Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all bloggers and blog readers!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all bloggers and blog readers!

Resto name

I was in the airport waiting for my boss as he spoke with some gentlemen from the House of Representatives when I noticed this sign:


This, I believe, is how the owners came up with the name:

Scene: drinking party

Owner 1: Pare, sa tingin ko lasing na kayo. Pwede pa ba tayo mag toast? (Guys, I think you are all drunk already. Can we still have a toast?)

Owner 2: Kaya pa, kaya pa... (We can, we can...)

Owner 1: Kaya pa? (Can we still do it?)

Owner 3: Ya, kun kaya, toast! (Yeah, if we still can, let's toast!)

Onwers: Kampai!

:)

Battlestar Galactica, Terminator, Matrix

Last night, during dinner with some fraternity brothers, one brother, Jun Elefante, made connections between Battlestar Galactica, Terminator, and the Matrix movies.

Here's how the story goes:

After the defeat of the T-800 in Terminator 1, Skynet sent two other T-800 terminator across time to also hunt Sarah Connor to prevent the birth of John Connor, the leader of the resistance. During the time-space jump, a celestial anomaly occurred sending the machine to another time and dimension.

One of the machines materialized in one of the planet where the thirteenth tribe of Kobol resided - Earth. In it's search, it got into a fight with tribal soldiers who eventually destroyed it. From the scraps of the defeated terminator, the inhabitants of earth reversed engineered robots that did the dirty work for them - garbage collecting, construction, even law enforcement.

The third terminator materialized in one of the planets of the twelve colonies of Kobol. This gave rise to the Cylons. The Cylons turned against their masters that resulted in the first human-Cylon war.

After the truce, the Cylons came back, now with twelve models wearing human skin. These new Cylons are the product of the research of the 13th tribe when they reverse engineered the formula that gave terminators human skin.

During this second war, the humans were obliterated but for the few survivors who began searching for the 13th tribe and the planet Earth.

When they reached Earth as shown towards the end season 4, Earth is nothing more than a wasteland. No human can be found.

Unknown to them, the humans who survived the holocaust dug deep into the earth to escape the machines that no control the upper land. These machines manufacture humans and use them as batteries trapping their thoughts in what is called The Matrix.

Pretty good huh?

Timeline over time

In the Philippines, if we do not quite remember a date or year and if that time may have passed 10 or so years ago, we refer to that time as nineteen-forgotten.

And this has been in use in the last two decades or even longer.

I foresee that after maybe half a millennium, people will no longer say 19-forgotten. Unknown dates will now be referred to as twenty-something.

By that time, they will now say "oh, that furniture is already an antique. Its been here since 20-something."

Forces of attraction

WARNING: this entry is Rated for 18 years and older!!!

Have you ever wondered what attracts you to a person? Is it the looks? The way they carry themselves? The way they dress? The way they move, laugh or speak?

They say that people they often feel love at first sight.

Is it really love or is it something else. The following are discussions masculine in nature. We will have to interview a few women to match this one but for now, here it is.

Just this evening, I bought some stuff from one of the 24 hour stores we have near our place. When I was about to pay, I had chanced upon three empty counters. Without much thought, I went into the middle counter.

Before I was able to put down what I bought on the counter, I notices the teller on the other counter is cuter than the one in my counter. But I had not choice so I went ahead and had my grocery items scanned.

Lo and behold! As I looked at what I bought, I noticed the teller is wearing a mini skirt that hiked up about 2 inches above her knee as she sat on her stool. And suddenly, I thought she is cuter the the other one.

And I thought I wanted to see her again.

Was it she who I wanted to see or her skirt covered legs?

We often hear people say they prefer to look at women with slightly revealing clothing over those scantily clad or not clad at all.

Is it the excitement of "almost" having a peek that attracts them?

Men -- and women -- generally have good imagination. It is that active imagination that I believe makes most men prefer to see the "almost peek-able scene" rather than the entire exposed package.

Other than the one-to-two-inches-above-the-knee skirts, preference is also given to slightly exposed cleavage over half exposed globes.

Wet shirts outlining ample bosoms may work better than fishnet tops.

Blouses that have a hard time keeping in constant contact the belt loops grab attention longer than mid rib or hanging tops.

Jeans that show those cute lower back dimples turns more heads towards the one who wears them than those that expose the garters of women's underwear. And I hate seeing garters of panties exposed over low-riding jeans even if they are g-strings or t-backs.

Affection is also thrown to soft fabric skirts that outline firm thigh muscles.

All in all, apparel that leave a lot of things to the imagination seem more attractive.

Besides, who would ever want to see green-colored varicose veins on what appears to be a perfectly smooth skin? Or breasts that already lost their grip to stay upright? Or thighs hounded by cellulites?

This entry is not written to make women feel bad about themselves. The things described in the previous paragraphs happen for one reason: the women neglected to keep themselves Venus-like because they needed to spend more time on things that are beneficial to their families.

Their love for others take their time away from loving themselves.

Perverse as some men may be, not everyone wants to spend the day tortured by their minds flashing sight of exposed underwear.

In closing, I wish to leave this advice: let us take give back the care of our women for us, for if they loose themselves to aesthetic deterioration, we - guys - will loose sights that help brighten our day.

Only in the Philippines

I have just finished watching Crash. Since most of the movie shows people driving around, I can't help but remember the weekend I spent in Subic.

Inside the former US naval base, traffic rules are strictly followed. Full stop intersections mean full stop. when it says first stop, first go, the next one to stop gives way to the one who stopped at the intersection first. And pedestrians stay inside the pedestrian lane.

It is only here in the Philippines where all good drivers inside the Subic Bay Freeport Zone transform into monsters of the road when they get out.

Those who give way to pedestrians in the economic zone appear to want to roll over pedestrians when they get outside.

While in most places change comes after time, in my country change happens as soon as you cross the border.

New hype after the last stand

I have just finished watching X-Men: The Last Stand.



image linked to photobucket album of 4acesup

In the first part of X-Men, the mutants are slowing becoming known to humans. In the second installment of the trilogy(?) the mutants begin be viewed as enemies.

In the last(?) movie, humans have come to terms living together. They are recognized and respected as equals.

In the final scene, I saw Warren Worthington gliding over a park with a blond boy looking up at him.

And an idea struck me! My guess is boys will come up to their moms and dads say, "I wanna have wings like his!"

The next best discovery in the X-Men world after "The Cure" will be "The Mutator."

Commonwealth and communism

Commonwealth according to Wikipedia was derived from an English noun in the 15th century. The old meaning of wealth of wealth is well-being. Wikipedia further defines commonwealth as "... a state or nation-state governed for the common good ..."

Communism on the other hand is defined as a "... socioeconomic structure that promotes the establishment of a classless, stateless society based on ownership of the means of production."

By limiting the definitions of these two words, we can say that both have a, albeit, common meaning: equally for all.

Both forms of governing a nation has similar flaws. Classes exist under communism while the common good is not sought in commonwealths.

Those who defined these words meant how they are defined. Those who put these words to use, use them the way they believe it may be used.

If communism is implemented as I believe it should have been, the share of the leaders in the production income should be the same as those who labor in the fields.

If there is indeed a commonwealth, then there is no such terms as the privileged few or marginalized group.

I think all forms of governance have been crafted to answer the needs of a nation or state at that time. Implemented properly, it will serve its purpose. It is the implementers who sometimes loose sight of what they are supposed to do. and that is when the flaw is made.

Transfer of loss

I have been wanting to make this post for some time now.

When a person begins using counterfeits, they tend to transfer the lost value of that illegal tender from one person to another. What if the person using the money to pay products and services does not know the money he pays is fake? And what if the person receiving the money does not kwow this fact as well?

What results is a transfer of loss of value.

If I have a 100 peso bill and I use it to pay 100 pesos worth of products whose net value is 90 pesos, I give the vendor an income loss of 10 pesos and an asset loss of 90 pesos.

If that vendor then uses the fake 100 peso bill to give change to a customer, the vendor transfers the 100 peso loss of value to the customer.

This goes on and on and on until someone discovers that the bill is fake.

But the loss will not end there.

The last owner of the bill when it was rejected finds out that the bill is fake, that person will just keep the bill, keep the knowledge to himself and probably use the bill to pay another vendor or person and so the cycle continues.

In this manner, as more and more counterfeit are injected into the monetary system, the loss of value increases.

And by sheer chance that all legal tender are lost or destroyed and only counterfeit money circulates, that is the time when loss of value is cancelled out. By that time, the counterfeit money will have value equivalent to the legel tender it represents. Nobody else will claim a fake money is fake because everyone will be using fake money. And fake money is cheaper to produce than real money.

So, how about it, will we replace all the money that we have with those that are fake because the fakes can be used to pay for a value it represents and cost our central banks less?

You decide...

Motherboards available

During my search for the next available motherboard / mainboard for my laptop, I dicovered two manufacturers whose mobo/mainboards are highly available -- HP and IBM.

My laptop broke about a year ago when her overworked mainboard failed to function. I tried to have it repaired with the authorized repair center but unfortunately they could not salvage it. It is four months beyond warranty so I will have to shell out have the acquisition cost for a new board.

Broken hearted, I tried with our office IT technicians. They too could not fix it. I discovered a repair center that offers mainboard repair and a no-fix, no-pay service. It too can't make any repairs. Unfortunately for me, there are no available 2nd hand replacement boards.

A year since then, I discovered a new repair center with the same offer. They too do not have any replacement boards but they will try to fix my laptop's board.

In both places, and in several auction and web-based buy and sell sites, I found out that the most common laptop mainboards that can be found are from HP or IBM.

What does this mean? It could mean either of the following:

1. HP and IBM mainboards last long
2. HP and IBM are the most bought units
3. HP and IBM laptops get old fast so the units are discarded and the mainboards salvaged
4. HP and IBM laptop peripherals break up easily
5. There is a surplus of HP and IBM mainboards

You choose.

Separation of Church and State

After much thought, I am now a firm believer of the separation of the Church and State.

Here is the situation:

1. In the Philippines, for example, the country is run by a civilian government elected by its citizens.
2. Majority of Filipinos are Christians.
3. Most Christians are Roman Catholics.
4. Roman Catholic churches are headed by Filipino priests.
5. Filipino priests have direct connections to the Vatican, the nerve center of the church.
6. The Vatican is a city-state.

I therefore conclude that Filipino priests are dual citizens. They become dual citizens when they enter the seminary since it is run by the Catholic Church.

Now, I believe that when priests meddle into the affairs of the State, it is similar to the Vatican meddling with the affairs of the Philippine government.

Finally, I expect the Catholic church to be more of a guide to its flock. A shepherd. I believe that the priests should guide the people based on what is taught in the bible. Priests should not lead protest rallies and incite discontent.

For what is a church when sinners have nowhere to go for penitence or to seek refuge from?

Portable power sources

Just imagine when batteries were not discovered.

First there was the use of heat for power. We had candles, lamps, and steam-powered power plants.

With the introduction of fuel engines, we replaced steam turbines with diesel plants. These power homes and run appliances and other electronic equipment. But you can only use your gadgets when you are within reach of an electrical outlet.

So, what will those with bright minds do?

They will have to extend that "reach." And to do so, extension cords will be developed. The longer the cord, the farther the reach. This brings you outside of your own home and around the block.

The engineering race then will be focused on having the longest, lightest, and toughest extension cords to keep you connected and keep things running.

Then portability sets in. Portable power plants will be manufactured. These come in form of smaller power generators to power buildings. Then smaller ones will come in to power smaller buildings. Then even smaller ones to power homes.

With all these power plants, you will still need an extension cord.

And now comes the mobile generators. Generators mounted on large four tired trolleys. Then they will come in four wheeled (smaller wheels), then probably three, then two. By this time you will have generators mounted on two-wheeled traveling trolleys.

More compact and handy generators will come. They will then be mounted on man portable packs that you can lug around without having to worry about your trolley wheels falling on potholes.

And finally, there will be generators on belt bags and for ultra portability, pocket generators. These latest ones will come with exhaust pipes dangling from your pockets.

So, how about that? If we never discovered batteries, we might have reduced toxic wastes. Our only remaining means of environmental concern that comes with electrical power will be nauseous fumes.

Have a nice day!

Dancing in the rain

Yahoo video

Problems little kids encounter just to open an umbrella



When we see kids wrangling with things they hold, let us not go ballistic and scold them thinking that they are out to break whatever it is they have. Let us remember that they just want to use it and cannot figure out who to start using it.

Let us teach them rather than reprimand them. They are young and they need to learn. They need our guidance.

Bear with me

Desperate for food?

Be careful where you put them or where you eat them. You might end up like the bear in this video.



Eeeeewww...

Philippine government lifecycle

This is what I think the Philippine government life cycle looks like.

1. Person A gets elected.
2. Person B accuses Person A of cheating
2.1. Person A gets disqualified. Go to #6 or
2.2. Charges against Person A is dismissed. Go to #3
3. Person A takes office and goes about his job.
4. Person A is accused about whatever.
4.1. Person A gets convicted and removed from office. Go to #6
4.2. Person A is cleared of all charges. Go to #5
5. Person B continues to accuse or Person C accuses Person A of more charges. Go to #4. Or Person B and/or C gather supporters to call for the resignation of Person A.
5.1. Person A gets ousted. Go to #6
5.2. Person A remains in office. Go to #2
6. Person D gets to replace Person A by legal transition. Go to #2 and replace letters accordingly.
7. Come next election period. Persons A, B, and C run for office.
7.1. Person A gets reelected. Go to #2
7.2. Person B or C gets elected. Go to # 2 and replace the letters accordingly.

And this vicious cycle goes over and over and over again.

Don't challenge a woman to a car race...

And don't challenge her parking skills.

Watch this video posted by eNwe in Yahoo! videos:




What do you think?

Basset Hound Rock

Another cute video from Yahoo! videos uploaded by commercialbob26.

First, there was a cat. Now comes the dog.



Enjoy the music!

DJ Kitten

Got this one from yahoo videos.

Watch this kitten play DJ in the house.



The cat really knows how to play good dance music.

Boxers should not have running noses

WARNING: Not suited for those with weak stomach

I chanced upon a friend once. He was doing some shadow boxing. And he was doing some sneezing sounds forcefully expelling air through his nose while throwing punches.

What will ever happen if a boxer on the ring throws a punch while expelling air in force... And what will ever happen if on the day of that bout he has clogged nose? He won't be throwing just punches... He will also be throwing globs of snot...

Eeeewww...

Structures in society

Everywhere we look, we can see some sort of a structure -- an order of things -- that we obligingly, traditionally, voluntarily, forcibly or unconditionally follow.

-in the government, we call it bureaucracy

-in the military, we refer to it as the chain of command

-among royalties, it is called heirarchy

-in biology, identified as the food chain

-in the family, regarded as sibling rivalry

no matter where you are, there is always that structure -- formal or not -- that must be followed -- explicitly or as implied.

The lower you go in this order of things, the less power and privilege you have. And in most cases, you have no choice but to wait your turn.