Pages

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Bayani "BF" Fernando's Real Work

Most of the time I spend my day travelling around Metro Manila, and there's only one thing that keeps ruining my day and making me fill so stressed, and that is the traffic situation around the Metro.

Here in Metro Manila, most of us will be experiencing similar scenarios everyday. A bad traffic situation, which leads to a delay on our task and affecting our entire day thus resulting to an unproductive day.

some causes of traffics are:

Beggars
Floods
Jay-Walkers
Public Utility Vehicles(PUV)
Street Vendors

Let me start with the most common of them all,

the PUV's

Everywhere you go, these PUVs are around, swerving and stopping anywhere they wish. Very unpredictable that often times they cause accidents. I pity the passengers that they drop of in the middle of the road and leave them to make their way to the sidewalks in the roads of metro manila, although there are still some who are the so-called "pasaways" who, in the middle of the road, ask PUVs to stop and drop them immediately. Especially in main roads and highways, these are very dangerous because it can cause a person to lose his life due to negligence of both drivers and passengers. Good thing that Bayani Fernando made PUV stops in selected areas of EDSA for PUVs to load and unload passengers safely and without affecting the traffic flow of these busy roads. It would be a good idea though if BF would also put PUV stops in other busy areas to avoid heavy traffic during rush hour.
Also, I admire what BF did with the colorum PUVs, it takes great courage to apprehend them. With these colorums gone, there are less traffic-causing PUVs in our roads, which makes travelling more convenient for people.
next, the Beggars, street vendors, and jay-walkers

Have you ever wondered what beggars along the streets do? i mean aside from begging, of course. I personally have met some of the beggars in QC area for community service, and they do go to school, quite frankly, some of them are even good, or better yet outstanding. Its just that they don't have the same opportunity as others to have a better education. With their life in the slums, others take advantage of them and use them, making them beg for money in exchange for a little sum of money. Others, on the other hand, uses the money for addiction purposes. (Click to know more about their gimmicks on the streets.)

Street vendors' intentions are good, they just want to earn. And this time, it's much better compared to beggars that just begs for money around the streets. But BEWARE of them! Some use this as a modus to distract you and use this opportunity to snatch something like your watch or jewelry.

Jay-walkers are just plain "Pasaways" or shall I say lazy. Why? because they can just walk a few more steps away and reach the pedestrian lane or the foot bridge established by the MMDA, but still they want to cross the street in an illegal manner regardless of all the signs posted by the MMDA stating "Walang tawiran nakakamatay". Do we need to implement laws against these people to discipline them? and that if they don't cross the street in the pedestrian lane and a car hits them, then its their fault and not the drivers fault. Some other countries already implemented this kind of system to enable them to discipline their citizens. All of these people contributes to traffic in the city and they put their lives in danger. When will people learn of the right way?

next, the Floods

MMDA Flood ControlIts funny how people complain to the government when it comes to flood, while the actual reasons are so obvious.. that people are the ones who are responsible for it. They just throw their trash anywhere as if our city is one big trash bin. Some people just drop their trash while they are walking or while riding PUVs. Recently I just saw a privately owned FX and a woman opened the window and throws plastic along West Avenue. Residents that live near creeks keeps on throwing trash into it, while the MMDA's Flood Control team keeps on cleaning it. No wonder they never get their job done. Also, residents will complain that the reasons for flash floods is because of the clogged creek or drainage. Now, who's to blame?

Friday, June 5, 2009

Wacom Intuos 4 launching

I was one of the lucky chosen ones to attend the launching of the newest tablet from Wacom. The Wacom Intuos 4!
Intuos 4
What I liked about the presentation was how they sold it to us. No, they didn't ask us to buy. Instead, they presented a demonstration on the uses of it. The creators of the first Philippine animation, Dayo, was also there! They made a live demo drawing and coloring some characters to life using the Wacom Intuos 4 tablet.

After the demo and explanation of the neat features of the Intuos 4, they were kind enough to let us try the said gadgets!

What I liked most:- The 2048 levels of pressure- The realistic pen and paper like writing feel- Express Keys are on one side!- The looks! (Black is indeed very sexy!)- Pen holder also includes different nibs.
Pen Holder with NibsOne of the incredible features of the touch ring is the way it can be customized to be used as additional express keys! The Touch Ring can be programmed to zoom or scroll, change your brush sizes in Photoshop, or as a scrubber wheel if you edit video.
Wacom Intuos4 ExpressKeys
As an additional, this is also the first cordless battery-free mouse! It also has the technology to move the mouse based on both the direction and orientation of the mouse so it can deliver accurate tracking across the surface of the tablet.

comes with these bundled softwares already:-Adobe® Photoshop® Elements 6 (Mac)/7 (Win)-Corel® Painter™ Sketch Pad-Autodesk®-Sketchbook® Express-Nik® Color Efex™ 3.0 Sample Filters-Wacom Brushes

If you are wondering how much this great investment of a gadget costs, then you better check out their official website for:

The prices - http://www.wacom-asia.com/intuos4/price
Where to buy - http://www.wacom-asia.com/buy/storelocatorWacom

Third DLSU student has been found with A(H1N1)

1. MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Health (DoH) confirmed a third case of Influenza A(H1N1) infection at the De La Salle University in Manila, where over 1,000 faculty and students were placed under home quarantine to stop the spread of the disease.

The new case, a 17-year-old male, could not recall whether or not he had contact with two Japanese students who tested positive for the disease, Health Secretary Francisco Duque said Friday.

Aside from the new case at DLSU, the DoH confirmed three more A(H1N1) cases, all of whom came from the United States, bringing to 33 the total number of A(H1N1) cases in the country.

Classes at DLSU were suspended for 10 days earlier this week after a female Japanese exchange student was confirmed infected with the potentially deadly flu virus.

source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20090605-208992/3rd-H1N1-case-at-DLSU-total-cases-hit-33

2. MANILA, Philippines—A portion of the United Coconut Planters Bank building in Makati City has been quarantined after a foreign consultant showed symptoms of flu, an employee told INQUIRER.net Friday.

source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20090605-208990/UCPB-building-in-Makati-quarantined

3. Two universities in Manila have deferred the opening of classes next week to make sure that their faculty members and students are free of the influenza A(H1N1) virus.

Advisories from the University of Santo Tomas (UST) and Far Eastern University (FEU) said they are deferring the opening of classes to June 15 and June 17, respectively, due to the A(H1N1) scare.

"As a precautionary measure against influenza A (H1N1) and in order to allow students, support staff, faculty members and administrators who arrived from travel abroad to voluntary quarantine, the University of Santo Tomas defers the opening of classes...," Father Isidro Abano, UST's secretary-general, said in the advisory.

More on ABS-CBN News

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Second DLSU student has been found with A(H1N1)

A(H1N1)
Another foreign student of the De La Salle University (DLSU) has been found positive for influenza A(H1N1) virus, Health Secretary Francisco Duque announced Thursday.

Duque said the second DLSU student is a 20-year-old male Japanese, who is a contact of the first confirmed case of the school. The DLSU's first A(H1N1) case is also a Japanese student.

"This student also arrived in the country on May 12," the health secretary said.

Duque also announced in a press conference that six more Filipinos, who all have history of travel to the United States, have also been found positive for the dreaded virus. He said the Philippines already has 29 confirmed A(H1N1) cases.

Three of the six infected Filipinos belong to the same family with ages 12, 16 and 18 and the other three include a 22-year-old male, 1 33 year-old pregnant woman and a 52-year-old female.

"All of the six show only mild flu-like symptoms and are now being observed and managed in health facilities," the Department of Health said in a statement.

The DLSU's management has imposed a 10-day suspension after confirming its first case of A(H1N1). The class suspension started June 3 and will lapse on June 14.

The DOH said that since May 1, it has monitored a total of 414 people with suspected A(H1N1) infection. It said it had 13 other patients quarantined.

The DOH said that as of June 4, the World Health Organization (WHO) has reported 1,863 new cases and 2 new deaths. It said there are now a total of 19,273 cases and 117 deaths from 66 reporting countries.

More on ABS-CBN News


meanwhile

UST will go on reverse isolation in view of A(H1N1). No Students in UST from Jun6-16. Classes start on June 17 (unofficial statement from a friend).

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Turning Pain into Gain

"Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word" - Psalm 119:67

Here are some guidelines that can help you when trouble knocks on your door:

  • Guideline 1: Know that trouble is universal. Everybody faces adversity. Your attitude, though, has everything to do with how trouble affects you.
“Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love. For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to the children of men" - Lamentations 3:32
  • Guideline 2: Realize that nothing in life is forever. Both blessing and adversity will not last.
  • Guideline 3: Hold on to what you know is true, and refuse to believe what your emotions are telling you. You may think that God is punishing you or that you are suffering because of your inability to perform as well as others. Refuse to believe this. Go with what you believe, not with how you feel.
  • Guideline 4: Focus on getting through the difficulties one problem at a time. Don't worry about everything all at once.
"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own" - Matthew 6:34
  • Guideline 5: Let your adversity drive you to God. Trouble makes us realize our humanity, failure, and insufficiency in handling situations. It makes us realize that we need the Lord's help, his strength, His wisdom, and His guidance.
"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging." - Psalm 46




Sala, Harold. Just for today: Guidelines for living.

De La Salle University Suspends their classes due to H1N1

MANILA - The De La Salle University-Manila (DLSU-M) on Wednesday announced a suspension of classes starting Thursday, June 4, until Saturday, June 13, due to a confirmed case of influenza A (H1N1) in their school community.
A dzMM report said that the A (H1N1) case was from an exchange student who arrived last May 12.
This is the first case in the country of a school applying the Department of Health (DOH) mandated alert status for A (H1N1) cases.

source:http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/metro-manila/06/03/09/dlsu-suspends-classes-due-h1n1-case

http://cheftonio.blogspot.com/2009/06/dlsu-taft-manila-student-positive-with.html

http://kaiserfernandez.wordpress.com/2009/06/03/confirmed-case-of-influenza-a-and-campus-closure/

Update: http://laakomaisip.blogspot.com/2009/06/second-dlsu-student-has-been-found-with.html