PLDT's DSL in Davao gets boost - Computerworld

wins 10 out of 17 awards in Manila Film Festival

It's Inauguration Day in the Philippines. This editorial in the Philippine Inquirer got me to thinking about the Presidential Oath and Inaugural Speech.

NEXT to the oath of office, it is the inaugural address, or in this Wednesday's case, the pre-inaugural address and any public pronouncements that may follow, that the country looks to in order to begin to judge the potential of the President.

Well, the Oath is necessary (to later prosecute or impeach) but it doesn't really restrict the President in any way - G. Bush is case in point as well as former President Estrada.

Also, looking to the Inaugural Address is completely useless. I listened to and later read President Estrada's Inaugural address. It was supurb and I was completely won over to the potential of his presidency. Actions "do" speak louder than words. Words cannot be a guide to the actions of a Prsident. Too bad.

Oh, here's Gloria's speech from this morning.

How do you tell a fifty year old Aunt, who has been providing meals to her family for most of her life, that her food preparation practices are unsafe and contribute to the spread of infectuous diseases and have to stop?

You don't.

Jasper off to Davao de Ateneo this morning. His van picks him up at 6:30. For some reason, here in the "province", 6:30 am doesn't seem all that early. We're all up and about much earlier than that.

Yesterday we looked at a house and lot in Monte Ritz - $300,000, very nice. 7 bedrooms, 8 baths. Built like a rock. Wish I could afford it.

Check out NickNews. Most of my current writings are there, now. This will phase out and be re-directed there at some point, probably.

Compare reality to your perception and all kinds of goodness happens. Go down to the bottom of the link and read the little story about Dave's orange ball.

Psychotherapists have been using a similar narrative to help patients, particularly in marriage counseling, for years. It's a good story to live by. But guess what, this is really an allegorical description of what's happening to the internet today.

Unless you're a software developer on top of cutting edge technologies like XML-RPC, RSS, SOAP you're probably not aware of the impending sea changes in the way we'll be able to use the internet very soon. (I'm not a developer, but I've been looking over some shoulders, peering in, and picking up what I can). And I can sense it in the thousads of non-programmer people like me that are simply writing on the internet. I can't describe the changes exactly......but I can sense it. I'm already reading hundreds of items daily - as soon as they're posted on the internet. I don't have to visit their sites - it's coming straight to me. I am simultaneously sending stuff out to anyone interested in picking it up and using it in any way they can creatively think of.

I'm pumped.

You Know You've Been in the Philippines too long when...

This guy THINKS. I've been reading Doc for a couple of years - his best work comes in waves. This is a wave...check out The Long When, The Clue Rush, and any of the other stuff.

As I was reading Ed Angara's first installment on his diaries of the last two days in Malacanang with former President Estrada, two things became patently clear to me.

First, although the events described are fascinatingly new and important, Angara is clearly not revealing the whole story - there are gaps in information that his story makes clear he has but he failed (chose not) to fill in or divulge.

Second, Estrada had an astoundingly narrow view on what was happening. After I made this conclusion from the diary article, I read Rigberto Tigtao's op-ed piece that is dead-on with the same point as he describes much more fully the cordon sanitaire effect. But this lack of reality seems to have extended to his first circle of advisors too, including Angara, to some extent.

The Comeback Kid : 'The last rightful president: It's Clinton's Free French to Bush's Vichy'.

You know....I think I'll just kick back, grab my popcorn and coke, and watch the show over the next couple of years. This is gonna be great!

An experimental, alternate Home Page Site is under development here. Here is my new U.S. itinerary (created at the new site) and I'll keep it updated as things may change.

This is very, very interesting. The existing political machinery was not invovled in placing the Philippines' new President into power. So she has essentially no political debts, except to civil society itself (primarily through non-governmental organizations). So she has an opportunity to build her Cabinet and other government positions with those she feels will best fill those slots. Now, granted, People Power is too disruptive and personnally burdensome and dangerous on the people themselves to be used a normal course of forming governments - but, wow, this is the way a new government should form - guided by demands of civil society.

Wow. It's reported that there are now 500,000 at the EDSA Shrine area.

It's Over It's Friday afternoon in Manila. The military leaders showed up at EDSA in support of the people - starting a domino effect on the rest of the government. Cabinent members are turning their back on Estrada moment by moment. No word from the Presidential Palace - but it's over for Estrada.

Dad, what's a 'rally'? -- That's all it took. Right after dinner Jasper (our 7 year old) and I take off for the EDSA Shrine area. Since I figured parking would be a bear, we walked it - about 10 blocks. He was a bit overwhelmed; there must have been over 20,000 people there with loud speakers blasting speeches interspersed with chants of 'Erap Resign.' He wasn't intimidated (good for him), though a bit disinterested. The purchase of a 25cent glow-in-dark bracelet thingy made his evening, though. At least he now has somewhat of a concept of what a rally is.

Here's what happened last night in Manila relating the on-going impeachment trial of President Estrada. The trial session, which I was watcing live on TV, extended past the normal 7pm suspension time; it was getting past 9pm when the Senate President resigned his position as Senate President who assists in presiding over the hearings along with the Supreme Court Chief Justice. Around midnight, an impromptu rally was held at the EDSA shrine, a few blocks away from where I live, at which Manila Archbishop Cardinal Sin and ex-President Cory Aquino spoke and called for mass indignation ralleys tomorrow. It is reported that the 11 member House panel prosecuting the President will resign en mass this morning at a House Session.

My scanner is working again and in the Family Related stuff under Most Recent Photos I have 3 new pictures up of holiday at Puerto Galera....more later.

By the way, if you take the ferry from Batangas to Puerto Galera and turn left to Sabang, this is what you get for $10 a day; if you turn right to White Beach, this is what you get for $10 a day.

Here is my very very tentative US itinerary for my planned trip in February.

New Year's in the Tropics. Talk about throwing me into the briar patch! I got trapped on the island of Mindoro when heavy seas came up on the morning we were to leave, cancelling all the ferries back to Batangas on Luzon and I had to spend two extra days, including New Year's Eve. Eight consecutive days on White Beach, Puerto Galera, Mindoro. Heaven.

My favorite bungalow by the beach at Summer Connection is still a great get-a-way. But some changes are happening. The road from the pier at Puerto where the ferry lands is now paved to White Beach. Previously, in wet weather we had to hire a pump boat to get up the coast to White Beach. In dry weather it was a 25 minute dusty, motor-cycle side car ride (or if you're lucky, you would find a jeepney running - but they tend to flip over sometime on the windy road). Well, maybe the fact that we get electricity only part of the time will keep people away - but all 8 of the bungalows were taken this holiday week. Fortunately, the managers of the place kept two aside for us (we called them on the cellular - no land lines into White Beach). And prices haven't gone up - about $10 per night - less than we've paid before during Christmas.

Oh, there's been a new cockpit built nearby. Sunday afternoon I kept hearing a small crowd roar and later saw the new facility. Although 'pit' is a strange word for it since this one is an elevated platform - the participants (human ones) clearly stand on the ground around the edge where the action is at eye level surrounded by four foot high plate glass.

I did nothing for eight days...well, I read one book, but that consumed only part of 2-3 days. I was usually up at dawn, about 5:30. Jenny brought the coffee maker and I had Starbuck's to look forward to every morning (when there's electricity). Jen was down to the beach to negotiate with the fishermen for our lunch and dinner - we had fresh fish (or squid) every day - usually charcoal grilled but sometimes pan fried. Cold San Miguel starting about 10:30 am.....sleep, eat, a little reading...that's it. Loved it.

Christmas Day we decided at the last minute to all go down to a local Water Park for the day (kind of like Whitewater in Atlanta). The girls pack picnic lunch and Jasper, Lynn, Roselle, Rosie, Jenny and I all piled into the Toyota and headed down the South Super Highway. Just outside of Manila the car dies on the expressway but somehow we make it to an exit and a service station. It had overheated, they repaired it and on we go. But the Water Park, it turns out, had closed months ago - a casualty of the economy, I guess. So we keep going further south to a local theme park - the Filipino version of Six Flags -- closed! Okay, we're not that far from Laguna, so we proceed on a bit further to a hot springs resort we know of. Finally, 2:30 pm we reach the place, pay our $25 (for the group) and picnic and swim for the afternoon. On the way home, I stop and buy two Buko Pies (Laguna is famous for its buko pies). When I get home, the pies are still hot! Yum! Masarap!

Eight Days at White Beach, Puerto Galera, Mindoro!!! December 27 to January 3. More later.

Filipinas come in one size.

I'm not talking about the cookies in the U.K. called Filipinas (wow what a commotion that caused in the Philippines - the Philippine Congress almost asked their Ambassador to file a formal complaint with the British government because a private company named a line of cookies Filipinas!). I'm talking about Filipina as in the feminine form of Filipino - which is the word for a person from the Philippines (why it's Filipino and not Philipino, I don't know - but I do know that Filipinos have a terrible time with their F's and P's - always getting them mixed up).

I'm getting sidetracked....We were at Mercury Drugs the other night, a large drugstore chain (Jenny won't buy drugs from any other place; she says drug stores in the Philippines have a nasty habit of substituting - you never know if you're getting real medicine or not - so she only goes to Mercury) ..... sidetracked again. There were about 9 people lined up at the prescription counter waiting to be helped with their prescription (Philippine stores have another nasty habit of not queing...instead everyone spreads out at the counter horizontally, jockying/hoping to be served next - and there's absolutely no fairness to who is next - completely happenstance).....sidetracked again! Anyway, they were all Filipinas and not a 1/16 inch difference in their height.

Filipinas come in one size!! There are some exceptions, though, but in general they are one size. (whew!! I finally got through this post).

Finally - my computer is back from the shop.....my website is back up and running. And...I've added a new Family Related section with photos (probably of interest to family only). The site now is not dependent on my home computer being available. I can post to this home page from any computer, anywhere...I'm much more comfortable with this situation.

Last night for dinner, Jenny fixed me the freshest, reddest sliced tomatos I've seen in the Philippines. Also, fresh cold cucumber in vinegar, salt, pepper and big pieces of boiled okra - boiled to perfection - that is, not too soft. A few small pieces of fried chicken and a couple of jalepeno peppers.....a cold San Miguel beer and cold water.... It just doesn't get much better than this.

dit it dit dit dit .... Philippine House of Representatives sends impeachment case to the Senate for trial. Senator files motion to quash! dit it dit dit dit.....

The President of the Philippines left for Brunei today and there's nary a second thought about a military coup here while he's gone. Philippine democracy has indeed come a loooong way from just 12 years ago.

You should read this site of up-to-the-minute Philippine news regularly. Things are incredibly interesting - perhaps unbelievable to an outsider - on a daily basis. The US election bruhaha pales by comparison.

I live in a 33 story apartment building that has has - IN GOD WE TRUST - emblazoned across the top if it. I kid you not. I think it's owned by Chinese.

People shaping the net - that I try to read regularly:
Dave Winer
Dan Bricklin
Jeffrey Zeldman
Jacob Nielson

Back from my third trip to Osaka in past month. Learning more and more about Japanese culture and history - it's a steep curve.

We're back! Jen and I got back Sunday evening from a 3-day weekend in Hong Kong.

I'll be at PowerGen Asia in Bangkok September 20-22. You can track me down at the Marriott.

I just finished writing two briefing papers on pricing issues in Philippine Restructuring. They're at office website.

My upcoing US trip schudle is posted on my Calendar.

At last. The Manila Office website is up and running.!!!! Check it out at here

The Decline Check out this guy's stuff.

My QOTD - 'Citizen Kane wasn't shot with an autofocus lens.' Jeffrey Zeldman.

Hmmm. I've been fooling around with Manila - a weblogging software that's more robust than Blogger. I'm working on the site now. You can check it out at nickn.weblogs.com.

l'affaire Arius. The Arian Controversy - 'The most interesting debate in the West until the struggle between Stalin and Trotsky.' I'm reading up on it now in When Jesus Became God.