Deleted My Tech Blog

I deleted the tech-oriented blog that I was not good at maintaining. I have so little time I am dropping one blog and posting tech-related stuffs in my remaining blogs.

Buying Books

If you have books lying around the house that you want to sell for cheap, please drop me a message paetenian-at-yahoo.com (replace -at- with @). Please send me the titles and with the price and the conditions. I prefer books on history, Filipiniana, literature specially Philippine literature, philosophy, and art. No romance books please. I can only buy books in Paete.

Paete's Waste Problem

There is an on-going discussion on the Kumustahan forum about Paete bagging the "Nakasusulasok Award" purportedly given by Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) to the four worst polluters of Laguna de Bay. The article is subtitled "52,000 families using lake as toilet also blamed" which is an embarrassing fact but a fact nonetheless. What is interesting in the choice of awardees (the other three worst polluters are Angono and Taytay in Rizal province, and Binan also in Laguna province as Paete) is that Paete is comparatively a small town than the other three 'recipients' of the award. With a population of 23,011 in 5,101 households, Paete is much smaller than Angono (population: 74,668 in 15,740 households), Taytay (population: 198,183 in 42,620 households), and Binan (population: 201,186 in 42,307 households)[1]. The award was given to Paete for operating an open dump site. I don't know if this is true or where the actual dump site is located. All I know is that there is also an open dump site at least in Pangil (or is it Pakil?) along the national highway very close to Paete as well but these towns are a little smaller than Paete as well as their creeks much less polluted than Paete's.

Polluting Laguna de Bay is not unique problem of Paete but it does give Paete a good slap in the face. Maybe this is the wake-up call we need to finally do something about the long-standing issues. The immediate solution will include shutting down the open dump site and move it elsewhere away from the lake.

The issue has been dissected, diced, minced like for ever but no solution was quite close to closing it. It's important that a solution that is amenable to the majority of the community is implemented with a sense of urgency. The problem itself is not limited to the four towns or cities mentioned. The problem of waste disposal or treatment be it solid, sewage, or industrial is a problem that each and everyone of us, and each and every town or city confront on a daily basis. Sooner than later it's going to catch up on us and there will be no escaping the stink or there will be no more fish to catch in the lake. A comprehensive waste management solution is something that Paete should find and implement real quick. If it can ever be achieved, it will improve the health and life of people as well as significantly raise the profile of our small town.

[1] 2000 census according to Wikipedia, on Angono, Taytay, and Binan

Being Away

After working for five years and resisting the lure of working abroad, finally in 2000, I sought work outside the country for various reasons. Since then, I have been working in Tokyo all of over seven years, with six and a half years, or half of the time with my current company. Although it seemed a long time already, I manage to take breaks from time to time and travel back to the Philippines at least twice a year. Recently it's getting harder to leave Paete without feeling a little bit sad, specially seeing my ailing mother send me off. I have this idea that I may be able to retire in Paete someday and up to now, I have been pouring all my savings into Paete. I can see the fruit of my labor being transformed into something I had not really dreamt about. I am building something. Why don't know. I guess I thought it would be a nice idea. It's almost complete now except for a few items. Whenever I go to Paete, I stand in there feeling good about what I am building. This make me always never want to leave Paete any more. But I can't. There is no work for me in Paete. No work that could sustain a decent life for me and my family. I am not artistically talented nor culturally motivated to participate in anything Paetenian. My creative energy does not manifest in the traditional media Paete is well known for. That is why I had little choice but to work elsewhere - the city - in the services sector. But I go back every time to the place of my birth and childhood. There is something in there that still draws me - family, friends, places, and fond school break memories. This is the town of my birth, the place where I spent all of my childhood and most of my teenage years. I wish I can say now that Paete will be the place where I will retire someday but I cannot. At this moment I am not so sure about going back when I finally I shall be weak and old and weary.

The Origins Library

The Origins Library. That's how I fancy the name of my future self-sufficient library that will house, hopefully, a comprehensive collection of great books on origins, most specially, human origins. I have started to collect the books by the greatest evolutionary biologists like Theodosius Dobzhansky, Sewall Wright, R.A. Fisher, J.B.S. Haldane, Motoo Kimura, John Maynard Smith, Stephen Jay Gould, Ernst Mayer, George Gaylord Simpson, Richard Dawkins, and of course Charles Darwin. A lot of things have been discovered, new ideas introduced, and old ideas refuted since Darwin. Evolutionary theory has undergone many revisions in the course of the last hundred and fifty years that Darwin's ideas are not sufficient to understand evolution in its current incarnation. I would like to get as many books as possible that contributed immensely to the current understanding and/or consensus on evolution as well as the current issues and debates peripheral to the theory. Aside from evolutionary biologists, I would also like to include books by Frans De Waal and Jane Goodall of which I have a few already, Dian Fossey, and Birute Galdikas. I will post the list of books in a website I would like to build in conjunction with it for purposes of "advertising" it to the community. I would like it to be accessible to college students taking up biology as well as to teachers of science. I am still thinking of how best to manage it since the books are not so cheap specially if preference is given to hardcover editions over paperbacks to make them last longer.

The Origins Library, founded 2007.

Liceo De Paete Class of '89

I am trying to organize a small meeting for the Liceo De Paete Class of '89 to which I belong. It has been awhile since our class had a reunion and given the current state of affairs, our last known president has gone into exile, I am pushing for a coup d'etat to overthrow the govenrment in exile and legitimize the emeging Coalition of the Willing. I am looking forward to meeting for the first time in eight years my dear friend Agu. But something happened. I was supposed to have taken my vacation from Wednesday but too much work (we are in the critical stage of a building move which means systems have to move as well). I had to stay back a few more days to see to it that the last task is completed this week so I cancelled my flight booking and moved it to Saturday. That's tomorrow. But something was still not quite sure comfortable so I had to cancel my flight a second time. Most likely, a few more days is needed so that I can confirm that the patch I did for a piece of software will work on Monday. If all's well, I will be home soon enough. This has been turning out to be the longest work week I ever had. It will be over soon enough.

Lazy Afternoon

Just tried uploading a video into YouTube. This one is just for testing. I don't know if I will be doing this more in the future though.

The background music is an excerpt from Okaasan (Mother) composed by musical genius Joe Hisaishi for the anime movie My Neighbor Totoro, a popular film by the legendary Hayao Miyazaki. I hope the superlatives will entice you enough to watch that movie. You're going to like it. Apologies if the music is suddenly cut. This is a portion of a 30-minute movie I tried experimenting with.

Random Thoughts

I chanced upon Aldrin's blog hosted on Friendster and I never stopped reading it. Unfortunately, I have to sign-in in order to post a comment. I don't have a Friendster account despite the countless invitations I receive. (It seems that it's very popular to my kababayan Paetenians.) I don't want to create one just so I can comment so I am writing about it here. Hey, Aldrin if you ever get a chance to visit this space - here's a Hi to you. I enjoyed reading your posts, very honest and down to earth and maybe because I can directly relate to most of what you have written about. I will surely be back to read some more...

Who is John Galt?

This is the pseudonym used by one of the Kumustahan participants, taken from the novel by Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged. I have read the novel itself a few years back, though I skipped the speech by Galt towards the end of the story. I plan to re-read that portion only but I already shipped that book to Paete. I have in my shelf now Rand's Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology which I find really boring probably due to my lack of basic foundation on the subject of philosophy. I do not call myself an Objectivist though my work - computers - have a lot of things in common with it since it demands a lot of rational thought process in a day to day basis. Rand's ideas make one think and re-think the foundation of morality as handed down to us by our very religious society. In the end, I pick up what I think is good and I discard what I can't accept. Did I like the novel? I think the novel's plot is convoluted. What is important though is understanding the Objectivist ideas that Rand advocates and I think having it in novel form helps (at least for me) in getting those ideas across.

I Wonder Why?

I am getting flamed again. Why are some people so narrow-minded? This guy is so amusing that even using "LOL" in the forum has become an issue!?!? The irony of it all is that that was supposed to be coming from somebody who fancy himself an extreme moralist. Beware when somebody tells you that he is a moralist, specially an extreme one. Give him enough power or enough chance and see what he is capable of doing. Reminds me of President Bush who said "liberty for the Iraqi people is a great moral cause." He waged war for his misplaced convictions and in the process, destroyed thousands of innocent Iraqi lives. I will not dispute his very strong opinion about me since he admitted that he didn't know me personally. I am just wondering where is it all coming from?

And forget about his ignorant arguments against atheists and atheism. *yawn*

Brownouts During Elections

I posted in Usap Paete about the brownouts that hit the ballot counting, and at one point, only the upper palengke had no power when the rest of Ibaba the power was restored. My motivation to post was to ask why was it taken for granted that brownouts happen during ballot counting? I never read any mention of it in Usap at all when it's not without precedent that election results were affected after a brownout. I got a reply from Mr. Hernas that if I didn't see any irregularity, I should just move on. But I didn't say there was irregularity in the counting. What I said was that during the ballot counting there were "weird" brownouts including one where only the upper palengke didn't have power, where some of the precincts were located. In fact, I specifically stated that I am not accusing this or that camp of wrong-doing so that I would not be misunderstood in that area but still...

My post was intended to ask why Paetenians seemed to have taken it for granted that brownouts during ballot counting is BAU (business as usual), and since I didn't see any irregularity, I should just move on? His response is exactly why I posted my message. The brownout itself was the irregularity that people have come to take for granted. Now the brownouts remain unexplained, it continued to fuel speculations among the people that there was some wishy washy counting that went on. If we could only explain the brownouts, then maybe it can help change the perception of the people. The truth of course is not dependent on individual perception but perception to the individual is whathis reality is. If brownouts continue to plague each election like that and if the results are close enough like this one, emotions of the people run high and the town more divided. But only for some time because Paetenians eventually accept the result and move on with their lives.

Now, an alleged Paetenian living in Canada complained about my posts spoiling his/her moment of relaxation when he/she visits the site, and asked me to give him/her a break. Hello, okay ka lang? My right to express my opinion (which he/she completely misunderstood) is not superseded by your right to relax specially if my opinion is not about you.

As expected, I only got ad hominems for answers. Oh well.

New T@yangtang

New T@yangtang - an informal rational discussion group for Paetenians aimed at finally organizing a local freethought society. This group is unmoderated, and would wish to operate on the principle that members should be capable of self-censorship while carrying a rational discussion on topics that have particular relevance to Paete. Please feel free to criticize each others' opinion and be intellectually mature enough to accept your own mistakes when pointed out.

Please check it out.

Voter registration

I was able to vote in the last election but not without a slight snag. My name was still in the voters' list but when I was to cast my vote, my name was crossed out already in the list inside the precinct (not the one posted just outside). The chairman (I don't know her) was for a moment at a loss. I insisted that I be allowed to vote and she relented.

My question is, how does the COMELEC decide who should be struck out from the list and who decides? What are the criteria used? I have been abroad for over seven years now but I always make it a point to come home to Paete at least three times a year. I am building my residence in Paete and am planning of opening up my business very soon, right in the same barangay where I am a registered voter. I have vested interest in the future of Paete and have as much the same right to vote as anybody who is staying in Paete.

Inefficient utility company or deliberate?

I was in the Philippines during the last election. During the ballot counting, as this is not without precedent in Paete, power was cut-off many times, and at least in one instance, only in the portion where ballot counting was happening. This happened in the second level of the public market which is temporarily converted into public high school classrooms. I posted this in Usap Paete, just to ask the question since it seems it has not been mentioned at all:

I am wondering why the brownouts were never mentioned at all? Is it not important?

I was in Ibaba and in the upper palenke during the ballot counting and in one instance, the brownout hit only the upper palenke while in the heat of counting the ballots. After sometime, Ibaba had the power restored but the upper palenke continued to have no power for some time. It's totally irrational. It makes one think that it can only be explained as a purely deliberate action by somebody playing tricks on our townfolks as it happened a couple of times. I am not saying it's this or that camp. It could very well be just a prank but I am not sure if any effort has been made to find out why power was lost only in the upper palenke during the crucial moment of ballot counting. I have never seen anything like it before.

Just wondering.
Tony

I am waiting for the first ad hominem I'll get with this post. Pinoys are very sensitive and always resort to ad hominems as if it's always the best argument.

Reviving and Renaming this Blog

I have decided to rename and revive this blog where I can post my take on matters concerning Paete, Laguna, Philippines.

But why?

Truth is like an exquisitely cut diamond. It has to have many sides. I would like to present here yet another side of town, the side that most participants of the more established forums about Paete don't seem to accept to be existing, or would rather sweep under the rug because they would rather not be bothered about it for various practical reasons.

Paete Politics. Currently there is Ka Noel's administration and the "other" camp. The "other" camp depends on which election year we are referring to. This year, it's mainly Mr Florentono "Florsan" Velasco's camp. Three years ago, it was ex-mayor Elmoise "Emo" Afurong's camp. Unlike others who see it as red or blue or green, I see it as a mix bag of colors. I voted for a mix of candidates in the last elections. I think Kon. Kid Paraiso is doing a splendid job so I voted him. I don't know most of the other candidates but I know Mr. Manding Afuang and I voted for him as well. But I cannot deny that I am generally not pro-red, so I am not in sync with the majority of the active forum participants and this seems to be an annoyance to some of the immature (retarded?) members. To them, a contrary opinion is being utak talangka just because I disagree with them. Three years ago, I wouldn't have voted for ex-mayor Emo for mayor. I told my father why they had to do that when they could have just fielded their own candidate? This year, I voted for ex-mayor Emo to be our representative in the provincial board. As for this year's mayoral bets, I had to think very hard in order to decide. I didn't expect to be able to vote and when the opportunity presented itself almost overnight, I had to get past a dilemma - a very able and charismatic leader is really difficult to put down.

I am reviving this blog where I will put copies of my posts to the other forums for reference as well as for writing here what can be considered as "negative" or "taboo" in the other mailing lists.