Jackie Chan Is Dead

Have you heard the news? They say the 51-year-old Chinese-Hollywood superstar Jackie Chan died of heart attack. I'm not a fan, but I just want to say:

Bukas pa ang April 1!!! Can't you wait until tomorrow to do this? Hehehe. You guys are so excited!

I wonder who made this premature April Fools Day joke. Hehehe. And Jackie Chan probably was smiling as he receives condolences and probably godiva gift basket from friends who believed the rumor.

This gives me an idea -- I'll try to make a rumor about this site and see if I can make it spread like a wildfire.

The problem with Earth Hour celebrations

The other night was Earth Hour, and I know deep in my heart that the event wanted nothing but positive results in favor of Mother Earth. But you know what the problem with this celebration is?

After watching the news about the "celebrations" of Earth Hour, I know right then and there that it probably has caused some bigger problems and misguided belief. At MOA and many public places in the Metro, they turned the lights off for an hour. Good. They probably have saved energy consumption for X amount. The problem with this? People who participated in the event lighted soooo many candles for an hour. And what is the problem with lighting so many candles? I did a little research:

A burning candle produces 13 lumens (this is from a total power output of 40 W) and emits 10.69 g of carbon dioxide per hour. If you are wondering how much 13 lumens is, well, a 40 W bulb produces 500 lumens. Guesstimate. That brightness, if produced by an electric bulb, will emit 1.11 g of carbon dioxide. See how much carbon dioxide is emitted by the candles used by people who participated in the celebration? It's 1000% more than using the equivalent brightness produced by electric bulb.

But hey, don't get me wrong. Mathematically speaking, I know last night's Earth hour saved a lot of energy as well as carbon emission. For one, we didn't really replace every light bulb switched off with 40 candles (the equivalent number of candles if brightness of a 40-W bulb is matched with the brightness produced by candles). Also, I know that Earth Hour is more of igniting awareness, as a start, than "actual result" in that particular event.

My point is we could have maximized this if, instead of using hundreds (or probably thousands) of candles, just retain a few lights on to minimize greenhouse gas emissions. Or, they could have just requested malls and many offices to close an hour earlier.

Or maybe, ask fastfood joints not to sell beef burger for an hour and maybe, just encourage them to sell chicken burger or fried chicken. Why? Because beef actually emits 146 times (14,600 percent!) more greenhouse gas than chicken.

Di ba?

I know I'm just nitpicking here. But hey, this is awareness at its best. :-)

PS: I'm doing Earth Day next Friday! That's 8-10 times worth of Earth Hour. So, I won't be joining you guys until 2021 (and by that time, I would have done hundreds of Earth Days again).

I love you, Mother Earth.

Filipinos are the most gullible people in the world - Harvard

I saw this really hilarious article at Philippine Star.

The most gullible people in the world - Harvard
FROM A DISTANCE By Carmen N. Pedrosa
Updated March 26, 2011 12:00 AM

I would have been among many other Filipinos who would have said the same thing, but it is just as well that a Harvard study beat us to it. “The causes of this gullibility include the inability to question information and an over-reliance on interpersonal sources,” says the study.
...
This is a serious allegation we should not ignore. For those who do not have access to the internet I found this item in a blog called “The Mosquito Press.” It may seem like a trivial source but according to the authors the study involved “content analyses of over 500,000 historical documents from 300 different societies. So we better take it seriously.
...
We are gullible because we are not able or do not question information. We prefer to believe what other persons tell us [emphasis mine].

There. Now, you may want to check her source: The Mosquito Net. Pedrosa quoted what may seem "credible" parts of the Mosquito Net post. But when you see stuff like:

Filipinos scored 1,344,399 points, placing it first, ahead of the Trojans of 12th Century BC, who scored 1,086. “The gross Trojan Gump Index was higher than Filipinos’, but it was offset by the fact that the Trojans are a dead civilization,” said Dawson.

and

“539 of our subjects are Filipino. It was very easy to get them. All we had to do is post a listing at POEA that said ‘Teachers Wanted’,” said Dr. Dawson.

Well, if you have these "findings" from a Harvard study, shouldn't you be concerned with your source? It's like saying Microsoft Corporation is now investing in sexy body stockings, or China is relinquishing its claim to the Spratlys. Grabe. Ms. Pedrosa should have consulted Professional Heckler's blog as well to corroborate these findings. Hehehe.

PS: Did you know that the word "gullible" was removed from the dictionary last year?

XYZ: The New Blog!

Guys, I just want to share with you how not-busy I am. Imagine, I was able to make another blog? Check this out: XYZ. Hehehe. And for those of you who might ask what the h311 I was thinking when I named that blog, well, I really have no idea. I just can't think of a good name, and I don't want to pretend that it's a techie blog by naming it something like, Eks Is Techie, or The Techie in Me, or Eks and the World Wide Web.

I wil probably be concentrating on tech-related stuff there (read: Google-related stuff, hehehe), but no, it's not going to be a "specialist" blog, so, if you want to know how to modify a Joomla template, how to delete that effin' virus you got from someone else's USB flash drive, how to make Photoshop designs, how to assemble a cryogenic metal hose, well, don't go to XYZ.

But if you simply want to know how to maximize your Google Apps experience, or how to install/modify Wordpress or blogger templates, I could probably do that. :-) (And for my most recent post, it's about switching to the most awesome e-mail provider in the world - Switch to Gmail.)

Anyway, here's hoping you'd visit me there from time to time. I'll update my blog list later this week to include all of you. Peksman.

Good times!

What is your dream job?

At first I dreamed of a job that it will "require" travels here and abroad, but then, I don't think I'm that good. I guess jobs like that are reserved for really brilliant people. Or really lucky people. Or both, just like my friend who's employed by an international organization. His job requires so much travels that one day we we're just having a bottle of beer outside our unit, and the next day, he would text you he's in Egypt. Oh, and he travels business class. Lucky b! :-D

So, I have accepted a more realistic dream -- and that is, to have a work where I'll spend my weekdays (work week) in my home province... a laid back place where the air is fresh, where vegetables can be planted and harvested just within your backyard (and a place where kids don't pay for commercial playground equipment). And then if I need to relax or unwind, go to urban centers like Metro Manila. Or New York (oh, yeah, something like that). A former colleague of mine quit her job in Manila and accepted a job offer in her home province. She's so happy with her decision. And so am I (with her decision).

So, what am I trying to say? I just want to say, I think I am almost there. Well, I am already in that situation (second paragraph, not the first). I just need to make this stable, and hopefully before the year ends, I'd get to travel Brazil* with my bro. Hahaha.

A couple of days here, and I'm OK with my Brazil vacation.

Sarap mangarap. :-)

*No visa needed. FYI.

[Online Project] Day of the Sun

Every sunrise or sunset is unique in itself. 

It may be possible for anyone to take pictures of the sun

 with the exact environment, background, and brightness 

as taken by another, but it is impossible to duplicate 

the emotion and experience behind that picture.

And because of that uniqueness, I would like to ask your help to share as many sunrises/sunsets (and emotions and experiences) as possible... while we still can. Hehehe. Pampaalis lang ng antok pag walang magawa. Just point and shoot your digatal cams, phones, and DSLRs, hehehe. (And I doubt if this would cause you even the slightest arthritis pain when you do this.) Visit the project here: Day of the Sun.

Oh, it would be great if you could share* this to your friends/blogger-friends, too. :-)

*Ano ba naman kung i-copy niyo itong buong post and i-insert sa blog niyo. Hehehe.

127 Hours

If there's anything at all that I am happy with from my frustrations last Friday, that is probably the chance I had to buy dibidis. I bought 6 DVDs: Wall Street 2, The Mechanic, The Green Hornet, 127 Hours, Faster, and Sanctum. I'm done with the first four (I almost did not sleep last Friday).

Of all four that I've watched already, I strongly recommend watching 127 hours. I really believe James Franco could have won the Best Actor award if not for Colin Firth -- in fact, I really believe the movie could have won Best Picture, again, if not for The King's Speech. (And this is exactly why I looked for the the latter because I have not watched it yet.)

127 Hours is not that kind of movie where it presents social event or triumphs. It's not that kind of story where you can make a social critique of. It's more on the individual nature... the human nature to survive. It's about regret, hope, acceptance, you know, individual human values. If you have time, it will be worth your time.

127 Hours is a 2010 biographical adventure film produced, co-written and directed by Danny Boyle. The film stars James Franco as mountain climber Aron Ralston, who became trapped by a boulder in Robbers Roost, Utah, for more than five days in early 2003 before amputating his arm with a dull knife. - Wikipedia.

Let me just clarify that: He was trapped in that very same location because the boulder landed on his arm. He cannot escape and even if he wanted to cut his arms as early as in his first day, he wasn't able to do that because his knife was very, very dull. His water is just in a 1-liter or so container, he has limited food, of course, and, well, noone is searching for him because he didn't tell anyone what he plans to do and where he is going. He only succeeded in amputating his arm on his 5th day. (One can only wish he had SSDI benefits when he did that.) So, the story is about the 5 days he was in that location.

I'll be watching The King's Speech later. :-)

Citizen X

Last Friday, I went back to Manila to attend to some matters affecting my being a "citizen". I went to my (probably yours , too) favorite government agency of all time -- the Bureau of Internal Revenue. Yes, the BIR. Do I still need to explain why I need to go to the bureau? (No.) Yeah, that was what I thought , too.

I had to endure hours of travel (due to traffic!) just to find out when I got to my destination that the BIR office moved to another location just a week ago. Isn't that nice? Now, it would have been not so bad if the new location is not that far. Well, it is not, but anyone who passes by Sucat road on a regular basis would understand how bad it is to, well, pass by Sucat road. Hayy...

It's just really frustrating sometimes that while you are doing your best to be a good citizen, your government, on the other hand, is not doing its part to be a good agent. I mean, it's not as if you only do this once (like choosing one from a set of scott kay engagement rings -- unless you'll be buying an engagement ring twice). This is something we do regularly. Which means, regular frustration. :-(

I cannot imagine why it is not possible for them to make many important services available online. The infrastructure is already available. You don't really need a T1 line or a very skilled programmer/developer to make stuff like request to transfer records available in the Internet, right? In terms of payment centers, they alreay have available arrangements with banks, so, what preventing them from making an extra effort to go online? They do offer some great information via their web sie. But I guess more than that is the need for their service to become more responsive to us, to the citizens.

Can you guys remind me again why we have to pay our taxes?

Maling Akala: Part 2

People make mistakes. And because we do not have a time machine to correct it (Hi, Mordsith!), we are left with dealing with the consequences. And this post is just about that.

But before the "dealing" part, the "mistake" part first.

I needed an FTP server that offers huge capacity. I have 27 GB with Google. This would have been enough (almost) but my problem is the slow uploading of materials as I have no idea how to use an FTP client to do this. So, I looked for online sites offering what I am looking for. And then I saw this site offering unlimited storage capacity -- unlimited uploads and downloads, unlimited email accounts, unlimited bandwidth, you know, the whole shebang.

So, I bought an annual membership from them, made some configurations, and started uploading materials. I was able to upload in less than 3 hours, I think, what I would have uploaded in almost a day if I don't have this service. So, everything is OK. And when I check my stats in the cpanel of my account, everything looks so good:

• bandwidth = 500+ MB of [UNLIMITED]
• email accounts = 1 of [UNLIMITED]
• ftp users = 1 of [UNLIMITED]

And then, when I clicked a button directing me to Disk Space Usage, I saw this:

Reminder: The Terms of Service does not allow inappropriate use of our network for online storage. Please see "UNLIMITED" USAGE POLICIES AND DEFINITIONS for more information. Files uploaded in connection with your hosted site are always welcome. [emphasis mine] For approved online backup services please visit the Partners section of cPanel.

Argh! All the files I uploaded has nothing to do with my hosted site! In fact, I do not even have a site hosted there. I was just after the unlimited file storage (mali na naman!). The site has not contacted me yet, but I am expecting an email anytime from them telling me I am using their site inappropriately, and probably, they'll tell me to back up those files somewhere else. Hayyy. Strike 2 na ako.

Now, the "dealing" part. :-) If you have reached reading this part, wala kang magawa no? :-). Anyway, if you are reading this, I am offering you a simple "gift". I can host unlimited number of domains. If you want a Wordpress blog, I can open one for you. But you have to buy your own domain, of course. But hey, free hosting is free hosting. :-) The only thing I ask in return is that you call Hartford flower delivery and send Solenn a bouquet and probably some chocolates. Hehehe. Naah, just don't upload anything unnecessary so my account will remain active.

E-mail me at ekstranghero at gmail dot com.

So, yun. I hope this Maling Akala posts won't become a regular post here.

Maling Akala

One of the reasons I chose Globe for our phone and Internet service provider is its free (or so I thought) unlimited calls to all Globe telephones regardless of area coverage. I really thought that when their advertisement said free unlimited Globe-to-Globe calls, it already considered the fact that you really don't have to advertise it as free if it's within the same area. I mean, why would you even brag about free unlimited calls if you are just calling someone from the next town or city, right?

I called their hotline just a while ago and I found out that I was wrong. I felt really stupid actually. But at the same time, I felt like a victim of false advertising. As it turned out, they have to advertise the free unlimited same network calls, because if I call someone who is using another network, even if that someone is just in the next office from ours, they would charge us with long distance rates. Connectivity issues daw. Haist!

And just a few days ago, I thought the least of my financial worries would be replenishing office supplies regularly; now, I cannot just call Aling Virgie to deliver purified water to our office as it would be charged long distance. Tsk tsk tsk.

Makes me really want to shout, Google is the best company in the universe!!!

Ang bayan kong Pilipinas

Feeling a bit patriotic at the moment...

Do not forget: 

We Filipinos are the first Asian people who revolted against a western imperial power, Spain; the first who adopted a democratic republican constitution in Asia, the Malolos Constitution; the first to fight the first major war of the twentieth century against another western imperial power, the United States of America.

There is no insurmountable barrier that could stop us 

from becoming what we want to be.

– Jose W. Diokno

And indeed, Diokno's wisdom is far from contestable. On a higher and almost system level, we have peacefully toppled two Presidents (three if you count the last one, who, according to an Inquirer columnist was ousted through national elections). On a much individual level, so many Filipinos have made it to the top of their chosen fields -- Charice, Arnel Pineda, and Alan Pineda; Dado Banatao and Gregorio Zara; Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao and Efren "Bata" Reyes; Jose Diokno, Claro M. Recto, and Carolina Hernandez; and so many more.

I was watching The Pursuit of Happyness with my sister last night, and whenever I watch this, I always feel that there's something good waiting for me, for all of us, and it is just a matter of pursuing our dreams. Again, as Diokno once said, "There is no insurmountable barrier that could stop us from becoming what we want to be."

Yun na yun. :-)