Ang Huling El Bimbo by Eraserheads

One of the best songs by one of the best Filipino band ever. Ang Huling El Bimbo by the Eraserheads. This video won the MTV Asia Viewer's Choice awards in 1997 making the Eraserheads the first and only Filipino artists to have ever won the award.

Voltes V - Horie Mitsuko Live 2000

Full version of the Voltes V theme song sang by the original artist Horie Mmitsuko. Borutesu Faibu no Uta (Voltes V Song - Opening Theme).

Swine Flu 1976 and Propaganda

It seems like the Swine Flu (H1N1) is not new. I found this 60 minutes documentary on it.

Swine Flu 1976 & Propaganda
by Dianequiose-4

Tronatic Motion GSM

Amazing new cellphone!

The Filipino Psyche

Here's an interesting article by Conrado De Quiros of The Philippine Daily Inquirer.

He write about watching an interview of Manny Pacquiao and how confident Manny is even though he is being interviewed in English and Manny is not really that fluent in English.

He talks about how some may see this as being arrogrant, but it's actually self confidence.

Pacquiao has sometimes been seen, at least locally, as being too self-assured to the point of cockiness, but I don’t know that that is necessarily bad. Certainly, I don’t know that he doesn’t need it. You can’t get far without those levels of self-assurance, or cockiness, particularly when facing foes in the ring who look like executioners. Wrestling of course has driven the idea to satirical or self-parodying levels. But you need to feel bigger, better, larger-than-life to not be intimidated.

He also talks about how some Filipinos boxers lose when fighting abroad because their sense of inferiority made them lose.

I’ve often wondered if that is not Pacquiao’s biggest strength. Of course he is vastly talented; self-assurance alone will get you nowhere. But I’ve also seen deeply talented athletes fall by the wayside. Many Filipino boxers lose while fighting abroad because they are not just fighting one enemy but several enemies. Quite apart from their foes, they are fighting a hostile crowd, an alien culture (including an alien language), themselves. Or their shyness, their sense of inferiority, the reflex of “knowing their place” that has been drummed into them their whole lives.

It's interesting how he writes "knowing their place". Because that is exactly how Filipinos are sometimes treated. Especially by those who are in power.

So the question is, why doesn't anyone stand up to this? Has the Filipino been dragged down so much for so long that they don't know any better? That they have no idea that they can do better in the future? Are they just content to live out the rest of their lives based on their current status?

Which raises an interesting point: Success does build confidence, as you can see from Pacquiao today—he is more confident than ever. But isn’t the opposite true as well? Doesn’t confidence also produce success?

You have to wonder on a broader plane if that is not the thing that has held us back from making the kind of giant steps Pacquiao has. The culture can be very cruel. Elsewhere in the world, kids are taught to be assertive, to speak their mind, to not take abuse. Here, we are taught to be obedient, to hold our tongue, to grin and bear it. Elsewhere, people who try to learn another language, or attempt to speak it in conversation, however haltingly, are thought of as doing a valiant thing. Here people who do the same thing—particularly in the province—are thought of as making fools of themselves. Parochial schools are not called that for nothing.

I have a friend who was thought of being aggressive and boastful by his classmates. Not surprisingly, he made it big in America.

Nobody is relegated to their current status in life. Everybody has an equal opportunity to better their lot in life. We are all given the same 24 hours in a day. Some may have more money than others, but money is not always the answer to success in life. Your attitude and outlook is the main driving force to your success.

Of course there’s a level at which frankness becomes bluntness, assertion becomes abrasiveness, outspokenness becomes loudness. You get a lot of that in US airports, a stunning contrast with Narita where the personnel are awesomely polite but just as awesomely efficient. But just as well there is a level where obedience becomes submissiveness, respect for authority becomes mindlessness, and patience is no longer a virtue. Certainly they can stand in the way of the dogged pursuit of greater goals, or giant dreams. Call Pacquiao presumptuous, call Pacquiao outrageous, call Pacquiao cocky, but you kind of thank heaven too that he is.

You can be assertive without being arrogant, you can be frank without being abrasive. You can be a success without stepping on someone else is shoes. If Manny Pacquiao can teach us something, it is to be confident but humble, be disciplined but have fun, be serious when needed, hard work pays.

'FarmVille' gamemaker Zynga sees dollar signs

On any given day 500,000 tractors are sold on the Internet. But don't start buying stock in John Deere or Caterpillar just yet. These are $20 "virtual" tractors that belong to the 50 million players of FarmVille, the largest and fastest-growing social game on the Internet.

Social games are free online applications accessed through sites such as MySpace and Facebook. If you've spent any time on either site you're probably familiar with titles such as FarmVille, Mafia Wars, and Caf World. All three games, which rank among the top five games played daily on Facebook, were developed by San Francisco-based Zynga, one of the tech sector's most talked-about companies these days.

Read the full article at Fortune/CNN Money.

The great Baby Einstein scam

The New York Times reported Thursday that Disney is offering a refund to buyers of its ubiquitous “Baby Einstein” videos, which did not, as promised, turn babies into wunderkinds. Apparently, all those puppets, bright colors, and songs were what we had feared all along—a mind-numbing way to occupy infants.

This news has rocked the parenting world, which had embraced the videos as a miraculous child-rearing staple. Videos that make your kid smarter while you prepare dinner? Genius!

Read the full story at Shine from Yahoo!

Mi Ultimo Adiós by Dr José Rizal

This just popped into my mind and I decided to share it. If only current generation of Filipinos have love of country as much as Jose Rizal, we wouldn't be in the boat we're in.

========================

Mi Ultimo Adiós

Adios, Patria adorada, region del sol querida,
Perla del Mar de Oriente, nuestro perdido Eden!
A darte voy alegre la triste mustia vida,
Y fuera más brillante más fresca, más florida,
Tambien por tí la diera, la diera por tu bien.

En campos de batalla, luchando con delirio
Otros te dan sus vidas sin dudas, sin pesar;
El sitio nada importa, ciprés, laurel ó lirio,
Cadalso ó campo abierto, combate ó cruel martirio,
Lo mismo es si lo piden la patria y el hogar.

Yo muero cuando veo que el cielo se colora
Y al fin anuncia el día trás lóbrego capuz;
Si grana necesitas para teñir tu aurora,
Vierte la sangre mía, derrámala en buen hora
Y dórela un reflejo de su naciente luz.

Mis sueños cuando apenas muchacho adolescente,
Mis sueños cuando joven ya lleno de vigor,
Fueron el verte un día, joya del mar de oriente
Secos los negros ojos, alta la tersa frente,
Sin ceño, sin arrugas, sin manchas de rubor.

Ensueño de mi vida, mi ardiente vivo anhelo,
Salud te grita el alma que pronto va á partir!
Salud! ah que es hermoso caer por darte vuelo,
Morir por darte vida, morir bajo tu cielo,
Y en tu encantada tierra la eternidad dormir.

Si sobre mi sepulcro vieres brotar un dia
Entre la espesa yerba sencilla, humilde flor,
Acércala a tus labios y besa al alma mía,
Y sienta yo en mi frente bajo la tumba fría
De tu ternura el soplo, de tu hálito el calor.

Deja á la luna verme con luz tranquila y suave;
Deja que el alba envíe su resplandor fugaz,
Deja gemir al viento con su murmullo grave,
Y si desciende y posa sobre mi cruz un ave
Deja que el ave entone su cantico de paz.

Deja que el sol ardiendo las lluvias evapore
Y al cielo tornen puras con mi clamor en pos,
Deja que un sér amigo mi fin temprano llore
Y en las serenas tardes cuando por mi alguien ore
Ora tambien, Oh Patria, por mi descanso á Dios!

Ora por todos cuantos murieron sin ventura,
Por cuantos padecieron tormentos sin igual,
Por nuestras pobres madres que gimen su amargura;
Por huérfanos y viudas, por presos en tortura
Y ora por tí que veas tu redencion final.

Y cuando en noche oscura se envuelva el cementerio
Y solos sólo muertos queden velando allí,
No turbes su reposo, no turbes el misterio
Tal vez acordes oigas de citara ó salterio,
Soy yo, querida Patria, yo que te canto á ti.

Y cuando ya mi tumba de todos olvidada
No tenga cruz ni piedra que marquen su lugar,
Deja que la are el hombre, la esparza con la azada,
Y mis cenizas antes que vuelvan á la nada,
El polvo de tu alfombra que vayan á formar.

Entonces nada importa me pongas en olvido,
Tu atmósfera, tu espacio, tus valles cruzaré,
Vibrante y limpia nota seré para tu oido,
Aroma, luz, colores, rumor, canto, gemido
Constante repitiendo la esencia de mi fé.

Mi Patria idolatrada, dolor de mis dolores,
Querida Filipinas, oye el postrer adios.
Ahi te dejo todo, mis padres, mis amores.
Voy donde no hay esclavos, verdugos ni opresores,
Donde la fé no mata, donde el que reyna es Dios.

Adios, padres y hermanos, trozos del alma mía,
Amigos de la infancia en el perdido hogar,
Dad gracias que descanso del fatigoso día;
Adios, dulce extrangera, mi amiga, mi alegria,
Adios, queridos séres morir es descansar.
========================

English Translation

My Final Farewell

Farewell, dear Fatherland, clime of the sun caress'd
Pearl of the Orient seas, our Eden lost!,
Gladly now I go to give thee this faded life's best,
And were it brighter, fresher, or more blest
Still would I give it thee, nor count the cost.

On the field of battle, 'mid the frenzy of fight,
Others have given their lives, without doubt or heed;
The place matters not-cypress or laurel or lily white,
Scaffold or open plain, combat or martyrdom's plight,
T is ever the same, to serve our home and country's need.

I die just when I see the dawn break,
Through the gloom of night, to herald the day;
And if color is lacking my blood thou shalt take,
Pour'd out at need for thy dear sake
To dye with its crimson the waking ray.

My dreams, when life first opened to me,
My dreams, when the hopes of youth beat high,
Were to see thy lov'd face, O gem of the Orient sea
From gloom and grief, from care and sorrow free;
No blush on thy brow, no tear in thine eye.

Dream of my life, my living and burning desire,
All hail ! cries the soul that is now to take flight;
All hail ! And sweet it is for thee to expire ;
To die for thy sake, that thou mayst aspire;
And sleep in thy bosom eternity's long night.

If over my grave some day thou seest grow,
In the grassy sod, a humble flower,
Draw it to thy lips and kiss my soul so,
While I may feel on my brow in the cold tomb below
The touch of thy tenderness, thy breath's warm power.

Let the moon beam over me soft and serene,
Let the dawn shed over me its radiant flashes,
Let the wind with sad lament over me keen ;
And if on my cross a bird should be seen,
Let it trill there its hymn of peace to my ashes.
Let the sun draw the vapors up to the sky,
And heavenward in purity bear my tardy protest
Let some kind soul o 'er my untimely fate sigh,
And in the still evening a prayer be lifted on high
From thee, 0 my country, that in God I may rest.

Pray for all those that hapless have died,
For all who have suffered the unmeasur'd pain;
For our mothers that bitterly their woes have cried,
For widows and orphans, for captives by torture tried
And then for thyself that redemption thou mayst gain.

And when the dark night wraps the graveyard around
With only the dead in their vigil to see
Break not my repose or the mystery profound
And perchance thou mayst hear a sad hymn resound
'T is I, O my country, raising a song unto thee.

And even my grave is remembered no more
Unmark'd by never a cross nor a stone
Let the plow sweep through it, the spade turn it o'er
That my ashes may carpet earthly floor,
Before into nothingness at last they are blown.

Then will oblivion bring to me no care
As over thy vales and plains I sweep;
Throbbing and cleansed in thy space and air
With color and light, with song and lament I fare,
Ever repeating the faith that I keep.

My Fatherland ador'd, that sadness to my sorrow lends
Beloved Filipinas, hear now my last good-by!
I give thee all: parents and kindred and friends
For I go where no slave before the oppressor bends,
Where faith can never kill, and God reigns e'er on high!

Farewell to you all, from my soul torn away,
Friends of my childhood in the home dispossessed !
Give thanks that I rest from the wearisome day !
Farewell to thee, too, sweet friend that lightened my way;
Beloved creatures all, farewell! In death there is rest!


(This is the 1911 translation by Charles Derbyshire of the Spanish original of José Rizal's poem, Mi Ultimo Adiós)

Amazing Musical Talent

I want to explain this, but it's better if you just watch.

Tawa Muna

Anong bansa ang walang pangit? UGANDA
Anong bansa ang di sikat? LAOS
Anong bansa ang tinutukso? CUBA
Anong bansa ang madulas? GREECE
Anong bansa ang hindi sa iyo? KENYA
Anong bansa ang nakagapos? ITALY
Anong bansa ang maraming bacteria? GERM-ANY
Anong bansa ang nagmamadali? RUSSIA
_______________________________________

Learn Japanese:

1) Is this your underwear? Jakimoto
2) Speechless? Wasabi
3) What are your thoughts? Kuro-kuro mo
4) Are you regular customer? Sukikaba
_______________________________________

Mga Lasa Ng Gatas Ng Babae:

Dalagita: Fresh milk
Dalaga: Pasteurized
Bagong kasal: Skimmed
Matagal ng kasal: Yogurt
Matandang dalaga: Taho
Lola: Tokwa
_______________________________________

Nag-aaway Ang Dalawang Tanga:

Kulas: Ano ba ang gusto mo? away o gulo
Tomas: Away na lang para walang gulo.
________________________________________

Sa Isang Ospital Pagkatapos Ng Operasyon:

Pasyente: Dok, bakit ganito ang operasyon sa ulo? Halos kita na ang utak ko.
Dok: Okey yan.... at least open-minded ka na ngayon.
________________________________________

Inday: Sir, karamihan pala ng nakalibing sa simintiryo ginahasa.
Sir: Paano mo nalaman?
Inday: Kasi nakalagay sa lapida nila RIP!
________________________________________

Sa Airport Canteen, Umorder Ang Isang Amerikano:

Kano: Miss, will you please give me one few two.
Tindera: What sir?
Kano: I said one few two.
Tindera: Oh, puto.
Kano: Yeah, that's right.
Tindera: (sa loob-loob, tanga. puto lang, pino-few two, few two pa, gagantihan ko nga).
Tindera: Okey sir, what color do you want? Few tea or few la ?
________________________________________

TANONG: Ano ang mas maraming sakay, jeepney or ambulansya?

SAGOT: siyempre ambulansya. kasi ang jeepney, 10-10 lang bawat side.
Samantalang sa ambulansya, madalas na 50-50 ang sakay.
________________________________________

Hindi Raw Bingi:

Customer: Sumisigaw... ... Pabili ng HOPE.
Tindero: Huwag kang sumigaw. hindi ako bingi. Ilang COKE ba ang bibilhin mo?
_________________________________________

Kumpisalan:

Tulume: Father, patawarin po ninyo ako.
Pari: Ano ba ang kasalanan mo?
Tulume: Nagnakaw po ako ng limang manok.
Pari: Magdasal ka ng limang Ama Namin.
Tulume: Father, walong Ama Namin na po ang dadasalin ko. Babalikan ko pa iyong naiwang tatlong manok.

Being A Scavenger

This is the reality of majority of poor Filipinos. In a country where the President and her entourage spends $20,000 for a dinner. It's unbelievable that people still live like this and eats garbage to survive.

'The Last Supper' recreated with Rubik's cubes

This is brilliant!

Shocking News From The World Bank (the truth behind speculation)

Someone forwarded this e-mail to me.

====================

The Financial Analyst of World Bank would like to inform each and everyone of you that the present currency exchange rate of US Dollar to Peso is actually $1 = P52. Your government is manipulating the exchange rate for some years now. It is very much improbable and impossible that the Philippine Peso is appreciating compare to Euro, British Pound, Rials, and any other foreign currency. Even your ASEAN neighboring countries are suffering from the Global Crisis. Singapore , a developed country is affected by depreciation of their currency what more of your country?

We admire you for your hard work but we also pity you for having such a very corrupt government that is taking advantage of your hard earned money.

The ARROYO ADMINISTRATION is blatantly milking each and every OFW's all over the world of billions of pesos for its own greedy, selfish ends. Investigations reveal that this milked money from OFWs will be spent to BRIBE not only PGMA's pet CROCODILES in CONGRESS but some in the SENATE as well for her to PERPETUATE IN POWER BEYOND 2010. The rest would be deposited to the family's SECRET ACCOUNT in Switzerland .

Another money-making scheme is the LOTTERY DRAWS. Filipinos should be aware that all LOTTO DRAWS are orchestrated, and big money goes to the two sons of the lady president. Recent example is the SUPER LOTTO 6/49 draw, where supposedly two individuals from Luzon won. Do you know WHO these individuals are? It's Mikey and Datu, who else? One might ask how can the draw be rigged when it is being televised in front of millions of viewers. The answer is simple. As you all know, all bet combinations are being entered into PCSO's main data base as it is on-line, therefore, it is easy to determine which combinations were NOT betted upon. If they want to raise big money, no winners will be declared until the JACKPOT reaches sky-high because they could dictate the outcome at will. When it's "HARVEST TIME", viola, there would be "winner or winners" and the process repeats all over again. One might ask how this is being done. One insider told our investigators that actually the "DRAWN BALLS", six balls to be exact, are the only set which could fit into the transparent tube which sucks the balls up. All others are slightly bigger than the diameter of the tube which could not be distinguished by the viewers, therefore, there's no way they could be drawn! You Filipinos are being skinned alive, fried in your own fat and lard by your own government. Do you ever wonder why president-elect BARACK OBAMA, avoids your president like a stinking leper?

-World Bank-

====================

This e-mail of course is pure speculation. I just find it interesting what people forward.

Greatest Hole In One Shot

Vijay Singh skips the ball over the pond for a hole in one.

Here's a better view.

Arroyo signs climate change law

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has signed into law the Philippine Climate Change Act of 2009 in Malacañang that would enable the country to better respond to disasters spawned by climate change.

Republic Act 9729 seeks to mainstream climate change into the formulation of government policy by setting up a National Framework Strategy and Program on Climate Change.

It also creates the Climate Change Commission that will coordinate, monitor and evaluate the government's programs and actions to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change.

The government signs a lot of bills, but none of these are ever implemented. The Filipino's penchant for Nigas Cugon is appalling.

How many laws have been enacted but never implemented? Remember the anti-smoke belching law? Whatever happened to that? There's hardly any testing stations and all buses and jeepneys still pollute and spew black smoke.

I'm really sick and tired of all these crap they do. You know, the solution is very simple. It's a matter of implementation.

You want to help fight climate change and make the environment better? Here's what you do.

1. Mandate all new house and building construction to put solar panels on the roof, this will help reduce power consumption for hot water and put some extra electricity into the power grid.
2. Offer excess power created by these solar panels as a discount to the household's electric bill or sell it to the power company. These are being done now in the US. It's a simple matter of getting the right meters for it. The only problem in this case of course is Meralco, who has no intention of people ever saving electricity.
3. Tax heavily high occupancy private vehicles like SUVs. There is no need for a Ford F150 or Expedition on the Philippine roads, they're too small to accommodate that.
4. Encourage local car manufacturers to make smaller diesel cars like the Smart Car.
5. Implement a automobile fuel efficiency law increasing over the next 10 years and moving to hybrid vehicles within 3 years by giving tax breaks to fuel efficient vehicles.
6. Make bike lanes on all roads and clear the sidewalks for people to walk or roller blade on. This will save gas.
7. Encourage everyone to use CFL bulbs instead of regular light bulbs. This will cut down household electricity cost by half immediately.
8. Put more buses and small buses on major road and put them on a schedule instead of whatever time they feel like coming. Put order in the streets to lessen traffic. Less traffic, less fuel wasted.
9. Malacanang should set an example by planting a vegetable garden, using solar power and using vehicles that are fuel efficient.
10. Encourage redesign overpasses, buildings and homes suitable for Philippine climate instead of following Western designs that are not meant for the climate of the Philippines.
11. Put up solar, wind, geothermal and wave power plants. Stop relying on foreign oil. The Philippines is near the equator. You can't get better sun coverage than that! Typhoon winds should be captured and used as power.
12. Instead of one big power plant that destroys the environment, build smaller wind farms or solar power plants in several locations to electrify the whole country.
13. Build biomass fuel plants in the countryside. They have plenty of waste to throw away.
14. Build up local farms and start helping farmers to grow better crops. The less we import, the more money we keep in the country. Surplus can be sold for more income.
15. Encourage people to use pedicabs, calesas or other means of transportation in smaller roads. Get the operators of these vehicles licensed to legitimize their business and train them on proper use of the road. This will build jobs and make sure the roads are properly used and not blocked by these people. These mode of transports don't even need fuel.

Now, is that so hard to do?

Update on DSWD Relief Good

I just love the Internet, don't you? The power of instant communication has led to immediate action and fact checking my individuals instead of waiting for the news organization to report on it.

Take the issue of Ella's blog titled Aanhin pa ang damo kung patay na ang kabayo? (A special report from a volunteer).

Then the Dr. Esperanza Cabral of the DSWD immediately issued a statement.

Then some volunteers went to DSWD to check on the matter and volunteer and wasn't let in by the guard even though the DSWD said there was a lack of volunteers and were told that repacking operations can last up to 11pm. None of that is happening.

I'm not saying they're stealing the goods, but the lack of coordination and expediency of the relief operation is pretty disturbing to the donors.

Here is Manuel L. Quezon III's blog about the whole incident.

Here is the Bayanihan Online's timeline of events.

Again, the issue is not whether the goods are being stolen or rotting. Ella did not say the food was rotting even though Dr. Cabral concentrated on the literal meaning of "rotting". The "rotting" Ella was talking about was the goods lay there unused and not moving.

The issue is, why are these goods not getting to the victims? If the problem was lack of volunteers, how come there isn't a constant stream of information asking for volunteers? It doesn't have to be on TV. You can use Facebook, Twitter, E-mail, text, radio, etc.

Now that these photos have been shown, they are now saying they will have volunteers on the weekend. Why wait? And why are the guards not even away of the SOP for volunteers?

You people in the government should get your head out of your behinds and start doing your jobs. People and volunteers don't answer to you, you answer to the people.

Statement of Dr. Esperanza Cabral on the issue of relief goods in the DSWD Warehouse

With regards to the blog post of Ella that I reposted. Here is a statement from Dr. Esperaza Cabral of the DSWD.

I may be cynical about the Philippine government, but I believe in fair and balanced news. I just hope that what Dr. Esperanza Cabral said is true.

=====================

Statement of Dr. Esperanza Cabral on the issue of relief goods in the DSWD Warehouse
October 23, 2009

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) manages the National Relief Operations Center (NROC) which is the facility for processing and storage of relief goods that are purchased by the Department or donated to us by generous individuals both here and abroad. The relief goods are released to our Regional Offices or directly to evacuation centers or to the local government units as they are needed and requested by these entities. They are delivered in trucks, many of which were lent to us by private companies or by military vehicles. Some of the goods are shipped by air from nearby Villamor Airbase.

When typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng hit the country, we received and are continuing to receive donations. Our warehouses are indeed full, inspite of the fact that we have distributed 500,000 food packs and 200,000 clothing packs as well as thousands of sacks of rice, blankets, beddings, and items of personal hygiene in the past almost 4 weeks. That is the reason why when asked if we still have enough goods, my constant reply is yes, so far we do, thanks to the many kind-hearted individuals and organizations as well as countries who responded and are still responding to the plight of the typhoon victims.

There are no rotting relief goods in our warehouses as we do not keep perishables there and the relief goods that are there, save for the donated old clothes are quite new since they have been either recently purchased by us or have been just donated.

Our goods are repacked by volunteers who are there because they want to help. But they are volunteers and report when they have time to help us. Sometimes there are two hundred of them and sometimes there are only a dozen. However many or few they are, we appreciate their presence and their assistance. Weekdays are usually quiet but on Saturdays and Sundays, the students, along with others who work Monday to Friday, including our own employees, are there.

Our staff at the warehouse work round the clock even now, making sure that the requests for relief goods are met in a timely manner. They work hard, they work quietly and they work humbly and I feel bad that they have been subjected to public vilification that they do not deserve.

I do not recall having talked to an Editor of Philippine News. I do remember my secretary telling me that someone was on the phone asking why there were no volunteers working at the warehouse. My reply was we do not own the time of the volunteers.

I wish that I could have prevented the deaths from typhoons but in fact, they have nothing to do with the relief goods that we are in charge of. Most of the deaths were from drowning or injuries sustained during the typhoon. Some died of illnesses. We are not in charge of rescue nor are we in charge of health and to the best of my knowledge, none of the deaths was due to absence of or delay in the delivery of relief goods.

We would like to assure all of you that the relief goods will reach the intended beneficiaries as they become necessary and will be used only to assist them. However, the relief goods don’t all go out at the same time and an empty warehouse is not proof that the goods were used properly just as a full warehouse is not evidence that the goods are being hoarded. If you visit our website www.dswd.gov.ph you will find updates on our activities related to typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng. It includes an updated list of donations received and goods released from the DSWD warehouse.

There are many aspects of disaster response. They include recovery and rehabilitation and in both instances, goods and other resources are still needed. In the initial reaction to a calamity, people will want to help and as we saw recently, they came in droves, offering their time, their talent and their resources. We want them to know how much we appreciate them for what they have done and what they are still doing. But further down the road, when the initial flush of generosity gives way to donor fatigue, there will remain only a few hardy NGOs and volunteers and the workers of the DSWD and other government agencies to continue the job of helping the disaster victims back on their feet. Judicious use of resources at the outset is imperative lest we face the situation of even greater want after a period of relative plenty.

We at the DSWD wish to assure you that your trust in us is not misplaced.

Thank you.
=====================

Here is a link to a GMA News about the incident.

Here's the link to the original statement from DWSD.

Ella's blog is now up, it was flooded yesterday so it was down. Here is her response to the issue going on as she has now been on ABS-CBN and GMA.

Black Terror

Black Terror issue #5 will be out in November and is written by Hester and up and coming artist Jonathan Lau.

Jonathan Lau's previous work includes Battlestar Galactica Origins #1-11 and Battlestar Galactica Ghost Squadron.

His work has been evolving and based on the previews of Black Terror #5, this is one of his best works yet.

For a full review of the comics, go to CBR News.

Apple Get A Mac Ad - Broken Promises

Do you think Apple is just going to sit around doing nothing while Windows 7 launches?

How about targeting Windows XP users who are looking to upgrade to Windows 7? Got an ad for that too!

Relief Goods Not Being Distributed By DSWD?

This is unconfirmed, but this is from Blog Ni Ella at http://www.ellaganda.com/. Which is now down.

I am reposting this from Jenniepperson.com who was able to copy Ella's blog before it went down.

Again, this is unconfirmed. I am reposting in the hopes someone in the know can clarify the situation.

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Aanhin pa ang damo kung patay na ang kabayo? (A special report from a volunteer)

Oct 21st, 2009 by ella

Dear friends,

I’m asking your help to spread the word. Tulungan po ninyo akong ikalat ito. Beyond this, we should also demand action. I disabled a plugin so you can copy the photos of relief goods rotting in DSWD warehouses. You can link this post to your blogs, facebook, websites etc. You can also email the photos.

Philippine News (US based Philippine newspaper) will use this as its front page story this week. Every Filipino has the right to know where the tons of donations from the UN and other counties go. Kahit po nakakahiya sa mga nag-donate. Kung sa ganitong paraan, matutulungan natin ang mga nasalanta, then by all means, let’s do it.

For those who have the time, please try to volunteer sa DSWD warehouses. Getting in was not easy. A friend had to put in a word for us. Let’s see kung madali nang makapasok sa DSWD warehouse ang mga volunteers.

Please read on and good luck to us.

Ella

(This post was last edited Oct 22, 12:30 pm)

Kahapon, tinanong ng Philippine News si DSWD Secretary Esperanza Cabral:

Editor of Philippine News: Why are the relief goods in DSWD warehouses not moving?

DSWD Secretary Esperanza Cabral: Wala kasing volunteers.

This short interview was done over the phone. Philippine News wanted to hear her side pero ayaw niyang makipag-usap sa press. After four tries, pinasabi na lang niya ang maikling sagot na ito sa secretary niya - “Walang volunteers”.

I don’t want to accuse her of corruption but at the very least she is showing signs of being totally incompetent. We are in a state of calamity where every second counts. May namamatay araw-araw dahil sa sakit.

In my opinion, these deaths could have been prevented if Secretary Cabral had tried a little harder to do her job.

Deaths from Philippine storms nears 1,000

“Tropical Storm Ketsana left 420 dead and 37 missing when it flooded 80 percent of Manila on September 26, a disaster the government said affected 4.35 million people.

Some areas are still flooded three weeks later and 189,000 people remain in evacuation centres,


Typhoon Parma hit the northern Philippines on October 3 and lingered as a tropical storm for a week, triggering landslides that killed 438 people and leaving 51 missing mostly in mountain communities.

The government agency said Parma affected 4.16 million people, including more than 32,000 who remain at evacuation centres.”

During the first week after the storm, lumabas ang “bayanihan spirit” ng mga Pinoy. “Makatulong lang kahi’t konti,” katwiran nila.

kung walang volunteers, ano ‘to, komiks?

From Stella Arnaldo’s blog:

“At the offices of many civic groups and private organizations, hundreds of people showed up to volunteer in packing relief goods.

At the Tulong Bayan center at the Expo Centro in Cubao, Most of the volunteers were adolescents as young as 10 years old, along with their kuya or ate in high school and college.

They came in huge numbers, many of them barkadas, classmates or siblings, dressed just in their tees and shorts, wearing their Havaianas. All were just enthusiastic to do their share!
Photos by Leah Navarro


Even grade school kids pitched in to help!




Youth volunteers repack detergents for distribution


Making beds from carton boxes

GMA asked world for donations

Our government begged the world for more donations. Sumagot ang buong mundo sa ating panawagan. In less than three weeks, dumaong ang mga barko, ibinaba mula sa mga cargo planes, i-diniliver ng mga trak at container vans ang sandamakmak na relief goods. Cash donations were in the millions of dollars.

But these donations must be coursed through DSWD

Nagpalabas ng directive ang pangulo. Individuals, private companies and other nations were ENCOURAGED to send their donations to DSWD. I blogged about it here and the video of her announcement here.

This PGMA directive sounded suspicious to me then. Now I know why. Here’s the story.

A group of eight people, your ate Ella included, went to one of DSWD warehouses to help in repacking relief goods. We know they need volunteers pero hindi namin akalaing WALANG TAO TALAGA SA LOOB NG WAREHOUSE!

As in sa isang humongous warehouse (1000++ sq.m) NA PUNONG-PUNO NG RELIEF GOODS HANGGANG BUBONG, ISANG DSWD employee lang at ISANG SECURITY GUARD ang tao!!

Kailangang magpa-register at i-schedule ang volunteering

1) UNICEF Registration (as a volunteer)

The warehouse can only take as much as 50 volunteers at a time or per shift. Here you will find that there is a 4-hour shift, and an option for a 6-hour shift for the volunteers to indicate their availability.

What “volunteers”? Nasaan?

Aside from the 8 of us? Nope, there was nobody there. Bakit kailangan ang scheduling? Feeling hindi ba magkamayaw at nagu-unahan ang mga volunteers?

I know somebody who wanted to volunteer many times. She was always bumped off, laging nirere-schedule kasi “there were too many volunteers” daw. At tuwing Sunday lang daw puwede. What the hell is going on here?

Nakatambak ang donations ng UNICEF sa warehouse, local and international

Mga banig na dapat ay nahihigaan ng mga nasalanta. Mga imported camp beds na hindi na yata masisilayan ng mga biktima. Mga kumot na hindi naman nakabalot sa katawan nila. At mga pagkaing hindi sumasayad sa sikmura nila.

The relief goods are not going anywhere

We arrived at about 8 am and left by midafternoon and yes, you guessed it right. Kami pa rin ang tao bukod sa isang DSWD employee sa loob ng warehouse maghapon. Walang ibang dumating.

The relief goods are not moving. By the way things look, they are not going anywhere. Hindi maglalakad mag-isa ang mga donations na ito papunta sa mga evacuation centers.

LET THE PICTURES DO THE TALKING

Note: Pinagbawalan kaming kumuha ng pictures sa loob ng warehouse. I wonder why.

“Not a creature was moving, not even a mouse.”

Parang haunted warehouse ang dating. May multo na yata.

Kahit na daig pa ang tindahan sa Divisoria sa dami ng naka-stack na kaldero

At walang katapusang kaldero pa ulit

Kahit halos natakpan na ang mga bintana sa dami ng mga kahon

Kahit umabot na hanggang kisame ang stack ng mga kahon

(Close up ng Coleman camp beds sa previous photo) Hindi ito kasama sa ni-repack naming goods. Para sa mga “special victims” kaya ito? Ire-repack kaya ang mga “imported” camp pads na ito ever?

Sabagay, may BANIG naman para sa “ordinary victims”. Ito ang kasama sa inimpake namin. Sayang ‘yung imported.

Ano kaya ang laman nito? Hindi rin pinabuksan. Pang-special victim din kaya ito? (teka, dito nga pala galing ‘yung mga kumot)

Mahiwagang mga kahon from Japan Aid.

(close up ng mahiwagang kahon) Hindi rin ito kasali, of course. Hindi namin alam kung ano ang laman nito. “Imported” are not included, we have concluded.

Marami ito, mga laruang kasinlaki ng tao. Hindi nakunan ng pic kasi nasa tabi ng sikyo.

PORK AND BEANS? Yup, you’d think kasama ito sa relief bag. Pork and beans lang ‘to, puwede na sigurong ipamigay,

Naaah! “Imported” pork and beans from Spain po ito. Sorry, hindi pa rin included

Now let’s take a look at what a victim will get from DSWD

Look Ma, sampung lata ng sardinas! How generous! Kaldero ang unang ilalagay sa sako. Sabong panglaba (bar soap) at sampung sardinas sa ilalim. Siyam na sabon sa gilid ng kaldero. Local goods lahat syempre.

Tapos papatungan ng isang tuwalya at isang pack ng sanitary napkin.

Sisiksikan ng tatlong rolyo ng kumot(?) ang blue water jug tapos ipapatong sa kaldero sa loob ng sako.

Last but not the least, lalagyan ng dalawang banig.

Sabay tatahiin na ang sako. O di ba, parang asong tinapunan ng buto ang mga nasalanta? Eniwey, busog naman sila sa SAMPUNG lata ng Mega sardinas

Do not delay

YOU THINK?? WTF is the matter with these people? Mag-iisang buwan na mula nang masalanta ang mga kababayan natin. ISANG BUWAN!! Do you mean “do not delay ang dati nang delayed”?? Shet.

Anong ginagawa ng mga donations na ito sa warehouse?? APAT na warehouse ang nasa loob ng compound na ‘yon! APAT na warehouse na punong-puno ng inaalikabok na relief goods! Relief goods na ayaw yata ibigay sa mga nasalanta. Halatang-halata.

Marami pang pabubulukin

Wow! May bagong shipment na naman! At the rate DSWD is moving, next year na madi-discover kung ano ang laman ng mga kahong ito.

“The first of two of the largest high-energy food shipments from the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) arrived in the country two days ago for victims of storm “Ondoy” and typhoon “Pepeng.”

The biscuits were fortified with essential vitamins and minerals for supplementary feeding to children, pregnant women and the elderly in evacuation camps. Another 100 tons of biscuits will arrive on Oct. 24, in a continuing effort to provide food assistance to flood victims.

Sige, ideretso ‘nyo ulit ‘yan sa DSWD warehouse. Para AMAG naman ang abutin ng biskwit… at sapot ng gagamba.

Conclusion

Sa maghapon namin sa warehouse,nakagawa kami ng 150 sacks of relief goods. 150 bags of relief goods lang ang lumabas sa warehouse na ‘yon that day. At nandoon pa rin sa loob ang mga imported relief goods, safe, sound and packed as the day they arrived.

Nakisakay kami palabas sa isang DSWD delivery van. Gusto sana kaming ihatid ng driver hanggang Makati pero wala raw siyang sobrang gasolina. Ibinaba na lang niya kami sa gitna ng EDSA. Millions of dollars in donations, walang extrang pang-gasolina.

Susulpot din siguro ang laman ng mga mahiwagang kahon at mapapasakamay din ng mga tao…sa ARAW NG ELEKSYON. O mabibili na nila ang mga imported goods na ‘yon sa mga puwesto sa Quiapo at Divisoria.

Suggestions lang po sa DSWD:

Alam ‘nyo palang walang mag-volunteer sa inyo, bakit hindi kayo mag-hire ng mga tao? Bayaran ‘nyo ng arawan para mag-repack. Ang daming walang trabaho, makakatulong pa kayo. Hindi naman malaking kabawasan ‘yon sa bilyong pisong donasyon na natanggap ninyo.

Isa pa, gaano ba karami ang mga sundalo natin? Hindi ba puwedeng ipagawa sa kanila ‘yan? Baka isang araw lang, tapos na ang problema ‘nyo

Bakit hindi ‘nyo ibigay ang trabaho sa mga NGO, churches, private charities, TV stations? I’m sure they are more than willing to help. Time is of the essence. Huwag kayong suwapang. Obvious ba, hindi ‘nyo naman kaya.

Kung talagang gugustuhin ninyong makarating agad sa mga kawawang biktima ang mga donasyong ‘yon, nagawa ‘nyo na ‘yan. Maraming paraan…kung talagang gusto ‘nyo lang.You are the government. You have the power, the resources and the money. You just have to really care.

You are the government. You have the power, the resources and the money. You just have to really care.

Windows 7 Launch Party

Did you host or attend a Microsoft Windows 7 Launch Party? If so, I hope it was better than the party hosted by this guy.

Another Funny Commercial

Here's another funny one, from Hong Kong this time.

Funny Commercial

Here's a funny commercial from Thailand.

Greatest Freak Out Ever

This kid completely lost it after her mom cancels his World of Warcraft account.

I've seen a lot of freak out videos from gamers. But this is the first time I've seen anyone try to shove a remote up their ass.

Drunkest Guy Ever Goes Back For More Beer

This drunkest guy ever video has been circulating on the Internet.

Kind of sad really.

But the silent film treatment is hilarious.

Wynne Arboleda incident

You've probably heard of this incident it the PBA last week where Burger King player Wynne Arobelda beat up a Smart Gilas fan.

Watch.

From what I gather, the fan (Alain Katigbac) threw a few criticisms towards Arboleda because of his foul against the Smart Gilas player which can be considered flagrant.

Alain Katigbac has filed charges against Wynne Arboleda and Mark Yee who stepped in between Katigbac and Arboleda during the incident and made a threatening posture.

In some forums, a lot of people are criticizing Alain Katigbac for being a coward saying that if he is man enough to curse at Katigbac, he should be man enough to take a fight. Typical Filipino macho man response.

In the case filed by Katigbac, he said he just joined the other fans in booing Arboleda because of Arboleda's dirty plays.

In the Inquirer article:

The complainant admitted he joined other fans in booing Arboleda’s hard fouls on JV Casio of the opposing team.

Katigbac recalled that after the foul, the cager was ordered to sit on the bench for three minutes, adding that he even cheered for Burger King during the second quarter of the game.

He said Arboleda returned to the game, but again committed fouls against the opposing team, prompting the fans, including himself, to jeer at the player.

Katigbac said he noted that Arboleda hurled invectives at the referee for calling the foul.

“I was deeply shocked and disturbed at Arboleda’s boorish and disrespectful behavior towards an official of the game who was merely doing his duty,” the complainant said.

Suddenly, Arboleda walked towards him, jumped over the partition, then kicked him in the abdomen and punched his head several times, the complainant added.

Katigbac also alleged that Yee hit him with his knees while saying, “Cheer ka kasi ng cheer eh!”

But whatever the case, Arboleda and Yee are wrong. The fans may curse you, they may talk trash to you. But that is part of the job of being a professional athlete. You don't get paid millions to hit fans, they are the ones paying your salary.

True, Arboleda is just human and the fan may be out of line. But he can always tell the officials or security to get the fan out for being disruptive.

Have you ever seen major league football fans? They're probably worst than what Katigbac did. But you don't see the players beating up the fans. Well, maybe one or two, but that doesn't mean they're right.

No wonder PBA is suffering from low attendance. These type of dirty plays and incident is probably turning people off. But then again, maybe the PBA needs to bring back the days of Anejo and Ginebra style of dirty play to get back loyal fans.

Lego Pop-Up of Temple In Kyoto

I saw this video of a Lego pop-up of the Kinkaku-ji temple in Kyoto. Amazing work!

Here's the photo of the temple.

404 Error Page

Tired of the old 404 Error Page message? Here are some templates you can use for it.

More at http://rorr.im/digg.com/design/4_oh_4_is_no_longer_an_error_top_404_error_pages_pics/

Pilobolus

Pilobolus began, in 1971, as an outsider dance company, and quickly became renowned the world over for its imaginative and athletic exploration of creative collaboration. Nearly 40 years later, it has evolved into a pioneering American cultural institution of the 21st century.

I saw their dance on Conan and thought I'd share it with everyone.

Pilobolus - Late Night with Conan O'Brien - Watch today’s top amazing videos here

Working At Google

Google is considered to be one of the best places to work, and this is the reason why.

Filipino scholars’ abroad urged to return to RP

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Filipino scholars abroad should return to the Philippines and share what they have learned to help improve the country’s academic and industrial sectors, a lawmaker said Wednesday.

Senator Edgardo Angara is also calling on the national government to help local agencies involved in education.

Angara, who heads the congressional committee on science, technology and engineering (COMSTE), said he was concerned about the Filipino scholars abroad who would not return to the country after they have completed their studies.

Bringing in more Filipino experts in research and development fields, including IT, will enhance the country’s scientific infrastructure, Angara said.

One of the endeavors he is also promoting is for local universities, the Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education and the Department of Science and Technology to build more partnerships with foreign schools for exchange student and scholarship programs.

In particular, partnerships with developed countries like Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea and Hong Kong should help augment these exchange student and scholarship programs.

Just recently, Angara signed a memorandum of agreement with the government of Taiwan to send 75 graduates in engineering degree holders and 25 doctorate degree holders to study and be trained in Taiwanese universities.

"Let's make our students abroad feel they have the support and commitment of the government. Upon completion of their studies, we must provide them venues where they can put their expertise to good use, making sure that we adequately compensate their educational qualifications and international experience," Angara said in a statement.

What a big joke. I wonder what Senator Angara is smoking. Support and commitment of the government? Give me a break. They can't even support and give commitments to those who graduated locally, what more those who come back? It's not like those who graduated locally are any less capable compared to those who graduated abroad. In fact, a lot of multi-national companies hire local graduates and trains them abroad for their benefit.

Nobody who has already established himself abroad is dumb enough to return to the Philippines unless they actually see real change in the government. There are no real jobs for scientist and engineers in the Philippines. If you work abroad, the lowest position will allow you to own a home and buy a car. In the Philippines, even at middle management you'd be hard pressed to buy a decent home and car. Even if you did make decent income, how many middle management or upper management position is available?

And what is Angara saying? Work for the government? The only people in government who are making decent money are the politicians. The rest just scrape by or make extra from "grease money".

What clouts do scientist and engineers have in government? None! If they did, the flood caused by Typhoon Ondoy wouldn't have happened. We would have better roads and infrastructure. But no, engineers are scientist are just there to sign stuff that the governor/mayor wants done with no heed for proper protocol.

What's worst, the so called scientists who are probably in their 50s running DOST and other government facilities are dimmer than a busted light bulb.

Unless there's real change to the government and the Philippine system of doing this, this is just not going to happen.

So, to Senator Angara, your call to these scholars are a pipe dream. Stop smoking those weeds you're smoking because you're starting to hallucinate.

Animals Inside Your Computer

I found a couple of photos where people found rats, geckos, snakes and spiders inside their computers. The warm environment inside your computer makes a good home for these little critters.

So if your computer is not working properly. Maybe you have something other than a bug. You may have a rodent. :)

Hitler Upset at Balloon Boy Hoax

Hitler Upset at Balloon Boy Hoax.

Apple Introduces The Mac Mini Server

Apple introduced several products today like the unibody Macbook, new 21.5" and 27" iMacs, the new Magic Mouse and new Mac Minis.

Way to steal Windows 7's thunder Apple! Announcing new line of products two days before Windows 7's launch on Oct 22, 2009.

The new Apple products are very compelling. The new iMac 21.5" is $100 cheaper than previous generation and the 27" is cheaper than the 24" version of the previous generation iMacs.

While these are great products, what really caught my attention was the new Mac Mini Server.

Now, using a Mac Mini as a server is nothing new. A lot of people are already using Mac Minis as a server. But this is the first time Apple has actually brought out a Mac Mini that has OS X Snow Leopard Server pre-installed.

The new Mac Mini Server has a 2.53Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 3MB on-chip shared L2 cache running 1:1 with processor speed, 1066MHz frontside bus, 4GB (two 2GB SO-DIMMs) of 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM and NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics processor with 256MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory.

It also uses a dual 500Gb 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard disk drives.

What's interesting about this Mac Mini is that it uses two 500Gb hard disk instead of one hard disk and a Superdrive. So you can distinguish a Mac Mini from a Mac Mini Server from each other by looking to see if there is a Superdrive slot. The Mac Mini Server has no slot.

Apple has never really been strong in the business market specially in the server market. But this new Mac Mini Server which is priced at US$999 for unlimited number of users is quite intriguing.

It's a very cheap server (other than if you run Linux). But then you get the full OS X Snow Leopard Server functionality. Since the OS X Snow Leopard Server has no per number of user license fee, that beats Microsoft's Server in price. Again, other than running Linux of course.

Apple is marketing the Mac Mini Server to small businesses, retail shops, doctor and law offices, classrooms and design studios. From the looks of it, they're targeting groups up to 50 people.

The OS X Snow Leopard Server can be used to synchronize contacts and calendars, share wiki's, have secure instant messaging, file sharing and web hosting.

Servers are not really complex setups for small groups and the Mac Mini Server makes it doesn't make it look intimidating to those who have never run a server before.

My guess is, Apple is trying to capture this small business so they can get used to using OS X Servers. Once they're used to it, they will eventually move up to either a Mac Pro or the Xserve.

Who knows, maybe Apple is even trying to capture the home server market since there are rumors that Apple's future strategy is to dominate the living room. This Mac Mini Server could just be the first step in trying to see how people will use OS X Snow Leopard now they bundled it with their cheapest Mac hardware.

Think about it, the entry level Mac Mini is $599 and has a 2.26Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo with 2Gb of RAM and 160Gb HD. The next level up is $799 and has a 2.53Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo with 4Gb of RAM and 320Gb HD.

The Mac Mini Server has the specs of the higher level Mac Mini with two 500Gb HD for a total of 1 Tb and includes OS X Snow Leopard Server which retails for $499.

So you get a higher end Mac Mini with server software for $999. That's really cheap. Of course, if you want to add a Superdrive on it you need to spend an extra $99 for an external Superdrive.

This really looks like the best value Mac from what was offered today.

Facebook - A Scary Fact

A friend forwarded this e-mail to me.

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EVERYONE NEEDS TO READ ALL OF THIS and HAVE CHILDREN READ IT TOO!

After tossing her books on the sofa, she decided to
grab a snack and get on-line. She logged on under
her screen name ByAngel213. She checked her Buddy
List and saw GoTo123 was on.
She sent him an instant message:

ByAngel213:
Hi. I'm glad you are on! I thought someone was
following me home today. It was really weird!

GoTo123:
LOL You watch too much TV. Why would someone
be following you?
Don't you live in a safe neighborhood?

ByAngel213:
Of course I do. LOL I guess it was my imagination
cuz' I didn't see anybody when I looked out.

GoTo123:
Unless you gave your name out on-line.
You haven't done that have you?

ByAngel213:
Of course not. I'm not stupid you know.

GoTo123:
Did you have a softball game after school today?

ByAngel213:
Yes and we won!!

GoTo123:
That's great! Who did you play?

ByAngel213:
We played the Hornets. LOL. Their uniforms are
so gross! They look like bees. LOL

GoTo123:
What is your team called?

ByAngel213:
We are the Canton Cats. We have tiger paws
on our uniforms. They are really cool.

GoTo123:
Did you pitch?

ByAngel213:
No I play second base. I got to go. My homework
has to be done before my parents get home. I
don't want them mad at me. Bye!

GoTo123:
Catch you later. Bye

Meanwhile... ....GoTo123 went to the member menu
and began to search for her profile. When it
came up, he highlighted it and printed it
out. He took out a pen and began to write down what
he knew about Angel so far.

Her name: Shannon
Birthday: Jan. 3, 1985
Age: 13
State where she lived: North Carolina

Hobbies: softball, chorus, skating and going to
the mall. Besides this information, he knew she
lived in Canton because she had just told him.
He knew she stayed by herself until 6:30 p.m. every
afternoon until her parents came home from work.
He knew she played softball on Thursday afternoons
on the school team, and the team was named the
Canton Cats. Her favorite number 7 was printed on
her jersey. He knew she was in the eighth grade at the
Canton Junior High School She had told him all this in
the conversations they had on-line. He had enough
information to find her now.

Shannon didn't tell her parents about the incident on
the way home from the ballpark that day. She didn't
want them to make a scene and stop her from
walking home from the softball games. Parents were
always overreacting and hers were the worst. It made
her wish she was not an only child. Maybe if she
had brothers and sisters, her parents wouldn't
be so overprotective.

By Thursday, Shannon had forgotten about the
footsteps following her.

Her game was in full swing when suddenly she
felt someone staring at her. It was then that the
memory came back. She glanced up from her second
base position to see a man watching her closely..

He was leaning against the fence behind first base
and he smiled when she looked at him. He didn't
look scary and she quickly dismissed the sudden fear
she had felt.

After the game, he sat on a bleacher while she talked
to the coach. She noticed his smile once again as she
walked past him. He nodded and she smiled back. He
noticed her name on the back of her shirt. He knew he
had found her.

Quietly, he walked a safe distance behind her. It was
only a few blocks to Shannon 's home, and once
he saw where she lived he quickly returned to the
park to get his car.

Now he had to wait. He decided to get a bite to eat
until the time came to go to Shannon 's house.
He drove to a fast food restaurant and sat there
until time to make his move.

Shannon was in her room later that evening when
she heard voices in the living room..

"Shannon, come here," her father called. He
sounded upset and she couldn't imagine why.
She went into the room to see the man from
the ballpark sitting on the sofa.

"Sit down," her father began, "this man has
just told us a most interesting story about you."

Shannon sat back. How could he tell her parents
anything? She had never seen him before today!

"Do you know who I am, Shannon ?" the man asked.

"No," Shannon answered.

"I am a police officer and your online friend, GoTo123."

Shannon was stunned. "That's impossible! GoTo is a
kid my age! He's 14. And he lives in Michigan !"

The man smiled. "I know I told you all that, but it wasn't
true. You see, Shannon , there are people on-line
who pretend to be kids; I was one of them. But
while others do it to injure kids and hurt them, I belong
to a group of parents who do it to protect kids
from predators. I came here to find you to teach you
how dangerous it is to talk to people on-line. You
told me enough about yourself to make it easy for me
to find you. You named the school you went to, the
name of your ball team and the position you played.
The number and name on your jersey just made
finding you a breeze."

Shannon was stunned. "You mean you don't
live in Michigan ?"

He laughed. "No, I live in Raleigh It made you feel safe
to think I was so far away, didn't it?"

She nodded.

"I had a friend whose daughter was like you. Only
she wasn't as lucky. The guy found her and
murdered her while she was home alone.
Kids are taught not to tell anyone when they are
alone, yet they do it all the time on-line. The
wrong people trick you into giving out information
a little here and there on-line. Before you know it,
you have told them enough for them to find you
without even realizing you have done it. I hope you've
learned a lesson from this and won't do it again. Tell
others about this so they will be safe too?"

"It's a promise!"

That night Shannon and her Dad and Mom all
knelt down together and thanked God for protecting
Shannon from what could have been a tragic situation.

*****NOW****
EVEN FORWARD THIS TO PEOPLE WITHOUT KIDS SO
THEY CAN SEND IT TO FRIENDS THAT DO HAVE
CHILDREN OR GRANDCHILDREN

=====================

Everyone needs to learn about online safety. Teach your children about the hazards of being online. Don't post your address, telephone number or date of birth online. Chat only with your friends and don't give out personal info to people you don't know.

Keep computers in the common areas so you can monitor your child's online behavior. Don't keep it in their rooms.

Pasumpa-sumpa by Milyo Naryo

Pasumpa-sumpa video by Milyo Naryo.

Family Guy Pimps Windows 7

Here's a preview of the Family Guy episode promoting Windows 7.

Flexible Love Folding Chair

This is ingenious.

Ang istorya sa likod ng R.F.I.D. scam - Kung May Sasakyan Ka, Makialam Ka

Someone forwarded this to me. I don't know how true it is, but knowing LTO, it probably is.

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Noong 2007, ang kontrata ng STRADCOM sa computerization ng LTO ay nagtapos na. Subalit dahil nakasaad sa kontrata na "HAWAK NILA SA LEEG" ang LTO, dahil sa pagtatapos ng kanilang kontrata ay dadalhin nila ang mga computer hardware at software, at ang ititira ay ang DATA lamang, nanatili ang STRADCOM sa LTO. Patuloy sa paninigil ng COMPUTER FEE kahit na ang DATA ng bawat sasakyan ay naka-encode na at wala ng dapat pang i-build up o i-data entry. Patuloy ang pagkulekta ng STRADCOM ng bayad, dahil walang kumukwestiyon, sa ilalim ng ilong ng mga motorista.

Sa kabila nito, ang pamunuan ng DOTC at ng LTO ay humingi ng mas malaking "PARTE", ibig sabihin, patong, lagay, kickback, etc, dahil nga naman, tubong lugaw na ang STRADCOM dahil dapat tanggal na nga sila. Syempre pa, medyo nagpakipot ang pamunuan ng STRADCOM at nagmungkahi na magdagdag na lang ng mga singilin sa motorista dahil anila, mga bobo naman at hindi aangal. Kung may aangal man, kokonti lang dahil gaano na lang ba ang sisingilin eh minsanan lang naman ang bayaran isang taon. At anila, may pera ang mga motorista dahil naka-sasakyan nga. Dito na ipinatawag ng STRADCOM ang kanilang mga "money making" thinktank upang umisip ng mga paraan kung paano pa makaka-kolekta ng dagdag kita upang lalo pa silang magkamal ng salapi.

Unang pinalusot ay ang tinatawag na INTER-CONNECTION FEE daw. ito ay karagdagang P70.00 pesos kapag ikaw ay nagpa-smoke belching test. Napansin ba ninyo, bukod sa P350.00, eh may naka staple pang resibo na P70.00? Me narinig ba kayong angal? me umapila ba? wala di ba. e ano nga ba yung P70.00 peso eh naka Honda CITY ka naman. chicken feed!!!

YUN ANG BASIS NG STRADCOM, walang aangal dahil barya lang ang sinisingil nila. Naunawaan nyo ba kung ano yung inter-connection fee? Malay mo nga naman diba, nadale na kayo dun pero okay lang kayo kasi nga P70.00 lang.

Teka, 8 million registered vehicle X 70.00 = 560 million pesos na walang kahirap hirap. KADA TAON HA. Malaki din pala nadudugas namin sa inyo. Aangal na ba kayo?

Pero dahil mga buwaya nga, talagang walang kabusugan. Kaya pinulong ulit ng mga hunghang ang mga evil brains para utusan na, "Pigain na natin ng husto ang mga bobong motorista, bayad naman ng bayad eh". At dito na ipinanganak ang unang plano na "Car info sticker" kung saan didikitan ng sticker ang mga sasakyan, nakalagay dito ang mga detalye na makikita din naman sa "Certificate of Registration" o "CR", at sisingilin nila ng P300.00 yung sticker. Di syempre sangkatutak na angal ang inabot nila. Napigilan ito, hindi napatupad. Bulilyaso! eh kasi nga walang bahid High Tech. Mantakin mo nga naman na sticker lang tapos ang impormasyon eh nasa CR na din, hindi umubra.. Ipa-photocopy (reduced) na lang yung CR at idikit sa windshield, sabi ng mga pilosopo kaya na-abort yung evil plan number 1.

Pero hindi agad susuko ang evil brains ng STRADCOM, kailangang magmadali dahil dapat magkapera at ma-implement ng October. Na browse sa internet ng mga IT gurus ang tungkol sa RFID, at iminungkahi agad kahit na hindi pang vehicle talaga. Napagkasunduang, pwede, at inaprubahan agad. Ang siste, ang lalamanin lang ding impormasyon nito ay kung ano ang nakalagay sa CR, pero, may bahid high tech na, kasi R.F.I.D. na. Naintindihan nyo ba ibig sabihin ng RFID? Basahin nyo na lang sa last part.

Tatlong klase ang pwedeng gamit ng RFID:
1. sa simpleng paliwanag, parang tag lang ito, barcode or product code. na ang corresponding data or information ay mare-retrieve mo sa main computer gamit ang isang reader or scanner.
2. o kung ito ay may microchip, pwedeng mag store ng data dito at marere-trieve din ang data gamit ang isang reader.
3. at ang pinaka delikado sa lahat, na maaring gamitin laban sa mga motorista, PWEDE KANG I-TRACK ng ahensiya. RFID ang gamit sa mga producto sa mga dept stores na medyo mahal ang item at RFID din ang gamit sa mga cargo ng freight services.

Pero may pakinabang ba talaga tayo sa RFID kung ito ay gagamitin sa mga sasakyan? WALA. ang tunay na gamit ng RFID ay para sa PRODUCT TAGGING, INVENTORY, AT TRACKING. Sa mga producto para ma-track mo kung nasaan na yung location dahil kada daan nito sa isang area, nababasa ng reader ang RFID at alam na dumaan na ito. Maaaring naglalaman din ito ng info kung sino ang manufacturer, kung ano ang laman, timbang at kung saan ang destinasyon, dahil nakalagay na ito sa RFID o sa main database.

Alam ninyo, may malaking blunder ang kompanya namin dito eh, ang STRADCOM, dahil nag-implement kami ng information via TEXT lang kung saan ite-text nyo lang ang plate number, makukuha na information ng isang vehicle. Eh, imomodify lang namin yung info na binibigay ng TEXT project namin, at bigyan exclusivity sa mga enforcers lang ng LTO, nagawa na agad ang gustong gawin ng RFID System.

Di ko na nga lang masikmura ang kagarapalan ng mga amo namin na sobrang magpayaman samantalang kami ang tumatrabaho eh nangungupahan pa din kami ng bahay. Anak ng toklang, ibuking ko na lang di ba.

Eto itanong ninyo sa STRADCOM para mabuliyaso sila.

Bakit kelangan ng i-implement ngayong October?
1-kasi pinipiga sila ng isang mataas na opisyal ng LTO na tatakbo sa darating na halalan.
2-Kasi kung mapalusot nila ng October, tahimik ang november at December, pag dating ng January parang may basbas na dahil nga nasimulan na ng October. at dapat mag start na ngayong October, kasi pag sa January mag start, titirahin ng mga pulitiko, at baka tamaan pa ng ban.

Pag naka RFID ba, di na kelangan magpa stencil at magpa smoke belching pag magpapa rehistro?
Kelangan pa din. Ano yung sinasabi nilang mapapabilis na rehistro? For your info walang mase-save na time sa pagpapa-rehistro ninyo. same procedure.

ANG KATOTOHANAN:

HINDI MAPAPABILIS ANG TRAPIKO GAMIT ANG RFID (ipadetalye ninyo sa STRADCOM ito)

HINDI BIBILIS ANG REGISTRATION PROCESS NG IYONG SASAKYAN GAMIT ANG RFID (eto rin)

HINDI MAPIPIGIL NG RFID ANG MGA SMOKE BELCHERS (eto pa)

PWEDE KANG MA-TRACK KUNG NASAAN KA GAMIT ANG RFID SA IYONG SASAKYAN.

HINDI MAWAWALA ANG MGA KOLORUM GAMIT ANG R.F.I.D.

PWEDENG GAMITIN NG MGA KOTONG LTO ENFORCERS ANG R.F.I.D. (sasabihin lang ng LTO officer na sabi ng RFID hot car gamit mo)

Ang bottom line. WALANG PAKINABANG ANG CAR OWNER SA RFID, O MAGING ANG LTO. SIMPLE LANG ANG PURPOSE NITO: ISANG MONEY MAKING SCHEME ANG R.F.I.D DAHIL GENERALLY, NA SURMISE NAMIN NA ANG MGA OWNER NG VEHICLE AY WALANG PAKIALAM SA KANILANG BINABAYARAN DAHIL MAY PERA SILA, AT HANDANG MAGBAYAD KAHIT ANONG SABIHIN NAMIN BASTA HINDI NILA NAIINTINDIHAN TULAD NG R.F.I.D.

HANAPAN NINYO ANG STRADCOM NG PROJECT STUDY, COMMUNICATION DOCUMENTS, SYSTEMS STUDY, SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION, IMPLEMENTATION PLANS, APPROVAL NG NATIONAL COMPUTER CENTER, AT MAGING KRITIKAL KAYO SA DATES DAHIL SINISUMULAN [A LANG NILANG GAWIN ANG MGA ITO.

AT ILALABAN NILA ITO NG DIKDIKAN, MAGHABOL NA KAYO SA KORTE IKA NGA NILA. NAGSIMULA NA SILA NG COMMERCIAL SA TV DAHIL SA TINDI NG OPPOSITION DITO. KAILANGAN NILANG ILUTANG ANG STRADCOM. BAKIT SUMUGAL ANG STRADCOM AT INEXPOSE ANG KANILANG TAHIMIK NA OPERATION EH KUMIKITA NA NGA SILA NG WALANG INGAY? DAHIL SA 2.8 BILLION NA KIKITAIN SA PROYEKTO SA LOOB LANG NG ISANG TAON AT DAHIL SA PRESSURE SA TAAS NA I-IMPLEMENT NA ITO, PARA MAKUHA NA ANG PATONG.

Sabi nga ng ABS-CBN, AKO ANG SIMULA. Makialam tayo. Pigilin natin ang pagpapatupad nito. I-forward sa lahat ng kaibigan niyong may saksakyan at sana ay makarating sa inyong mga kongresista, sa mga senador, sa mga taga DOTC, taga LTO, at sa malacañang.

kung may oras ka pa, panoorin mo kung ano talaga ang gamit ng RFID

http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=yNPDgudPmXE& feature=related

http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=4Zj7txoDxbE& feature=related

http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=hPqUUR5OFJg& feature=related

http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=_Oa1GxctjRA

O kung gusto mo, mag youtube ka (alam mo ba kung ano ang youtube?) at i-search mo ang RFID

O, eto ang sabi ng wikipedia:

Radio-frequency identification (RFID) is the use of an object (typically referred to as an RFID tag) applied to or incorporated into a product, animal, or person for the purpose of identification and tracking using radio waves. Some tags can be read from several meters away and beyond the line of sight of the reader.

Most RFID tags contain at least two parts. One is an integrated circuit for storing and processing information, modulating and demodulating a radio-frequency (RF) signal, and other specialized functions. The second is an antenna for receiving and transmitting the signal.

There are generally three types of RFID tags: active RFID tags, which contain a battery and can transmit signals autonomously, passive RFID tags, which have no battery and require an external source to provoke signal transmission and battery assisted passive (BAP) which require an external source to wake up but have significant higher forward link capability providing great read range.

Today, RFID is used in enterprise supply chain management to improve the efficiency of inventory tracking and management.

eto naman ang sabi ng http://www.rfidjour nal.com/article/ articleview/ 1339/1/129/
Radio frequency identification (RFID) is a generic term that is used to describe a system that transmits the identity (in the form of a unique serial number) of an object or person wirelessly, using radio waves. It's grouped under the broad category of automatic identification technologies.

Auto-ID technologies include bar codes, optical character readers and some biometric technologies, such as retinal scans. The auto-ID technologies have been used to reduce the amount of time and labor needed to input data manually and to improve data accuracy.

Sana umunlad na ang pilipinas, tamaan sana ng kidlat ang lahat na magnanakaw sa Gobyernong ito at manatili ang mga matitino!