is therefore the sole responsibility of the account holder. As such, you are earnestly enjoined to take all security measures reasonably available to safeguard the operating system and accounts when accessing the Games and the websites...xxx

e-Games admits that it cannot guarantee that its portal and websites are free from any harmful software and the same is [sic] hack proof...and yet in the same paragraph it maintains that account security is the sole responsibility of the account holder.

Honestly, I believe this is a lot of bull. Admitting that one cannot guarantee the security of its system, then passing the sole responsibility of account security to the player, who is merely a client/user. And this from a company who profits by selling privileges to players to use on its system.

I can go on a legalistic tirade on why this policies are bull, but that is not the point of this blog post. The point of this blog post is the fact is that e-Games itself, by our own experience, and by its own admission cannot guarantee the security of its own system. This is simply unacceptable for a company which operates that system for profit.

Admittedly, the concept of MMORPGs has very little legislation going for it in terms of client/user protection, but there are tons of general laws which can be invoked in order to protect the rights of the client/user. It cannot be helped I suppose, online gaming being a niche market in itself, that it is for the most part unregulated. Nonetheless, that is not an excuse for not securing the personal information and login passwords of registered users.

From a practical point of view...if you are aware of and diligently follow all of the rules when it comes to account security, who else is there to blame for hacked accounts? To my mind, the blame falls squarely on e-Games' shoulders, and they cannot shirk away from this responsibility on the basis of its game policies and license agreements.

Don't get me wrong, I am not advocating, nor am I planning to take this issue to court. That's a bit extreme for something which is as trivial as an MMORPG. Nor am I or my girlfriend clamoring for the return of the lost in-game items, which may or may not be possible. Thankfully, the items were procured through honest-to-goodness in-game farming and selling and not bought using real money. But still, the effort exerted shouldn't just go to waste...or trashed because of e-Games' inability to provide adequate data security.

For me, e-Games should just do right to those who have been availing of its services, the very players it gets its profits from. Fortunately or unfortunately, I am not one of those pimple-faced teenagers whose (admittedly sometimes exaggerated) claims or allegations e-Games may easily dismiss.

The requisite help tickets have been filed, though there is still no official response at this point. Personally, I am looking at all the possible angles and remedies for this situation, which may include government involvement, media, and possibly, if the circumstances warrant, court intervention, though only as a last resort, if only just to establish a point, never mind if the case is actually lost or won.

Frankly, the loss represents more to me than just the loss of in-game items. The hacking incident has eroded my trust in e-Games' ability to secure its system, and for that reason I cannot recommend any of their online games to any online gamer who values security and the integrity of their accounts. Go to some other online game publisher, one with a better track record when it comes to security, or stick with local network multiplayer gaming or single-player games.

And consequentially, the lack of trust with e-Games has now deprived me of an activity that I once enjoyed and shared with my significant other and even my son before. It's a good thing though, that there are other things to do. But still...

The reason that hacking is so prevalent...and yes, it IS prevalent...just Google up "Cabal PH hacking"...is because it can potentially be a very lucrative endeavor. It is not unheard of for people to spend up to thousands, even tens of thousands of pesos, just to get the most powerful virtual weapons and armor, or the highest level characters. And somehow, in this gray market, hardly any regulation exists, at the expense of those honest players who don't deal in real-money trading and only wish to enjoy a pleasant and secure gaming experience, willing to pay the nominal and legal costs incidental to it and its local publication, but somehow find themselves victimized by unscrupulous hackers. e-Games' indifference to hacking doesn't help either.

This is not the end though. We may no longer be playing Cabal Online with the enthusiasm and zeal we had before...hell, we may even quit entirely given our distrust with e-Games...but personally, I don't want this loss on our part to be in vain. Sooner or later more people will realize the one-sidedness of this entire episode, e-Games' indifference to the plight of its hacked players, the massive hacking that has remained largely unchecked, and local online game publishers, especially e-Games, will be forced to put a higher priority on data security, on data confidentiality, on employee selection. We expect the highest level of data security when it comes to credit cards, bank accounts, ATMs, money transfers and remittances, social services like SSS and PhilHealth, prepaid loads, internet accounts, email accounts, social networking sites, etc. Online games should be no different. And if a company cannot guarantee the security of its data, it has no business holding our personal account information only for them to lose or allowed to be divulged and be misused.

Sometimes....

2011-09-02T13:33:00.001+08:00

Doing the seemingly hurtful thing is the only way to get the message across.

New notebook....

2011-08-30T13:47:00.009+08:00

Just a few days ago I bought a new notebook computer to replace my trusty yet aging Compaq Presario CQ40-107AU. That notebook served me well for three years, and it'll still continue to serve my purposes here at home, no longer as my main portable unit.

So what did I replace it with? I replaced it, of all things, a Samsung. Yes, I admit, Samsung is not really a brand that comes to mind when talking about notebook computers. Until only a few years ago, they were all but unknown in the portable computing segment. Now, they seem set to be a force to be reckoned with in this product category, the same way they started out before virtually dominating sales of LCD TVs and mobile phones. And their tablets aren't that bad either, having owned a Galaxy Tab for several months now.

It's not that I set out from the start to get a Samsung notebook computer. I do my notebook shopping the same way I've always done...with a budget and set of specs in mind. Then I set out to find the most bang for my hard-earned buck. I've considered the usual suspects: Asus, Acer, Compaq, HP, etc. and even got close to choosing a particular MSI model with an Intel Core i5 processor and a Radeon GPU. Then I saw the Samsung. A Samsung NP 305V4A-S02PH.

The specs are pretty impressive for P32,900.00. At it's heart is an AMD A6-3410MX APU. It's not just a CPU, it's an APU. It combines 4 Phenom II-class processor cores with 1 MB of L2 cache each, a Radeon 6520G GPU, a UVD3 video processor, a DDR3 memory controller, and a PCIe 2.0 controller all on a single die. It runs at a speed of 1.6 GHz, but can push the speed up to 2.3 GHz on individual processor cores when some of them are inactive (Turbo Core technology, in AMD-speak). This chip alone gives you a quad-core processor, a 3D GPU, and a HD video processor.

The rest of the specs outside the APU are not too shabby either. An AMD A60M chipset, a Radeon HD6470M GPU with 512MB GDDR3 dedicated video memory (giving this notebook 2 GPUs) 4 GB of DDR3 memory running at 1333 MHz, a 640 GB SATA drive, a DVD Super-Multi Drive, gigabit LAN, 802.11 b/g/n, a 14" LED display, a 1.3 MP webcam, and card reader, among others. Windows 7 Home Basic 64-bit is also preinstalled, and a recovery disk is included with the package.

Basically, this notebook is not only state-of-the-art (the A6 3410MX APU was only introduced about two months ago), it's chock full of features and affordable to boot. And if Samsung makes notebook computers as well as they make LCD TVs, mobile phones and tablets, I'd say we have a keeper. Well at least for another few years.

Reasons why it's never a good idea to position your PC on the floor....

2011-08-08T21:20:00.002+08:00

For some reason, a lot of my colleagues at work and even some of my friends in their homes prefer to position their PCs on the floor, leaving only their monitors, keyboards and mice on their tables. Frankly, I don't think this is such a good idea. True, the jumble of cables coming from the rear of a PC isn't exactly aesthetically pleasing, but if one values reliability, durability and ease of use above aesthetics, it is always preferable to position a PC in an elevated position such as on a table, and not to leave it on the floor.

Reasons:

Modern PCs have plenty of components which generate a lot of heat such as the CPU, the northbridge chip, power supply and video card among others. To keep these components cool, a PC typically has at least two fans, often more, and are configured to suck cool air from the front of the PC, through the chassis and out through the power supply and/or an exhaust fan at the rear. A PC on the floor tends to suck up the dirt, dust and grime on the floor (even animal hair if you have pets), clogging up heatsinks and coating electronic components, making them less effective in releasing heat to the air. This results in higher operating temperatures which could leading to premature component failure. It's even worse if you sweep in front of the PC, or if your floor is carpeted, as the PC acts like a vacuum cleaner sucking all the dust and dirt in front of it.

Frequent exposure to dust can also cause the optical drive to malfunction as the laser read/write lens can get coated with dust;
In office settings, cleaning crews typically scrub and mop floors during the weekends. It's not unusual for these crews to unwittingly splash water and detergent on PCs located on the floor. Most vulnerable to water splashes are the ports at the rear. Water can also get in through the various air inlets. Moisture can lead to corroded contacts and/or short circuits. The chassis could also rust;
PCs on floors are vulnerable to various small animals/insects. Mice can chew on the various cables, or urinate on the rear ports. Cockroaches may crawl in the small holes of the chassis and lay their eggs or other secretions on the various components. These can be corrosive and eventually lead to component failure;
PCs on floors tend to be more exposed to inadvertent kicks from people sitting in front of them. A kick while the hard drive is reading/writing could result in the read/write head smashing into the hard disk recording surface, possible leading to a hard disk crash, bad sectors and/or loss/corruption of data;
From a usability point of view, it's not very practical to always bend down just to plug in a USB drive or insert a disc in the drive, when you can just reach over if the PC is on your desk;
It also helps if the hard disk access lights are visible. That way you can determine at a glance if your PC has already frozen, or if it's just reading from the drive.

If you really prefer to set your PC on the floor, get one of those stands to elevate the chassis at least several inches from floor level. This would mitigate some of the hazards mentioned above. If your PC's chassis is one of the floor-standing types that are meant to be placed on the floor, keep the area around the PC free from dust or pests.

Lastly, if the jumble of wires from the back of your PC bothers you, invest in wireless keyboard mouse/combo. Nowadays they're dirt cheap. Pardon the pun.

Commonwealth Ave. lot for sale or lease....

2011-07-05T22:03:00.000+08:00

Just a repost. You never know who might notice.

Anyone here interested in purchasing or leasing a plot of commercial land located along Commonwealth Ave. in Quezon City? It's my father's property, and it has a lot area of 2,844 sqm., with a number of residential improvements. The frontage is a bit on the small side, at 14 m., but it directly faces Commonwealth Ave.

The lot has been on the market for quite a while, but since the real estate market has been down for some time now...well you know how it is.

Just in case you're interested, or know someone who is, please feel free to leave a comment or to email me at ronallandottk@yahoo.com. To cut the hassle, would prefer to deal with direct buyers only. Sometimes it can be quite hard dealing with a multitude of brokers and middlemen...you know how that is too. :-)

You can also call 9315575 if you have any inquiries.

Siteplan of the property.

Aerial view. The road at the top of the photo is Commonwealth Avenue.

Here's a tighter aerial shot. The improvements are clearly visible from this distance.

And just in case you're wondering, no, I didn't hire an airplane or a helicopter. Used Google Earth instead. :-)

20,000 km Hyundai i10....

2011-07-04T19:07:00.007+08:00

19 months ago, I bought a brand new 2009 Hyundai i10 for use as a daily driver to replace the aging 1994 Nissan Sentra I've been driving for several years now. Well, after 20,000 km, I'm pleased to report the car has exceeded all my expectations of Hyundai in general, and of a small city car in particular.

To be perfectly honest though, the Hyundai i10 was not really my first choice for a new car. I've always driven subcompacts before, and I've never driven a car as small as the i10. Like most people, I assumed a city car would be tight on the inside, slow on acceleration, low on power on inclines, and basically full of compromises all throughout. I would have preferred to buy another subcompact, but alas, like most other people, I gravitated to what I could afford and not necessarily what I wanted. Fortunately, it all worked out in the end.

The i10 is roomier than looking at it from the outside would suggest. It's at least as roomy than the old Nissan Sentra I used to drive, probably roomier. Four average size adults would fit in with no problems, and a fifth passenger could be squeezed in the back seat should the need arise, with not many complaints. Hyundai accomplished this feat of maximizing interior space by pushing the wheels out to the very corners of the car, utilizing a cab forward design, raising the roofline, and mounting the gearshift lever on the dash instead of between the front passenger seats. What you end up is a box on wheels with a very airy and comfortable interior which at first glance doesn't seem to jive with small size of the car when viewed from the outside. Of course, it isn't all roses though. The i10 has a rather small luggage compartment. It could be maximized though, by lowering the rear seatbacks. While the limited cargo capacity may prove to be a liability, it's not a deal breaker by any means considering that the i10 is a city car, and was never really meant to transport huge items. That hasn't stopped me from trying though, as I have successfully transported a computer table, a washing machine, and a personal refrigerator (not at the same time, obviously), when the need came up.

Performance-wise, the i10 is a revelation. Under the short hood is an all aluminum four-cylinder 1.2 liter DOHC 16-valve electronic fuel injection engine which Hyundai calls it's Kappa engine. It produces about 75 hp at 6,000 rpm and 11.8 kg/m of torque at 4,000 rpm. At first I was a bit doubtful about the capabilities of modern small displacement engines, but nowadays, a smallish engine isn't as bad as you might think. Output-wise, it is actually as powerful as some older larger displacement engines, sometimes even more so. Couple that with the i10's low curb weight, and you get a very nippy car. When forced, the engine has enough grunt to take you from zero to a hundred kilometers per hour in 12.8 seconds, and a maximum speed in excess of 160 kph. Nope, those aren't performance car figures, but perfectly adequate for a city car used occasionally on highway jaunts. Besides, with it's 5-speed manual gearbox, you get on average about 12 km/l of fuel in city driving, and upwards of 16 km/l on the highway. I've heard automatics get a lot less though.

As for comfort, the i10 is full of features which used to be unheard of in entry level city cars like power locks and windows, motor driven power steering and airconditioning. For no additional cost I also got keyless entry and alarm, a rear spoiler, door visors, rear backup camera, and a CD/DVD/USB/SD/iPod/TV/AM/FM head unit with a 7" touchscreen.

Safetywise, there's a driver's airbag, seatbelts all around, front foglights, a center high mounted stop light and rear wiper and washer, among the other usual standard safety features.

Okay, so it's cheap, roomy, comfortable, and relatively safe. So how does it hold up after 19 months and 20,000 km?

Mechanically, it's been bulletproof, only requiring typical engine maintenance every 5,000 km. The only trouble spots fixed under warranty were a faulty brakelight switch which occurred after nine months and replaced after about three weeks, an airbag clock spring, and the head unit screen tilt mechanism which both failed after sixteen months and replaced also after about three weeks.

Nitpicks? Aside from the small cargo capacity, the ride is a bit choppy on broken or uneven pavement, though that's to be expected for a small car with a relatively short wheelbase. The stiff suspension however, makes it handle surprisingly well on smooth roads. There's an annoying blind spot by the A-pillars, and Hyundai seems to be rather slow when it comes to procuring spare parts.

All in all, the 2009 Hyundai i10 has proven to be a worthy daily driver and comes highly recommended if you're looking for a cheap, reliable, comfortable and economical city car.

Good points:

Inexpensive to buy;
Spacious interior;
Good fit and finish;
Durable mechanicals;
Quality interior;
Excellent forward visibility;
Feisty engine with good fuel economy;
Lots of standard features;
Good high-speed stability;
Solid ride and handling on smooth roads;
Good ground clearance;
Five-year warranty.

Bad points:

Small cargo capacity;
Blind spot at the A-pillars when cornering;
Choppy ride on broken or uneven pavement;
Manually adjustable side mirrors;
Rumbly OEM tires (Kumho Solus KH17);
Cheap plastic wheel covers;
Small, hard to read tachometer;
No passenger-side airbag and ABS;
Minor electrical gremlins;
Periodic maintenance is every 5,000 km instead of 10,000 km, can get expensive;
Slow turnaround for replacement parts.

Competitors:

Chery QQ (cheaper, questionable quality);
Chevrolet Spark (more power, less torque);
Kia Picanto (smaller engine, more expensive, no airbags)
Suzuki Celerio (with airbags and ABS, smaller engine, cramped interior, manual rear windows).

Must have free apps for your Galaxy Tab....

2011-06-16T11:37:00.003+08:00

Even right out of the box, the Samsung Galaxy Tab is an eminently useful device. Turn it on for the first time, click on Applications, and almost everything you need is already there, ready to use. A built-in alarm clock, web browser, calendar, music player, calculator, camera, contacts, newsreader, eBook reader, email, memo pad, file manager, navigation, instant messaging, social networking, office suite, you name it, it's probably already there.

You could probably get by using just the preinstalled applications and wouldn't miss a thing. But the Galaxy Tab is more than just the features it already has. It's a full-fledged tablet computer using the very flexible and open Android operating system. As such, it has the potential to be much more than what it was brand new. This is where the Android Market comes in.

The Android Market features hundreds, if not thousands of applications for the Android operating system, and many of them are absolutely free. So other than the investment you already made when you bought your Galaxy Tab and an internet connection which you may have already paid for, you don't have to shell out anymore for useful, quality apps for your tablet.

Here's some of the free Apps I actually use and highly recommend (tested to work on Galaxy Tabs, Froyo and Gingerbread Android versions):

Antivirus

Better safe than sorry.

Anti-Virus Free (AVG Mobilation) - From the authors of the popular AVG Anti-Virus for PCs. Regularly updated.

Toggle Apps

These apps simply turn a feature of the Galaxy Tab on or off. You don't really need them, since the options are already there on the Tab, but some require a little digging through menus, so these can be potential timesavers if you frequently have to toggle features. These also allow you to maximize the Tab's battery because you can easily turn off certain battery-hogging features (like Wi-Fi or GPS for example) with one press. You could also maximize your data plan by turning it on only when needed.

Airplane Mode Toggle (SchreinerDev) - Turn on and off all wireless functions with a single press;

WiFi OnOff (CurveFish) Turn your Wi-Fi on or off with a single press;

APN OnOff (CurveFish) - Enable or disable your access points with a single press. Great for conserving your data plan consumption if it's not unlimited;

Bluetooth OnOff (CurveFish) - Accidentally leave your Bluetooth connection on after using your car's handsfree or a headset? A single press now turns it off;

GPS OnOff (CurveFish) The GPS receiver can be a real battery-hog. Turn it off with one press;

AutoRotate OnOff (CurveFish) - Toggle the auto-screen orientation lock on or off with a single keypress.

Shortcuts

2G-3G OnOff (CurveFish) - Quick shortcut to the Mobile network settings menu. Turn packet data on or off, change network modes (GSM/WCDMA);

Camcorder Shortcut (Bryan Owens) - One press and your camera is activated and in movie mode. Just press the record button to start. Perfect for those moments where timing is everything;

Tethering Shortcut (KABASOFT) - Instant access to the Tethering and portable hotspot menu.

App Management

App 2 SD Free (Sam Lu) - Move applications between phone memory and SD card quickly. Also provides quick uninstall functions.

Browser

Dolphin Browser™ HD (Dolphin Browser) - Lots of browsers for the Android platform, but this is arguably one of the best.

Instant Messaging

Trillian (Cerulean Studios, LLC) - Manages all of your instant messaging/email/social networking accounts with one app. A bit similar to Meebo IM, but I prefer to use this one, probably because I use Trillian on my PCs as well, and I already have a Trillian account. Still, easy enough to use even if you're a first time Trillian user. And much better than using multiple IM apps.

Social Networking

Seesmic (Seesmic) - Manage your social networks from one single App. Enables widgets with status updates. Much better than the Facebook and Twitter android apps. Those don't seem to update themselves.

Miscellaneous

Font for Galaxy (bottobuche) - Getting tired of the Galaxy Tab's stock fonts? Get new ones with this app. Despite the permissions asked, it DOES NOT make phone calls. It's probably just a remnant from the development kit used. Just does what it's advertised to do. Downloads and installs fonts.

Gauge Battery Widget (Tomas Hubalek) - Excellent battery status monitoring app.

Video

Rockplayer Lite (品雪) - Plays virtually any video file format smoothly.

To find the apps mentioned above in the Android Market, just search for them using their names, or the names of the developers (in parentheses). These apps are not necessarily the only ones of their kind, nor are they necessarily the best. It all comes down to a matter of taste, it just turns out that I like these apps.

If you have any suggestions/recommendations for other useful free apps for the Galaxy Tab, or perhaps better ones than those I suggested, let me know.

Cats have feelings too....

2011-06-14T00:01:00.001+08:00

Can't get this video out of my head. We're pretty arrogant to think that we're the only beings on this planet capable of feeling emotions. The cat above clearly recognizes the dead cat as a companion that it just can't leave behind, and it does everything it can to revive it. You can sense it's frustration as its efforts prove fruitless, and it's sadness and realization of loss is palpable in the end. We don't need to anthromorphize the cat. It's expressing it's feelings much like any human would. And unlike any human, its emotions are clear and pure, uncluttered by human abstracts such as intent, malice, or conformity. If only animals can speak.

Techie wannabees and cheapskates....

2011-06-13T16:21:00.002+08:00

It used to be that techheads and geeks were few and far between. And that's still true, as far as the real techies are concerned. As for "wannabe techies", they seem to coming out all over the place, and worse, they're multiplying like rabbits.

We have the decreasing cost of technology to thank for that. It used to be that tech gadgets cost an arm and a leg. Not anymore. Desktop PCs, notebooks, netbooks, digital cameras, MP3 players, cellphones, etc., have been commoditized to the point that you can buy a perfectly decent sample of any of these things for just a reasonable amount of money. And if it breaks, it's probably even cheaper to just buy new instead of having it repaired. Tablets are likely to be the next big thing to be turned into mere commodities. Manufacturers are launching new models left and right, and the makers who deal in huge volumes like Acer, Asus, HP, etc. are getting in on the action. It's a safe bet that in a year or two, tablets, regardless of make, will be as common as cellphones are now.

I'm not complaining about that. It's good that tech has gone mainstream. Technology should be accessible to everyone, not only to a select few. But still, it has its drawbacks.

Like the emergence of the new breed of "techie wannabees". People who a year or two ago would probably not even bother to or dare buy a new PC, tablet or smartphone are now buying in droves, driven by the techno-lust inspired by the new generation of relatively inexpensive, easy-to-use, and fashionable must-have tech doodads. That's all well and good, but as with all things, a little knowledge still remains a dangerous thing.

Like this person I know who used to lust over an iPhone and a Galaxy S smartphone. Now he wants a Galaxy S II. That's just dandy and all, but he only uses his phone to call and text. He doesn't have a data plan, doesn't intend to get a data plan, and he's not even that interested in browsing the net or even reading his email on the go. He's not into social networks, and on top of that, he's farsighted so he can hardly read his phone without his reading glasses or squinting like Jan-Michael Vincent, if you're old enough to remember him. Despite this, he would evangelize to me how a particular model is so much better because it has an AMOLED display, or this model is better because its processor is 1 GHz while a competing product runs as 800 MHz. When window shopping for a new phone he would dress down a hapless store clerk for suggesting a model without an AMOLED screen when he probably doesn't even know what AMOLED stands for (it stands for Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode). I spotted him a few days ago, and he's using a cheap myPhone. Not that there's anything wrong about using a cheap phone...but you do have to ask yourself what the fuss was all about. Go figure.

Then there's this other person, who bought an iPad 2 even before it was formally introduced here. He bought the top-of-the-line WiFi+3G model, and carries it with him everywhere he goes. On one occasion, a colleague inquired on how much his baby cost. He replied that he bought it in excess of 1,000 USD (converted for clarity from local currency) from a gray market vendor. When asked if he has a data plan for it, he said no, adding that he only uses prepaid credits, and there's no need, since he (braggingly) said that he had a broadband connection at home. To my mind, he's just showing off, and failing miserably at it, showing in the process how much of a techie wannabe and cheapskate he is at the same time. If you can afford to buy an expensive 3G tablet, it's a no-brainer to get a data plan (even a cheap one) for it. If you only plan to use it with your home internet connection, then don't even bother getting a 3G model. And if you can afford a $1,000 tablet, you can afford to buy a cheap data plan. It's like buying an expensive exotic car then mounting cheap wheels and tires on it, just because you claim you don't get out much. Absolutely pointless.

Then there's the time when two people I know were insisting that getting an external keyboard for a tablet was a good idea. Frankly, I think the whole thing is as pointless as watering your plants during a rainstorm. One of them insisted that you can do office work on it if you had a keyboard. You buy a tablet for its portability. You use it to consume content. Tablets, no matter what size, were never really intended for users who create content. Aside from the basics, there really isn't much you can do with it with it...but that's perfectly alright, because that's how tablets were designed in the first place. If you were to go through the trouble of getting a tablet and carrying an external keyboard with you wherever you go and try to do office work on it, then you might as well should have bought a notebook or netbook computer from the start. It's like buying a sleek sports car and fitting it with an offroad suspension and wheels and tires, when you could have opted to just a buy an SUV from the start.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

I could go on and on with all the arguments and discussions (friendly ones to be sure) I've had with techie wannabees. Frankly, I'm just getting tired of listening to and dealing with these people.

Oh well. That's progress for you.

Related Posts:

Tech Poseurs....

How to upgrade your Galaxy Tab from Froyo to Gingerbread....

2011-06-12T16:39:00.006+08:00

The much awaited Android 2.3.3 ("Gingerbread") upgrade to the Samsung Galaxy Tab has finally made it's way to the Philippines after months of waiting, and thankfully, installing the update is a relatively painless exercise.

You need the following to perform the upgrade:

Your Samsung Galaxy Tab (with the older 2.2 "Froyo" Android OS), battery fully charged (just to be on the safe side);
Data cable;
The latest version of Samsung Kies (latest version as of this posting is v2.0.0.11044_11_3);
PC with internet connection.

The time to complete the process depends a lot on the speed of your internet access. In my case it took about half an hour on a modest 1 Mbps DSL connection.

Connect the Galaxy Tab to the PC via data cable and run Samsung Kies. Depending on how you have your Tab set up it will either automatically connect itself to the Samsung Kies application, or it will ask you to select a USB mode. If it does, select Samsung Kies. Once the tablet is recognized the software will inform you of an available firmware update and ask you if you wish to install it. Select "Yes" and follow the rest of the instructions. You will be prompted to backup the data on your tablet, which you ought to do, just in case something goes wrong.

A few suggestions: close other running applications on your PC, stop or pause any other ongoing downloads, don't fiddle with the tablet's menu during the process, don't shut down the PC or tablet, don't disconnect the data cable.

Note that if you use your Galaxy Tab as a phone, you won't be able receive calls or text during the duration of process.

As with all firmware upgrades, the trick for a successful firmware installation is to make sure that the process is not interrupted for whatever reason, and to get it over and done with as quickly as possible.

At this point all you have to do is wait while the update is downloaded. It may take a while if you have a slow internet connection. Once the update is downloaded, it will automatically install itself on the tablet. Later on you will be prompted to restart the tablet and to disconnect/reconnect the data cable.

If all goes well (and it probably should), your Galaxy Tab will boot up with the new Android version.

I haven't been fully able to spot all the differences from the older Android version, but offhand I'd say that the upgrade made some minor tweaks to the interface and slightly improves the response time of the tablet.

For a complete list of differences between Froyo and Gingerbread, try this link.

I wonder if Samsung will come up with an Android 3.0 "Honeycomb" update for the Galaxy Tab. Let's not hold our breath. But let's keep our fingers crossed.

The Benefits of Rye Bread

2011-05-30T21:16:00.004+08:00

Two old guys, one 80 and one 87, were sitting on their usual park bench one morning.

The 87 year old had just finished his morning jog and wasn't even short of breath. The 80 year old was amazed at his friend's stamina and asked him what he did to have so much energy.

The 87 year old said, "Well, I eat rye bread every day. It keeps your energy level high and you'll have great stamina with the ladies."

So, on the way home the 80 year old stops at the bakery. As he was looking around, the lady asked if he needed any help.

He said "Do you have any Rye bread?"

She said, "Yes, there's a whole shelf of it. Would you like some?"

He said, "I want 5 loaves."

She said, "My goodness, 5 loaves ... By the time you get to the 3rd loaf, it'll be hard."

He replied, "I can't believe it, everybody knows about this shit but me."

Sometimes....

2011-05-26T23:12:00.000+08:00

Things don't work out. Even if you try to do the right thing.

Costco Doctor

2011-05-20T10:47:00.001+08:00

One day, in line at the company cafeteria, Phil says to Mike behind him, "My elbow hurts like hell. I guess I'd better see a doctor."

"Listen, you don't have to spend that kind of money," Mike replies.

"There's a diagnostic computer down at Costco. Just give it a urine sample and the computer will tell you what's wrong and what to do about it.

It takes ten seconds and costs ten dollars - A lot cheaper than a doctor."

So, Phil deposits a urine sample in a small jar and takes it to Costco.

He deposits ten dollars and the computer lights up and asks for the urine sample...

He pours the sample into the slot and waits.

Ten seconds later, the computer ejects a printout:

"You have tennis elbow. Soak your arm in warm water and avoid heavy activity.. It will improve in two weeks. Thank you for shopping @ Costco.."

That evening, while thinking how amazing this new technology was, Phil began wondering if the computer could be fooled.

He mixed some tap water, a stool sample from his dog, urine samples from his wife and daughter, and a sperm sample from himself for good measure.

Phil hurries back to Costco, eager to check the results.. He deposits ten dollars, pours in his concoction, and awaits the results .

The computer prints the following:

1. Your tap water is too hard. Get a water softener. (Aisle 9)
2. Your dog has ringworm.. Bathe him with anti-fungal shampoo. (Aisle 7)
3. Your daughter has a cocaine habit. Get her into rehab.
4. Your wife is pregnant. Twins. They aren't yours.. Get a lawyer.
5. If you don't stop masturbating, your elbow will never get better!

Thank you for shopping @ Costco!

Unsafe at any speed....

2011-05-18T10:30:00.006+08:00

The title of this blog post is a nod towards Ralph Nader's polemic 1965 book of the same title, responsible for bringing the issue of automotive safety into the eyes of the American public. Maybe, just maybe, this post could have a similar effect with respect to the Philippine public regarding the ubiquitous passenger jeepney.

In May of 2005, I wrote a blog post about why passenger jeepneys should be phased out. After six years, I think the time is right to revisit this issue.

Let's get straight to the point. My opinion on this hasn't changed. I personally feel that contemporary jeepneys should be phased out.

Jeepneys are throwbacks to a long bygone era, and are potential deathtraps for the people who drive them, the people who ride them, and the people who walk around them, the people who drive around them.

Think about it. While passenger cars have grown a long laundry list of safety features over the past several decades in an effort to reduce fatalities in accidents, jeepneys have essentially remained unchanged in design and concept after they first came into being after the close of the Second World War. In other words, they are hardly any safer now than they were before. And with engine power increasing leading to higher and higher road speeds, jeepneys are probably more dangerous now than they ever were before.

Skeptical? Just Google jeepney accidents Philippines.

But why blame the passenger jeepney? According to the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), the leading cause of road accidents is human error. While I'm not disputing this fact, the thing is, while human error really does cause accidents, properly implemented vehicle safety features can do a lot to reduce fatalities and injuries by: 1) Improving the vehicle's ability to avoid accidents (active safety); or 2) Significantly reducing or redirecting the crash forces involved if an accident does occur (passive safety);

The point of the matter is, passenger jeepneys as we know them substantially lack both.

Simple things we take for granted in passenger cars that are typically absent from passenger jeepneys which could help them avoid accidents in the first place:

Working dashboard gauges and warning lights, particularly speedometers;

Working and visible park lights, turn signal lights, brake lights, tail lights and reversing lights;

Efficient or even working windshield wipers;

All you have to do is ride one or look around when you're on the road. I wonder how these vehicles can pass inspection when their registrations are renewed.

Front disc brakes.

A significant number of jeepneys still get by using front drum brakes when virtually everything else on the road has moved on to front disc brakes since the 60s. Couple drum brakes' tendency to fade under frequent braking typical in city driving and for picking up passengers, or to lock up under hard braking, and with long daily duty cycles, and inadequate maintenance, you have a surefire recipe for road accidents waiting to happen.

Then there's absent passive safety features which should kick in when an accident is inevitable:

No properly engineered crumple zones;
No side impact protection;
No padded dashboards;
Inadequate, non-functional or absent seatbelts for the front drivers and passengers;
Exposed bare metal which could easily rip flesh of passengers in an accident;
Little or no padding for rear passengers, unless you count fellow passengers as padding;
Ornamentation on the front and rear which could easily impale pedestrians or exacerbate damage to others cars even in low speed collisions;

The front of a contemporary jeepney can rip an unwitting pedestrian to shreds. The forest of poles, antennae and metal ornaments can impale people, the front bumpers and bars can break legs or mangle other cars' bumpers. Artistic? Perhaps. Safe? No.

I know that jeepneys are a testament to Filipino ingenuity. I know that they are unique to our culture. I know that jeepneys are as Filipino as say, adobo or the carabao, but no matter how you slice it, jeepneys are just unsafe. Better that they be in museums than on public roads.

A lot of them are fabricated using surplus right-hand drive components which are of questionable safety and reliability in a left-hand drive road network. They're also wasteful, noisy and dirty. They're heavy, aerodynamically inefficient behemoths, with unmuffled exhausts filling the air with tons of unburned hydrocarbons thanks to the proliferation of surplus diesel engines which aren't rebuilt to spec.

If private vehicles have to meet safety, noise and emission requirements and regulations, why can't we be more strict when it comes to public vehicles, especially jeepneys? There are already regulations when it comes to basic roadworthiness and acceptable levels of noise and pollution yet we do not seem to have the political will to implement these consistently.

I just find it shocking that we can turn a blind eye to these things even though our loved ones ride these things everyday to work and to school.

As I've said in my earlier blog post, it is not being suggested that jeepneys be phased out abruptly. It is recognized that a lot of Filipinos rely on jeepneys as their means of livelihood. The phasing out of jeepneys as we know them can be done in a span of years or even decades, while alternative modes of transportation are phased in, or the jeepney reengineered to be safer.

I'm not anti-jeepney per se. Just given a choice between tradition and safety, I'll sure as hell choose safety. Especially when friends and family, commuters, pedestrians and drivers alike are at risk every day.

Where have all the bloggers gone...?

2011-05-16T15:41:00.002+08:00

A lot of them have quit.

Some have better things to do.

For some it was just a fad that they hopped on.

For some it became too much work.

Not many people bloghop anymore.

Why bother, when there's Facebook and Twitter.

Me? I'm still here.

It's been seven years.

I still blog.

I miss the old days.

The illusion of choice....

2011-05-15T07:18:00.006+08:00

It's nice to believe that we are all masters of our own fate. The captains of our own ships. The average Joe would probably prefer to believe the concept of free choice other than predestination. To believe in predestination is to believe that all our actions are of no consequence and our fate is predetermined and inescapable. Or, that our actions do have some little consequence over some bits and pieces of our lives but the ultimate outcome remains carved in stone.

I don't know.

The best I can think of is that life is like a game of Monopoly, or poker. There is still skill involved, but skill is nothing without a good roll of the die or luck of the draw. Skill and perseverance by themselves are probably not enough, otherwise everyone working their tails off should be successful eventually. We all know this is not the case. As for pure luck, I'm not sure, I've never been that lucky to know firsthand how it is. Still, I guess it happens. People win lotteries. Some people are just at the right place at the right time. But luck is a variable, an indeterminable, an x-factor which you can't count on in life. Sometimes it's there, sometimes it isn't. And sometimes you just can't tell at all.

So if you can't rely on luck, you try to take matters into your own hands. You take charge, you take control. You make choices. But, for the sake of discussion within the confines of this blog post, let's just say that choice seems somewhat...illusory. We all make choices everyday, mundane things like what to eat, what to buy, where to go, to serious things like business decisions and personal relationships, to the seemingly irrelevant like personal labels and opinions...but most of us are still stuck in our daily routines. Choice, despite all its hype, for the most part seems to refuse to lift us from the doldrums of our daily existence. Or it is just incapable of doing so.

Just like an airbag or a seatbelt. We're just pleased to know it's there, but 99.9% of the time we don't need it, and for that 99.9% it's existence is meaningless. Unless of course you're in a car accident, and for that .1% airbags and seatbelts are the greatest things in the world.

Maybe that is the paradox of choices. Maybe, just maybe, 99.9% of the time, we'd rather choose to remain where we are now. Of course, the choice not to make a choice is a choice in itself.

Choice is also limited. The most important aspects of our lives are beyond our control. Our physical attributes and appearances are dictated by genes (unless you're extremely vain and/or you can afford cosmetic surgery). Our parents, our economic conditions at the start, our race, our nationalities, our genders (notwithstanding sex change operations), maybe even our sexual preferences are all predetermined at birth. Even after birth, our fates are at the mercy of those who rear us. Our mannerisms, beliefs, religion, morals, are shaped by those who raise us, by the schools we go to, and by the time we are of sufficient age to discern what we want for ourselves, the damage has been done, so to speak, and any new paths we choose to take are often initiated by thoughts of dissatisfaction, disillusionment, or disgruntlement over the status quo. And sometimes, it's already too late. We end up who we are...whether we like it or not.

The concept of youth is also paradox in itself. Why are the most important choices in our lives, the ones which may actually have some bearing for the rest of our lives given to us in our youth, when we do not have the wisdom, the mental and emotional fortitude to make good choices. It seems that life has condemned us to make mistakes in our youth and to spend most of our adult lives paying for those mistakes.

Maybe that's the way life was meant to be.

I can be such a cynic. :-)

Still, agree or disagree...it makes good food for thought. It's a debate that has been going on since time immemorial, and it doesn't seem if anyone will have any of the answers anytime soon.

Sometimes...I just think that there's really no such thing as fate or destiny. Or even control or choice. Everything just revolves around...causality. Things happen simply because. Just because. Good or bad, that maybe all there is to it. Causality. Maybe I'll go further along this train of thought in future post. For now, let's leave it at that.

No one can see beyond a choice they don't understand, and I mean no one.

- The Oracle