Watch Your Thoughts

In light of the major Twitter blunder committed by President Aquino's speechwriter during the state visit to Vietnam, may I humbly quote the following:

Watch your thoughts; they become words.
Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions; they become habits.
Watch your habits; they become character.
Watch your character: it becomes your destiny.

Something similar was written by Mahatma Gandhi;

“Your beliefs become your thoughts. Your thoughts become your words. Your words become your actions. Your actions become your habits. Your habits become your values. Your values become your destiny.”

101010 Run

On the 10th of October 2010, approximately 120,000 people will participate in the 101010 Run. It is a fund raising event for the benefit of the rehabilitation of the Pasig River, the biggest river running across Metro Manila. The event also aims to get a listing in the Guinness Book of World Records as the most widely participated running event in the world.

My best wishes to the participants and the organizers. I hope that they will be able to get everything that they aim for. But I also hope that the environmental cause will not turn into an environmental disaster.

In some similar events, I noticed that plastic water cups used by runners remained in the road 12 hours after the event. Imagine at least 120,000 plastic cups in the road after the run. That's probably a Guinness material as well.

Disaster Management 101

I read somewhere and quite sometime ago, something like; "

When you try to apologize, comfort or make amends with the people you have offended or harmed, make sure that the act is genuine."

I have forgotten where I read those lessons but it is what came to my mind in the aftermath of the hostage crisis.

Kris Aquino went to see the survivors of the tragedy and quietly took the curses thrown to her face by one of the ladies. The media and critics drowned such act for it wasn't helpful to the critics' cause or very newsworthy for the media compared to the other things that were happening that day.

In contrast, the management of a shipping company was said to have given insurance benefits to survivors of a ship's sinking -- in exchange for the signing of a document that frees the firm from any liability.

In the news today, a US based company immediately made available $100 Million dollars in cash as emergency assistance to the residents affected by a gas pipe explosion. That, they did while guaranteeing that those who avail of the money may still sue them for the damages caused by the explosion. Read the news here.

Compare and contrast the three examples that I wrote about and tell us what damaging party will go out being less damaged by what happened.

Ciara Sotto Pole Dances

Here's a Youtube video of Filipina singer-actress Ciara Sotto performing a pole dance routine in a TV show. She did it very tastefully and so full of grace. All I can say is.. Wow!

Those who steal for me..

Will steal from me!

All bosses, never forget this.

Never even think of shortchanging your suppliers, contractors or anybody else. The people who does this for you, will do it to you.

And it will be a lot sooner than you think.

Walang Wangwang, Walang Blinker: My Suggestions

In regard to President Noynoy’s (P-NOY) directive to strictly enforce the “No Siren, No Blinker” (WALANG WANGWANG, WALANG BLINKER) policy, except for those covered by exemptions like ambulances and police vehicles responding to emergency situations, I have the unfortunate situation of seeing an SUV with its blinkers on. I am sure that the SUV had no exception and I am almost sure that it did not have as its passenger the President, Vice President or Speaker of the house. I am also very sure that the SUV was not a marked emergency vehicle and neither was it responding to an emergency. My problem is that I did not have a camera to gather evidence that I can post here.

My suggestion is for the government to come up with text, email and phone hotlines that will handle reports. There is already the Dial 166 emergency hotline which I think is very good. However, with the increase in emergency calls, the government should add more operators and dedicated phone lines. As for the mobile text component, all cellular phone companies should dedicate one number (166?) as its emergency text number and another one (661?) to process non emergency reports. In the text hotline (661), the general public may report their corrupt barangay captains and local officials and similar complaints to include the illegal blinkers and sirens.

The authorities may then write summons to the registered owners of the vehicles or, they may conduct spot inspections. The action reports may then be loaded into a website for the general public to know that something is being done. This kind of timely action and feedback system is very important in keeping the public’s trust in the government.

A similar hotline may be done through the email system and for sure, P-NOY’s term will be seen positively by most people.

Another Photo

While we are at the topic, here's a similar photo that I found in the net.

Funny Tiangge

Would you believe that our enterprising Flee Market vendors actually use such term?

I'm Back

It’s been over a month since I last posted and I would like to apologize to whoever came and found no update.

My schedule took me out of the office more often than I actually preferred but I think it was better for my health. Being seated most of the time leaves my lower back to support my upper body and that can be disastrous in my old age. Standing is easier on the body for one’s whole body weight is equally distributed among the parts and that prevents lower back pains.

Anyway, that will be my post for today. I will come back tomorrow for a new topic that I hope would interest you.

SMARTMATIC is not so smart

After the new President has been proclaimed and things have settled down, let us join our concerned countryman in Washington, Loida Nicolas Lewis in calling for an investigation of Smartmatic. This company has proven itself to have been caught unprepared to handle the Philippine elections and the trials that happened a few days ago is one of the simple proofs. In thebtrial, Smartmatic used papers that easily blot inks and caused the failure of many public tests. The public got very very scared and petitions to delay the polls were filed. Why such thing happened is beyond me.

Public trials are supposed to have been proceeded by successful laboratory trials. Let us take the case of Nokia and other firms. Do they release their latest gadgets without several successful tests? The failed test simply demonstrated Smartmatic's inadequacy to handle the elections. Before it bidded for the Comelec contract, it should have fully proven its devices matched with the appropriate types of paper. What they did (during the test) is that they used ballots that did was not accepted by the machines causing errors in the reading of votes.

I strongly believe that Smartmatic was technically not ready to handle the project and how they got the contract is worthy of public scrutiny. I call on the next government to have the company investigated by a huge panel composed of representatives from the government, business groups (Makati Business Group, PCCI, etc.), the NGO's and the techie community.

RELATED NEWS AND CLIPS:

- OBAMA asked to investigate Smartmatic

- OPEN LETTER FROM LOIDA NICOLAS LEWIS

I still have bosses

They are about one or two. They are nice people but...

The problem with them, I think, is that they are too soft on people. Being good is fine. But I know for a fact that there are a lot of people who sees kindness as a weakness. Bad creatures exploit kindness and it leads to the downfall of those who mean well.

As for me, I am strict but I am very very fair. I am also consistently generous. However, I do not tolerate laziness and incompetence. People who are inadequate in their present tasks should be moved to where they are good at. But the lazy ones should be retrenched. Give them a severance package and let them go their own lazy paths.

That way, only those who are capable of bringing the company into the path of survival and excellence will stay.

Do they think the company will grow if you have nothing but lazy employees?

Laziness is like an airborne virus. It is very contagious. It multiplies fast and before one realizes it, the company's culture had already been changed.

Fire those dead weights before they sink the ship.

Do it now!

Run for a Cause?

Running for causes had become such a big fad these days. We have fun runs, marathons and even triathlons everywhere and it is not uncommon for such events to be associated with noble causes. What I notice however, is what seems to be the organizers' and participants' lack of regard for the environment. Yes, even for events that trumpet the environment as its main cause.

I see hundreds if not thousands of discarded plastic cups littering the route of the events. The thirsty runners gulp the water being offered by the organizers and sponsors and very conveniently throw the containers in the road.

Even if the organizers follow the runners and pick up the litter after them, I do not think that they will be able to save the drainage from being filled with non biodegradable plastic. And why are they using plastic cups to begin with?

If you are wondering which specific run I am pointing at, check the events that happened during the past weekend and take your pick.

Free Franzia Pluggin

Have you ever tried Franzia, the red wine that comes in huge carton packs? It has a spout that makes dispensing easy and apparently, its inner plastic lining can be taken out together with the spout to create a more versatile package.

Checking its website, the manufacturer claims that it is the world's most popular red wine. I am not sure about that but I myself have seen it and tried it a few times and I like it. At buzzfeed, I encountered a funny post that gives tribute to the product and its various wonderful ways one can enjoy it.

Here's the link

Long Time...

Oh my, I was delinquent in blogging again. Anyway, I played golf with my buddies today. I hope to be able to to this more often in the coming months.

I also hope that you'd enjoy the coming week the way I enjoyed my game.

How are you in relation to your pay grade?

Do you aspire for a promotion? If yes, please evaluate thyself.

Whenever the boss asks you a question, do you answer correctly? Are you the type that says, “Ikaw sir!!?” Loosely translated, it means; “It’s up to you, sir!!!?” Or, “What do you think sir!?”

Or, are you the type that gives your straight thoughts and go further by offering suggestions?
Do you perform your job just like any other employee? Or, do you work harder than all others?

Here are my thoughts:

When bosses ask questions, their intention may be to truly seek for enlightenment, test their subordinates’ ability to solve problems or maybe, they are checking the quality of responses of their subordinates.

By answering; “Ikaw sir!?”, how did you think you performed? Were your responses, below, at par, or well above your pay grade?

-In your work as an ordinary employee, supervisor or executive, how do you perform?
-Are you the type who let things pass even without necessary clearances?
-Are you the type who stops the release of goods for the lack of clearances? Or,
-Are you the type who will block the release and report the failed attempt to your boss?
-Are you the type who simply look for problems or are you the type who help provide solutions?

My message, for now, is this:

Employees who shortchange their employers, work below their pay grade.
Employees who perform only in accordance with their job descriptions work according to their pay grades.

In the event of mass retrenchments, both employee types will undoubtedly be the first to be terminated. They are a dime a dozen if not, totally undesirable.

On the other hand, those who walk the extra mile, truthfully care about their company and serve more than what they are paid for are the real honest employees that deserve to be promoted and cared for. They are the ones that bosses will eventually recognize, be given responsibilities, promotions and that much valued raise.

Think not, below or in accordance with your pay grades. Always be above it!

These are the types that I look for whenever I look for people to promote.

In Addition

I can't believe that it's been a week since my last post.

A lot of things have transpired and most of it were positive developments.

In regard to my last post, I was told by several sources that the company is indeed suffering from temporary financial setbacks. It expanded very rapidly, to the point that their cash flow is heavily burdened. I've heard of suppliers withholding deliveries because of huge overdue collectibles.

I don't think that company is about to go under. It has plenty of good clients and it's probably a simple matter of huge uncollected receivables from its own clients. This setback is just temporary for them. What I just don't like is their way of dealing with us. The way they try to blame our paperwork for their failure to pay us on time. The way they try to make fools out of us.

I've been in this planet long enough to recognize an alibi and a serious cash flow problem when pass by one. I am very much insulted when people try to do this to me and think that they got away with it. But my breeding dictates that I should not slam this in their faces. But I've also been here long enough to know, that somewhere along the road, they will meet somebody who will.

Palusot

Don't you just hate it, when a client who's behind in payments, try to blame your company for their failure to pay you on time?

I got a call from one today. Very politely, I listened to her rants against my collections department - how they failed to send billings, time and time again, blah, blah, blah! My, she was very abrasive.

I did not get to where I am, by being stupid all the time. But rather, I got here because I read things right, most of the time. I already deciphered the message that they are short on money at this time. A lot of companies experience temporary crunch, when expected inflows (collections) do not come on time and suppliers already need to get paid. Things like this are temporary for most big companies. This client, instead of handling things the right way, resorted to back stabbing my employees.

I called the concerned people in my company and they showed me documents, duly received by the client. My people were not lacking in this instance, as I suspected from the beginning.

That client showed how they can be bad during bad times and that's so sad.

Threats of Floods

The threat of a Tsunami this weekend tells me that we simply can't be complacent.

There was the same amount of Manila floods in London, an earthquake in Haiti and Chile and now, the Tsunami alerts in the entire Pacific.

Global warming is here and we need to get ready for it.

I may be paranoid but for sure, I will be one of those in lifejackets and floating rafts when the next great floods come.

Get ready, everyone!

Scams, Mostly Online

To avoid parting ways with your hard earned money, please watch the slide show (link below) of the most common internet scams in the world. Crooks are luring people who mostly wants to make easy money by coming up with very good offers. Just remember, if it is too good to be true, it probably is.

Scams that exploit the hard times.

The Evil That Men Do..

It's been 5 years since I stopped eating sharks fin soup and dumplings. I also asked my family to do so. My lovely daughter fiercely makes sure that nobody ever orders such a delicious dish whenever we go out.

It because people kill sharks only for it's fins and tails.

Just recently, a Butanding was found sans its tail and fins. Divers suspect that the whale got entangled in a net and fishermen had no choice but to cut its body parts in order to get it freed.

Wasn't there any other way?

Swiss Chocolate Price To Decline?

With the decline in the global sales of Swiss chocolate brands, are we about to see cheaply priced Swiss goodies in the grocery shelves? The same thing happened when the global sales of French wine dipped.

I have a sweet tooth and I am anticipating a flood of cheap high quality chocolate in my desk...

Yeeeeehahhhh!!!

Article Source

Why I Don't Have a Facebook or Friendster Accounts

As Facebook celebrates its sixth birthday, I am blogging about some of the reasons why I am yet to create a Friendster, Facebook or MySpace account.

Privacy Issues

The first thing that I do, before interviewing shortlisted applicants, is check their Facebook or Friendster accounts. I learn a lot about people just by checking their profiles, activities, friends, etc. There is a saying, "Friends of the same feather..." This is a small world, the possibility that we (me and my officers) would know somebody in your friends list is very high. If you by any chance, will give me a doubt as to your integrity because of the lifestyle that you project through your facebook account, forget your chance of getting hired by yours truly.

I also dread the thought that other people would be looking at the profiles and photos of my love ones. If the people that I have been forced to sue will try to get back at me, they can only hurt me through my family. I didn't get this high by being weak. I have walked on fire and survived. having said that, I, also have weak points. They are my family and I don't want people to find them.

Privacy Settings? Forget it.

You just can't hide through your privacy settings. There are many ways to get past that. I don't know how to hack but the net provides ways on how to legally find you.

Malicious People

Bad elements are also very good in going around firewalls. Are you aware of the hacking incident in China, where the gmail accounts of journalists were hacked/secretly monitored?

Here's another one--> Hackers

To be continued...

This is Not a Disaster Preparedness Blog

It is about everything that comes into mind whenever I sit down and log into this site.

Having said that, this 2nd post is still about floods. A few minutes ago, I came upon an advertisement in the newspaper and checked out the advertiser's website. The product is a mini hover craft that can carry 6 people.

Being amphibious, the vehicle can travel in both land and water. This device is good in times like the Typhoon Ondoy.

The website is http://www.argophils.com/ and below is a photo of the product.

Click Photo To Enlarge

Why The Name?

Most of us only know Coleman as a manufacturer of durable plastic water containers. After the great flood brought by "Ondoy", I found out that the brand also sells inexpensive boats. If those floating objects are as durable as the water bottles that we know, it is probably a good idea to get one for safety's sake.

We really don't know what areas will be heavily flooded next time.

I have not seen one but heard that Ace hardware sells it. I found this photo at the Coleman website.

I hope that they will also have boats made out of hard plastic. These inflatable are prone to getting pierced by floating debris and submerged subdivision gates. I was told that several government rescue boats were immobilized by those street gates.