There’s an on-going war between surveys in so far as the forthcoming 2010 election is concerned. So heated are the debates between ardent supporters of candidates, especially among supporters of Noynoy Aquino and Gibo Teodoro, that one commenter likened it to a boxing match. Aquino is leading in the Pulse Asia’s October survey and the Social Weather Station’s 3rd quarter and 4th quarter surveys. Teodoro, on the other hand, is leading in smaller scale surveys like Manila Bulletin and Facebook surveys as well as the UP mock polls. Read the rest of this entry »

Imagine if there was only one fastfood store in the country, say, Jollibee (since it’s homegrown). Imagine if there was only one brand of clothing; again, let’s take the homegrown Bench. Or if there was only one brand of mall, one brand of cigarette, one brand of bank, or one brand of bus company. Obviously we don’t have any choice but to settle for these. And since they are not competing with any other product, why bother providing the best quality? People will patronize them anyway, since the people have no other choice. Read the rest of this entry »

This has been thus far the most exciting election to watch, owing mainly to the explosion of information on tv and on the Internet, and the very engaging interactions among bloggers, tweeters, FBers, plurkers, tumblrs and what-have-you online. Candidates have websites, blogs, accounts on most social networking sites and it can only be beneficial for voters like us. We have access to information that we need in making intelligent choices for the coming May 2010 elections. Reading and watching about the candidates online or on tv has been very addicting I’ve caught myself many times (as a freelancer, I am my own boss) goofing during work time. Anyway, for those who are also keeping close track of events, here are some links.

ANC Face to Face: 101 Local Govt Champions Quiz Presidential Bets
Part 1

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First there was the record-breaking victory of Manny Pacquiao, followed by the international community’s recognition of Efren Penaflorida’s altruism and heroism. Both events were uplifting for the Filipino spirit, for the entire nation – very timely after the devastating and demoralizing effects of the series of typhoons in the past two months. Read the rest of this entry »

And I thought that pushcarts are only good for moving junk. Not for Efren Penaflorida, the pushcart teacher who’s one of the finalists in this year’s CNN Heroes. While Pacman, the national prizefighter, prepares for his bid for a world record amid the glitz of the entertainment industry, Efren is quietly pushing his book-laden cart to another record. Read the rest of this entry »

We barely escaped Ondoy’s waters in Metro Manila on Sept. 26, because we took the 10am PAL flight from Manila to Laoag. The rains started pounding as we were boarding the plane, and after an hour of bumpy ride, we were met by strong winds at the Laoag International Airport. When, after 24-hours, we saw on tv the massive flooding in the country’s capital, I thought, “that was close.” Read the rest of this entry »

I first learned about the Google library project last year in some website calling on authors and publishers the world over, whose works could be affected by a settlement of a copyright infringement lawsuit against Google. There wasn’t much noise about it in electronic media then, but I knew the issue had legal implications. Read the rest of this entry »