You think you've got balls?

Wanna know what "having balls" means in real life? Well, research Walden Bello (that's double "l", else, you might find someone involved in the cosmetics/beauty industry). The guy has balls! He, and some other congressmen, landed in a contested island in the Kalayaan Group of Islands, declared the place as a Philippine territory, and uttered these words:

We come in peace, we support a diplomatic solution. But let there be no doubt in any foreign power's mind that if they dare to eject us from Pagasa... Filipinos will not take that sitting down.

Oh yeah, this is The Man!

At first I thought that was too irresponsible of him. I mean, other parties claiming the islands are China and Vietnam. But after seeing the map below, I think Walden Bello should be declared a national hero.

Is China even serious with its claims?! They probably took a bluetooth barcode scanner, and proclaimed:
"Hey, we used  state-of-the-art technology, and we have rights on these shores." Argh!

Check the story here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-14212130.

Google Country Manager (Philippines)

As I've said before, Google is the best company in the world (next to being in the company of Solenn -- wahahaha!). Yeah, sorry Facebook, you're just second. They are now looking for a country manager here in the Philippines. Now, am I Interested? Of course I am! But I'm am not qualified. Sayang! Imagine these perks*.

Anyway, in case you guys are interested, here's a peak on their requirements:

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Country Manager (Philippines) - Singapore

You will manage Google's sales and business development operations within Philippines. You have deep sales experience, demonstrated general management capability, and a proven ability to build a team. You will be responsible for developing and executing on the overall market strategy within the country. This includes determining the appropriate channel strategy, support model, staffing requirements, partners, target advertisers, and coordinating with functional teams to achieve desired goals. The primary focus will be on top tier client and agency opportunities.

Responsibilities:

• Manage Philippines operations, including the development and execution of the overall country strategy.
• Build a sales organization to call upon leading advertisers within Philippines, driving revenue growth across different verticals.
• Build and maintain relations with key agencies and Search Engine Marketers (SEMs).
• Build and develop partnerships that will grow the online marketplace in Philippines.
• Coordinate closely with centralized teams to meet the needs of the market.

Requirements:

• BA/BS degree perferred, MBA a plus.
• At least 10 years experience with strong sales management experience in technology and/or advertising and/or Internet as well as general management experience.
• Experience in building strategic partnerships and track record of growing a market is preferred.
• Fluent in English, with fluency in Filipino strongly preferred.
• Ability to focus and prioritize in a fast growing business environment.
• Strong relationships within the advertising and technology spaces in the region.
• Proven record of strategic development of Fortune 1000 client base.

http://www.google.com.sg/intl/en/jobs/singapore/adsales/manage/country-manager-philippines-singapore/index.html

Goodluck!

*I won't be surprised if they allow garden gnomes to be placed in their office areas. :-)

How to get to Taiwan from China without a passport (and vice versa)

I saw a post in Facebook just a while ago and it gives a detailed instruction how one can go to Taiwan from China (or I guess from any part of the world to anywhere at all for that matter) without a Passport/Visa. And the funny thing here is, this is actually from Google.

Are you familiar with Google Maps? Well, that is where you need to go to see the directions. Follow these carefully and you'll be to different places of the world in a matter of days.

1. Open Google Maps (directions)
2. Type in China as starting point
3. Type in Taiwan as destination
4. Read Step 48.

If you want to see what's in Step 48, see screenshot below.

Hide-and-seek: Newton-Pascal-Einstein style!

Up in heaven, three great physicists were playing hide and go seek: Newton, Pascal, and Einstein.

It was Einstein's turn to seek, so Einstein closed his eyes and counted to 10 while Pascal and Newton went to hide. Pascal hid behind a tree, Newton just stood there and drew a 1 meter by 1 meter box around him on the ground.

When Einstein was done counting, he opened his eyes (probably cleaned his heavy-duty goggles first) and said, "Newton, what are you doing? You're supposed to hide! You're out!" And Newton replied, "No, you're wrong, I'm not Newton, I'm Pascal! See, I'm one Newton per square meter! Pascal is out!"

Blogger's new dashboard design/interface

Have you guys noticed the new design of blogger interface/dashboard? It's neat and I like it. I think Google is really making a lot of changes and innovations lately -- this one, Google+ (which I am not yet trying, but have an account already), new stuff in Gmail Labs, etc. I don't know if this is in response to their biggest threat so far (Facebook). Whatever the reason is, I like it!

Here's the screenshot of the new design:

...and she accepted the challenge!

I had an interesting chat with an old friend yesterday. She's a headhunter based in Makati. She was very curious why I did not pursue one and rejected another job offer that she arranged herself for me. They both have decent offers -- so she says. So, she was wondering how rich I am right now (I wish!!!) because I have that conviction to stay self-employed here in the province instead of working back again in Manila.

Of course it's not true; I am not rich (yet! hehehe). With the work I have now, I can say I am just OK -- nothing more, nothing less (actually, it's more "nothing more" than "nothing less").

So, she asked me: What will it take me to accept a job offer back in Manila?

I replied:

1. They have to offer me a just and fair salary (negotiable).
2. They have to promise I'll end my working day watching the sunset. Everyday.
3. They have to provide me with an environment of fresh air all the time.
4. And they need to give me a walking-distance-from-home workplace (so I won't have to buy fat burners anymore).

Items 2-4 are non-negotiable.

Aba! She replied: CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!

:-D

Juan, Pedro, at Noynoy

Isang araw, habang kumakain ang magkakaibigang Juan, Pedro, at Kulas sa pinakataas ng 50 palapag na gusali.

JUAN: Anak ng! Tinapa na naman? Kakasawa na. Kapag tinapa pa rin ang ulam ko bukas, magpapakamatay na talaga ako.
PEDRO: Put--! Pritong itlog na naman! Kakasawa na ang ulam na ito. Kapag pritong itlog pa rin ang ulam ko bukas, tatalon na ako sa gusaling ito.
KULAS: Lagi na lang ham! Kapag bukas ham pa rin ang ulam ko, magpapakamatay na din ako!

Kinabukasan...

JUAN: Tinapa na naman? (Tumalon sa gusali. Patay.)
PEDRO: Pritong itlog?  (Tumalon sa gusali. Patay.)
KULAS: Ham na naman?!  (Tumalon sa gusali. Patay.)

Habang kinakausap ng mga reporters ang mga asawa ng mga nasawi, tinanong nila kung nagbabala ba ang mga ito.

Asawa ni JUAN: (Umiiyak.) Wala man lang po siyang sinabi na ayaw niya ng tinapa. Kung sinabi niya na nagsasawa na siya, e di sana iba na lang ang hinanda ko sa kanya.
Asawa ni PEDRO: (Umiiyak.) Wala din po siyang sinasabi na ayaw niya ng pritong itlog. Kung sinabi niya na nagsasawa na siya, e di sana iba na lang ang hinanda ko sa kanya.
Asawa ni KULAS: (Umiiyak.) E hindi ko po alam kung bakit siya nagpakamatay, siya naman ang naghahanda ng baon niya sa tanghalian.

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Quote from a TOTALLY UNRELATED  news (http://www.manilatimes.net/news/topstories/3-in-cabinet-aquino%E2%80%99s-curse/):

"Sa totoo lang ho, mayroon kasing mga miyembro ng Gabinete—mga dalawa o tatlo—kada makita ko, agad iniisip ko, 'Ano kaya ang bad news ang dala-dala nito?' ... Iyong iba ho, ipinipilit ko na lang po na harapin, dahil talagang, kako itong taong ito, talagang penitensya ko na yata sa mundong ito, kaya ok na lang."

- President Noynoy Aquino